Local show features pioneering comic artist

Work of Jaime Hernandez
Original artwork from "Love and Rockets" stories written and drawn by Jaime Hernandez which are included in the exhibit celebrating 30 years of the work of Hernandez currently on display at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
Courtesy MCAD

Fans of alternative comics will recognize "Love and Rockets," an indie title that first began publishing more than 30 years ago.

A press release from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design says that "The black-and-white magazine instantly defined a new alternative comics scene beyond the superheroics that had 'defined' the comics medium for decades. Building on the taboo-busting undergrounds of the 1960s, Los Bros Hernandez simply proved that comics finally could (and should) stand shoulder to shoulder with any other medium."

NPR described Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez, two of the three brothers behind the comic, as "Mexican-American baby boomers from Oxnard, Calif., whose mother loved Elvis and comic books. The boys inherited their mom's love of comics while their own musical preferences gravitated toward rock — until they eventually fell under the spell of Southern California punk music."

Now MCAD is offering an exhibition of Jaime Hernandez' work. The show's curator is Minnesota cartoonist Zak Sally, who spoke with Euan Kerr about the exhibit.

LEARN MORE ABOUT JAIME HERNANDEZ AND 'LOVE AND ROCKETS':

Love And Rockets' Hernandez brothers on 30 years in comics
Still producing their regular (although less frequent) series Love And Rockets after 30 years, Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez — Los Bros to their fans — are contemporary comics' closest thing to an institution. In an era where comic books' aptness for adult, socially well-adjusted readers was still in doubt — at least as far as mainstream media were concerned — the brothers' stories demonstrated the medium's vast potential. With Gilbert's sprawling Palomar stories, set in an imagined Latin American country, and Jaime's tales of aging punks adjusting to adult life in Southern California, Los Bros Hernandez weave tales of divergent yet equally accomplished craft. (A.V. Club)

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