Penny Century #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freePenny Century #1 (December 1997) marks a pivotal structural moment in the history of Jaime Hernandez's Locas universe: it is the first issue of his solo Fantagraphics title launched directly after the original Love and Rockets volume concluded with issue #50 in 1996, keeping the Locas continuity alive during the hiatus before Love and Rockets Volume 2 debuted in 2001. The series gave Hernandez a dedicated venue to deepen the ensemble — particularly Beatriz 'Penny Century' Garcia, Negra and Norma Costigan, and Ray Dominguez — advancing a long-form, character-driven narrative tradition that the Los Angeles Times later credited with fundamentally changing American comics by infusing the form with Chicano life and culture. As the title issue of a seven-issue run, it set the anthology-style format Hernandez would use to braid together short, interlocking vignettes about the same characters from shifting perspectives, a technique critics have identified as one of the most novelistically sophisticated in comics.
In "Penny Century," Jaime Hernandez crafts a quiet, introspective portrait of Ray as he navigates the alienating sprawl of Los Angeles, reflecting on past connections that never quite took hold—his fleeting intimacy with Penny Century, and the emotional residue of relationships with Danita Lincoln and Margarita Chascarrillo. Rendered in Hernandez’s signature blend of observational detail and emotional nuance, the story lingers in the spaces between memory and loneliness, all drawn and lettered with the same unmistakable hand. The cover by Jaime Hernandez captures the mood with a subtle, evocative image that mirrors the story’s introspective tone.
In "Penny Century," Ray navigates the loneliness of a new life in Los Angeles, haunted by memories of past connections—his fleeting yet intense encounters with Penny Century, and the quiet unraveling of relationships with Danita Lincoln and Margarita Chascarrillo. Through introspective moments and quiet observations, the story captures the ache of longing and the difficulty of belonging.
In "La Pantera Negra," Norma confronts her daughter Negra after catching her out with her girlfriends, leading to a tense return home and a quiet, heartfelt conversation with Maggie. The story unfolds with intimate, grounded moments that linger in the space between mother and daughter, setting up a quiet storm of unspoken feelings and hard truths.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
When the original Love and Rockets magazine wrapped in 1996 after fifty issues, Fantagraphics channeled Jaime Hernandez's ongoing Locas work into standalone spin-off publications; Penny Century #1, cover-dated December 1997, was the first issue of his dedicated solo series, preceded immediately by the Maggie and Hopey Color Special of 1997 and the three-issue Whoa, Nellie! miniseries. Written and drawn entirely by Hernandez — with cover art also by him — the 28-page black-and-white pamphlet continued the real-time aging of characters Hernandez had been developing since the early 1980s, and the series ran for seven issues through July 2000 before the brothers reunited for Love and Rockets Volume 2 in 2001.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published December 1997 by Fantagraphics Books; written and drawn entirely by Jaime Hernandez; 28 pages, black and white interiors.
- First issue of Hernandez's solo Locas spin-off series, launched after the original Love and Rockets magazine ended with issue #50 in 1996; the series ran seven issues through July 2000.
- The series was directly preceded in the Locas publication timeline by the Maggie and Hopey Color Special (1997) and the Whoa, Nellie! miniseries (1996).
- Issue #1 contains multiple short vignettes. The story 'La Pantera Negra' features Norma Costigan (Negra's mother) catching Negra roaming the streets with friends. 'Hopey Hop Sacks' shows Hopey telling Maggie over the phone about Guy Goforth asking her out. An untitled Locas segment shows Maggie working for Negra's mom. A Penny Century vignette reveals on-screen news that H.R. Costigan has slipped into a coma — a major plot development across the series.
- The character 'Space Queen' (referenced in the catalog as 'Space Girl' in later issues) is a recurring non-Locas science-fiction character Hernandez used throughout the Penny Century series as a genre counterpoint to the realist Locas stories.
- Penny Century #1–7 were later collected, along with Whoa, Nellie! #1–3, Maggie and Hopey Color Fun Special #1, and a story from Love and Rockets Vol. 2 #5, in the omnibus Penny Century: A Love and Rockets Book (Fantagraphics, 2010), which served as Locas Library Book 4 / the eighth volume of The Complete Love and Rockets Library.
- The broader Penny Century series arc includes the eventual death of H.R. Costigan, Maggie's divorce, and the 'Bay of Threes' origin story of Beatriz 'Penny Century' Garcia — all of which are seeded across the run beginning with plot threads in issue #1.
- Jaime Hernandez and his brother Gilbert were inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2017, and Jaime won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 2016, underscoring the critical standing of the body of work the Penny Century series is part of.
Cast · 10 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in The Complete Love & Rockets #[18] (2000), Strapazin #62 (2001), Penny Century #1 (2004), Locas #II (2009), Love and Rockets Library #[8] (2010)
Key issues in Penny Century
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