Whoa, Nellie! [Paperback]

Jaime Hernandez (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Brothers Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez's Love & Rockets (1981-96) comics were some of the most innovative and best known in the new generation of comics targeting a mainly adult audience through complex characters and sometimes sexual themes. Here they return with separate books largely building on those works with varying success. Jaime's volume collects the first four issues of Penny Century, his most recent comic, while featuring familiar Love & Rockets characters. Locas in Love consists of mature sight gags and parallel storylines focusing on possibly the brothers' most famous creations, Maggie & Hopey and Penny Century, a wealthy woman who indulges in her fantasies, often at the emotional expense of her willing victims. Also included in this book is the Eisner Award-winning story "Home School." Jaime is an accomplished storyteller, and although the storylines concern themselves with the characters' ongoing search for love sometimes portrayed graphically the stories are driven by character development. Gilbert's book collects a series of short stories, some focusing on familiar Love & Rockets characters, such as Roy, and some featuring new characters. In this disjointed collection, the stories are too short to develop fully, and this reader found the instances of nudity gratuitous. Love & Rockets is an essential piece of recent comic book history, but libraries should consider adding earlier books such as The Death of Speedy or Poison River before purchasing these collections. Libraries that already have close to a full run should consider adding Locas in Love but can safely pass on Fear of Comics. Stephen Weiner, Maynard P.L., MA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books (July 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560973838
• ISBN-13: 978-1560973836
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 7.6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,119,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sure Quality, High Entertainment, August 6, 2000

By 

James Roche "cooljames" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Whoa, Nellie! (Paperback)

This comic is an absolute treasure. After purchasing the book at a comic shop, I spent my first few minutes paging through the various images, reading every third page or so, on the subway ride home. At a random glance, the artwork is of such high quality, every emotion is immediately obvious. A complete read of the book gave a lot more insight into the genius of this work.

The book is about a women's wrestling tag team, and sticks to the idea of ugly, mean wrestlers rather than implant-happy models. The main characters are lifelong friends who try to make it into the higher ranks of the league. What they don't expect is that the other ladies mean business. The pages with dialog lay out the story in humble detail, the way that the Hernandez brothers do best. When the matches begin, however, you see their true skill. Without a word, you can 'read' the progression of the matches. From beginning to end, you literally see the topsy-turvy battle, shifting from one team's favor to the next, until the end of the match. No words, just pictures. It's great, I'd recommend it to anyone patient enough to read into the images. Definitely unique and an absolute delight to read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If Rocky deserved an Oscar than this deserved a Pulitzer, August 10, 2001

By 

Brian Almquist "-baa-" (Iowa City, IA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whoa, Nellie! (Paperback)

This book collects a three-issue series that Jaime Hernandez created shortly after the initial gazillion-year run of LOVE AND ROCKETS. Those familiar with Jaime's work will be comfortable with his simplified drawing and eminently likable characters.

WHOA, NELLIE! is a wholesale tribute to women's wrestling -- the book contains several pages of "pin-ups" -- that contains all the narrative ups and downs of an actual bout. Rules are broken, the goods guys are winning, the good guys are losing, and then, well, anyway, it's all about loyalty. Xochitl "The Terrible" and Gina are an aspiring tag-team that appeared initially in LOVE AND ROCKETS. Working out of Vicki Glory's stable, they have to fight each other, several formidable opponents (including the terrifying Birmingham Lady Bashers), and, of course, the weird distortions of reality forced on the players in the wrestling universe. Who can be sure of their standing in the pecking order if you can't remember whether you're "good" or "bad" depending on which part of Texas you're in?

The dreams and friendships of Xochitl and Gina are innocent and naive, and their about to get stomped by some old fashioned real-world politics. WHOA, NELLIE! is a classic sports story, told in an entirely unique fashion. A thoroughly gratifying read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The cover says it all, December 5, 2008

By 

lakeqi - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Whoa, Nellie! (Paperback)

In Western art women are generally portrayed supine and prone. Just look at the cover, the genius of the layout should indicate the genius of the artist. Jaime Hernandez provides yet another out of body experience, and of course in typical Hernandez style the story is just as good as the art.