Locas II: Maggie, Hopey & Ray (Love & Rockets)
Starred Review. This omnibus edition starring Hernandez's cast of young L.A. denizens from the pages ofLove & Rocketsand spinoffs was previously collected in the volumesDicks and Deedees,Locas in Love,Ghost of HoppersandThe Education of Hopey Glass, but collectors and new readers will like the deluxe hardcover treatment. These stories show the cast past their punk years, away from their youthful dreams but toward what may or may not be maturity. It's hard to be sure whether Hopey will settle into her teacher's assistant job, whether Maggie can be content managing a fleabag motel or whether insecure, obsessive Ray will reconnect with Maggie. The Locas stories jump back and forth in time and place, and inside and outside the characters' minds. Avoiding a tight plot, events become known and felt through characters' responses, glimpses, suggestions, fragments of revelations, adding up to an astonishingly rich and convincing picture of uncertain, developing human relationships. Besides the masterful storytelling, the book is notable for superb black and white artwork. Panel by panel and page by page, it's a delight to watch darkness crowding into open space, while supple linework dances freely in its allotted territory. This is a landmark in comics literature.(Sept.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.