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

Jaime Hernandez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 27, 2004

One of the great American novels of the last 30 years, graphic or otherwise. Created over 15 years from 1981-96 in the pages of the legendary comic Love and Rockets and collected here in a giant deluxe hardcover.

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 30 years, graphic or otherwise. Created over 15 years from 1981 to 1996 in the pages of the legendary comic book series Love and Rockets, 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 the 1970s 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 Jaime's 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.

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?"

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

These superb stories from the nearly 20-year run of Love and Rockets define a world of Hispanic gang warfare, '80s California, punk rock, women wrestlers and the subtle battle to stay true to oneself. Hernandez's main characters are Maggie and Hopey, two adorable lesbian rockers who start out in a somewhat vague relationship and are then are separated by adventures both grand and demeaning. Maggie is a magnificent comics character, a tempestuous naïf who wears her heart on her sleeve when she's not throwing it at a succession of bad boys who ignore her, even though Hopey is secretly the love of Maggie's life. Hopey, a mohawked imp, is more opaque, a symbol of the youthful rebellion of punk rock that all the characters are trying to return to in some way, even as real life sweeps them further away from their dreams. Maggie's weight gain over the years sends her self-esteem on a downward spiral, while Hopey goes on an endless tour with a band. Along the way, Hernandez gradually peels away the strip's early sci-fi trappings (dinosaurs and rocket ships) to create a devastatingly naturalistic world. Sharp b&w drawings capture the characters in minute detail with a wide range of emotions. Finally collected into one volume, these stories are among the greatest comics ever put to paper, and an essential piece of the literature of the punk movement.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* On the heels of the massive compilation of his brother Gilbert's stories of Palomar [BKL O 1 03], Jaime, the other half of the Love and Rockets team, collects 15 years of his comics about a group of young woman in the L.A. barrio into an equally impressive, 700-page saga. The series centers on the stormy but enduring relationship between the charmingly insecure Maggie and her abrasive soul mate, Hopey, but is roomy enough for a huge cast of vivid supporting characters. Beginning as a soap opera set against a backdrop of rocket ships and dinosaurs, Maggie and Hopey's adventures swiftly morphed into a sprawling, humanistic epic based in the Southern California punk-rock scene and encompassing street gangs, strip clubs, and women's wrestling. Maggie, Hopey, and the rest of the cast developed rapidly, as did Jaime's drawing skills, quickly becoming some of the most engaging characters and most elegantly expressive artwork in all of comics. As the cast aged, it became clear that the series' most poignant themes were the passage of time, squandered youth, and missed opportunities. Back in the 1980s, Love and Rockets was the coolest comic around; as this essential volume attests, Jaime's opus is much more than cool--it's classic. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 712 pages
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books (October 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156097611X
• ISBN-13: 978-1560976110
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.9 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #507,737 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best comic dramas ever written., November 26, 2004

By 

Robert Berry "retroCRUSH.com Webmaster" (Sacramento, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Locas: The Maggie and Hopey Stories (Love & Rockets) (Hardcover)

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...

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 20 seconds into 20 years, October 30, 2004

By 

that "wierdguy" (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Locas: The Maggie and Hopey Stories (Love & Rockets) (Hardcover)

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.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Our Wives Look Best To Us, April 16, 2005

By 

Johnny Heering "trivia buff" (Bethel, CT United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Locas: The Maggie and Hopey Stories (Love & Rockets) (Hardcover)

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.