Love and Rockets... where to start?

[Angilas-Man]

I've been wanting to check out this series for a while... but I'm a bit confused as there seems to be multiple, different collections of the material. It's a bit difficult to suss out.

If I want to read the entire series which volumes should I get?

[dupont2005]

http://www.fantagraphics.com/index.p...=76&Itemid=135

These are the editions currently in print. Some reprint the series in chronological order, some reprint only one brothers work at a time. These are the latter. First volume of Jaime's and first volume of Beto's is the best place to start. I think Jaime really gets his groove in vol. 2 but the first one still has important back story and character development, and it's really fun too. Beto nailed his style right from the start. There were lots of fun things outside the Palomar and Hoppers stories you might want to check out in the other volumes, but best to start with the meat of the series I think

[dupont2005]

Also, rumor has it that by ordering from Fantagraphics directly you may receive a signed and/or sketched volume. I discovered that when one of my L&R: New Stories arrived with a Beto sig on the cover. Seems they go through the stacks sometimes and add little doodles here and there. Pretty neat

[Angilas-Man]

^Just found that out. Neat stuff apparently happens when you order from them: you get a free extra Popeye comic when you buy their last Popeye volume directly from them.

Anyway, I'm still a bit confused on L&R: do the newer, digest-sized tpb collect everything from volume 1 and 2? Is some stuff out of print? And aren't there series that are a part of L&R continuity that aren't labeled as part of the main series?

[dupont2005]

It looks like everything is in print but not in the same manner it was in the comics. In the comics the main stories were serialized, giving just a few pages to each per issue, and then there were a handful of odds and ends per issue. As time went on it became more and more about Palomar/Hoppers and the other stories became much less frequent. In the collections they have the hoppers stories reprinted in one series, the Palomar stories reprinted in another series, and all the other stuff lumped into a third series. I doubt they missed anything. If you really want everything though, the original mags aren't all that expensive. The first few issues have been reprinted so the entire series can be bought for in between $1-$5 per issue. It just takes time tracking them down. I'm still missing issues. You might like it that way though. The best editorials and letters pages in comics. I actually quote those editorials on occasion when discussing things like quality of work, schedule, the industry in general, or whatever.

[Johnny P. Sartre]

The Love and Rocket Series are all in the same universe and all built by the Hernandez bros (Mostly Jaime and Gilbert and then Mario would contribute every now and then). They share characters but there are two series, the two series are written by either Jaime or Gilbert. Don't matter which brother you go with, you can read their stories individually.

The first series is the Locas: Maggie, Hopey, and then later Ray stories by Jaime Hernandez and the reading order is:
Maggie the Mechanic, by Jamie Hernandez (Locas Book 1, from Volume I)
The Girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S., by Jamie Hernandez (Locas Book 2, from Volume I)
Perla la Loca, by Jamie Hernandez (Locas Book 3, from Volume I)
Penny Century, by Jamie Hernandez (Locas Book 4)
Esperanza, by Jamie Hernandez (Locas Book 5)

Then there is the Palomar stories by Gilbert Hernandez:
Heartbreak Soup, by Gilbert Hernandez (Palomar Book 1, from Volume I)
Human Diastrophism, by Gilbert Hernandez (Palomar Book 2, from Volume I)
Beyond Palomar, by Gilbert Hernandez (Palomar Book 3, from Volume I)

Then the the Gilbert and Jaime did some stories (miscellaneous stories)together:
Amor Y Cohetes, by Jamie & Gilbert Hernandez (Non-Loca and Palomar comics from Volume I)

Now the series continues in annual trade paperbacks, entitled Love & Rockets: New Stories. To date, four exist:
New Stories, volume 1
New Stories, volume 2
New Stories, volume 3
New Stories, volume 4

[dr chimp]

personally i think you can miss out maggie the mechanic. maggie as a mechanic and rand race are mentioned throughout series but that style of story (a kind of sci-fi) was pretty much abandoned in favour of soap opera / slice of life

[Johnny P. Sartre]

Even if it's not mentioned much, it's a damn great story and with fantastic B&W imagery that has become a staple of the series.

[Angilas-Man]

Okay, I think I have most of this straight, but still: is volume II in the process of being collected into the paperbacks?

[dupont2005]

Okay, I think I have most of this straight, but still: is volume II in the process of being collected into the paperbacks?

I don't know. I got the entire run for super cheap on eBay though

[dupont2005]

personally i think you can miss out maggie the mechanic. maggie as a mechanic and rand race are mentioned throughout series but that style of story (a kind of sci-fi) was pretty much abandoned in favour of soap opera / slice of life

I think it's worth picking up. Issue two is one of my favorite comic stories to date

[dr chimp]

I think it's worth picking up. Issue two is one of my favorite comic stories to date

yeah i phrased that wrongly - i meant if you want to dip your toe in the water see what love and rockets is about i'd say start with volume 2 as that marks the start of the general style of stories to come. volume 1 is def worth a read though - just be aware that its quite different to rest of jaime's work.

but the whole series is just so so good.

[dupont2005]

yeah i phrased that wrongly - i meant if you want to dip your toe in the water see what love and rockets is about i'd say start with volume 2 as that marks the start of the general style of stories to come. volume 1 is def worth a read though - just be aware that its quite different to rest of jaime's work.

but the whole series is just so so good.

Oh yeah, he definitely abandoned the feel of Vol. 1. Too bad. Not that I need dinosaurs in every issue, but I liked not knowing what to expect. I love how Palomar kept it surreal with the occasional ghost or witch.

[dr chimp]

Oh yeah, he definitely abandoned the feel of Vol. 1. Too bad. Not that I need dinosaurs in every issue, but I liked not knowing what to expect. I love how Palomar kept it surreal with the occasional ghost or witch.

yeah thats what i loved about that magazine - jaime and betos art and story telling is so different - yet they compliment each other so well. jaime does keep an element of fantasy in his stories - herve (? penny's husband) and his horns, penny and her superheroine fantasies (which become real much later on) but its much less to the forefront than in volume 1.

ahhh you're in for a treat angilas - love and rockets is the real deal as far as i am concerned. high end work.

[Angilas-Man]

Speak of the devil and he shall appear! Tales of Old Palomar Issue #2 was in the very front of the comic section of a used bookstore I frequent. First of all, it was a lovely bit of construction: oversized, great texture in the kinds of paper used, the neat dust-jackety thing (I'm such a nerd). I understand it's not representational of the entire series, but I liked it a lot.

I'm thinking of starting in earnest with the first Gilbert book and the second Jamie one.