Is This How You See Me (Review): A Love And Rockets Tale

IS THIS HOW YOU SEE ME

Writer: Jaime Hernandez

Artist:  Jaime Hernandez

Publisher: Fantagraphics

Score: 9.5/10

There are very few cases where a comic book that has been coming out for years remains to maintain the same high level of quality it’s had since the beginning; it’s even rarer to see that same comic get better as time goes on and that’s exactly what LOVE AND ROCKETS has done. Jaime Hernandez follows up his heartrending, critically acclaimed story, “The Love Bunglers” with his new masterpiece, “Is This How You See Me?”. Hernandez brilliantly explores the relationship between the two stars of his “Locas” saga, Maggie and Hopey, and brings us a tale of unfulfilled love, acceptance, and aging without necessarily feeling like you’ve grown up.

Jaime returns to a time many Love and Rockets fans will be excited about, when Maggie and Hopey are together and going to a punk rock show the only difference now is that they’re in their forties! The story opens with Maggie and Hopey leaving their respective spouses home for the weekend to go to a punk reunion show in their hometown, Huerta; While on paper, this story doesn’t sound all that exciting, fans of the series will be jumping for joy at the idea of a Maggie and Hopey finally together again. Pulling out all the stops for this story, Hernandez gives us a deeper look into the lives of Maggie and Hopey in their most formative years. Hernandez sprinkles flashbacks throughout the book that really inform the reader on how important Maggie and Hopey have always been to each other. The strength of Jaime’s “Locas” saga isn’t in the exciting plots, but instead, in its extremely well-developed characters; Maggie is same gullible, sweet, and naïve Maggie we’ve known, yet you can see the scars and growth the character has been through since her very early punk days. Hopey is the brash unpredictable

loudmouth she has always been, yet she’s matured. Both Maggie and Hopey have their flaws but seeing them grow throughout the years really makes this story so heartwarming.  

On the art side it seems as if Jaime’s only gets better and better as time goes on; you’re truly seeing a master of his craft at work here. Jaime’s subtle, yet perfect expressions really shows how much the characters have grown and also are the same in many ways. This book really shows that, in the hands of a master storyteller, something as mundane as going to a concert can tell a moving story between two beloved characters.

From storylines such as “Death of Speedy”, “Wig Wam Bam”, “Chester Square”, “The Love Bunglers”, and now “Is This How You See Me?”, Jaime Hernandez continues to establish himself as not just a great cartoonist, but as one of the best storytellers in all of fiction itself.