Gilbert Hernandez and his brother Xaime's "Love & Rockets" is the alternative comics success story of the 80's and 90's. If the publication of "Zap" #1 in 1967 marks the beginning of underground comix, the publication of "Love & Rockets" #1 by Fantagraphicsin 1982 could be said to mark the beginning of the '80's comics renaissance called alternative comics.The brothers credit the punk rock explosion of the late '70's with broadening their horizons and leading them to reflect on their personal experiences in their comics.
Although the Hernandez Brothers had never published before, it took only an issue or two for them to find their highly original and distinctive voices, and within a few short years they were amassing critical notices in the mainstream media as well as international awards. Their fiction is routinely praised for its realism, complexity, subtlety, and ethnic authenticity. The "Love & Rockets" series has recently ended with #50, but the work that appears in the comic is also collected into book form. There are currently fifteen volumes of "The Complete Love & Rockets" available, published chronologically.
