The Education of Hopey Glass by Jaime Hernandez, Gary Groth (Editor)

Synopsis

A stand-alone graphic novel from the Locas universe.

It starts with a barely-glimpsed slaying ("Life Through Whispers") and ends with a funeral ("Male Torso Found in L.A. River").

Even though (or perhaps because) he's still carrying the torch for Maggie, Ray diligently pursues the dangerous and annoying "Frogmouth," an aspiring actress and full-time train wreck, from seedy bars and back alleys through comic book conventions...all the way to the ultimate, and unexpected, consummation. Meanwhile, Hopey spends an eventful week during which she undergoes a couple of major life changes, both personal and professional...and for that matter cosmetic.

New characters include Hopey's long-suffering on-the-side squeeze Grace; Maggie's new roommate, the sweet-natured jockette "Angel of Tarzana;" and the live-wire would-be gangsta Elmer—while such classic Love and Rockets characters as the hard-living Doyle, the ageing but still-rocking Terry, and the mysterious super-heroine Alarma pop up in the margins...As does Maggie, well off stage but visible as Ray's resentful ex, Angel's roommate, and (forever and still) Hopey's best friend.

Publishers Weekly

In this perfect confluence of stunning illustration and gripping narrative, Hernandez returns to his early Love & Rocketsroots with aging punk-rocker Esperanza "Hopey" Glass taking the spotlight in this collection's first half. "Day by Day with Hopey" chronicles a week in the feisty Latina's life as she transitions from tending bar to teaching kindergarten while her low-rent personal life teems with girlfriends who come and go, her lifelong friend and sometime-lover Maggie the only constant. In terms of action or intrigue, not much happens, but Hernandez spins narrative gold from the mundane straw of his protagonist's existence, as Hopey's awkward romantic and social tribulations add more layers to her complex character. The second half features Ray Dominguez, Maggie's long-ago boyfriend, now in his early 407s and still carrying a torch for her. Ray finds himself caught up in a pulp fiction maelstrom hinging on the fallout from a murder and his lust for the gorgeous but borderline-psychotic Vivian, an aspiring actress also known as "Frogmouth," who has her own history with Maggie. Fraught with grimy intrigue that evokes a Chicano Mickey Spillane yarn, the second half of the book comes as an unexpected and pleasant surprise that rivets both old fans and newcomers to the page. (Apr.)

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Biography

Jaime Hernandez lives in Pasadena, CA, with his wife and daughter. He continues to co-create the ongoing Love & Rockets comic book series on a regular basis.