Books

Locas: The Maggie and Hopey Stories (Love & Rockets)

Average customer rating:

So Alive . . . .
Our Wives Look Best To Us
One of the best comic dramas ever written.
20 seconds into 20 years

Locas: The Maggie and Hopey Stories (Love & Rockets)
Jaime Hernandez
Manufacturer: Fantagraphics Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Fantagraphics | Publishers | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories (Love and Rockets)
Black Hole
Ghost of Hoppers (A Love & Rockets Book)
Epileptic
Dicks and Deedees (Love and Rockets)

ASIN: 156097611X

Book Description

A group of Mexican-American women come of age in Southern California's burgeoning punk rock scene in the early 1980s and mature into the present.

One of the most humane, graceful and imaginatively inexhaustible artists in American popular culture, Jaime Hernandez has created in Locas one of the great American novels of the last 25 years, graphic or otherwise. Spanning a quarter-century, Locas tells the story of Maggie Chascarrillo, a bisexual, Mexican-American woman attempting to define herself in a community rife with class, race and gender issues.

Maggie's story begins in the early-1980s Southern California rock scene, when it was shifting from the excesses of glitter rock to the gritty basics of punk and new wave. "Hardcore" punk rock came to the fore, and the teenaged Maggie finds herself drawn to the anarchy, energy and diversity of the scene, which in the hands becomes a very real, habitable place populated with authentic human beings rather than stereotypes. She quickly befriends Hopey Glass, a feisty anti-authoritarian punkette who quickly becomes Maggie's on-again, off-again lover and a constant presence in her life throughout the book.

Maggie comes of age in this tumultuous environment, with class and racial tension fueling the rising violence between punks and the already antagonistic LAPD. Hernandez's naturalistic storytelling and mastery of body language and facial expressions, and his pitch-perfect depiction of barrio life all makes for an exhilarating read. His characters are infused with strength, intelligence, independence, imperfection, bitchiness, frailty, obsessiveness, and so much more.

Maggie evolves from an angry young punk into a mature woman. She encounters cruelties large and small and resigns herself to dashed hopes, shattered illusions, and even death with ironic acceptance. Locas presents an incomparable body of work in comics form, created over 20 years (which not coincidentally mirrors Maggie's arc), and told with an uncompromising beauty and grace. As the New York Times Book Review has described it, "These stories have all the visual smarts of film and the narrative smarts of literature....Hernandez specializes in psychological detail; we see both text and subtext immediately ....What better than to open a book that shows there is more going on than we dream of in our workaday philosophies?"

Customer Reviews:

So Alive . . . ........2005-07-02

Jaime Hernandez is simply one of the greatest creators of fiction in the latter half of the twentieth century, period, full stop. As an artist, he belongs on the shelf with the likes of Kirby, Ditko, Eisner, Miller, Schultz, Spiegelman, and Crumb. And that amount of talent is more than enough, but Hernandez is also a brilliant writer, existing in the same rarified air as Kerouac, Wolfe, Salinger, Thompson, Bellow, Singer, and Morrison. His characters are not just drawn well, they're written well, and the combination of images and words creates something entirely new.

The saga of Maggie and Hopey reminds me, in its way, of Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past" in the way it examines these two characters in such loving detail over a long period of time. Maggie, especially, grows from an awkward, confused girl into a headstrong, beautiful (though still awkward and confused) woman as fully dimensional and alive as any in the history of literature. Hernandez's achievement in "Love and Rockets," now finally collected into one giant book as it always felt like it was meant to be, will stand the test of time and passing fashions with the other great works of Western art and become one of the primary sources for information on life in the twentieth century. I don't know what Jaime Hernandez set out to do in 1981 when he and his brothers created "Love and Rockets," but I do know what he finally arrived at when all was said and drawn: genuine greatness.

Our Wives Look Best To Us.......2005-04-17

This is, as far as I know, the complete works of Jaime Hernandez from the original Love and Rockets comic book series. The series is about two punk rock girls, Maggie and Hopey (and their friends and family). Their world is a lot like our own, but with a few changes. For instance, on their earth rocket travel is commonplace, dinosaurs still exist and professional wrestling is a legitimate sport. The science fictional aspects of the strip were eventually dropped in favor of a more realistic style (pro wrestling was never dropped from the strip). The comic started off pretty good, and eventually turned into a great comic. I'm sure Jaime Hernandez himself would admit that his art and writing was much better at the end of the comic than it was in the beginning. Anyway like I said, the comic's main characters are Maggie and Hopey, but there are many supporting characters who get a lot of coverage, too. In fact, there are times when Maggie or Hopey go "missing" from the comic and aren't seen for a long time. The book really hits it's stride after Maggie and Hopey "split up" and have seperate adventures. I found myself getting really caught up in the lives of these fictional characters, reading about them grow from girls into women. This is a big, fat, expensive book, but it is well worth the price. Highly recommended.

One of the best comic dramas ever written........2004-11-27

I'm just going nuts for Fantagraphics lately. They've already granted my wish with their dedication to publish beautiful reprint volumes of every Charles Schultz Peanut strip ever made, and now that they've collected all of the Maggie and Hopey stories from Love and Rockets in a giant 700 page hardcover volume.

The original Love and Rockets comics, which during their initial run, were published for 15 years between 1981 and 1996, featured two incredible ongoing dramas by brothers Jamie and Gilbert Hernandez (with an occasional tale from a third brother, Mario). Gilbert's "Palomar" stories (collected separately by Fantagraphics), and Mario's "Locas" series were published together in each issue, alternating chapters and cover artwork. While Gilbert's work was more gritty, tragic, and adult oriented, Jaime's work, which focused on teenage best friends Maggie and Hopey in a sort of bizarre Archie Comics universe set in a largely Hispanic southern California neighborhood that featured professional wrestlers, punk rock, and lesbian romance. Both works are masterpieces of the comic book medium, but to have the stories separated and published in their own complete hardcover sets is a dream come true. I'll be reviewing Palomar separately, but for now, let's focus on the brilliance of Locas.

Locas may be single best comic book drama series ever created. As a writer and artist, nobody has been able to capture the youth and vibrance of young adults like Jaime Hernandez. Utilizing the black and white page with a skill that only Frank Miller has been able to equal, Hernandez brings out a charm and grace to his characters that is sexy, realistic, and endearing. From the cocky smile of Hopey, to the ever-growing rounded ass of her best friend Maggie, to the smart and realistic dialogue that makes you feel almost voyeuristic spying on the girls' trials and tribulations.

The characters of Hopey, a short haired undersized punk-rock girl with a penchant for chaos, and her best friend Maggie, an expert mechanic and adventurer at heart who struggles with a ballooning waist size, are so well defined, many readers in the letter columns of the original issues would profess that they had crushes on them, or went to school with girls who were just like them.

It's hard to not fall for either of them in this epic that spans a huge period of time, and ultimately splits them apart as they go their own separate ways. The last page, which brings the two together again, is one of the most bittersweet moments I've read in comics since Bill Watterson's final "Calvin and Hobbes" strip.

Jamie has a blast with the series as he features tales revolving around struggling punk rock bands, the behind the scenes world of professional wrestling (and mostly lady wrestlers to boot), and gang life. One saga, "The Death of Speedy" is a brilliantly tragic tale about the inevitable death of a young man, who was a longtime crush of Maggie's for the first 6 years of the book, who makes the mistake of dating a rival's girl on the side. The eventual death scene is done so brilliantly and with such an eerie presentation, that I still get shivers and look around me after I read it.

Considering the high quality of the paper, and the monstrous weight of the book, the $49 cover price is a steal, considering you've got over 50 issues of comic book stories collected in this tome. I read the whole thing again in one sitting and am blown away.

This is as good as comic books get.

On to Palomar...

20 seconds into 20 years .......2004-10-30

There has never been a comic before or after like love & rockets. This collection is the maggie/hopey stories from the 20 year run of the original love and rockets series. Beware, this doesn't collect all the stuff that compromised jamie's part of the series only the maggie/hopey stuff. I would recomend buying the paperback graphic novels instead for those who want the complete experience. Having said that, it's hard to explain the attraction of seeing all these stories placed together to be read in one sitting. Years ago we had to wait months just for a continuation of these characters stories at some points (in the original comic). Seeing them together rocks. No one could have predidcted that a punk comic would last this long. For those who have never read the hernandez bros. Love and rockets stuff before i can only say BUY IT NOW WHILE YOU HAVE THE CHANCE. It won't be available forever. This book along with PALOMAR represent the major story arcs of love and rockets. While my previous review mention punk bands that probably confused some people, an understanding of the punk stuff going on at the time is not required. The reason i changed my review is because i don't think it did justice to this book. It owes much of its style to noir & frank miller (in the black and white composition) and will eisner's graphic novels (in its humane content). If you ever liked either read this stuff. In the 80's and early 90's this was THE underground comic. It should be read by all who wish to understand comics from fans of kirby, miller, eisner, morrison, moore, and even sims. It is a great read. I can't recommend it more.

The Girl From Hoppers: The Second Volume of "Locas" Stories from Love & Rockets (Love and Rockets (Graphic Novels))

Average customer rating:

The Girl From Hoppers: The Second Volume of "Locas" Stories from Love & Rockets (Love and Rockets (Graphic Novels))
Jaime Hernandez
Manufacturer: Fantagraphics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Fantagraphics | Publishers | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Human Diastrophism: The Second Volume of "Palomar" Stories from Love & Rockets (Love and Rockets (Graphic Novels))
Heartbreak Soup: The First Volume of "Palomar" Stories from Love & Rockets (Love and Rockets (Graphic Novels))
Maggie the Mechanic
Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus, Vol. 1
Buddy Does Jersey: The Complete Buddy Bradley Stories from "Hate" Comics, Vol. II (1994-1998)

ASIN: 1560978511

Book Description

The legendary Love and Rockets comic book series continues in a comprehensive series of new paperbacks.

The 25th anniversary Love and Rockets celebration continues with this, the first of three volumes collecting the adventures of the spunky Maggie; her annoying, pixie-ish best friend and sometime lover Hopey; and their circle of intimates, including the blonde bombshell Penny Century, Maggie's weirdo mentor Izzy—as well as the ageing but still heroic wrestler Rena Titanon, and Maggie's handsome but mostly out-of-reach love interest, Rand Race.

Having abandoned the sci-fi trappings of the earliest Love & Rockets stories (as seen in Maggie the Mechanic, the first volume in this series) Hernandez refined his approach, settling on the more naturalistic environment of the fictional Los Angeles barrio, Hoppers, and the lives of the young Mexican-Americans and punk rockers who live there.

A central story and one of Jaime's absolute peaks is "The Death of Speedy." Such is Jaime's mastery that even though the end of the story is telegraphed from the very title, the downhill spiral of Speedy, the local heartthrob, is utterly compelling and ultimately quite surprising.

In this volume, Maggie also begins her on-again and off-again romance with Ray D., leading to friction and an eventual separation from Hopey (which will form the narrative backbone of "Wigwam Bam," as seen in the upcoming third volume that completes the "Locas trilogy").

A number of these stories—including a whole cycle of wrestling stories starring or co-starring Rena Tinanon, whose return was memorably chronicled in the New York Times serial "La Maggie La Loca," and the supremely unnerving "Izzy meets the Devil" story, "Flies on the Ceiling"—were not collected in the hardcover Locas.

Locas in Love (Love and Rockets (Graphic Novels))

Average customer rating:

One of the Best of the Series
I must insist that you purchase this book.

Locas in Love (Love and Rockets (Graphic Novels))
Jaime Hernandez
Manufacturer: Fantagraphics Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Fantagraphics | Publishers | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Dicks and Deedees (Love and Rockets)
Ghost of Hoppers (A Love & Rockets Book)
Whoa, Nellie!
Luba in America
Fear of Comics

ASIN: 1560974125

Book Description

Jaime Hernandez (who, along with his brother Gilbert, created the most influential alternative comic book of the last 20 years in Love and Rockets) presents the first collection of his current ongoing comic book series, spotlighting the first four issues. A critical and commercial smash-hit in the world of alternative comic books, the stories collected here earned Hernandez the coveted Best Artist Harvey Award in 1998. Although Penny Century refers to one of Hernandez's most popular characters - a voluptuous platinum-blonde heiress whose wealth affords her the luxury of indulging her fantasy life as a costumed superheroine-cum-bon vivant - the title Penny Century functions more as a catch-phrase for the optimistic mood of the series, in which anything can and does happen, where seemingly unrelated stories, when read together, give texture to a larger canvas.

Customer Reviews:

One of the Best of the Series.......2005-05-20

You'd expect that such a late entry (this is a post *Love and Rockets* collection) would be tired. Instead here are enjoyable and pefectly-paced character-driven tales. Additionally, there's a goofily wide-open quality to some of the interstitial material that harkens all the way back to the very beginning of the series. What can I say? I find myself rereading this book again and again.

I must insist that you purchase this book........2001-02-17

What can I say? Jaime's work is one of the rare comic ouevres (I never could spell that) that genuinely make life worth living. Check it out -- you won't regret it!

Virgins, Guerrillas, and Locas: Gay Latinos Writing about Love

Average customer rating:

Important but Flat
In My Mouth
A Very Necessary Collection of Perspectives
Lyric, devastating
Erasmo Guerra is dreamy

Virgins, Guerrillas, and Locas: Gay Latinos Writing about Love

Manufacturer: Cleis Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Love & Romance | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

United States | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Nonfiction | Gay & Lesbian | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Chicana Lesbians: The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About
Black Like Us: A Century of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual African American Fiction
Queer Latinidad: Identity Practices, Discursive Spaces (Sexual Cultures Series)

ASIN: 1573440876

Book Description

From a Virgin of Guadalupe sighting by a cholo junkie, to a tale of two underground freedom fighters whose passion for each other is heightened by the constant danger they face, to the picaresque romp of three cha-cha queens on acid in the Bronx Zoo, Virgins, Guerrillas, and Locas explores the lives and loves of gay Latino men with humor, candor, and affection.

Customer Reviews:

Important but Flat.......2003-07-11

This collection is certainly timely, and more like it need to be published. However, with the exception of a few stories (namely those by Guerra and Arroyo), I wasn't too impressed. Some of the contributors are obviously not creative writers which made for frustrating reading. Pick it up, but be on the lookout for future anthologies.

In My Mouth.......2000-07-08

Lingering narratives leave a hard aftertaste in my mouth. Honest creative work breathes life to this anthology. I felt linked by the "geography of individual pain" (101, Rane Arroyo, "The Europe of Their Scars"). Learning to love is hard enough but as a man secretly loving another man, the task gets even harder, especially in a culture doused in a twisted definition of manhood. In latino families, words for pain are unspoken. Roger Schira's piece (83), "News of Your Country" captured the essence of solitude---where the unspoken beauty of tropical love between two men is ceaselessly replayed in dreams, where maps of our places of origin and birth hover in our memories. Aguilar's unpunctuated "Nueva Flor de Canela (183)captures the raw anger and cold reality stemming from AIDS, of "...queer lovers afraid of taking up a relationship that is bigger than each one anticipated, but the relationship is unavoidable..."(190). The stories evoke a mosaic of my insignificant life, only this time, confronting my very self without flinching in self-hate is easier because it is their story not mine. Better yet, it is OUR story, not just mine. In short, this collection opens wounds, like bare stares from folks shocked to see that a man can kiss another man just as well as they can. Flip through the pages and drown, but skip the empty ones...**

A Very Necessary Collection of Perspectives.......2000-01-09

If I had come across this collection of fiction ten years ago, my teenage years would have been much, much less painful than they were. As a young gay Latino from a homophobic culture and in a racist environment, I needed to know that the voices of brown jotos were important enough to be expressed, written and certainly compiled in a book. There is much pain expressed in these stories, but also hope and redemption. Though these stories have come a little too late for me, it is heartening to know that they are now with us and that they are accessible to the young joteria.

Lyric, devastating.......1999-11-03

Lyricism beyond expectation for an anthology. Several pieces (Daddy, Sun to Sun, I Love You Alto) are quietly devastating, underwater detonations. When funny, it's very funny. It seems a collusion by the contributors to trace and retrace the complex trajectories of the inploded heart, and this, the book suggests, is the arena of love between Latino men. Editor Jaime Cortez has given us a freaking good read.

Erasmo Guerra is dreamy.......1999-10-30

I bought this book just to read the latest from Erasmo Guerra and it was toally worth it. Not to slight the others in this book, but Guerra's work is always so poignent and beautiful. Getting to read his work now is like reading the early work of a great master. If you're gay and live in New York you HAVE to read his story (which I think is an excerpt from his upcoming first novel).

Perla La Loca: A Love and Rockets Book (Love and Rockets (Graphic Novels))

Average customer rating:

Perla La Loca: A Love and Rockets Book (Love and Rockets (Graphic Novels))
Jaime Hernandez
Manufacturer: Fantagraphics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Fantagraphics | Publishers | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 156097883X

Book Description

The third volume of Locas stories from Love and Rockets.

Perla la Locabegins with the graphic novel "Wigwam Bam," arguably Jaime Hernandez's definitive statement on the post-punk culture. As Maggie, Hopey, and the rest of the Locas prowl Los Angeles, the East Coast, and parts in between trying to recapture the carefree spirit of those early days—except for Izzy, who tries to flee and ultimately, ironically, is the one who finds Hopey (and who unlocks the secret of Maggie and Hopey's relationship.) "Wigwam Bam" brings us up to date on all the members of Jaime's extensive cast of characters and then drops a narrative bomb on Hopey (and us) in the very last pages.

Split up from Hopey yet again, Maggie bounces back and forth between a one-laundromat town in Texas (the "Chester Square" that serves as the title of two of the strongest stories in the book), where she has to contend with both her own inner demons and a murderous hooker, and Camp Vicki, where she has to fend off her aunt Vicki's attempts to make her a professional wrestler and the unwanted advances of the amorous wrestling champ-to-be, Gina. As usual, Jaime spotlights a wide range of headstrong female characters, including Maggie's sister Esther and her cousin Xochitl; Penny Century, Hopey, and Danita show up as well, as does Rena Titañon (recently seen in Jaime's New York Times serial "La Maggie la Loca"), who, joined by the wrestler El Diablo, dominates the finale with a rousing free-for-all slugfest against six armed thugs. And what's this about Maggie getting married?

"Juana la Loca. Vivir por amor", de Sara Baras: Pasión por bulerías.(TT: "Juana the crazy. To live for love", by Sara Baras: passion for songs.)(Reseña): An article from: Epoca

Average customer rating:

"Juana la Loca. Vivir por amor", de Sara Baras: Pasión por bulerías.(TT: "Juana the crazy. To live for love", by Sara Baras: passion for songs.)(Reseña): An article from: Epoca
Carlos Cuadros
Manufacturer: Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008HO0H4
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Epoca, published by Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA) on February 18, 2001. The length of the article is 715 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: "Juana la Loca. Vivir por amor", de Sara Baras: Pasión por bulerías.(TT: "Juana the crazy. To live for love", by Sara Baras: passion for songs.)(Reseña)
Author: Carlos Cuadros
Publication: Epoca (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 18, 2001
Publisher: Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA)
Page: 68

Article Type: Reseña

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Love & Rockets: Locas Volume 4/ Spanish Edition

Average customer rating:

Love & Rockets: Locas Volume 4/ Spanish Edition
Jaime Hernandez
Manufacturer: Public Square Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Foreign Language Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Revistas Cómicas y Novelas Gráficas | Libros en español | Formats | Books

Book Description

Set in a fictional Latin American town, this legendary series focuses on the inter-twined lives of a group of Mexican-American women. It has been routinely praised for its realism, complexity, subtlety and ethnic authenticity, and favorably compared to the works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende.

Books:

Books