Esperanza

Esperanza by Jaime Hernández
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Esperanza collects stories from Love and Rockets Volume II featuring Maggie and Hopey and the characters caught in their orbit.

The lives of the locas continue. Maggie is the super of an apartment complex. Hopey splits her time between tending bar and being a teaching assistant. Old favorites like Ray Dominguez and Izzy are featured, as well as a new character named Vivian, aka The Frogmouth.

Jaime Hernandez's art continues to amaze me. His minimalist style conveys so much emotion. As much as I love the art, the writing is even better. The characters are among the richest in comics, feeling like they must exist out there someplace. The stories are of the slice of life variety, ranging from Maggie's long series of tales involving her relationship with Vivian to Hopey's shorter tales about getting glasses and her relationship crumbling even as her life seems to be getting on track for once.

There's really not a lot left to tell. The Locas are about 20 years deep at this point. I can't imagine anyone sticking around this long and not wanting to continue.

Esperanza is the best Locas compliation since the last one I read. Five out of five stars.


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