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LOVE AND ROCKETS, VOL II #14 By Leroy Douresseaux Dec 7, 2005 - 5:55:00 AM Fantagraphics Books

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LOVE AND ROCKETS VOL II #14

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS
WRITERS: Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez, and Mario Hernandez
ARTISTS: Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez
COVER: Jaime Hernandez
32 pp, B&W, $4.50

Many of you likely remember the film, High Fidelity, which starred John Cusack. The film allowed us to examine Cusack’s character, Rob Gordon, through his dating shenanigans. Gilbert Hernandez’s does something similar. In his on-going serial, “Dumb Solitaire,” Gilbert gives us the lowdown on his character Mark Herrera not only through Mark’s interior dialogue with himself, but also through his wife and five ex-wives, one of which is Fritz, daughter of Gilbert’s signature character, Luba.

Gilbert, like his brother, Jaime Hernandez mastered telling stories with huge ensemble casts long ago. He doesn’t treat his ensembles the way writers of superheroes do, using them as pieces to serve the needs of that particular genre. Instead, each character has its own story, which is no less important than any other character’s story. Certainly, one character may take prominence in a particular chapter (but not always), but that character is only the focus. He or she is in no way a master above all other players – a kind of star surrounded by bit players.

That is certainly evident in LOVE AND ROCKETS, VOL II #14’s chapter of Dumb Solitaire, “Baby Talk.” It is clear to me now (though it wasn’t so clear just a few chapters ago) that if Mark Herrera has an ultimate fate, that conclusion will come about because of something to do with his wives. This is real true-to-life drama. Mark, like any real person, doesn’t live in a vacuum, and Mark’s fate depends upon his daily interaction with other people. Everything he does with other people shapes where he is going and where he finally arrives. Gilbert asks a lot of his readers. We have to pay attention to his narratives, and I’m glad he takes us seriously.

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