LOVE AND ROCKETS VOL. IV #4
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS
CARTOONIST: Gilbert Hernandez; Jaime Hernandez
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Gilbert Hernandez
BACK COVER: Jaime Hernandez
VARIANT COVER: Jaime Hernandez
36pp, B&W, $4.99 U.S. (November 2017)
Love and Rockets is the seminal alternative comic book series produced by brothers, Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez. It has been published since 1982 by Fantagraphics Books, where it started out as a magazine-sized comic book that ran for 50 issues (1983 to 1996). It later returned for a 20-issue run as a standard-sized comic book, (Vol II, 2001-2007), and then, it became an annual graphic novel series which ran for eight volumes, Love and Rockets: New Stories (Vol. III, 2008-2016). [It is important to note that Gilbert and Jaime do not collaborate, and that each brother has his own characters and stories.]
In late 2016, Love and Rockets Vol. IV returned the series to its comic magazine format that fans of the original series fell in love with and probably still love and prefer. I prefer the original format, but I understand that for various reasons the brothers and publishers felt the need to initiate format changes at different times.
Under a front cover by Gilbert, Love and Rockets Vol. IV #4 offers six stories and vignettes, two by Gilbert (Beto) and four by Jaime. The issue opens with Gilbert's “Since I Don't Love You,” which finds Pipo Jiminez deciding if she will travel to Palomar for the funeral of Soledad Marquez. The rest of a story is a flashback covering the horrible consequences of the love triangle involving Pipo and Soledad & Manuel (stars of the original L&R story, “Heartbreak Soup”). Later, Killer and Chino take an overview of Killer's... eccentric movie career as she embarks on a singing career.
On the Jaime side of things, the “Locas” girls' punk reunion has come to an end, but Jaime offers a trip back to 1979 and the days of the young punk Locas and Maggie's burgeoning crush on Hopey. Plus, while Maggie's away, Doyle will play, but his playmate, Sonny, specializes in wearing out his welcome. Plus, Doyle learns about the “brick guy” who almost killed him by attempting to smash in his head. There is also some classic, Jaime sci-fi, as sisters Lumina and Isla reunite as the Anima situation turns more intense.
THE LOWDOWN: I have not read an issue of Love and Rockets Vol. IV in almost five years, and that was Love and Rockets Vol. IV #3, which was at least two years old when I read it. I just finished reading #4, which was published in 2017. My, has time passed, but the passing has not confused me when it comes to Love and Rockets, especially as much of this issue is set in the time period the series covered during the first decade of its original run.
Gilbert's tale, “Since I Don't Have You,” recalls the heartbreak that is one of the defining characteristics of the fictional Mexican village of Palomar (the setting of many of Gilbert's stories) and the lives of its denizens. Jaime's 1979 flashback recalls the Maggie and Hopey with whom I fell in love and the early stories in which Jaime essentially honed his craft. I have a crush on Doyle, so any story about him, including this one that goes back to his near-death, I welcome with open arms.
I'll say this for sure: Love and Rockets Vol. IV #4 reminds me that I need to engage another re-read of this series, which means going back to the beginning. I honestly can't say that issue #4 will attract new readers, but it is chicken soup for the L&R fan's soul.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Love and Rockets will want to read Love and Rockets Vol. IV.
A+
10 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
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