Любовь и ракеты: История братьев Эрнандес

Comic book series by the Hernandez brothers

Love and Rockets (often abbreviated L&R) is a comic book series by the Hernandez brothers: Gilbert, Jaime, and Mario. It was one of the first comic books in the alternative comics movement of the 1980s. The Hernandez brothers produce stories in the series independently of each other. Gilbert and Jaime produce the majority of the material, and tend to focus on particular casts of characters and settings. Those of Gilbert usually focus on a cast of characters in the fictional Central American village of Palomar; the stories often feature magic realist elements. The Locas stories of Jaime center on a social group in Los Angeles, particularly the Latin American friends and sometime lovers Maggie and Hopey.

The brothers Gilbert, Jaime, and Mario Hernandez self published the first issue of Love and Rockets in 1981. In 1982, Fantagraphics Books republished this issue with a color cover. The series was published at magazine size, larger than typical American comic books. Either Gilbert or Jaime, the series' main contributors, would provide the front cover for a given issue, and the other the back; they alternated these duties each issue. The first volume ended with the 50th issue in 1996. The second volume ran for twenty issues from 2001 to 2007 in standard US comic book size. A third series, Love and Rockets: New Stories, which ran for eight issues, began in 2008, published annually in 100 page, graphic novel sized issues. In 2016, the series returned to its original, magazine sized format.

The Hernandez brothers self published the first issue of Love and Rockets in 1981, but since 1982 it has been published by Fantagraphics Books. The brothers sent a copy of their self published comic to The Comics Journal, an imprint of Fantagraphics, for a review. Gary Groth was so impressed with it that the company offered them a publishing deal. The magazine temporarily ceased publication in 1996 after the release of issue #50, while Gilbert and Jaime went on to do separate series involving many of the same characters. However, in 2001 "Los Bros Hernandez" (as they are often referred to) revived the series as Love and Rockets Volume 2. Love and Rockets contains several ongoing serial narratives, the most prominent being Gilbert's Palomar stories and Jaime's Hoppers 13 (aka Locas) stories. It also contains one offs, shorter stories, surrealist jokes, and more. Palomar tells the story of a fictional village in Latin America and its inhabitants. Its vibrant characters and sometimes fantastic events are sometimes compared to the magical realism literary style of authors such as Gabriel García Márquez and Jorge Luis Borges. The series is also sometimes referred to as Heartbreak Soup, after the first story set in Palomar. Hoppers 13 follows the tangled lives of a group of primarily chicano characters, from their teenage years in the early days of the California punk scene to the present day. Hoppers, or Huerta, is a fictional city based on the Hernandezes' home town of Oxnard, California. Two memorable members of Jaime's cast are Margarita "Maggie" Luisa Chascarrillo and Esperanza "Hopey" Leticia Glass, whose on again, off again romance is a focus for many Hoppers 13 storylines. The series is also often called Locas (Spanish for "crazy women") because of the many quirky female characters depicted. The original runs of Palomar and Locas have each been collected in recent one volume editions by Fantagraphics (see Palomar (graphic novel)), although not all of the stories involving "Locas" and "Palomar" characters are contained in these collections. The original fifty issue Love and Rockets Volume One has also been reprinted in its entirety in both a fifteen volume paperback library, and more recently a seven volume mass market paperback series by Fantagraphics. In addition, several hardcovers collect edited versions of the series tales. Many attempts have been made to make L&R into a movie, or series of movies. The movie rights had been held up in litigation for over 15 years. Gilbert Hernandez publicly announced in Toronto, Ontario in May 2013 that a deal had been struck to make a movie out of his "Palomar" story line and that he was currently writing the script.

Margarita Luisa "Maggie" Chascarrillo: called "Perla" by her family; best friend (and occasional girlfriend) of Hopey; otherwise dates men, most prominently Ray Dominguez. She befriended Hopey in the punk rock scene of their southern Californian hometown and briefly becomes a world travelling mechanic who goes on science fiction flavored adventures in the early issues. Maggie and Hopey were ranked #95 on Wizard Magazine's 200 Greatest Comic Book Characters of all time. Esperanza Leticia "Hopey" Glass: sharp tongued, wild and adventurous best friend of Maggie. A lesbian who plays bass in a series of punk bands, often touring and furthering her adventures/story. Beatríz "Penny Century" García: bombshell friend to Maggie/Hopey and wife of the ridiculously wealthy H. R. Costigan. She aspires to become a superhero. Isabel Maria "Izzy" Ortiz Reubens: Friend/mentor to Maggie and a sister of Speedy. Izzy is a writer who suffers a nervous breakdown after a divorce/abortion, becoming a notorious "witch lady" in Hoppers. Daphne "Daffy" Matsumoto: a rich, naive young friend of Maggie and Hopey who is a prominent supporting character in the early comics, but later goes off to college. Ray Dominguez: one of Maggie's boyfriends, a painter. Jaime follows his life from Hoppers to LA. Doyle Blackburn: Ray's childhood friend, who struggles with a history of violence. Rena "La Toña" Titañon and Vicki Glori: championship rivals in the world of women's Mexican wrestling. Rena is Maggie's friend and (through her many adventures) a loved (and hated) Latin American revolutionary icon. Vicki, later a wrestling coach and league official, is Maggie's aunt and her guardian during her Huerta years. Danita Lincoln: Maggie's coworker at Vandy's. She dates Ray after Maggie leaves town, also works as a stripper with Doyle's girlfriend Lily. H. R. Costigan: horned billionaire who has an open marriage with Penny Century. Theresa "Terry" Downe: talented, cold, pretty guitar player who still pines for ex girlfriend Hopey. Rand Race: handsome, world famous mechanic who hires Maggie and takes her on adventures, oblivious to her crush on him because of his infatuation with former girlfriend Penny Century. Eulalio "Speedy" Ortiz: Isabel's brother, a member of the local "Hoppers" gang, shared a mutual crush on Maggie until his untimely death. The character is the inspiration for the popular rock group Speedy Ortiz. Esther Chascarillo: Maggie's younger sister. Maggie calls her "Esther Babies" or "Babies". She has a brief relationship with Speedy.

This list provides an example of the types of stories that helped Love and Rockets gain critical acclaim.

Mechanics – the original "Maggie the mechanic" story, in which Maggie travels to Africa with a group of mechanics and becomes caught in the middle of a political revolution. Introduced Jaime's artwork and storytelling style. The Death of Speedy – Jaime moves away from the "Maggie the mechanic" stories to permanently settle on adventures in Maggie's personal life. Maggie's longtime crush Speedy dies in his car either by suicide or a rival gang (it's left ambiguous). She also begins dating the understated artist Ray. Flies on the Ceiling – the story of Izzy Reubens' nervous breakdown in Mexico, where she moves after an abortion and a divorce. Wigwam Bam – Hopey leaves Maggie and her hometown of Hoppers to find adventures, dealing with being too old for her punk rock lifestyle. Home School – using Peanuts and Dennis the Menace inspired artwork, Jaime tells the story of toddler Maggie and slightly older Isabel becoming friends under the shadow of fighting parents. The Ghost of Hoppers – grown up Maggie, now an apartment manager in the San Fernando valley, sees visions of ghosts after a creepy visit from Izzy (from Love and Rockets Vol. 2). The Love Bunglers – a middle aged Maggie comes into her own and comes to terms with Hopey and Ray (from Love and Rockets: New Stories #3–4).

Heartbreak Soup – first Palomar story. Tells the story of notorious ladies' man Manuel, and his affair with beautiful 14 year old Pipo, and its effect on his friendship with repressed misanthrope Soledad. An American in Palomar – a self important American photographer tries to frame Palomar as a downtrodden, poverty stricken town to further his own career. For the Love of Carmen – a one issue meditation on the marriage of Heraclio and Carmen Calderon, citizens of Palomar. Human Diastrophism (also known as Blood of Palomar) – Palomar's residents hunt for a serial killer as Luba finds herself helplessly in love with a young construction worker, and hard partying Tonantzín becomes politically active. Published in book form under the title Blood of Palomar. Poison River – an immensely complex story of Luba's pre Palomar life. Details a plot involving the Mexican government, the mob, trans women, racist comic books, and Luba's beauty queen mother and indigenous laborer father. Love and Rockets X – mostly set outside of Palomar, a young, white garage band named Love and Rockets runs into racism between blacks and whites; as well as clashes between rich and poor through Los Angeles. Set near the time of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

In 2016, Fantagraphics began releasing Volume IV of Love and Rockets.