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The Hoopla e-book download service, offered through many public library systems, also included most of the Love and Rockets Library editions. Just be wary that most Hoopla subscriptions offer a limit on how many e-books and other media you can check out per month. My local system recently expanded from 4 to 6 per month, perhaps due to the library branches temporarily closing due to COVID-19. Also note that the Love and Rockets Library editions have different volume numbers than what are listed above, since Jaime and Gilbert's volumes are collected separately but more or less published chronologically. This list comes from https://www.fantagraphics.com/howtoreadloveandrockets/, and I only include it so nobody checks out the wrong volumes from Hoopla or purchases the wrong ones elsewhere. Jaime's volumes are in bold type: Maggie the Mechanic Vol. 1 (Jaime) Heartbreak Soup Vol. 2 (Gilbert) The Girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S. Vol. 3 (Jaime) Human Diastrophism Vol. 4 (Gilbert) Perla La Loca Vol. 5 (Jaime) Beyond Palomar Vol. 6 (Gilbert) Amor Y Cohetes Vol. 7 (Gilbert, Mario, & Jaime — out of print) Penny Century Vol. 8 (Jaime) Esperanza Vol. 9 (Jaime) Luba and Her Family Vol. 10 (Gilbert) Ofelia Vol. 11 (Gilbert) Comics Dementia Vol. 12 (Gilbert) Angels & Magpies Vol. 13 (Jaime) Hoopla doesn't have Angels & Magpies, but it does include the two included stories, God And Science: Return Of The Ti-Girls and The Love Bunglers as separate, stand-alone volumes. After that, Hoopla includes Is This How You See Me? as a stand-alone volume, but Tonta is not included yet. Big Bad Voodoo Lou fucked around with this message at 16:10 on May 11, 2020 |
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May 11, 2020 15:59
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Random Stranger posted:I've got the first Locas book that I got cheap a while ago and then realized I had no idea how it fit into Love and Rockets. I couldn't find a reading order at the time so it just sat on the shelf. I'll join in, assuming I can make sure I'm reading the right stories. Edge & Christian posted:Jaime's stories from the original L&R run from the 1980s-1990s are collected in
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May 11, 2020 21:05
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My promise to everyone is that if you can get through Maggie the Mechanic, the subsequent volumes get exponentially better. Some of the revolution stuff was a real slog, but Jaime improves so much along the way, settles on a consistent tone, and finds his voice. How Wonderful! posted:My favorite parts of the collection are the in-between where Jaime is still figuring out what kind of tone this world he's creating is going to have. "100 Rooms" is so strange and pulpy, but it's driven by the kind of complex interpersonal stuff that he'll shift towards a more realist mode later on. There's nothing really else like it in L&R that I can recall off the top of my head. Is that the one where they're hiding in rooms in H.R. Costigan's mansion, and Maggie meets the criminal who is hiding out and falls for him?
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May 12, 2020 21:52
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How Wonderful! posted:Yeah. the big party at the climax is such a tour de force of Jaime just getting to draw weird creatures. I don't have access to the volumes anymore, but that is such an odd thing about L&R -- the ultra-mundane lives that still take place in a world with dinosaurs, hover-cars, people like Costigan (who hardly anyone ever remarks on, but at least we get an origin story for him much later), people with low-key powers, and especially superheroes and supervillains -- and how hardly anyone even mentions them after that first volume, despite them being out there. Then the Ti-Girls shakes that all up again, which felt so strange to me, especially Penny's heel turn. Sorry to jump ahead. I would have loved to discuss and debrief with other long-time fans and first-time readers when I binged all of Jaime's stuff myself last fall. Even though I don't own the books, I am looking forward to this discussion quite a bit. Sometimes I'd have to reread a page multiple times just to confirm "Yes, he actually wrote and drew that, and I actually did read it."
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May 12, 2020 22:33
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How Wonderful! posted:I think that disconnect makes some of the really brutal stuff later on (I'm thinking of "Browntown" in particular) hit a lot harder because it's this completely believable cruelty and suffering set against this unseen backdrop of dinosaurs and superheroes and spaceships. I had to look up "Browntown," but you're right, that was so harsh and soul-crushing. I also remember much earlier, when Hopey and Tex were staying with Nan, the old actress, and what she got up to and how she ensured they keep it a secret.
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May 12, 2020 23:20
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I just started rereading the first volume of Gilbert's Palomar stories (Heartbreak Soup) for the first time in over 15 years. I know he often gets more credit than Jaime as a writer, but it's a lot harder to get into than Jaime's Locas material.
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May 20, 2020 08:00
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I'm rereading Beto's Palomar material now, and I'm through the "Human Diastrophism" epic and all of a sudden into stories about Luba's mother, Fritz, Petra, Hector, and Gorgo. That was a pretty sudden tonal shift. Since all I read of his stuff was the giant Palomar hardcover over 15 years ago, I have a feeling the rest of the Beto material is going to be completely new to me.
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Jun 10, 2020 22:34
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I've looked around the Internet for articles analyzing Love & Rockets, but most of them are so vague and full of repeated cliches that I wonder how much of the series the article writers have actually read. But this 2001 Salon article, written by a woman and examining Beto and Jaime's female characters, actually gives a good sense of what the comics are actually about : https://www.salon.com/2001/02/20/hernandez/
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Jun 12, 2020 07:06
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Well, I just finished "Poison River" in the Beyond Palomar collection, and that was really something. It was so complicated, I'm worried I missed a few key details, but I think I figured out most of it. So both Peter Rio and his father Fermin had relationships with Maria at different times, but was it implied that she was Peter's own mother? Because I know Fermin felt a protective, fatherly affection toward Luba, because she was Maria's daughter AND Peter's wife, but as creepy and toxic and messed-up as everything was, to think of Peter and Luba as half-siblings on top of being married, with that huge age difference and Luba just a teenager... that's some James Ellroy poo poo. One thing that I missed was that both Peter and Fermin had also had relationships with Isobel at different times, and as part of the deal for Peter getting Isobel a baby, that's why Luba's baby, who was fathered by Captain Ortiz, was taken away from her, and that's why she was told it died, right? And was Blas really just a good friend who cared about Peter, or did he have ulterior motives the entire time? He definitely made everyone suspicious, but Peter had a soft spot for him, and he seemed skilled at worming his way into everyone's confidences. When Fermin was taking out all the old enemies, I hoped he (or someone else) would get revenge on Docho the guitarist, for raping Luba. EdsTeioh posted:Oh hell yeah, I didn't even know this thread was a thing. L&R is my absolute favorite comic of all time although I'm a bit behind on the newer stuff. I actually randomly met Los Bros a few years ago at a con that I didn't even know they were appearing at. The line to meet them was about 3 people long and I was a total fanboy and repurchased the complete run of the original trades from them just to get them signed. I ended up hanging out with them for about a half hour as no one else even walked up while I was there. Had a great convo about wrestling, the (then current) Daredevil movie, and how the band Love and Rockets is a T-Rex knock off and got a couple of sketches from them. Hands down the coolest interaction I've ever had with anyone from comics. Having met a lot of creators at cons, including MOST of my favorites, that is an awesome story. The only reason I go to cons is to get my books signed and chat with the creators. I've had some unforgettable moments gushing over some of my heroes and getting to know them a bit.
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Jun 15, 2020 23:10
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How Wonderful! posted:That's exactly how I'd describe it although I think "Poison River" is around where Beto becomes really invested in Almodovar-style psychosexual potboiler stuff too-- I think Fritzi is the main vehicle for this although it's really consistent around the whole trio of sisters, all this doubling, tripling, really textbook unheimlich stuff. So Peter and Luba really WERE both Fermin's children? That's what I thought, but wasn't sure. So Peter first slept with his mom and then married his half-sister when he was middle-aged and she was just a teenager? GOOD GRIEF. Last night I finished "Love and Rockets X," which was okay. But when I looked it up to find out more information about it, I learned about the existence of Beto's Birdland, which was flat-out porn/erotica, starring Fritz (who hypnotized and slept with her patients!?) and Petra! And that sounds like the least-weird part. I wonder if that was meant to be in continuity, or kind of an "Elseworlds" or "What If." Of course the Hoopla service doesn't include that one! Big Bad Voodoo Lou fucked around with this message at 13:37 on Jun 17, 2020 |
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Jun 17, 2020 13:35
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I'm still binging Beto's side of things, so I temporarily skipped the Amor Y Cohetes volume that collects a lot of the unrelated odds and ends by all three brothers. I just finished the Luba and Her Family volume that was heavy on Fritz, Petra, and Venus. The Venus stories were delightful. They reminded me a lot of Peanuts, but with a dark undercurrent because we could actually see and hear the adults, and they were often up to no good in the background, while Venus was often oblivious. And then there was some of Beto's magical realism again, like the weird sequence with the creepy "Blooter Baby." Even though L&R has always had steamy, sexy parts, this volume seemed heavier on the sexuality. I haven't read Birdland (and probably won't get a chance to), but it seems like Beto must have been going through a super-horny phase, with the insatiable Fritz and Petra and all their infidelities, Sergio and Pipo tempting everyone, Doralis' costumes for her "kids' show," and Fritz and Pipo getting heavier into corsetry in the fetish clubs. Just like so much of Claremont's work on Uncanny X-Men, I think the author's own kinks and fetishes were fully on display here. And I'm no prude -- Sex Criminals is one of my favorite comics -- but it just felt so different than the Palomar-based stories, even though they were often frank about sexuality too. And don't get me wrong, I'm still enjoying it. Unfortunately all I have left through Hoopla is the next volume, Ofelia, and then I have the Amor Y Cohetes compilation and one more Beto solo compilation. Hoopla doesn't have whatever the most recent collections are, including Jaime's Tonta. I have to say, both Beto and Jaime draw gorgeous, sexy women. I used to think Jaime was definitely the better artist, but now I'm not so sure anymore. And I do appreciate how both of them write such strong, diverse, empowered female characters. I know that's one of the things L&R is most famous for, but these women are all so interesting, with so much agency -- and that includes sexual agency that you usually don't see in any genre or medium.
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Jun 19, 2020 16:48
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Vincent posted:While Beto is very horny on main, I can tell you with absolute certainty, that this is faithful to latin american kids variety shows from the 80's-90's. Oh yeah, I'm from Miami and I remember Xuxa from back then, plus Sabado Gigante. None of the women looked like Doralis, though!
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Jun 19, 2020 17:59
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I've never bought digital comics before, even though I've been reading digital comics for many years through Hoopla, which has saved me literally thousands of dollars from not buying books I wanted to read. However, it has probably cost me hundreds in introducing me to books I loved enough to want to own after reading them. But Comixology currently has a ridiculous sale on Love and Rockets -- all the Library Editions for $1.99 or $0.99. I've read almost all of them on Hoopla over the past few years and fell in love with the characters and worlds Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez have created, to say nothing of their gorgeous artwork. But today I sprang for the one volume that isn't on Hoopla (Three Sisters), plus the Love and Rockets Companion: 30 Years and Counting -- a real bargain for $3. https://www.comixology.com/Fantagraphics/list/39613 If anyone has ever been curious about Love and Rockets but been intimidated by the sheer volume of material and the weird ways they have been collected over the decades, now's your chance. Don't sleep on this sale, especially if you aren't overly concerned with owning everything in print. Once again, the reading order for the Library Editions: Maggie the Mechanic Vol. 1 (Jaime) Heartbreak Soup Vol. 2 (Gilbert) The Girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S. Vol. 3 (Jaime) Human Diastrophism Vol. 4 (Gilbert) Perla La Loca Vol. 5 (Jaime) Beyond Palomar Vol. 6 (Gilbert) Amor Y Cohetes Vol. 7 (Gilbert, Mario, & Jaime -- stand-alone stories that aren't connected to everything else) Penny Century Vol. 8 (Jaime) Esperanza Vol. 9 (Jaime) Luba and Her Family Vol. 10 (Gilbert) Ofelia Vol. 11 (Gilbert) Comics Dementia Vol. 12 (Gilbert -- stand-alone stories that aren't connected to everything else) Angels & Magpies Vol. 13 (Jaime) Three Sisters Vol. 14 (Gilbert) Big Bad Voodoo Lou fucked around with this message at 04:24 on Dec 26, 2021 |
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Dec 26, 2021 04:04
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| # ¿ Apr 20, 2024 00:35 |
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A public television series called Artbound recently aired an episode about Love and Rockets. I can't watch it until I get home tonight, but it looks really cool. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTYzqHRqRQU
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Oct 26, 2022 22:03
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