Love and Rockets Links: 11/28

exhibition: Giant Robot's seventh annual "Post its" show again features a contribution by Jaime. Show runs 12-10 through 12-29.

essay: Derek A Badman ponders "What Makes a Comic Great?" and includes Jaime's "Locas" as one general example at the end.

illustration: silez + ukuk, on tumblr, post an amazing full-figure woman wrestler drawing by Jaime.

influences: comics alliance has a portfolio of work by Adam Huntley who cites Jaime as an influence.

lists: Michael Cavna @ The Washington Post calls for nominations for the best comics of 2011, he mentions LRNS#4 as an example.

tumblr: Dry The Rain (liz velrene?) posts a very early Love and Rockets Volume 1 cover, which is loved by many, many others on the net.

academia: "Comics and Graphic Storytelling: A Sample Syllabus" by Harry Jenkins, includes "Heartbreak Soup" and "100 Rooms" as course work.

original art: Albert Moy displays some nice early Volume 1 pages by Gilbert.

original art: So, page one of Gilbert's "Heartbreak Soup" is on display above, while here we have Scott Eder on eBay selling page 17! Check out the never before published page on the back of the original art.

ebay: I've never seen this Maggie & Hopey t-shirt before, very cool and color too.

twitter: Kathryn tweet review of Jaime's contribution to CBGB

twitter: Salma tweet review of Jaime's Maggie the Mechanic chub collection

twitter: PAblo Uatu links to a post of the Jaime cd cover "Flaming Burnout: An Estrus Benefit"

twitter: Chan Clementine, a Brit Love and Rockets fan evidently, enthuses about The Art of Jaime Hernandez.

twitter: Chan Clementine doesn't know who Jaime is but likes his art anyway, I've been there also about 25 years ago.

twitter: Doctor Comics links to an academic essay by Tony Venezia "California Gothic: Jaime Hernandez's Ghost of Hoppers."

twitter: Alex Segura (Executive Director of Publicity and Marketing for Archie Comics) links to his posting of the covers to Love and Rockets Volume 1 1-9.

twitter: Johnny Gabes hates Gilbert's "Scarlet by Starlight" in LRNS#4. Go for it!

twitter: Jeff Newelt recommends Gilbert's YEAH! collection.

New and Upcoming Jaime and Gilbert Books

LOVE AND ROCKETS LIBRARY: THE LOCAS COLLECTION is a boxed set of five 7.5 x 9.25 inch collections of Jaime's work from "Love and Rockets Volume One and Two" "Penny Century" and "Whoa Nellie." A great way to quickly access most of Jaime's Locas stories, on sale by the way.

THE ADVENTURES OF VENUS (June 2012, Fantagraphics Spring/Summer distributor catalog) reprints all the previously uncollected "Venus" stories from Gilbert's late, lamented "Measles" anthology. Includes a new "Venus" story. 104 page 7 x 7 inch hardcover.

GOD AND SCIENCE: RETURN OF THE TI-GIRLS (July 2012, Fantagraphics Spring/Summer distributor catalog) reprints the "Ti-Girls" stories from "Love and Rockets New Stories 1 + 2" as well as an astonishing 30-new pages of stories and covers. 144 page full-size hardcover.

FBI-MINI #4 "Before Love and Rockets" (available now) is a premium mini-comic you can request when ordering any "Love and Rockets" book. It contains several late 70s/1980 era posters by Jaime and an "Inez" story by Gilbert, originally published in "Love and Rockets Sketchbook Volume 1." (from THE FANTAGRAPHICS ULTIMATE CATALOG OF COMICS Winter 2012)

The L&M Reader's Guide to Love and Rockets

"Maggie vs. Maniakk" and "100 Rooms" via

For those who like "Ti-Girls Adventures Number 34" try:

Jaime's "Maggie vs. Maniakk" in LOVE AND ROCKETS #3 (1983) is a hilarious fantasy in which Maggie finds Ultimax on skid row and becomes his sidekick, G0-G0 Girl. They finally go into battle with Maniakk and Ultimax prevails, sort of. The great part about this story (apart from the insane art!) is it's told by Maggie to a group of her friends, and each has their own reaction to Maggie's tale.

For those who want to read early Jaime, but are put off by sci-fi elements of "Mechanics" try:

One of Jaime's early epics was "100 Rooms" in LOVE AND ROCKETS #4 (1983) about Maggie and Hoppy staying with Penny Century in H.R. Costigan's mansion, ostensibly so Maggie can borrow some money for her dream boots. The main feature is of course Jaime's awesome party sequence, peopled with all sorts of odd creatures and some superheroes. This story is very character driven like later "Locas" stories, with Maggie having an affair with a mysterious man, but declaring her love for Hopey at the end of the story. With Jaime's, still developing, sophisticated storytelling we are left with only the expression on Hopey's face (who's hiding around the corner) to figure out her true feelings for Maggie (expanded version page 30, panel 7).

Love and Rockets Volume Two #16 via

For those who like "The Love Bunglers" try:

In LOVE AND ROCKETS VOLUME TWO Ray, for the first time in many years it seems, encounters Maggie at a bar while in pursuit of Frogmouth. Excerpt from "Life Through Whispers" (LRV2 #11 page 2, panels 5 + 6):

"[...]So then, I'm not two feet from the exit and blam! There
it is. My heart jolted but I still managed to make it outside"

"Damn, was it really her? Was it Maggie? Maggie with different
hair? What the hell was she doing here? Well, I know she knows Doyle, but...does
she know Vivian, too? Fuck, did she notice me? She looked right at me! My God,
what's next?"

Ray then very briefly reunites with Maggie through Frogmouth and Angel in the stories "Near Mint" and "Fine to Very Fine" (LRV2#15 and #16). Ray goes to a comics convention with Frogmouth in the first story and runs into Angel and Maggie, the second story continues as Ray spends the evening with Angel and Maggie at a couple of after-con parties. Ray's night ends on a sad notes as he leaves Maggie and goes back into the party (LRV2#16, page 6 panel 4):

"I went back into the party feelin' pretty fuckin' good.
That is, until I realized I never got any contact info from Maggie. In an
instant, I was back to my pissy, cynical self all over again."

And, that's how Jaime left Ray's short encounter with Maggie in LOVE AND ROCKETS VOLUME TWO.

I hope this helps some of you newer readers pick out a quick starting point, as all of Jaime's LOVE AND ROCKETS, WHOA NELLIE, and PENNY CENTURY stories are now in print in those chubby LOVE AND ROCKETS LIBRARY editions. I'll put out future installments of this guide if time or interest warrants.