Marble Season
In his Love and Rockets stories, Hernandez frequently depicted the children in his fictional village of Palomar with insight and sensitivity. In his latest work, the focus is solely on youngsters, particularly preadolescent Huey—seemingly an autobiographical surrogate for Hernandez—who enjoys a halcyon suburban existence with his brothers, teenager Junior and toddler Chavo. With their friends—mostly Hispanic, although little is made of their ethnicity—they idly spend their days reading funnybooks, swapping trading cards, listening to the Top 20 (especially the “Beatos”), and playacting homemade Cold War spy dramas. This will resonate with baby boomers who, like Hernandez, grew up in the 1960s; younger readers may be bemused or baffled by the quaint forms of predigital entertainment. Hernandez’s art, fitting the subject matter, leans toward the cartoony edge of his range, mostly utilizing medium shots of his young cast and a simple six-panel grid. Hernandez’s fans will likely read this with trepidation, waiting for something dark and disturbing to upend the placidity, but the artist’s softer side prevails throughout this charming if intentionally slight work. --Gordon Flagg