Captain Ortiz

A minor but memorable figure from the sun-drenched, character-rich world of Jaime Hernandez's Love and Rockets, Captain Ortiz stepped onto the page in 1990, right in the thick of the series' celebrated Copper Age run at Fantagraphics. With only a handful of appearances, this is the kind of compact, purposeful character that Jaime wove so skillfully into his sprawling ensemble — sharing scenes with the likes of Peter Rio, Rex Walker, and Pepa in that distinctive blend of barrio realism and offbeat drama. Love and Rockets has always rewarded readers who pay attention to every face in the crowd, and Captain Ortiz is exactly the sort of find that makes digging into the back issues such a pleasure.