High Soft Lisp

Love and Rockets #25

by Gilbert Hernández

From the pages of Love and Rockets , the life of one of comics’ most seductive heroine. “Five six. Hundred twenty-eight pounds. Forty-three twenty-two thirty-six. High soft lisp. Genius level I.Q.” That’s how motivational speaker Mark Herrera sums up Rosalba “Fritz” Martinez, bombshell, former punkette, former psychiatrist, “Z” movie star ― in this supremely sexy, constantly surprising graphic novel.

And Herrera should know, being only one of many to fall under Fritz’s “lithping” spell―others including slobbish rocker Scott “The Hog” and high school nerd turned obsessive bodybuilder Enrique Escobar (and that’s just her husbands).

Hernandez has taken this suite of stories (including the 48-page graphic novelette “High Soft Lisp”), originally serialized in the second volume of Love and Rockets , and fleshed them out with a dozen brand new pages, creating an original and inventive (and very steamy) volume that, through its connections to his main character Luba (Fritz is Luba’s half sister, and characters from the Luba stories pop up here), works both as a standalone graphic novel and a further exploration of Hernandez’s rich world. 144 pages of b/w comics

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Sequential Art, Graphic Novels Comics, Romance, Comix

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

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

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the tale of self-help scumbag Mark Herrera and his ex-wives, in particular the blimp-chested gal on the cover, Rosalba “Fritz” Martinez. The book takes the form of a collection of short stories; some is good, some is bad - Gilbert Hernandeth’th High Soft Lithp ith all in all a decent comic.

The title story is the longest and, thankfully, the best. It’s a bio of Fritz’s sordid life whose voluptuous body draws the attention of many men whom she willingly lets use her, from her dad to various high school jocks, to wannabe rock stars and sleazy con artists.

You could view Fritz as sad and pathetic if she couldn’t help getting into abusive relationships with clearly damaged men except she keeps putting herself in these positions, so perhaps she likes being used. Gilbert Hernandez doesn’t allow readers into Fritz’s head so we don’t know what she really thinks about it all. And I like that hands-off approach which lends the story artistic ambiguity as well as forces the reader into coming up with their own interpretation.

Despite the grim tone it’s undeniably compelling reading and Fritz is quite a likeable character in remaining so chipper despite hooking up with one creep after another, getting knocked around, etc. The story also features some of Gilbert’s best line-work, which is very precise, masterfully simplistic and measured, and powerfully expressive. There’s also a gratuitous number of graphic sex scenes that turns it into borderline softcore porn! That was unnecessary. And the ending is perhaps the worst Gilbert’s ever done - it just ends on such a sudden and bizarre note!

But, despite the blatant objectification of Fritz’s physique going on, to his credit, Hernandez does make her the most fully realised character in the book. And that’s an important distinction as this book wouldn’t be nearly as interesting if she were just a mindless sex object.

The other stories are much shorter and aren’t nearly as good. The story of Enrique Escobar, the fat high school kid who was jilted by Fritz, was kinda interesting as a weird, if pointless, tangent to the main story. But the Mark stories weren’t all that as he’s not that great a character. His family are douchebags, he quests after something called The Sea Hog, and he rambles on about his various ex-wives and up-and-down career - meh.

There’s also a dream-like story where the characters are spirited away to some castle and Fritz has to belly dance in front of demented old men and a mysterious hooded figure…?? I had no idea what that was about but it was rubbish, as was some nonsense about an obscure TV show called the Phantom of the Campus that Fritz briefly appeared in.

High Soft Lisp is an uneven read but there was enough in here that I enjoyed to say it wasn’t bad. Fritz is a beguiling character who rightly gets the lion’s share of the attention though I can’t say the same for the others and their stories. It’s worth a read though if you’re a Gilbert Hernandez fan but it’s a bit too strange a starting point for new Gilbert readers - for them I’d suggest trying the New Love & Rockets stories and/or Julio’s Day instead.

[Dov Zeller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant, sad, nuanced. The story deepens emotionally as the exaggerations become more absurd. This is a book that gets at the varying distances between people's inner lives and their performed personae. The heart-break is surprising. The sadness of obsessions that keeps people from love (or protect them from it?) Intimacy is dangerous territory in the world of "High Soft Lisp", but not as dangerous as isolation. All of this said, the book is lively and funny and speaks to resilience and resourcefulness as well as loss.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Beto Hernandez volume is about Fritz, the psychotherapist/B movie actress who is also a cousin of Luba. If you want to check out the work of Los Hernandez bros in Love and rockets and Palomar, don't start here. This is backstory about one character, the steamy and tragic story of a woman and all her failed marriages and sexual escapades. Some of it was contained in Love & Rockets, volume 2, though it is (ahem) fleshed out (and how) here, with added stories for greater continuity. It contains short versions of various B movies Fritz was in, including chance in Hell and The Troublemakers, which have made into their own graphic novels, and includes a painful story of her father. Overall, it manages to be as steamily fun and funny as it is sad. Great storyteller, great comics artist, at his best.

[Zack! Empire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would like to start off by saying that the description of this book is misleading. Rosalba Martinez, better know as "Fritz", is one of the main characters of the book, but I would say it's more about her ex-husband, Mark Herrera. The book deals with their relationship, both leading up to their marriage, and after they are divorced.
I liked that this book presented things in a realistic way. Well, realistic fantasy way. There are people in your life who are in your life and it's not really by choice. You may have been friends once, but circumstances require you to keep in contact even after your relationship has run its course. I haven't seen a lot of comics where an author tackled that subject.
The art is stunning. You might be flipping through the book and just seeing all the boobs and sex, but you'd really be missing out if you didn't take the time to look deeper. Gilbert has a great style. It's so perfect for the comics page.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 2 out of 5]

At every turn open-ended... like he was trying to make it difficult to follow.

If you didn't hate her already, then this is your chance- there's very little to like about her in here. I only read this because it's part of my "Love & Rockets" shelf and has so many other characters within.

Beto doesn't know how to write a "genius-level I.Q." because at no point, in all of the volumes she's been in, have I caught a whiff of said intellect anywhere about her persona.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Hernandez bros. offering gives a look at Fritz, the voluptuous, sexy, psycotherapist-turned-B actress- cousin of Luba (see their title Luba for more).

As usual, Gilbert and Beto deliver the story of a woman who makes odd choices. Fritz owns her sexuality but spends it with, frankly, losers. This story is told mostly from the point-of-view of one of her ex-husbands. Fritz is a pretty fascinating character. If you liked Love and Rockets and Luba, you'll enjoy this.

[sweet pea · Rating 3 out of 5]

although this book is ostensibly about Fritz, we view her through others' thoughts, mostly her ex-husband Mark. it's entertaining, of course, because it's Beto. but it certainly doesn't have the depth of some of his other work.

[Tom Ewing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Later Gilbert Hernandez is as usual hard for me to get a grip on - his interests in trashy B-Movies, sex comedy, sweeping family dramas and non-linear storytelling collide and mash-up in unique, provocative ways: one moment you think you're reading exploitative nonsense, the next it feels oddly profound.

"High Soft Lisp", the story - the longest in this collection - is the life of Fritz, the buxom psychotherapist whose character (and lisp) has been a part of Beto's extended universe since the 90s. Level-headed, optimistic, and comfortable with her desires and kinks while having dreadful judgement about who to fulfil them with, Fritz is one of Beto's more likeable characters and it's rough seeing her put through the wringer (sexually and emotionally) by a succession of awful men, especially as she's one of the few characters we don't see into the head of directly. How does Fritz feel about all this? We can only infer, or go on the extremely unreliable narration of the other characters.

The main one being her ex husband, motivational speaker Mark Herrera, who is the protagonist of High Soft Lisp (the wider collection). Herrera is emphatically not a likeable creation, but if Fritz sometimes feels like she's still got one foot in Beto's magic realism stories, Herrera is a more convincing, and convincingly dreadful, character: a familiar enough type, too. He's Fritz's first husband of three, she's his fourth wife of six: he's judgemental, insecure, controlling, vain, a misogynist at heart but the kind who loves to pursue women and obsess over the ones he's driven away. Mark realises on some level how lucky he was to have Fritz's kindness and support - but he's dreadful to her when they're together, and only pines when he's lost her.

Herrera narrates a lot of the short stories - Fritz shows up in most of them. Some are surreal, some bleak, occasionally some are hopeful. Things don't end well for Mark; Fritz, like most of Beto's women, is flawed but more resilient, and complicated, than she looks.

[William Mallory · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of Love & Rockets comics featuring Fritz and her ex-husband shows through vignettes the lives of these characters from high school through to the downward slide of toward obscurity and, for one of them, madness. Each comic is a little slice of genius. While dealing with the subject matter of a B-Movie actress usually hired only for her pneumatic proportions and a man who promotes himself as a motivational speaker and collects more ex-wives than he can count on one hand there is a tendency I think to think of this as a narrative as shallow as the characters in it. But that would be untrue and the story beats are perfectly timed, wrapped occasionally in the magical realism that weaves its way through many of the L&R tales and shows flawed characters driven by their own needs and lusts. Great stuff.

[Chelsea Martinez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have previously read almost all of these stories but still could not resist checking out this collection of all the Fritz Martinez tales in one place. It turns out one of the few I had not read was one of the most traumatic pieces of Fritz'z story, although really when collected here instead of interspersed with Jaime Hernandez stories in Love and Rockets, her whole scene does seem more f---ed than I remembered. Anyhow, these are all told from Mark Herrera's point of view here, and with more of his own saga of ex-wives than I ever paid much attention to, and less of Fritz's sister---It's like a 500 Days of Summer version of Fritz. The story of the cable access show is still one of my favorites.

[Norman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a little confusing to grasp as a narrative, and I feel like I'm missing a lot of backstory (is this book a collected serial thing? Am I supposed to infer all the details? Is this from Love and Rockets?). HOWEVER, it's so brilliantly done. I loved Fritz and Mark Herrera. The struggle to maintain a steady relationship is kind of a metaphor for keeping sanity while having a career at moves in one way. I dunno, I know I was confused with the paneling and had moments of longing for more detail, but I just loved the book.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beto's latest collection showcases some of his most brutal and ugly writing, as we track the downward spiral of Fritz and her ex-husband Mark Herrera. Both vain, Fritz insecure and Mark too-secure, capable of utterly debasing themselves to feel worthwhile, reading this book is tragic and heartbreaking. Very good stuff, though I feel Beto relies on the titillation factor a little more than necessary.

[Stephane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprising depth hidden behind the quasi-pornographic illustrations. Depth of characters, but also depth of the quiet tragedy of everyday life. I enjoyed it more than I though I would.

[Juan Gomez]

Completing a cycle.

This compilation fills out Fritz's lifestory and gives it a soft and somewhat sad epilogue. Well worth your time and money.

[Vee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cool tale by Gilbert Hernandez. I'm a fan.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This backstory explores new territory in Fritzie's painful youth and failed marriages. Sometimes hard to read, but worth the pathos.

[Rolando · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contains one really good story--"Fritz After Dark."

[William Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

All too often, the Hernandez Bros work is heart-achingly heartbreaking.

[Mejix · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the sections was included in the Best American Comics book, I believe 2007. First time I read it I really enjoyed it. Reading it in the context of the book it seemed to me less interesting.

[Anthony Faber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stories centered on Luba's half-sister Fritz, from her teens to late middle age.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

really fantastic.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not quite at the same level, in my opinion, as his usual work, alas. Still very readable, though.