Children of Palomar and Other Tales: A Love and Rockets Book Vol 15

Love and Rockets Library #15

by Gilbert Hernández, Mario Hernández

This comics omnibus includes the graphic novels  Julio’s Day  and The Children of Palomar , as well as never-before-collected work by brothers Mario and Gilbert Hernandez, some of which has never been available since its early 2000s run in comic book single issues. Children of Palomar and Other Tales (the fifteenth volume in our Complete Love and Rockets Library omnibuses and the eighth Gilbert volume) begins with “Me for the Unknown,” uncollected since its original 2001–2004 run in Love and Rockets Vol. II comic books. Written by Mario Hernandez and drawn by Gilbert Hernandez, it traces the Rabelaisian journey of Tagg Lillard. A U.S. citizen with a seemingly perfect life working in Latin America, he escapes a death trap clutching important papers, and an imperious CEO and his manservant pursue him through a land plagued by colonialist/corporate greed. Also one of their joints from 2008, “Chiro el Indio.” In The Children of Palomar suite of short stories (2006–2007; collected in 2013), there are many mysterious visitors, an apparition that haunts childless women, and readers learn how Chelo lost her eye. And in Julio’s Day , which originally ran from 2001–2008 and was collected in 2013, a man’s life―threaded with war, loss, illness, and forbidden love―spans a century. Black-and-white illustrations throughout

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics

242 pages, Paperback

First published January 17, 2023

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

[Drew Canole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collects three of Gilbert's stories - Me For the Unknown (written by Mario), Julios Day, Children of Palomar. Most people have probably already read the latter two in early books. It was my first time reading Me for the Unknown - it's a pretty interesting story but feels a bit too complicated for its own good with tons of characters but has lots of intrigue too for such a short story.

[Neil Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obviously, the expensive collection of the first 50 issues of Love & Rockets has the spotlight, but you must not sleep on this. Some of Gilbert's finest (and Mario, mustn't forget Mario) is herein, from the rollicking merry go-round of blood that is Me & The Unknown, Julio's Day: one of the best Criterion films never made, and the haunting* titular series revisiting Gilbert's Palomar era

*(in part due to the shift of genre practically on the level of From Dusk 'Til Dawn)

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no idea about the numbering of various omnibus volumes of Love and Rockets, work from Los Bros—Gilbert and Jaime—and in this one, other bro Mario gets space. This says it is Love and Rockets LIbrary #15 but another volume seems to also occupy that space? Or this is an omnibus so it’s a separate thing? Anyway, I love Beto’s Palomar series, which he basically has worked on for most of twenty years, so was happy to see this was out in 1/23.

This collects three parts, two of which I had read and reviewed before, but hey, a new book, Beto, come on, it’s an event. One part is the graphic novel, Julio’s Day, and another graphic novel is Children of Palomar. All of the 278 pages were drawn by Beto, and all but the first (weird) story, Mario’s Me for the Unknown, were written by Beto. Oh, and a few pages also written by Mario, Chiro el Indio, are tacked on at the end.

The titular Children of Palomar? I very much like the Palomar saga extending into a new generation. I reviewed this elsewhere. It’s lively, fun, thoughtful. I love that world.

Julio’s Day ran from 2001–2008 and was collected in 2013, and focuses on one man’s life over 100 years of the twentieth century-- war, loss, illness, forbidden love.

“Me for the Unknown,” uncollected since its original 2001–2004 run in Love and Rockets Vol. II comic books is Mario’s story, not at all like Jamie’s or Beto’s writing. It’s the story of Tagg Lillard, a U.S. citizen working in Latin America. Thriller material, Tagg escapes with important papers, pursued by a CEO and his evil capitalist/colonialist/greedy team. I had a hard time following it.

I gave Julio’s Day and Children of Palomar each 4 stars when I first read them, and I’ll stick to that rating for the collected volume, though I technically should rate it lower because of the Mario work. But if you have no experience with the many volumes of the Love and Rockets and Palomar universes, developed over decades, get going beginning with their early stuff. You can either begin with LA punk eighties stuff from Jaime, or the south of the border Palomar world of Beto. You can’t go wrong.

[Rick Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Children of Palomar and Other Tales" is the fifteenth volume of the Love and Rockets Library primarily collecting the titular "Children of Palomar" along with "Julio's Day" and the previously uncollected "Me For the Unknown" (written by the third Hernández brother, Mario). "Julio's Day" remains one of my absolute favorite Beto comics of all time, while "Children of Palomar" collects fantastic little vignettes that flesh out his side of the Love and Rockets series very well. "Me For the Unknown" is the main story here that was a completely new read for me, and it's a fun one involving corporate greed and colonialism. It's not all that polished unfortunately, with some sections a little challenging to follow.

[Richard Clay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gilbert Hernandez at his best is a fine artist and as a writer, I can think of no one living to beat him and not many to equal him. Julio's Day is one of his finest, characterised by the sparsest dialogue, long silences and characters' facial expressions expressive enough to break your heart. It requires no knowledge of Hernandez' earlier work. Children of Palmar, by contrast, is part of a bigger story arc but, read in the context of that arc, makes a worthy contribution to a huge and an important fictional world - one of the most essential achievements of the fiction of the past fifty years.

[Ronald Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories! There is intrigue, danger, humor, and enlightenment. The characters of this town, Palomar, do their best to get by in a variety of circumstances. While there is poverty, there is no poverty of the imagination on the part of the characters and the authors. The visual impact has a timeless quality to it.

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not always able to fully follow the story, but I AM always able to LOVE the art!

[Joshua Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

a few stories on the outskirts of the Palomar universe, Beto never disappoints.

[Michael Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seeing the continuation of stories adds layers to the Memory Palace that is Palomar.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Gilbert (with a little bit of Mario, too!) collection. Love and Rockets is a National Treasure.