Luba by Gilbert Hernandez

From the Publisher

Gilbert Hernandez climaxed his award-winning "Palomar" series at the end of Love and Rockets' original run by leveling the Central American hamlet. But he soon picked up the story of Luba: The hammer-wielding matriarch had emigrated to the U. S. where she contended not only with an unwelcoming new culture but also her extended family. These "America" stories - over 80 of them, ranging from quick one-page blackout sketches to graphic novellas-were originally published in a number of different comics and reprinted in a trilogy of oversized paperbacks. Luba collects in one compact, affordable hardcover the entirety of these tales, showcasing Gilbert Hernandez's wicked wit, great compassion, and uncanny understanding of how human beings love, squabble, and ultimately find a way to make it through this life.

Publishers Weekly

In this expansive sequel to 2003's Palomar, Hernandez gives readers a peek into the lives of the inimitable Luba and her extended family now living in modern-day Southern California. Often taking center stage is the snarky Venus, the young daughter of Petra, one of Luba's recently discovered half-sisters. Obsessed with romance comics-and in love with the much-older owner of a comic and record store-Venus tries to make sense not only of her own life but her family's complicated dynamics. Her aunt Fritzi, another half-sister of Luba and sister of Petra, is a lisping psychotherapist who goes through boyfriends like candy and embarrasses Venus by always speaking Spanish. Luba herself, working in a local immigration office, is still torn up over the disfigurement of her husband (who's still back in Central America) when he tried to save a woman from self-immolation. The backbone of the family, and also its Achilles heel, Luba is a larger-than-life personality who jumps off every page, whether she's the focus of the segment or just a background player. Hernandez collects over 100 stories here, ranging from graphic novellas to single-page episodes, with his usual dizzying cocktail of sexual intrigue, humor and soap opera-style angst. (June)

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