25 Years

A quarter century is a long damn time to be doing any one thing, especially in this day and age. A career is no longer a lifelong commitment, marriages end in divorce more often than not, and technology moves so quickly that the brilliant achievement of yesterday becomes the dimestore novelty of tomorrow.

So perhaps it's a good idea to mark the 25th anniversary of Jaime and Gilbert (and occasionally Mario) Hernandez's work on the iconic alternative comic book series, Love & Rockets, with just a little bit of pomp. And since Fantagraphics has been with the boys since the beginning (excluding the earliest, self-published issues), who better to help them celebrate?

The Fantagraphics retail store in Seattle was the site of two Love & Rockets events this weekend, starting with a reception party on Saturday night, and followed up with a panel discussion, Q&A session, and book signing this afternoon.



Saturday's reception was jam-packed. It was a crowd that spanned generations, from original fans of the book to new readers just discovering the series. Jaime and Gilbert were obviously the center of attention, hanging out near the central table to sign books and chat with fans. There was also a gallery of original artwork from the comics on display on the wall, with Jaime showcasing a selection of pages from throughout his career, and Gilbert focusing on his recent project, New Tales of Old Palomar. The artwork will remain up until March 7, for those interested in seeing it, and I'd highly recommend checking it out if you're in the area.



Of course, all the old familiar Love & Rockets material was in stock and prominently displayed for the event, from the original magazine sized issues, to the collected books, and the newer comic-sized issues of Volume 2. But there was also a limited edition screen-printed poster, featuring artwork by both brothers, in black red and transparent inks, and also the first two volumes of the newly revised collection of the first series, titled Maggie the Mechanic and Heartbreak Soup. The new volumes are larger than the "manga-like" size I was expecting, closer to 2/3 of the size of the old collections, but much thicker. They're also organized much differently, with each of the first two volumes focusing on one brother each, which should make the series easier to pick up for newcomers.



After a couple of free High Lifes, some signatures, and some spot-the-cartoonist (we noticed Jim Woodring in attendance), we headed home, anticipating the next days panel.

We showed up early, which turned out to be a good idea, since there were only 8 chairs set up when we arrives. Turns out that's all the chairs there would be. Early comers mingled and browsed for a while, before quickly settling in, leaving those who showed up afterwards to stand around the perimeter and near the door of the store.



The panel discussion, moderated by Fantagraphics founder Gary Groth, kicked off shortly after 1:00. Over the next hour, the Bros. reflected on the history of their comic, their working methods, and any other topic that came up. One of the first questions was about the way their work affected each other. Jaime said that seeing Beto working at his best motivated him to step up his own game when he needed to, and Beto thought that relying on the quality of Jaime's work to carry half the comic meant that he could tackle material he might not try on his own.

They also spoke a little bit about working outside of Fantagraphics. Jaime recently had a series of one-page strips published in the New York Times Magazine, a job he almost turned down. Groth convinced him to tackle the project though, and after struggling with what to say to audience of 1 million readers, decided to give them what he's best at: a story about Maggie Chascarillo. Scheduling proved difficult, and Jaime ended up requesting 2 extra weeks finish his story. When that turned out to be impossible, he ended it more quickly than he would have liked. But a longer version will appear in the next collected volume, with more pages and the swearing put back in.

Beto has also worked in other venues, most notably on limited run books and graphic novels for Dark Horse and DC/Vertigo. The major difference in his experience was with editorial control; not so much struggling over content, but just procedural differences, like having to submit a multi page plot outline to DC in advance. This differs quite a bit from Groth's editorial style, which seems to be more hands-off, and rely on the artist's desire to tell their own story in their own way.

One man asked about how their writing and drawing processes intertwined, and how strictly the stories were written before being drawn. Both of them seemed to prefer working from a loose plot idea, or even just a setting, and figuring out the story as it's drawn, knowing what direction it needs to head in. Jaime even felt like he knew his characters well enough that he could just put them in a situation and they would write the story for him in some ways.

Their day to day lives as cartoonists came up in passing, with Jaime mentioning that a lot of people he knows don't know what he does, and he dreads having to explain it and field questions from people who think he's an animator or something.

Another guest wondered if there would ever be a Birdland 2 (referring to Beto's erotic comic book), but Beto seemed to feel like he'd done what he wanted to do with that book, and he didn't want to draw pornographic material just as a way to make quick cash, like many older artists seem to end up doing (Wally Wood was mentioned specifically at this point). Groth also reminded Beto that he'd complained about being tired of drawing anuses at the time.

I'm working from memory, so there's plenty of interesting bits from the panel that I'm probably forgetting, but those are some of the ones that stuck out in my mind at least. It was nice to see that even after 25 years and mounds of critical praise, both of them remain pretty humble about their work. They seem both pleasantly surprised, and rather grateful to have the opportunity to make their living drawing material based on their own lives and interests, on their own terms. Hopefully that attitude will carry them well in their second twenty five years.