The Children of Palomar
Although Hernandez ended his Heartbreak Soup series in the pages of the Love and Rockets comic in 1996, those stories set in the fictional Latin American town of Palomar remain his most celebrated work. Hernandez returned to Palomar seven years ago with a trilogy of interconnected tales revisiting the town and its unforgettable inhabitants, now collected in this volume. In the first, Sheriff Chelo tries to stop a pair of cagey, lightning-fast thieves who are stealing food right from the hands of the townspeople. The second follows some troublemaking youngsters as they explore a mysterious chasm, where they discover an encampment of strange visitors and get a glimpse of the villagers’ fates. Finally, fried-babosa peddler Tonantzín is haunted by a laughing baby that only she can see. Hernandez’s absence from Palomar hasn’t dimmed his ability to bring its beloved characters to vivid life, and his visual approach, a skillful blend of cartooning and illustration, remains as distinctive and acute as ever. Fans who have missed Palomar will relish the chance to return there once again. --Gordon Flagg