Mario Hernandez (1) (1953–)

While all of the volumes in the Fantagraphics re-issue series of Love and Rockets are enjoyable, Amor Y Cohetes may be the best volume overall, since it contains a broad cross-section of the talents of the brothers Hernandez, including pieces from the much lesser-known Mario. For his more famous brothers Gilbert and Jaime, this volume provides the opportunity to demonstrate their skills outside of the more familiar environs of Palomar and Hoppers, the well-known settings for their respective core narratives, which have been steadily developing over many years.

What makes Amor Y Cohetes so wonderful is the inclusion of wildly imaginative pieces like Jaime's "Rocky and her Robot Fumble" series (surely some of his best work ever), and Gilbert's clever and kinetic "Music for Monsters" pieces. And some of the one-pagers are brilliant, offbeat, and hilarious as well - Jaime's "El Show De Chota" is one my favorite comics pieces of all time. Even if some of the items in this volume are nothing special (including Mario's rather humdrum contributions), the best pieces carry the weight on their own, and make this volume essential reading for anyone who has caught the Love and Rockets bug.… (meer)