Love and Rockets #7
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeLove and Rockets #7 (May 1984) sits at a pivotal creative moment in the series, when Jaime Hernandez was simultaneously deepening both his science-fiction 'Mechanics' adventure strand — built around Maggie, Rand Race, and the eccentric orbit of Penny Century and H. R. Costigan — and his earthbound Hoppers character work, most visibly in 'Locos,' a story narrated entirely by Speedy Ortiz as he reconstructs Izzy's life for a friend. That shift toward character interiority, where a supporting player carries a full story on his own, signals Jaime's growing confidence in ensemble storytelling that would define the entire Locas saga. Gilbert's contributions, including the ongoing 'Act of Contrition' installment and the brief comic-strip vignette 'The Whispering Tree,' continue developing the Palomar world of Luba and her extended community — a universe of Latin American women written and drawn with a seriousness the mainstream comic industry had not previously attempted at scale. The issue exemplifies why the series became, as Fantagraphics has noted, the publisher's flagship work: two radically different creative voices, sharing one anthology and expanding what the comics medium could portray.
In "Mechanics / Las Mujeres Perdidas, part two," Brian James Riedel crafts a layered narrative that continues to explore personal and political currents through intimate, character-driven storytelling, with Riedel handling writing, art, inks, and letters. The issue features a diverse set of reader letters from around the world, including contributions from Roger Weddall, Richard Bruning, Jua, and others, alongside a postcard from Paul Mavrides and a cartoon by Riedel on the third page. The cover, by Jaime Hernandez, complements the issue’s grounded, human-centered tone with its distinctive, expressive style.
In "Act of Contrition Part 3," Luba navigates the quiet chaos of San Fideo, chasing a repair for her movie house’s projector while unaware her bath house lies in partial ruin from a blown water heater. Reunited by chance with Archie, the lingering tension between them stirs again, sparking a fragile, charged connection that unfolds in quiet, intimate moments.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Published in May 1984 under the editorial supervision of Gary Groth, issue #7 appeared during Love and Rockets' early bimonthly rhythm, a publication frequency the series had settled into from issue #5 onward. Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez — collectively 'Los Bros Hernandez' — self-published an initial one-shot in 1981 before Fantagraphics picked up the series, and by 1984 the book had found a committed readership for its genre-blending, character-driven stories. A second printing of issue #7 was produced, attesting to demand that outpaced the initial run.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published May 1984 by Fantagraphics Books; edited by Gary Groth; a second printing was produced.
- The issue contains four stories: Jaime Hernandez's 'Mechanics / Las Mujeres Perdidas, Part Two' and 'Locos,' and Gilbert Hernandez's 'Act of Contrition, Part Three' and 'The Whispering Tree.'
- 'Locos' is a Speedy Ortiz-narrated story in which Speedy recounts to a friend the full arc of his sister Izzy's life — from gang leader to college student to neighborhood eccentric — marking one of the earliest issues to give Speedy a sustained solo spotlight.
- The 'Mechanics' segment continues Maggie's adventures with pro-solar mechanic Rand Race and introduces the Maggie–Race–Dot Winks reporter love-triangle dynamic; Dot Winks is a reporter pursuing an interview with Race.
- Dr. Beaky, along with his associates Machi and Chiness, appears in the Mechanics storyline; H. R. Costigan appears in a two-panel cameo alongside Penny Century.
- Gilbert's Palomar content features Luba, her children (Maricela, Guadalupe, Doralis, Casimira de los Santos), and community figures Chelo, Ofelia Beltran, Archie Ruiz, and Martín el Loco, continuing the 'Act of Contrition' serial.
- Speedy Ortiz, the fictional Hoppers gang member first appearing in earlier issues, later lent his name to the real-world indie rock band Speedy Ortiz.
- Material from this issue was subsequently collected in The Complete Love & Rockets Vol. 4 (Tears from Heaven, 1988), Titan UK editions, the Palomar omnibus (Fantagraphics, 2003), and Love and Rockets: The First Fifty — The Classic 40th Anniversary Collection (Fantagraphics, 2022).
Cast · 20 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Dalgoda #1 (1984), Pox #9/1985 (1985), Epix #11/1985 (1985), Heartbreak Soup #[nn] (1987), Love & Rockets #[nn] (1987), Heartbreak Soup and Other Stories #[nn] (1987), The Complete Love & Rockets #3 (1987), The Complete Love & Rockets #4 (1988), Love & Rockets #2 (1988), The Lost Women and Other Stories #[nn] (1988), The Reticent Heart and Other Stories #[nn] (1988), The Complete Love & Rockets #3 [2nd Edition] (1990), En amerikan i Palomar #[nn] (1991), The New Comics Anthology #[nn] (1991), Bild & Bubblas andra seriebok #[nn] (1992), Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories (A Love and Rockets Book) #[nn] (2003), The New Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Stories: From Crumb to Clowes #[nn] (2004), Locas #[nn] (2004), Palomar #1 (2005), Locas #1 (2006), Love and Rockets Library #[1] (2007), Love and Rockets Library #[2] (2007), Love and Rockets #1 (2007), Love and Rockets #2 (2007) + 3 more
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