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Singles
05-15-2005, 07:45 PM
Sometimes, I really regret being born in 1987.

Locas is a complete collection of the stories that ran in Love and Rockets between 1981 and 1996, centered around two young hispanic women in the California punk rock scene. The initial elements of science fiction such as living dinosaurs and rockets are gradually dropped from the book in favor of more focus on the characters. Maggie and Hopey are two women who live together, quite in love, though Maggie is unable to commit to anything and still gives her heart to nearly every man she meets. Hopey is a rebel who, under the tough exterior, cares about Maggie more than anything else. By the end of the book, Hernandez truly does convince you that these two are meant for each other.

Aside from Maggie and Hopey, the book features a large and well-developed cast of supporting characters, including more believable females than either Marvel or DC had introduced in their entire history up until 1981. Most every character in the book is relatable to in some way or another. Each character gets their own time to shine, from Isabel to Speedy to Rena Titanon, and the result is a town and world real enough to live in. In fact, the only complaint I have about this book is that by the end of the book, some of these great characters have to be pushed to the side as Maggie and Hopey grow up and move on.

Whoa. That's wierd. Comic book characters that grow up? Comic book characters whose lives change with every decision they make? Can anybody find me the number of comic books that had characters like this before 1982?

Artwise, Jaime Hernandez is one of the best storytellers we have. Since this book is a collection of 15 years of work on the part of Hernandez, you can see many changes in his artwork over time. His style, at first, is very detailed and had a classical look to hit, while eventually it evolved into a simpler style that is almost reminiscent of Archie comics. I think that his greatest strength is his skill in conveying emotion in the faces and bodies of his characters in a completely natural manner.

If you love comic books, you need to own this book, so if you don't already own this work in some form, do yourself a favor and pick it up. Love and Rockets paved the way for so many other comics that this isn't just a brilliant piece of work, it's a piece of comic book history.

Locas is 780 pages and is on sale from Amazon.com for 34% off. (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/156097611X/104-0302137-7156762?v=glance)

misfitX
05-16-2005, 09:54 AM
this is what i'm talking about. i love the hernandaz brothers. i like nearly anything they do. i really want to get my mits on this book but even with 34% off it's out of my price range :( as i have no price range :'(

anyways, good reveiw man. i'd recomend anything by any of the bros. if you like jamie's stuff.

as far as comics with characters that grow somewhere before 1982, the only thing i can think of would Lynn Johnston's For Better of For Worse. it isn't actually a comic book, and i don't know when it first came out, but it's an amazing journey through the life of that one family and it's still going on.

astrocity20
05-17-2005, 02:49 PM
If only I had the money :mad:

RoberteKemp
10-09-2005, 11:57 AM
I have a confession to make. I am in love with a woman that is not my girlfriend. Okay, actually two women that are not my girlfriend. Fortunately, I have a very understanding girlfriend.

Locas is the collected stories by Jaime Hernandez of the the Brothers Hernandez, responsible for the magazine Love and Rockets. The book follows the collected stories about Maggie and Hopey, two female freinds whose love borders on more than friendship and sometimes crosses it.

The stories are crafted exceedingly well, in a world where ancient spaceships crashed long ago and wrestling is real. Despite this, the story has an underlying truth and believability to it with slice of life vignettes and ongoing narrative about the love of two friends.

The art is black and white layed out in crisp, well-spotted blacks. Jaime Hernandez is a master of the pen with bold lines and a style reminiscent of old Archie comics with a radical twist. His panel placement is very straight forward for the most part but never confusing when he gets more tricky with it.

Though many fanboys may arch an eyebrow at the colorless stories, one read and you will be hooked. The stories are fun, engaging and sometimes heart-wrenching. You would do yourself a disservice to pass it by.

Okay, maybe I am blinded by my love as I grew up on these comics. I fell in love with the characters and they helped me understand a lot about the world... about life and about girls. *smile* Shrug* So shoot me...

antquinonez
10-09-2005, 12:03 PM
the man's talking about lesbian love, people. 780 pages, 30 bucks on amazon. the book is huge, 11x 9 inches. the presentation is beautiful.

RoberteKemp
10-09-2005, 12:32 PM
Actually they are bi. *smile*

Crimson Spider
10-14-2005, 01:39 PM
Have you read Strangers in Paradise? If so, how would you compare the two?

I'mAWheel
10-22-2005, 07:40 PM
If SiP is a 5 out of 10, Locas is a 27. For real. This ain't no soap opera.

Singles
10-23-2005, 11:58 AM
I didn't realize this thread had come back up.

I haven't actually read enough Strangers in Paradise to compare the two of these, but I've been meaning to.

RoberteKemp
10-23-2005, 12:29 PM
I had posted a separate thread about Locas because I had not seen yours and the man in charge joined them. Happy to have the thread come back up and combined so I can read more opinions and talk about a book I love. *smile*

Love the spotting of blacks this man does. Just love them.

KMCart
10-24-2005, 10:56 AM
If SiP is a 5 out of 10, Locas is a 27. For real. This ain't no soap opera.

Having read most of SiP before even picking up an L&R book, I would take it one step further and say that Hernandez makes Terry Moore look like an untalented hack.

I mean that with no disrespect to Moore's work at all; it's just that he can't even hold candle to Hernandez, who is an all-around master of the form; few people can.

The two books have striking similarities (Moore could very well have been influenced by L&R). SiP, however, reads more like, as previously mentioned, a soap opera, with the drama being structured in a standard issue-by-issue fashion, while L&R feels more like a good independent film where the dramatic rhythms are allowed to breathe more naturally.

I will say that after having read SiP for years, I stopped after reading the L&R collections and gave away all of my SiP books last time I moved. You know which side of the fence I'm on.