Comics Fondle

So, it definitely shouldn’t be called The Education of Hopey Glass. It’s a good title, but whereas Hopey’s adventures immediately leading up to her new job are good and all… it’s all about Ray’s story. Ray’s story kicks all kinds of butt.

It consists of seven chapters, usually only running a couple pages, and is all about Ray having a thing for Viv (Frogmouth), who doesn’t seem to have a thing for him. Complexing the situation is their mutual history with the occasionally present Maggie–Ray once dated her (I probably read about this relationship in Locas, but I’ve forgotten) and so did Viv. What ties this story to Hopey’s is that longing for Maggie, even though I’ll guess and say both Hopey and Ray are responsible for not having her.

But in Ray’s story, the desperate longing, the palpable regret, are things of beauty. Hernandez does each chapter a little different style-wise and the first, in noir-style (though the Incredible Shrinking Man reference isn’t very noir), did not impress me. I read it as a strip, not a chapter.

The second story kicks off the story proper–it’s Ray clinging to Viv, hoping she take him into her bed, while he sorts through all of the drama in her life (it’s never clearly explained, at least in the collection, what happens, but Ray thinks Viv’s friends kill her shithead boyfriend and so, then, does the reader). It becomes all very conversational–the second story is a long conversation about getting some keys–and Hernandez writes great narration for Ray.

The loneliness and the self-loathing are big points here. Hernandez never tries to make Ray particularly likable, but he’s likable anyway, as most self-loathing, passive protagonists tend to be.

Gradually, the narration takes over and Hernandez and Ray make all these wonderful (if depressing) observations.

And since it’s Love and Rockets, there’s a fantastic staring at the ceiling dream sequence.

Hernandez has some great panels–the tone frequently changes here, so he gets to do cartoon, noir and romantic drama (usually all in the same chapter). What I found most striking was the idealized Maggie. Not having read Rockets after Locas (until now), I find the perpetually unhappy Maggie a little strange (but it makes sense, I guess). Here, Ray’s got an idealized Maggie, much different from the always frowning, real one.

Art-wise, I think the noir chapter has to be the best, just because it gives Hernandez the most opportunity to crack his knuckles. The last chapter takes place at a comic con and it’s Jaime Hernandez name-dropping a bunch of indie guys… and it’s kind of cool, but it feels a little wrong… like he’s let Love and Rockets get hipster.

Recommend on Mahalo