The LOVE AND ROCKETS COMPANION: 30 YEARS (AND COUNTING)

So necessary. I can’t put it down. If you can’t get enough Hernandez Bros work, this one is a must have.

What you can expect: The bulk of this book are the interviews that cover the Hernandez brother's careers from their beginning and to their present. However, one section contains an interview which features none of the Hernandez bros. There is a small amount of art throughout and most of it you will have already seen if you are a long time reader of the Hernandez bros. The second half of the book consists of character timelines, character guides, the bros favorite letters and comics, and finally, a bibliography checklist. The timelines are not very detailed, consisting of a date, a sentence description of the event and the name of the story it happened or was mentioned in. The character guides are pretty much the same with a small head shot (sometimes a question mark), their name, a sentence or two about them, and the story they first appeared in. I think these could have been done better, mentioning which book the stories were collected in would have been nice. As it is, you will have to cross reference to figure out what you need to read/buy to see these events/characters. The letters column I didn't find too interesting. If it was omitted from this book I wouldn't miss it. The section that lists the bros. favorite comics I found much more interesting. No pictures here, just the name of the comic and a comment about it but it's nice to have a list of what influenced them so you can read them too. The bibliography checklist is nice. It is listed chronologically and is separated into sections: comics/sketchbooks, collections/graphic novels, non-love and rockets material, and miscellaneous work. Very helpful when you want to find a particular story like "flies on the ceiling" etc. The cover you see above is actually a poster sized removable foldout family tree for Luba and the "Locas" family and friends printed on very thick paper. Not much detail here, just head shots of characters and lines connecting them and indicating their relationship to each other. Only features key characters such as Maggie, Hopey, Luba and her sisters.OVERALL: Considering the price, I expected a little more out of this book. I'd said it's worth a 20 dollar purchase.

An excellent addition to your L&R collection.

It's ok, because I like biographies. So I liked getting insight into the brothers themselves, but I thought I'd be getting more of the classic drawings. Especially for the price it's good.

The collected interviews are interesting, especially as they span a pretty wide time period. The timeline and character reference section is exhaustive; great as a reference book, not so much for light reading.

For the fan who wants to know more more more! Interviews give more background and context around the Hernandez Bros and their decades of work, which is such a ground-breaking contribution to comics/graphic storytelling world, and Chicano and American culture. I'm always amazed at what they were creating from such young ages. The character guide, family trees, storylines, bibliography etc just emphasize the depth of their work and is cool to review.

Just the kind of reference book warranted by the expansive and detailed universe(s) lovingly created by the Brothers Hernandez over so many years. Combining character guides, interviews and, of course, plenty of imagery, this book is a robust and well-produced volume any L&R fan should own. For those more interested in visuals, though, I would recommend one of the several sketchbooks or, for particular Jaime fans, the recent book from Todd Hignite might be more to your taste.