Love and Rockets #17
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeLove and Rockets #17 (June 1986) delivers the opening chapter of Gilbert Hernández's 'Duck Feet,' a pivotal Heartbreak Soup story set in Palomar that deepens the mythic texture of the village by weaving together a criminal chase, a disease outbreak, and the unsettling arrival of a possible bruja — an episode widely cited by critics as one of Gilbert's most tonally ambitious works to that point in the series. On the Locas side, Jaime Hernández's 'Locas vs. Locos' expands the social canvas of Hoppers by centering the issue on peripheral characters like Joey Glass and Doyle Blackburn, demonstrating the series' commitment to treating every person in its world as a full subject rather than a walk-on. Together, the four stories in this issue showcase the dual narrative engine that made Love and Rockets one of the defining publications of the American alternative comics movement of the 1980s, with both brothers working in their mature styles and producing literary work that had no mainstream equivalent at the time.
In "Locas vs. Locos," Gilbert Hernandez crafts a quietly tense moment in the ongoing lives of his beloved characters: Luba, stranded in a deep hole and refusing help, finds herself at the center of a sudden, unsettling shift when a mysterious bruja arrives in town. With Sheriff Chelo on edge and Boots’ reckless act setting off a chain of events, the air grows thick with suspicion—especially after a baby skull from the stolen sack tumbles into the hole, striking Luba. The story, drawn, written, and lettered by Gilbert Hernandez, unfolds with his signature blend of humor, humanity, and quiet dread, while Jaime Hernandez’s cover captures the eerie stillness of the moment with a stark, evocative image.
In "Locas vs. Locos," Joey and Doyle chase down a missing Ape Sex record, only to find every friend they ask has already lent it away—each turn a small comedy of errors. Meanwhile, Maggie struggles with her old injury, Izzy faces eviction, and Hopey scrambles to secure housing, until Terry steps in with an unexpected offer. The story unfolds in the familiar, lived-in world of the neighborhood, where everyday crises ripple through friendships and shared spaces.
In "Duck Feet (Part One)," Luba finds herself trapped in a deep hole, too proud to ask for help, while a mysterious bruja arrives in town with unsettling intentions. Sheriff Chelo tries to keep her at arm’s length, but when Boots steals the bruja’s leather sack—containing a baby skull—the object tumbles into the hole, striking Luba and sparking a tense confrontation. The story unfolds with quiet dread, as secrets and suspicion settle like dust in the desert air.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
By mid-1986, Love and Rockets was four years into its Fantagraphics run — the series having begun when the Hernández brothers self-published their first issue in 1981, sent it to The Comics Journal for review, and caught the attention of publisher Gary Groth, who offered them an ongoing deal. Issue #17 appeared at what multiple sources characterize as a creative high-water mark for both Gilbert and Jaime; Gilbert was expanding the Palomar saga into increasingly complex, community-scaled drama, while Jaime had by this point refined his line to a minimalist but expressive style that made his Locas stories feel like reportage from a real neighborhood. The issue's typesetting is credited to Linda Gorrell, consistent with Fantagraphics' small-shop production norms of the period.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published June 1, 1986 by Fantagraphics Books as part of Love and Rockets Vol. 1 (the original 50-issue run, 1982–1996).
- Contains four stories: Jaime Hernández's 'Locas vs. Locos' and 'Rocket Rhodes' (starring Rocky and Fumble), and Gilbert Hernández's 'The Way Things're Going' (starring Jesús Ángel) and 'Duck Feet' Part One — a Heartbreak Soup/Palomar story.
- 'Duck Feet' Part One opens a two-part story (concluded in #18) centered on Sheriff Chelo, Tonantzín Villaseñor, and Guadalupe as Palomar is thrown into chaos by a fugitive's death, a disease outbreak, and a bruja whose stolen leather sack — containing a baby skull — creates a chain of supernatural-tinged consequences.
- 'Locas vs. Locos' follows Joey Glass (Hopey's brother) and Doyle Blackburn on a comedic chase through Hoppers in search of a borrowed punk record, offering a ground-level view of the Locas world's supporting cast.
- 'Rocket Rhodes' revisits Rocky Rhodes and her robot companion Fumble, characters who originated in Love and Rockets #2, marking one of their later appearances in a short-form science-fiction register.
- The Palomar content from this issue was reprinted in Heartbreak Soup (Titan, 1988), The Complete Love & Rockets Vol. 6: Duck Feet (Fantagraphics, first printing 1989), Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories (Fantagraphics, 2003), and the Love and Rockets: The First Fifty 40th Anniversary facsimile box set (Fantagraphics, 2022).
- The Locas content was collected in The Complete Love & Rockets Vol. 6: Duck Feet (1989) and in the comprehensive Locas: The Maggie and Hopey Stories hardcover (Fantagraphics, 2004/2026).
- Tonantzín Villaseñor — named for an Aztec goddess meaning 'revered mother,' a babosa-slug vendor and recurring Palomar figure — plays a prominent role in 'Duck Feet'; the assault she suffers at the hands of convict Geraldo in this story directly seeds her later political radicalization in the 'Human Diastrophism' serial (1987–88).
Cast · 37 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Heartbreak Soup #[2] (1988), The Reticent Heart and Other Stories #[nn] (1988), Pox #8/1989 (1989), The Complete Love & Rockets #6 (1989), The Complete Love & Rockets #6 (1989), En amerikan i Palomar #[nn] (1991), Alpha #2/1991 (1991), House of Raging Woman - A Love and Rockets Graphic Novel #[nn] (1992), Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories (A Love and Rockets Book) #[nn] (2003), Locas #[nn] (2004), Palomar #1 (2005), Locas #2 (2006), Love and Rockets Library #[2] (2007), Love and Rockets #2 (2007), Love and Rockets Library #[3] (2007), Love and Rockets #3 (2007), Love and Rockets Library #[7] (2008), Love and Rockets #7 (2008), Love and Rockets: New Stories Free Comic Book Day Edition #1 (2009), Love and Rockets: The Covers #[nn] (2013), Love and Rockets: The First Fifty: The Classic 40th Anniversary Collection #[3] (2022), Palomar #1 (2024)
Key issues in Love and Rockets
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