Love and Rockets, Vol. 21: The Book of Ofelia

Love and Rockets #21

by Gilbert Hernández

Luba: The Book of Ofelia begins with Luba, Ofelia and company trying to acclimate to life in America, where Luba still has yet to learn English. When Ofelia decides to chronicle her life with Luba in a tell-all book, she discovers inspiration in Luba's young children the one-armed Casimira, Socorro with the photographic memory, the loner Joselito and the silent Conchita. The children lead Ofelia to a seemingly haunted field where the disembodied voice of a baby crying opens the floodgates of memory, even memories Ofelia has spent a lifetime trying to forget. Meanwhile, Hernandez continues to explore the complex, sometimes violent, sexual dramas that are his trademark: Luba's daughter Guadalupe is now married to Gato, who is the ex-husband of Pipo, who happens to be the producer of the TV show starring Luba's other daughter Doralis. Pipo is dating a man named Igor, who once dated Guadalupe. As if that isn't enough, Luba's beautiful, lisping therapist sister Fritz, preoccupied with two different boyfriends famous soccer champion Sergio and gorgeous model Enrique somehow finds time for a third man, Hector, only to change her mind and hook him up with her sister, the bodybuilder Petra. As these characters lives intersect and even more characters come in to the sexually charged fray, things get even more complicated, ultimately with deadly results.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Queer

260 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Gilbert and his brother Jaime Hernández mostly publish their separate storylines together in Love And Rockets and are often referred to as 'Los Bros Hernandez'.

Gilbert Hernandez is an American cartoonist best known for the Palomar and Heartbreak Soup stories in Love and Rockets, the groundbreaking alternative comic series he created with his brothers Jaime and Mario. Raised in Oxnard, California in a lively household shaped by comics, rock music and a strong creative streak, he developed an early fascination with graphic storytelling. His influences ranged from Marvel legends Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko to the humor and clarity of Hank Ketcham and the Archie line, as well as the raw energy of the underground comix that entered his life through his brother Mario.
In 1981 the brothers self-published the first issue of Love and Rockets, which quickly drew the attention of Fantagraphics Books. The series became a defining work of the independent comics movement, notable for its punk spirit, emotional depth and multiracial cast. Gilbert's Palomar stories, centered on the residents of a fictional Latin American village, combined magic realism with soap-opera intimacy and grew into an ambitious narrative cycle admired for its complex characters and bold storytelling. Works like Human Diastrophism helped solidify his reputation as one of the medium's most inventive voices.
Across periods when Love and Rockets was on hiatus, Hernandez built out a parallel body of work, creating titles such as New Love, Luba, and Luba's Comics and Stories, as well as later graphic novels including Sloth and The Troublemakers. He also collaborated with Peter Bagge on the short-lived series Yeah! and continued to explore new directions in Love and Rockets: New Stories.
Celebrated for his portrayal of independent women and for his distinctive blend of realism and myth, Hernandez remains a major figure in contemporary comics and a lasting influence on generations of artists.

Reviews

[StrictlySequential · Rating 4 out of 5]

!〈¨°·•∞«‹-FORTUNATO-›»∞•·°¨〉!*

The longest one- I've FINALLY finished reading it.

A circular train-wreck of soap operatic intrigue but it's interesting in its convolution nonetheless. If you've read all ten of Beto's previous books to know enough about the sprawling cast that is!

Typically I dislike/hate "magic realism" because I find Beto's brand lazy and awkward- a convenient rabbit out of the hat when they write themselves into a corner that doesn't quite fit. When it appears to solve a plot problem I hate it but it can work when the story is entirely based around it I can like/love it as long as it follows the "rules" of the plot proper. A story that can go in any direction at any time isn't really a story to me.

BUT: Throughout the twenty or so books of his that I've devoured there are plenty of enjoyable applications.

*This volume features a character that serves as an exquisite "device"- unleashed to share his magic with all the women. Even you won't be able to resist mysterious and effervescent

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, sexy, tragic, enlightening and joyous - nobody does family better than Beto.

Short stories focus on nearly the whole range of Luba, her family and their extended family - from the frivolous adventures of the children, to Luba and Ofelia's conflicts, to Gato's conflicted and seriously screwed up love - yet total devotion, to Sergio's narcissistic pursuit of Guadalupe, to the burgeoning romance of Petra and Hector - it's not always pretty (though it sometimes is), but it's always incredible to experience.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit I was a little disappointed by this one. I loved the first book of the Luba trilogy so much. This one however was just a bit disorganised. I think it didn't help that the comics in the first half of the book were collected out of order. But there just seemed to be no real change or development in these stories. They mainly focused on Fritz and Pipo and while I normally really like Pipo she's just become a bit dull now. The book seemed to have entirely too much sex with women with big boobs. I never thought I'd claim that was a problem with a book!! But it just got a bit repetative and I wanted more plot and more character development. I think part of the problem was that the stories were all quite short and there wasn't that much in the way of plot because of that. I will get the third book in this series but I'm hoping that it will be a bit different and more in line with the first one.

[Brannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gilbert Hernandez's penultimate collection featuring his Palomar characters (most of whom now live in the US) works beautifully in a few places but not, I'm afraid, as a whole. Some of the scenes featuring Petra's new boyfriend bonding with her daughter Venus over comics or generally fretting over his apparent good romantic fortune are the most compelling, but too much of the book is taken up with romantic/sexual shenanigans that are antic at best and listless at worst; only rarely are they actually entertaining, which is surprising from GH.

[Michael P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the book that finally convinced me to give up on G Hernandez. His reputation for humanely exploring the life and mores in a small Mexican village is well deserved, but in the end too many of the women are not believable. The men are basically ciphers, there to give the women sex or fly off into jealous and violent rages, then retire for more girl-talk. Some story elements are also put me off. As graphic novels go, this is far better than average, but my time is better served with Borges.

[HeavyReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells more tales of Luba and her family--her kids, her sisters, their kids. It's a soap opera, but one I really enjoy.

9-28-14 I just read this book for the second time. I'm staying with a friend and I took her copy to my room. I had forgotten how much nudity (male and female, penis and breasts) and sex (intercourse, oral) are in this book. I wasn't offended by it, just kind of surprised.

[sweet pea · Rating 4 out of 5]

this volume continues the Palomar stories with entertaining, if somewhat fractured, storylines. the characters' ever-shifting relationships and sexualities are intertwined with tales of the characters' past. less compelling than the Palomar stories, but still intriguing.

[Miguelito · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the earlier Love and Rockets so I was excited to find this in the library; it began strong but fizzled in the end trying to tie up all the madness

[Scherrie Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

very X rated.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

2nd in the Luba trilogy, largely from the perspective of the plainer and angry and jealous and critical Ofelia. She gets her stage here. And more of the family stories!