Gilbert Hernandez

The first story I ever read from Gilbert Hernandez was "Holidays in the Sun" and it was truly a revelation to my young mind. I was by no means a very sheltered youth, but up to that point I had never read a comic story that carried such an intense and serious weight to it. Of course I had seen various issues of "Heavy Metal" and other "adult" fantasy comics, but this wasn't just a story with some naked girl parading around with a sword. This was something altogether different. It was unrelenting and visceral. There was no redemption or emotional liberation. It was a story with life. It was real. The second story I read by Beto, "An American in Palomar" confirmed my suspicions; Gilbert Hernandez is a genius. And he has since proven this to me over and over again.


Although they are completely different kinds of story-tellers and artists, it seems inevitable to compare Gilbert and his brother Jaime. Gilbert is much more of a traditional cartoonist, making use of symbol and symbolic expression much more regularly. Because of this, Gilbert has more of a "fun" sense to many of his stories. On the other hand, Gilbert's stories are often more emotionally gripping.



I love the homage to Archie  in this picture.



Starting in the late 80s and for a number of years, there was a trend among the more literary cartoonists to marginalize the impact of super heroes and their place in the comic book reader's growing experience and love for the medium. I never got this sense from either of the Hernandez Brothers as they have periodically offered up these dramatic homages to the genre. I can't help but wonder if some author over at Marvel saw this cover and came up with the idea for the Cable and Hope story.