Chester Square: Love and Rockets Vol 13 [Hardcover]

Jaime Hernandez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1996

The Hernandez brothers recently published the last issue of their alternative comics groundbreaker, Love and Rockets. This book collects Jami's last stories from the magazine, which wrap up a saga begun in 1981. Heroine Maggie has been languishing at her aunt Vicki's women wrestler's camp in rural Texas. Jamie brings back other cast members , ranging from Maggie's sister Esther to Billionaire's wife Penny Century, and even makes a nod to the fantastic series' early science fiction slant. Of course, at the very end, Maggie is reunited with soul mate Hopey.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Fifty issues--collected into 15 volumes that total 2000 pages--the Hernandez brothers' Love and Rockets is an enormous achievement that helped to create a new audience for comics. Notable for their strong female characters and their focus on relationships, rather than on traditional comic-book 'action', the stories collected in this volume, and the rest of the series, show how the comic format can be used to create characters and situations as detailed and compelling as in any novel.

Reviewers have compared Gilbert Hernandez's work--set in the fictional Latin American town of Palomar-- with that of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Robert Altman. Reading his brother Jaime's work--most of which focuses on a group of Southern California Mexican American women--is like reading Tolstoy, if only Tolstoy had written about twenty-something punk girls. Love and Rockets has certainly earned its legendary reputation among the comic-book cognoscenti, and deserves to be read by an even wider audience. Welcome to the world of Los Bros Hernandez. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

The Hernandez brothers recently published the last issue of their alternative comics groundbreaker, Love & Rockets. This book collects Jaime's last stories from the magazine, which wrap up a saga begun in 1981. Heroine Maggie has been languishing at her aunt Vicki's women wrestlers' camp in rural Texas, far from the series' original locus in the L.A. barrio. Jaime brings back other cast members, ranging from Maggie's sister Esther to billionaire's wife Penny Century, and he even makes a fantastic nod to the series' early science fiction slant. Of course, at the very end, Maggie is reunited with soul mate Hopey. The need to tie up loose ends brings a bit of welcome structure to a series that has been meandering, albeit pleasantly, in recent issues, and as ever, all events are rendered in Jaime's handsome, Archie-goes-boho style. Obviously, this conclusion isn't the advisable point for libraries to start buying the series. Those who have been along on the ride, though, won't want to miss it. Gordon Flagg --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books; First edition (September 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560972564
• ISBN-13: 978-1560972563
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,525,823 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Art + Literature = Los Bros Hernandez, July 14, 2003

By 

Bob Cronin (Belmont, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love and Rockets Vol. 13 : Chester Square (Love and Rockets Collection) (Hardcover)

Chester Square is #13 in the complete Love and Rockets collection, and is written and illustrated by Jaime Hernandez. These L n' R collections are satisfying because they give you a significant chunk of our heroines' lives (and occasional dreams or fantasies). The stories are not always linear and not all the same, so there is no need to start with L and R #1. Los Bros Hernandez had not yet fully developed their voices with their first issues. In fact, I recommend you just grab a collection and start reading (this or "Wigwam Bam" are good places to start). If you like a character or storyline, you can continue to pursue it through some of the other trade paperbacks. Things are much easier to follow in book form than in the comic books.

In "Chester Square," star Hernandez Brother, Jaime, is in fine form and at the peak of his powers. These stories concern the realistic life of former punk-rock chica Maggie (aka Perlita, aka Perla, aka the Maggot, aka Margarita, etc) in her California home and some sketchy areas nearby. In Chester Square she clashes with locals, has a crushing realization of other's perceptions of her, and finds revenge isn't always what it's cracked up to be. She also spends some time with her tia (aunt) who was a pro wrestler and now is a respected wrestling coach. The wrestling stuff is cool, but it's not the main focus. Maggie's internal struggles are the true crux of the story.

Hernandez breathes life into everything in his comics in a way which is almost uncanny. With a few perfect illustrations, he creates a place, Chester Square, and suddenly new characters begin peering at us (and our heroine, Maggie) from dusty doorways. When Xaime draws a group of four women, each person has a perfectly rendered, individual body type. In Jaime's illustrations, all types can be beautiful, and they often are. He still amazes me when he captures a human look or body type I've never seen drawn before. As you read, you'll realize each of these characters has a fully formed personality, way of speaking and personal history. And you'll probably want to know more about all of them.

If you're like most readers, you'll care a lot about Maggie and Hopey. This book is from Maggie's perspective, and for the most part, you really get a chance to get inside her head. And who is usually there? Long time friend, and sometime lover, Hopey. Will they ever realize they should go to Canada and get married? I hope so. Everyone else does!

From the super-cool first splash page, where "Xaime" signs his name on the actual Chester Square motel sign (complete with missing letter) to the semi-resolved relief of the ending, this book is pure sequential literature of the highest quality.

Highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you like "Love and Rockets," you'll love Chester Square, August 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Love and Rockets Vol. 13 : Chester Square (Love and Rockets Collection) (Hardcover)

Chester Square was my first L&R book. I've read almost all of them now, and while the stories in Chester Square are even looser than most L&R's, this has some of Jaime's best art and Maggie is truly at her finest. If you like L&R, especially if you dig Maggie and Hopey - buy Chester Square.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Probably the best of the first L&R series, August 23, 2003

By 

SPM "scott_maykrantz" (Eugene, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love and Rockets Vol. 13 : Chester Square (Love and Rockets Collection) (Hardcover)

If you haven't read Love & Rockets, start here. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is loose, funny, sad, and unlike anything you're read before. Jaime Hernandez writes women better than just about anyone. And he knows when to stop drawing and move on to the next panel.

The only drawback is the length --- I wish he'd write a full-size, 500-page graphic novel. Something that takes a few days to read. Chester Square is a hint of what that would be like.