It's hard to believe that Love & Rockets is 25 years old. I still remember the first time I read an issue. I was blown away by the way the women were the main focus especially when I saw that the book was written and drawn by two brothers. I got a chance to talk with Jaime [pronounced Yay-mee] Hernandez because the latest collection of Love & Rockets was just released by Fantagraphics. It's called Dicks And Deedees, I agree with Jaime that's its a great place for a new reader to start. All you got to know is that Maggie is the coolest woman you'll ever meet.
For many people Love & Rockets is the first independent comic they ever read, but once you get into it you fall in love with the characters. But I don't think there is anyone more in love with these characters than the creators themselves.
It took a little while for Jaime to warm up to me. But once he got rolling I don't think there is any question he would shy away from.
Check out Fantagraphics' website for Jaime.
Daniel Robert Epstein: What's it like celebrating the 25th anniversary of Love & Rockets?
Jaime Hernandez: Its ok [laughs]. It makes me think that we're an old comic now.
DRE: But the books are still coming out so that's impressive.
JH: Yeah and I've still got ideas left.
DRE: Did you ever think it would get this far?
JH: I never thought about it at all. I never tried to think abut the future. I took it as one comic at a time.
DRE: What about at the 10th anniversary?
JH: That didn't seem that long. I was like "10 years. We've just started." 20 years is a little easier to think that we've been doing it for so long.
DRE: In the description of Dicks And Deedees it says that Love & Rockets has influenced Mexican-American fiction a lot. Do you feel like you've made a difference?
JH: I hope so. In the way that it's exposed my culture more. I try to tell it as truthful as possible.
DRE: How autobiographical is the book?
JH: Some of it is pretty close. Most of the stuff is character written. Every once in a while I get my real life in there but the characters pretty much write themselves so they go their way.
DRE: Even though the characters write themselves it's still your thoughts and feelings.
JH: Oh sure. But when I'm writing, how much is me and how much do I have to guess what a woman is thinking [laughs].
DRE: Do you think you have more insight into women after doing this book for so long?
JH: No. they're still the most mysterious creatures on earth.
DRE: What does your wife think of Love & Rockets?
JH: She likes it. I actually have known her since we started the book but we were just friends for the longest time.
DRE: Do you think one of the reasons she married you was because she thought you had insight?
JH: Yeah in a way. She thought I was one of those sensitive types.
DRE: Are you?
JH: I think so. More than most.
DRE: Do you cry more than the average man?
JH: [laughs] I couldn't tell you.
DRE: Many people including Matt Groening [creator of The Simpsons] have cited Love & Rockets as a major influence. Have you met those fans that have gone on to do great works?
JH: Sure. Matt for instance was only doing Life in Hell [Groening's syndicated comic strip] when I first met him. He had a name for himself but he hadn't gone over the top yet. I've seen a lot of people shoot up that were doing the same things as me, just doing comics, like those Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles guys. In five years they went from nothing to the biggest things.
DRE: Ghost World and American Splendor have made it to the big screen, any chance of Love & Rockets doing that?
JH: Yeah but just nothing to talk about now. We've been doing that game for almost 20 years [laughs].
DRE: How many screenplays have you seen?
JH: At one time I was writing one. One of these days I'd like to see a movie based on Love & Rockets. Movies are just as big of an influence on my work as comics are. The way Hollywood works is that you don't hold your breath.
DRE: Are you a fan of Jennifer Lopez and Salma Hayek?
JH: Physically yeah [laughs]. I remember seeing Salma Hayek in Mexican novellas [soap operas] on TV a long time ago. Lopez is always good to look at.
DRE: You think either one of them would make a good Love & Rockets character.
JH: I'm afraid not. But I'll write someone in if they want to [laughs]. My characters are so personal that it would have to be unknowns.
DRE: Have you changed as much as your characters have over the years?
JH: I guess I have but I can't really see it. It's more of a gradual thing. I'm a little mellower.
DRE: When the book started the characters were in a punk band and probably more rebellious. You must have been the same.
JH: Sure, in my physical life I did the whole punk thing. Now I'm a little more of a daddy type. I have one five year old daughter.
DRE: Are we going to see any of the characters have kids?
JH: That's a tricky thing. Yes but at the same time I have to be really careful because anytime a character, on say a sitcom, has a kid it either kills the show or the kid is kept out of the picture as much as possible. Having a kid changes your whole life, takes it all up, you can't go out anytime you want and get into adventures like my characters do. If I gave Maggie a kid that's what the book would become. I don't know if I would want it to go there.
DRE: Punk is not the same anymore obviously. Are you interested in punk music anymore?
JH: The old stuff [laughs]. The new stuff? I'm old and set in my ways. It's kind of that thing of me feeling like I've heard it before. I'm not putting down the kids that are listening to it. But how many times have I heard that new band that jumps around onstage in black t-shirts and is the new hot thing. They're just taking the place of the band that went away. So no I don't have that energy to search out the latest good band.
DRE: Do you think comic books are the last bastion of independence in America?
JH: I guess in a way because comic books are still not respected unless you're a big seller of superhero comics. Independent comic creators are still starving here.
DRE: You're starving?
JH: Well comparatively. As many years as I've been doing it I'm still not rich, not that I have to be. I guess as long as I am able to draw my comics, that's ok. I will have to starve a little.
DRE: Do you think Dicks and Deedees is a good starting point for new readers?
JH: Sure. Now I try to do my stories where you can pick them up and start fresh anywhere. Hopefully you'll get something out of it even if you don't know the characters. I try to not get too wrapped up in continuity anymore.
DRE: You dumped a lot of continuity a few years ago.
JH: Yeah we have the same characters but I'm hoping you could pick up an issue and it'd be like they were new.
DRE: Did dumping that continuity work? Did you pick up a lot of new and younger fans?
JH: That's hard to say. I could never find that out. I have to go to comic book conventions and meet my fans to figure that out. There's not all that many young comic book readers anyway. That's not a very good look for the future of comics.
People are always saying that comics are dead and something else will take over. But people keep coming back to the little pamphlet that they can hold in their hand. That's something a computer can't replace.
DRE: Of course I read about how you felt there was no point in suing the band who named themselves Love & Rockets because they had a lot more money than you.
JH: Yeah at the time when they did it we didn't have any money to defend ourselves or go after them.
DRE: But I was surprised to learn that it was Alan Moore who gave them your comics in the first place.
JH: Yeah he thought he was doing us and them a good turn. Like "look at this comic". Then they must have said, "We like the name".
DRE: Alan Moore must regret it to no end.
JH: I'm sure he's a little embarrassed [laughs].
DRE: I was taken aback when I read that something like only 10 percent of the people that buy Love & Rockets is Latino.
JH: I couldn't tell you. It could be more. I don't know because we can only tell from the letters we get or people at signings.
DRE: What do you usually see?
JH: I see a lot of Latinos but overall its mostly white people. But I'll take what I can get.
DRE: Without knowing it you were breaking ground when you started Love & Rockets. But what made you choose to do this kind of book?
JH: We were kind of naughty punk rockers and we liked doing comics for ourselves. But we were kind of bored of the superhero thing. We one day realized that our personal lives were more exciting than what was going on in the comics so we thought it would be fun to put it down on paper. It just went from there. I've always wanted to communicate with an audience. I never wanted to alienate them. So I guess that balance worked.
DRE: Were you surprised when so many people connected with the book?
JH: Partly yes but my ego part, no [laughs]. I was like, of course they like it, I did it. I had that devil may care attitude that we were going to do it whether they like it or not. Then they did like it. But that was mainly to help us gain confidence. Since they did like we were going to keep doing it.
DRE: In doing my research I found hundreds and maybe thousands of articles written about the comic, you and your brother. Do you ever wonder why it doesn't translate into sales?
JH: Well when you're thinking about money it can get frustrating. Ok so yeah people have written about us for years, why isn't anyone following? That's one thing I have never been able to figure out, how to make them buy it. That's for someone else to figure out.
DRE: What's Gary Groth [co-owner of Fantagraphics books] say about that?
JH: They're just banging their heads against the wall. They tell us we were in Time magazine but no one's coming from it. It is nice that people appreciate it though. It's enough for me to continue. I've seen so many people stop doing their comics because they couldn't make a living.
DRE: What appeals to you about Maggie so much?
JH: It's just that I created a character that I could throw anything into, all or most of my thoughts anyway. Back in high school I wanted to create a woman character that anything I felt like doing a comic about would be about her. She's my baby. I throw everything at her and se how she gets out of it.
DRE: Sometimes the book veers from reality into surrealism. Are those your dreams?
JH: Sometimes yeah. A lot of the time its just me having fun. Throw a wrench into the works. I kind of challenge my characters because every once in a while they get too relaxed.
DRE: The reader too.
JH: Exactly [laughs]. It's just me having fun because I also get trapped sometimes in a certain formula and I make myself freak out. I have to remind myself where we are and I don't want to stay there.
DRE: Your brother has definitely done some porn laced comic books. Have you done much of those?
JH: Not like him [laughs]. I guess he's got bigger demons to release. I'm not so fired up where I have to break that out all time.
DRE: You definitely don't shy away from sex or nudity.
JH: Definitely not. I love drawing them. Gilbert's breaking down that door harder.
DRE: One of the reasons you're so into strong female character is because you were raised by only your mother because your father passed away when you were young. Do you ever wish you had a more masculine side from your father?
JH: No because I can have both. I can hang out with my guy friends and be a guy. I can also enter a woman's world easier and be friends with a lot of women. I get the best of both worlds.
DRE: Do you still not read or speak Spanish?
JH: Barely [laughs].
DRE: What are you reading now?
JH: Not much. I have a five year old kid. I guess I'm more focused on movies at this stage of my life. I love to watch Turner Classic Movies.
DRE: Do you find Latino women sexier?
JH: I do because it's my culture. There isn't enough of them out there in the entertainment world. It's our hente, our people.
DRE: We have three kinds of girls on our site punk, emo and Goth. Which is your favorite?
JH: I like them all. I like big, small, short, and fat. Everything.
DRE: What's your favorite pornography?
JH: I like the big girls. But the way porn works is that they advertise big women then they're not that big.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
For many people Love & Rockets is the first independent comic they ever read, but once you get into it you fall in love with the characters. But I don't think there is anyone more in love with these characters than the creators themselves.
It took a little while for Jaime to warm up to me. But once he got rolling I don't think there is any question he would shy away from.
Check out Fantagraphics' website for Jaime.
Daniel Robert Epstein: What's it like celebrating the 25th anniversary of Love & Rockets?
Jaime Hernandez: Its ok [laughs]. It makes me think that we're an old comic now.
DRE: But the books are still coming out so that's impressive.
JH: Yeah and I've still got ideas left.
DRE: Did you ever think it would get this far?
JH: I never thought about it at all. I never tried to think abut the future. I took it as one comic at a time.
DRE: What about at the 10th anniversary?
JH: That didn't seem that long. I was like "10 years. We've just started." 20 years is a little easier to think that we've been doing it for so long.
DRE: In the description of Dicks And Deedees it says that Love & Rockets has influenced Mexican-American fiction a lot. Do you feel like you've made a difference?
JH: I hope so. In the way that it's exposed my culture more. I try to tell it as truthful as possible.
DRE: How autobiographical is the book?
JH: Some of it is pretty close. Most of the stuff is character written. Every once in a while I get my real life in there but the characters pretty much write themselves so they go their way.
DRE: Even though the characters write themselves it's still your thoughts and feelings.
JH: Oh sure. But when I'm writing, how much is me and how much do I have to guess what a woman is thinking [laughs].
DRE: Do you think you have more insight into women after doing this book for so long?
JH: No. they're still the most mysterious creatures on earth.
DRE: What does your wife think of Love & Rockets?
JH: She likes it. I actually have known her since we started the book but we were just friends for the longest time.
DRE: Do you think one of the reasons she married you was because she thought you had insight?
JH: Yeah in a way. She thought I was one of those sensitive types.
DRE: Are you?
JH: I think so. More than most.
DRE: Do you cry more than the average man?
JH: [laughs] I couldn't tell you.
DRE: Many people including Matt Groening [creator of The Simpsons] have cited Love & Rockets as a major influence. Have you met those fans that have gone on to do great works?
JH: Sure. Matt for instance was only doing Life in Hell [Groening's syndicated comic strip] when I first met him. He had a name for himself but he hadn't gone over the top yet. I've seen a lot of people shoot up that were doing the same things as me, just doing comics, like those Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles guys. In five years they went from nothing to the biggest things.
DRE: Ghost World and American Splendor have made it to the big screen, any chance of Love & Rockets doing that?
JH: Yeah but just nothing to talk about now. We've been doing that game for almost 20 years [laughs].
DRE: How many screenplays have you seen?
JH: At one time I was writing one. One of these days I'd like to see a movie based on Love & Rockets. Movies are just as big of an influence on my work as comics are. The way Hollywood works is that you don't hold your breath.
DRE: Are you a fan of Jennifer Lopez and Salma Hayek?
JH: Physically yeah [laughs]. I remember seeing Salma Hayek in Mexican novellas [soap operas] on TV a long time ago. Lopez is always good to look at.
DRE: You think either one of them would make a good Love & Rockets character.
JH: I'm afraid not. But I'll write someone in if they want to [laughs]. My characters are so personal that it would have to be unknowns.
DRE: Have you changed as much as your characters have over the years?
JH: I guess I have but I can't really see it. It's more of a gradual thing. I'm a little mellower.
DRE: When the book started the characters were in a punk band and probably more rebellious. You must have been the same.
JH: Sure, in my physical life I did the whole punk thing. Now I'm a little more of a daddy type. I have one five year old daughter.
DRE: Are we going to see any of the characters have kids?
JH: That's a tricky thing. Yes but at the same time I have to be really careful because anytime a character, on say a sitcom, has a kid it either kills the show or the kid is kept out of the picture as much as possible. Having a kid changes your whole life, takes it all up, you can't go out anytime you want and get into adventures like my characters do. If I gave Maggie a kid that's what the book would become. I don't know if I would want it to go there.
DRE: Punk is not the same anymore obviously. Are you interested in punk music anymore?
JH: The old stuff [laughs]. The new stuff? I'm old and set in my ways. It's kind of that thing of me feeling like I've heard it before. I'm not putting down the kids that are listening to it. But how many times have I heard that new band that jumps around onstage in black t-shirts and is the new hot thing. They're just taking the place of the band that went away. So no I don't have that energy to search out the latest good band.
DRE: Do you think comic books are the last bastion of independence in America?
JH: I guess in a way because comic books are still not respected unless you're a big seller of superhero comics. Independent comic creators are still starving here.
DRE: You're starving?
JH: Well comparatively. As many years as I've been doing it I'm still not rich, not that I have to be. I guess as long as I am able to draw my comics, that's ok. I will have to starve a little.
DRE: Do you think Dicks and Deedees is a good starting point for new readers?
JH: Sure. Now I try to do my stories where you can pick them up and start fresh anywhere. Hopefully you'll get something out of it even if you don't know the characters. I try to not get too wrapped up in continuity anymore.
DRE: You dumped a lot of continuity a few years ago.
JH: Yeah we have the same characters but I'm hoping you could pick up an issue and it'd be like they were new.
DRE: Did dumping that continuity work? Did you pick up a lot of new and younger fans?
JH: That's hard to say. I could never find that out. I have to go to comic book conventions and meet my fans to figure that out. There's not all that many young comic book readers anyway. That's not a very good look for the future of comics.
People are always saying that comics are dead and something else will take over. But people keep coming back to the little pamphlet that they can hold in their hand. That's something a computer can't replace.
DRE: Of course I read about how you felt there was no point in suing the band who named themselves Love & Rockets because they had a lot more money than you.
JH: Yeah at the time when they did it we didn't have any money to defend ourselves or go after them.
DRE: But I was surprised to learn that it was Alan Moore who gave them your comics in the first place.
JH: Yeah he thought he was doing us and them a good turn. Like "look at this comic". Then they must have said, "We like the name".
DRE: Alan Moore must regret it to no end.
JH: I'm sure he's a little embarrassed [laughs].
DRE: I was taken aback when I read that something like only 10 percent of the people that buy Love & Rockets is Latino.
JH: I couldn't tell you. It could be more. I don't know because we can only tell from the letters we get or people at signings.
DRE: What do you usually see?
JH: I see a lot of Latinos but overall its mostly white people. But I'll take what I can get.
DRE: Without knowing it you were breaking ground when you started Love & Rockets. But what made you choose to do this kind of book?
JH: We were kind of naughty punk rockers and we liked doing comics for ourselves. But we were kind of bored of the superhero thing. We one day realized that our personal lives were more exciting than what was going on in the comics so we thought it would be fun to put it down on paper. It just went from there. I've always wanted to communicate with an audience. I never wanted to alienate them. So I guess that balance worked.
DRE: Were you surprised when so many people connected with the book?
JH: Partly yes but my ego part, no [laughs]. I was like, of course they like it, I did it. I had that devil may care attitude that we were going to do it whether they like it or not. Then they did like it. But that was mainly to help us gain confidence. Since they did like we were going to keep doing it.
DRE: In doing my research I found hundreds and maybe thousands of articles written about the comic, you and your brother. Do you ever wonder why it doesn't translate into sales?
JH: Well when you're thinking about money it can get frustrating. Ok so yeah people have written about us for years, why isn't anyone following? That's one thing I have never been able to figure out, how to make them buy it. That's for someone else to figure out.
DRE: What's Gary Groth [co-owner of Fantagraphics books] say about that?
JH: They're just banging their heads against the wall. They tell us we were in Time magazine but no one's coming from it. It is nice that people appreciate it though. It's enough for me to continue. I've seen so many people stop doing their comics because they couldn't make a living.
DRE: What appeals to you about Maggie so much?
JH: It's just that I created a character that I could throw anything into, all or most of my thoughts anyway. Back in high school I wanted to create a woman character that anything I felt like doing a comic about would be about her. She's my baby. I throw everything at her and se how she gets out of it.
DRE: Sometimes the book veers from reality into surrealism. Are those your dreams?
JH: Sometimes yeah. A lot of the time its just me having fun. Throw a wrench into the works. I kind of challenge my characters because every once in a while they get too relaxed.
DRE: The reader too.
JH: Exactly [laughs]. It's just me having fun because I also get trapped sometimes in a certain formula and I make myself freak out. I have to remind myself where we are and I don't want to stay there.
DRE: Your brother has definitely done some porn laced comic books. Have you done much of those?
JH: Not like him [laughs]. I guess he's got bigger demons to release. I'm not so fired up where I have to break that out all time.
DRE: You definitely don't shy away from sex or nudity.
JH: Definitely not. I love drawing them. Gilbert's breaking down that door harder.
DRE: One of the reasons you're so into strong female character is because you were raised by only your mother because your father passed away when you were young. Do you ever wish you had a more masculine side from your father?
JH: No because I can have both. I can hang out with my guy friends and be a guy. I can also enter a woman's world easier and be friends with a lot of women. I get the best of both worlds.
DRE: Do you still not read or speak Spanish?
JH: Barely [laughs].
DRE: What are you reading now?
JH: Not much. I have a five year old kid. I guess I'm more focused on movies at this stage of my life. I love to watch Turner Classic Movies.
DRE: Do you find Latino women sexier?
JH: I do because it's my culture. There isn't enough of them out there in the entertainment world. It's our hente, our people.
DRE: We have three kinds of girls on our site punk, emo and Goth. Which is your favorite?
JH: I like them all. I like big, small, short, and fat. Everything.
DRE: What's your favorite pornography?
JH: I like the big girls. But the way porn works is that they advertise big women then they're not that big.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
VIEW 17 of 17 COMMENTS
auralpleasure:
Jaime has created lasting characters and timeless art. I can sit and stare at his pages for who knows how long and when I see Ray or Maggie, etc., I feel like I'm reading or experiencing something with an old friend. This interview was great and remains one of the coolest things on the site. One question though: Where's Gilbert?!
josearcadio:
I am right in the middle of reading the huge hardcover book called "Locas", featuring all the Hopey and Maggie stories since the beginning until the year 1998 and it is beautiful. I am in love with Esperanza Glass!