Love & Rockets

Gender-Bending the Graphic Novel

By: Gerry Maravilla

Posted: 3/5/10

When most people think of comic books, super muscular men in tights saving damsels in distress usually spring to mind-and this isn't without good reason.

Superhero comics dominate the market. Superman, Batman, Spiderman, and the like are all household names idolized by little boys all over the world. However, comic book writer and artist Jaime Hernandez has turned these stereotypes upside down by tackling complex questions of gender, sexuality and identity in his graphic novel, Love and Rockets.

Love and Rockets is a series of stories written by Jaime Hernandez and his brother Gilbert. While Gilbert's stories take place in a fictional village in Latin America, Jaime focuses on a group of people living in suburban California. Since the series started back in the 1980s, Jaime's primary focus in the story is the unconventional relationship between two female protagonists: Maggie and Hopey.

Maggie and Hopey are two dynamic females growing up in Hoppers, a town based on Oxnard, California. Drawing upon Jaime's real-life experiences growing up, the Maggie and Hopey stories have followed the two characters since their early teen years and continue to follow them as they go through middle age.

What makes Jaime's Maggie and Hopey characters iconic to comic fans everywhere is the way the creator subverts traditional comic book representations of females. Unlike mainstream comics, Maggie and Hopey are not small-waisted, busty bimbos waiting for a virile superman to save them, nor are they vapid airheads waiting for the high school jock to take them to prom. The pair are very complex characters that deal with issues like body image, sexual orientation, playing in a punk band, or just paying rent.

One such example is Maggie's consistent struggle with her weight. As the series progresses, readers will notice that she continues to put on the pounds. There are instances when she avoids going out and being seen in public because of the embarrassment she feels after not being able to squeeze into an old pair of pants. Anyone, male or female, who has battled with body image can relate to such a simple, but realistic situation.

And while Maggie was a fit young woman at the start of Love and Rockets, she was also a teenager. The realities of growing older and having to consistently work in order to make ends meet eliminates leisure time for working out. As she grows older, she doesn't retain the metabolism of her 17-year old self, but rather that of an aging woman. In fact, whenever Jaime is questioned as to whether or not Maggie will ever return her old body shape, he adamantly responds, "Never."

Jaime seems to enjoy drawing a curvaceous Maggie-in fact, his ability to draw the female body has become a point of praise for the artist. Most comic book artists are known for only being able to draw one or two female faces and body types, but this has never been true of Jaime. The Love and Rockets cast of characters is predominately female, featuring women of all races, shapes, and professions. Maggie began the series as a mechanic, her aunt is a professional wrestler and Hopey is a bass player in several different punk bands. Jaime's artwork represents the diversity of his characters, leaving little confusion as to who is who because each person is completely unique.

For most readers, however, the driving force behind the Love and Rockets series has been the relationship between Maggie and Hopey. These best friends and occasional lovers provide the emotional heart of the comic. It is in their relationship that Jaime transcends traditional gender roles within the medium of the graphic novel.

Supporting characters in the story lines press the pair to define what they are, but the two refuse to assign a particular label to the nature of their relationship, or even to define whether or not they are heterosexual. Maggie and Hopey simply romantically pursue whomever they are interested in, regardless of gender. And while it is true that Hopey more often pursues women and Maggie has had more relationships with men, Jaime doesn't impose a rigid sexuality upon his characters, allowing them to move fluidly between "gay" and "straight."

In the end, it is Jaime's storytelling that compels you to read Love and Rockets. His characters are so unique and three-dimensional that you can't help caring about them. They are not the caricatures of women that too often dominate comic book panels.

It is a shame that this series is the exception and not the rule in the world of comics, but that is what makes Jaime a truly groundbreaking artist within his medium. Those interested in venturing away from the same old story of Batman defeating the Joker or Superman saving Lois Lane should give this series a read. You can start with the newly printed collection, "Maggie the Mechanic," and be prepared to fall in love with Jaime and his girls from Hoppers.