Love & Rockets Vol. 8: Blood of Palomar [Paperback]

Jaime Hernandez (Author), Gilbert Hernandez (Author), Los Bros. Hernandez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 29, 1996

A serial killer stalks the streets of Palomar. Gruesome and senseless as his depredations are, they are dwarfed by the resulting social and psychological collapse suffered by the inhabitants of the Central American town.

The most explosive "Heartbreak Soup" story ever, Blood of Palomar originally ran in Love and Rockets v. 1's issues #21-26. In this saga, a serial killer stalks the streets of Palomar. Gruesome and senseless as his depredations are, they are dwarfed by the resulting social and psychological collapse suffered by the inhabitants of the tiny Central American village. Featuring all the "Heartbreak Soup" players — Heraclio, Luba, Tonantzín, Carmen, Pipo — Blood of Palomar is a true graphic novel, a masterpiece of comics that can hold its own next to any piece of literature. Black-and-white comics throughout

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Fifty issues--collected into 15 volumes that total 2,000 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.

About the Author

Gilbert Hernandez lives in Las Vegas, NV with his wife and daughter. He is co-creator of the long-running, award-winning, and critically-acclaimed series Love and Rockets. His books include Chance in Hell, The Troublemakers, Luba, Palomar, Speak of the Devil, Sloth, The High Soft Lisp, Love from the Shadows, Girl Crazy, Yeah! and many books in the Love and Rockets series. 

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books (May 29, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560970057
• ISBN-13: 978-1560970057
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #405,296 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner from Gilbert; maybe the best HB Soup story, September 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Love & Rockets Vol. 8: Blood of Palomar (Paperback)

Gilbert Hernandez outdid himself with every new installment of "Heartbreak Soup". As he took his characters through each realistic and dramatic experience, they grew more lifelike, and the reader gained something close to friendship with then. Every one of his stories of Palomar affected me in a way; this one probably had the greatest impact.

The book begins with a few typical, cute Palomar stories (one of the most brilliant things Gilbert did was to jump the characters ahead 10 years, and look back once in a while; he created instant nostalgia), then launches into its centrepiece, the 100+ page "Human Diastrophism". This is a brilliant story that juggles three or four subplots at a time with ease. Luba's journey through family-abusing depression, regression into lust, and her final success at reclaiming her dignity is poignant and unforgettable. Marciela and Riri's romance unfolds slowly and is eventually revealed as the foundation of the whole story. Tonzantzin's pathetic, cathartic, and tragic story is the biggest suprise her; she had been pigeonholed as the town slut, and a 2-D figure, but by the end you can't help but feel sympathy for her. And there's a murder mystery, too; sometimes I wonder why I bother to write comics when Gilbert has already perfected them.

Please, please don't be an intellectual snob and disregard this as a "funnybook". Pick up the book; Blood of Palomar and the other 14 Love and Rockets paperbacks deserve a place at the table of the great works of the century.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars lurid, dynamic, sage storytelling, August 8, 2005

By 

W. A. Nericcio "editor | sdsupress" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love & Rockets Vol. 8: Blood of Palomar (Paperback)

a marriage of the visions of frida kahlo, the tales of carlos fuentes (think AURA), the humanity of gabriel garcia marquez, gilbert hernandez's opus THE BLOOD OF PALOMAR redefines the novel for an american late 20th century that found literature in flux: think pynchon, or vonnegut, or, even, warhol or coppola. his is a tale of art, murder, love, loss, and desire that few others could tell.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps my very favorite Love & Rockets volume., October 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Love & Rockets Vol. 8: Blood of Palomar (Paperback)

Although the premise (a serial killer is stalking the Central American town of Palomar) initially stuck me as a bit over the top, the execution more than makes up for it. The murders become almost secondary to the human drama of the residents of the town, as families are pulled apart, reunited, and the entire town struggles with an invasion of demonic monkeys. All this, and Luba too! A fantastic book, that I find stays with you long after you've actually put it down.