Maggie the Mechanic
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- Create Date：2021-08-02 08:53:58
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Jaime Hernández
- ISBN：1560977841
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Summary
Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2007， Love and Rockets will finally be released in its most accessible form yet: as a series of compact， thick， affordable， mass-market volumes that present the whole story in perfect chronological order。 The 25th anniversary Love and Rockets celebration continues with this， the first of three volumes collecting the adventures of the spunky Maggie， her annoying best friend and sometime lover Hopey， and their circle of friends， including their bombshell friend Penny Century， Maggie's weirdo mentor Izzyas well as the wrestler Rena Titanon and Maggie's handsome love interest， Rand Race。 Maggie the Mechanic collects the earliest， punkiest， most heavily sci-fi stories of Maggie and her circle of friends， and you can see the artist （who drew like an angel from the very first panel） refine his approach: Despite these strong shifts in tone， the stunning art and razor sharp characterizations keep this collection consistent， and enthralling throughout。 （Note: A number of these stories were not collected in the hardcover Locas。）
Reviews
Josh
，
I've been interested in tackling Love and Rockets for a while now， and despite being overwhelmed by the amount of content， I'm glad that I did。 Fantagraphics put out new collected editions in the last decade， with each volume alternating between Jaime's Locas and Gilbert's Palomar stories。 This first volume collects the earliest of Jamie's stories。 They are honest， raw， sometimes unrefined， but human and relatable。 The paperbacks look great and are easy to read， too。Centering on Maggie， Hopey， P I've been interested in tackling Love and Rockets for a while now， and despite being overwhelmed by the amount of content， I'm glad that I did。 Fantagraphics put out new collected editions in the last decade， with each volume alternating between Jaime's Locas and Gilbert's Palomar stories。 This first volume collects the earliest of Jamie's stories。 They are honest， raw， sometimes unrefined， but human and relatable。 The paperbacks look great and are easy to read， too。Centering on Maggie， Hopey， Penny， and their pals， we follow their （mis）adventures through life， romance， and the punk music scene in southern California。 Maggie and Hopey are friends and occasionally lovers who just want to have fun and live their best punk life。 Most of the stories are short， quick episodes which give us glimpse into their slice-of-life。 It's great to really settle in with the characters and follow all their wild antics， though a couple of the stories were quite long and overstayed their welcome （looking at you， Mechanics and Las Mujeres Perdidas！）。 The cast shows growth over time， entering and leaving relationships and employment， which keeps it from returning to a stagnant status quo; Maggie and Hopey are left in a different place than we started by the end。 There were a few times that I was unclear on the timeline since it jumps around from present to past every now and then， but it's not too disrupting。 You can see Jaime's linework grow from the beginning of the collection to the end， and he manages to make each character distinct （even when they dye their hair， which is no small feat in a comic that is black and white！）。 Judging from the other reviews， it only gets better from here; I really enjoyed it， so I can't wait to dive into more！ 。。。more
Jade
，
3 stars
Shoshanna
，
So third times the charm！ After starting this book twice before， I finally made the right decision to literally skip anything with dinosaurs， rockets， spaceships。 I'm here for the queer xicana punk world narrative！ What a read within this volume I loved， and I feel like I'm learning more and more about these characters and really connecting with them！Looking forward to reading the rest of the volumes of this library collection！ So third times the charm！ After starting this book twice before， I finally made the right decision to literally skip anything with dinosaurs， rockets， spaceships。 I'm here for the queer xicana punk world narrative！ What a read within this volume I loved， and I feel like I'm learning more and more about these characters and really connecting with them！Looking forward to reading the rest of the volumes of this library collection！ 。。。more
Keith Kavanagh
，
found a new appreciation for hernandez's artwork however didn't care for the writing or the stories found a new appreciation for hernandez's artwork however didn't care for the writing or the stories 。。。more
Nate
，
It took me a bit to get into this but by the halfway point I was really enjoying it。 This collection features the first five years of Love and Rockets stories by Jaime Hernandez。 His art and writing come alive on the page， and the characters feel like real people。 It’s a very human – and very funny – comic。 The sci-fi elements are a little out of place， but I understand Hernandez ditches them later on。 And while the shifts in tone and focus between the stories can be jarring， none of them， even It took me a bit to get into this but by the halfway point I was really enjoying it。 This collection features the first five years of Love and Rockets stories by Jaime Hernandez。 His art and writing come alive on the page， and the characters feel like real people。 It’s a very human – and very funny – comic。 The sci-fi elements are a little out of place， but I understand Hernandez ditches them later on。 And while the shifts in tone and focus between the stories can be jarring， none of them， even the 1-2 pagers， are bad。 Hernandez is a rock solid storyteller。 I’ve seen his art before， mostly on covers， and I adore it here。 His clean style is timeless。I've been looking to read Love and Rockets for a while and I'm glad I liked this first book。 。。。more
Nicholas Driscoll
，
For me， this was a real mixed bag， with enjoyable characters and dialogue and really nice art， but with stories that rarely worked for me。The stories center mostly around Maggie and Hopey， two Latinas who look almost the same with slightly different hair styles （seriously， their faces seem to be the same）。 Maggie gets the spotlight in this volume especially--she is a young， clumsy， sexy， but hopeless-in-love mechanic who always falls into misfortune and misadventure。 Hopey tries to help her out- For me， this was a real mixed bag， with enjoyable characters and dialogue and really nice art， but with stories that rarely worked for me。The stories center mostly around Maggie and Hopey， two Latinas who look almost the same with slightly different hair styles （seriously， their faces seem to be the same）。 Maggie gets the spotlight in this volume especially--she is a young， clumsy， sexy， but hopeless-in-love mechanic who always falls into misfortune and misadventure。 Hopey tries to help her out--but Hopey is in love with her。 Maggie chases after Race， a famous mechanic and local studmuffin。 There are a bunch of other characters， too--a sort of proto-goth chick， super-hot Penny who wants to be a superhero， a rich guy with horns， a pro-wrestler lady， and a few others。 There are a lot of stories here of varying lengths， and they mix elements of sci-fi and magical realism。 I liked that there were dinosaurs in one of the first stories。However， for me at least， the tales tended to lack。。。 they rarely had a satisfying arc to them， at least for me， and I tended to get a bit impatient with them sometimes。 Even when the girls are out on an adventure， I often felt kind of disconnected from the action， as if the events lacked oomph。 Some of the stories are just surreal， which may jive with many， but not so much with me。Still， the art is great。 Jaime Hernandez draws really beautiful women。 The dialogue is chipper and fun and clever at times。 The characters are flawed and multifaceted。 You can go with much worse than a comic like this。 。。。more
Dan Schwent
，
Maggie The Mechanic collects material from Love and Rockets #0-15， Mechanics #1-2， Anything Goes #2， Love and Rockets Bonanza， and Ten Years of Love and Rockets。I've been aware of Love and Rockets for ages but never took the plunge。 Fantagraphics was having their winter sale so I picked this up in addition to a lot of other things。 Actually， it turns out this isn't my first Love and Rockets experience。 I must have Anything Goes #2 in my stash because I remembered the part about Maggie enjoying b Maggie The Mechanic collects material from Love and Rockets #0-15， Mechanics #1-2， Anything Goes #2， Love and Rockets Bonanza， and Ten Years of Love and Rockets。I've been aware of Love and Rockets for ages but never took the plunge。 Fantagraphics was having their winter sale so I picked this up in addition to a lot of other things。 Actually， it turns out this isn't my first Love and Rockets experience。 I must have Anything Goes #2 in my stash because I remembered the part about Maggie enjoying being spanked with a piece of Hot Wheel track。 Anyway， this was great shit。Jaime Hernandez' art wowed me right out of the gate。 It reminded me of Alex Toth and romance comics era John Romita with a small touch of Dan DeCarlo。 In short， the guy's art is right in my wheelhouse。As great as the art is， Jaime Hernandez is an even better writer。 The characters of Maggie and Hopey felt like real people at the onset。 Maggie is a Prosolar rocket mechanic and has a massive crush on Rand Race， best mechanic there is。 Hopey is her friend and sometime lover， member of a punk band and all around bad ass。There are some science fiction elements， like rockets， robots， and even a couple dinosaurs， but the locas are the center of the book。 It's no wonder Jaime decided to kick the science fiction stuff to the curb in later books。 The human element was by far the most interesting in the book。 Not that the rest wasn't interesting， though。 Jaime worked all of his interests into it， like super heroes， wrestling， and punk music。There is a void in my heart after finishing Maggie the Mechanic。 Fortunately， there are still about 40 years of material left to consume。 Five out of five rockets。 。。。more
Judson
，
When you've been wondering about something for 30 years and it turns out to be 20 years ahead of its time and you wouldn't have been prepared for its greatness any time but the last 15 years and you'll be catching up to it for the next 10 years， life is good。 When you've been wondering about something for 30 years and it turns out to be 20 years ahead of its time and you wouldn't have been prepared for its greatness any time but the last 15 years and you'll be catching up to it for the next 10 years， life is good。 。。。more
Jeff B。
，
This was a fun collection of adventures had by Maggie the Mechanic and her friends。 I am not familiar with Love and Rockets， but liked these characters。 These stories were originally in comic books that came out in the early '80s and are collected here， so while they are all seemingly connected， there is a wide variety of stories:1。 Some are firmly planted in the world we know of 1980 （when it was originally done） and others are more fantastical such as killer robots， dinosaurs， superheroes。2。 S This was a fun collection of adventures had by Maggie the Mechanic and her friends。 I am not familiar with Love and Rockets， but liked these characters。 These stories were originally in comic books that came out in the early '80s and are collected here， so while they are all seemingly connected， there is a wide variety of stories:1。 Some are firmly planted in the world we know of 1980 （when it was originally done） and others are more fantastical such as killer robots， dinosaurs， superheroes。2。 Some stories are really short， like a page long， while other are several parts and probably take up 30+ pages。3。 Some stories focus on Maggie while others focus more on one of her friends， but they're all， to my recollection， connected to these same people。4。 And as expected， some stories are better than others。By the time I was halfway thru this book， these characters really wormed their way into my heart。 There also was some nice LGBT representation， especially considering when these were originally released。 At some point I would like to read more Love & Rockets and check in on my friends on the page。 。。。more
Tony Delgado （Comics）
，
Jaime Hernandez's skill in gesture， layering black and white， and using texture is top notch。 Jaime Hernandez's skill in gesture， layering black and white， and using texture is top notch。 。。。more
Matt Benkarski
，
My reading schedule has been totally out of whack lately。 But Love and Rockets has been a consistent comfort as I lethargically parse through my other books I’m trying to read right now; it’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a comic。 If you’re looking for a blend of every genre of comic ever made with a nice dose of punk ascetic and mentality， you would be hard pressed to find something better than this。 The Hernandez brothers have my heart in their hands。
Adrian
，
How have I， as a self-professed comic enthusiast， reached the ripe old age of 30 and am only just discovering the joys of Love & Rockets？？ I've had this book on my self for， probably close to 15 years。 It never clicked with me as a teenager， but I picked it off the shelf on a whim and had a quick browse and instantly fell in love。 Sure this volume is a bit disjointed， but god I love Maggie & Hopey and the artwork as the volume progresses just gets more and more gorgeous。 Very excited to now have How have I， as a self-professed comic enthusiast， reached the ripe old age of 30 and am only just discovering the joys of Love & Rockets？？ I've had this book on my self for， probably close to 15 years。 It never clicked with me as a teenager， but I picked it off the shelf on a whim and had a quick browse and instantly fell in love。 Sure this volume is a bit disjointed， but god I love Maggie & Hopey and the artwork as the volume progresses just gets more and more gorgeous。 Very excited to now have a huge library of stuff ahead of me to explore！ 。。。more
Jake Nap
，
The first volume of Los Hernandez Bros’s influential indie comics darling Love and Rockets features the early Locas stories by Jaime Hernandez。 The Heavy Metal inspired Sci-fi world features Dinosaurs， futuristic vehicles， wrestling and celebrity mechanics told through an Archie Comics slice of life style。 Jaime’s art is incredible， his storytelling and cartooning is so visually pleasing to look at。 His work with a brush is nothing the laugh about either。 His line work and especially his inks ar The first volume of Los Hernandez Bros’s influential indie comics darling Love and Rockets features the early Locas stories by Jaime Hernandez。 The Heavy Metal inspired Sci-fi world features Dinosaurs， futuristic vehicles， wrestling and celebrity mechanics told through an Archie Comics slice of life style。 Jaime’s art is incredible， his storytelling and cartooning is so visually pleasing to look at。 His work with a brush is nothing the laugh about either。 His line work and especially his inks are just so damn good。 I do feel like this volume takes a bit to get going， but it more than makes up for it by the end。 。。。more
Christopher
，
So the story was fine。 It's a comic with a lot of different places it goes。 Just never felt really invested in it for me。 The queer subtext is cool。 A likely bisexual Latina character in a comic back then wasn't something you'd see a lot。 But wasn't enough to keep me invested。 Not all the plots were here for me unfortunately but I could see this really working for others。 Also really liked the art style。 Took me back。 So the story was fine。 It's a comic with a lot of different places it goes。 Just never felt really invested in it for me。 The queer subtext is cool。 A likely bisexual Latina character in a comic back then wasn't something you'd see a lot。 But wasn't enough to keep me invested。 Not all the plots were here for me unfortunately but I could see this really working for others。 Also really liked the art style。 Took me back。 。。。more
Chris
，
I put it off for years， even decades， but eventually the critical consensus of my graphic novel/comic reading friends put a heavy hand on the scale – I had to read Love & Rockets。 Fortunately， the Chicago Public Library has oodles of copies of the omnibus volumes， making it easy to jump in and follow the stories chronologically。It’s interesting to imagine the original comic books， in which brother Jaime’s punk-rock/California-based stories rub affectionate elbows with brother Gilbert’s literary I put it off for years， even decades， but eventually the critical consensus of my graphic novel/comic reading friends put a heavy hand on the scale – I had to read Love & Rockets。 Fortunately， the Chicago Public Library has oodles of copies of the omnibus volumes， making it easy to jump in and follow the stories chronologically。It’s interesting to imagine the original comic books， in which brother Jaime’s punk-rock/California-based stories rub affectionate elbows with brother Gilbert’s literary ensemble dramas in the Latin American town of Palomar， alongside Mario’s works （which I still haven’t read）。 Getting to read these distilled and ordered via the Fantagraphics collections allows you to sink into a set of characters over a long period。The first of the “Locas” （Jaime） stories begin in a very fragmented place – the first couple strips are nearly incomprehensible – but settle into a nice groove with the sci-fi flecked “Maggie the Mechanic” in which Jaime’s most popular character breaks the social-realistic contract by acting as a mechanic on all manner of hovercraft and space vehicles。 Amusingly， Hernandez drops this conceit fairly early on， though the characters still talk fondly of the time when Maggie was out of town working on warp-drives and getting embroiled in multi-national intrigue， like it was a summer internship。Maggie the Mechanic （the collection， not the storyline） also introduces us to Maggie’s on-again， off-again longtime girlfriend Hopey Glass， glamorous trophy wife Penny Century （who’s married to a billionaire with horns）， haunted gothic figure Izzy， Maggie’s aunt， the legendary women’s wrestler Vicki Glori， and especially her rival， Rena Titañon。 It’s one of those things where you’re chugging along while reading， accepting all the twists and turns as you go， but describing it after the fact really reminds you of hos strange and wondrous it all is。 It's been a year since I read this so I don’t remember every single storyline， but I remember odd naked romps through Penny Century’s mansion， a fair amount of intrigued with Maggie and Rena Titañon in another country， and the first flowerings of the central group that hangs around Hoppers， California （based on Hernandez’s stomping grounds of Oxnard）， the punk rock scene， the petty theft and graffiti， the endless forming， name-changing， and breaking up of bands， and the eternal longing between early 20 year-olds between the various objects of their affection – a dude， a lady， a case of beer and a new record。 This one is very good， but having read the next couple， they do get even better。 The sci-fi elements are fun and wide-ranging， but Gilbert’s at his best with matters of the heart instead of matters of the hyperdrive。 。。。more
Pinky
，
There's some stuff to like， not a lot though。 A big book of mysoginystic stereotypes dressed up as feminism。 The age of the writing definitely shows through as do the attitudes of the 80s。 There's some stuff to like， not a lot though。 A big book of mysoginystic stereotypes dressed up as feminism。 The age of the writing definitely shows through as do the attitudes of the 80s。 。。。more
Jack
，
Brilliant worldbuilding， and fantastic art right out of the gate。 I am hooked
Rosie
，
Love the art！ I’m sure this was radical at the time， but now it feels like a story about queer women told by a man。 Did not finish。
Paul Spence
，
Love and Rockets splits roughly into two parts - LOCAS which deals with Jaime Hernandez's world， and Palomor， which centres around the fictional Mexican village of the same name， and is written by his brother， Gilbert。This collects the former， which looks at a Los Angeles suburb called Hoppers and it's mainly Mexican inhabitants。 It's two main characters are Maggie - an 18 year old girl who is charmingly clumsy， falls in love easily， and loves her best friend and sometime lover Hopey as much as Love and Rockets splits roughly into two parts - LOCAS which deals with Jaime Hernandez's world， and Palomor， which centres around the fictional Mexican village of the same name， and is written by his brother， Gilbert。This collects the former， which looks at a Los Angeles suburb called Hoppers and it's mainly Mexican inhabitants。 It's two main characters are Maggie - an 18 year old girl who is charmingly clumsy， falls in love easily， and loves her best friend and sometime lover Hopey as much as she is frustrated by her antics。 Hopey is confident， rough around the edges and flirts with the authorities and her place in society。 Littered throughout are just as interesting co-stars， such as Penny Century， a voluptuous woman who dreams of being a super hero， Isabel， who is plagued with supernatural powers and demons， and Rena， an older female wrestling superstar who becomes a mother figure and role model to Maggie。The Locas universe is so big and vast （the Hernandez brothers started the comics in the early 80s， and after a few years break， recently started it back up again in the late 00's） and fans opinion on where to delve in first varies。 I believe that this collection， which includes the first LOCAS stories， is the perfect place。 The reason why others believe it may not be suitable， is because at the beginning of the first Locas stories， the world that Maggie and Hoppey lived in was very very different。 It was more of a sci-fi ala Tank Girl than what it would become in the next collection。 But， I like the fact that I know all I can about the girls and their world， and in a way， I kind of prefer the first world they were a part of， as it mixed a superhero world with that of average day to day occurrences。Either way， Jaime has created such an amazing world with the kind of characters you wished you could sit next to on a boring plane flight - they are guaranteed to keep you entertained and hooked during your stay with them。 。。。more
Baba
，
The Hernández brothers first five years of work （1981-1985） on Love & Rockets collected to together in this volume。 A mix of Latino culture， progressive Punk movement， lesbian romancing， mechanics， rockets and love！ A very unusual mix， with pretty interesting results！ At first I couldn't make out what the story was， and then realised that this is the story， the entire reality itself， with the United States focus point being the relationship between Hopey Glass and Maggie Chascarillo。 7 out of 12 The Hernández brothers first five years of work （1981-1985） on Love & Rockets collected to together in this volume。 A mix of Latino culture， progressive Punk movement， lesbian romancing， mechanics， rockets and love！ A very unusual mix， with pretty interesting results！ At first I couldn't make out what the story was， and then realised that this is the story， the entire reality itself， with the United States focus point being the relationship between Hopey Glass and Maggie Chascarillo。 7 out of 12。 NOTICE - this is one of the weakest collections in the series， there are some genius stories to come later in the series， but you need to read all of these to get the true brilliance of later stories。 。。。more
Brendan
，
The origins of Las Locas， steeped in LA punk rock and subtle sci-fi weirdness， collected together in all their glory。 The L&R Library collections do a great job of collecting the storylines into cohesive chunks， and this is a great place to start。
Kandace
，
It took me a while to get into this very wide cast of characters but after I did I wanted to read more about the adventures of Las Locas。 A lot of the strips focused on Maggie and her friendship/relationship with Hopey。 There are definitely fun superhero threads as well as flying rocket ships and political upheaval and a rich billionaire with horns。 There is a level of suspending disbelief with which the reader must accept which makes the world fun。 The interspersing of Chicano/a culture is sati It took me a while to get into this very wide cast of characters but after I did I wanted to read more about the adventures of Las Locas。 A lot of the strips focused on Maggie and her friendship/relationship with Hopey。 There are definitely fun superhero threads as well as flying rocket ships and political upheaval and a rich billionaire with horns。 There is a level of suspending disbelief with which the reader must accept which makes the world fun。 The interspersing of Chicano/a culture is satisfying for this Chicana。 Glimpses of the LA Punk Scene of the 80s also make this a fun historical comic。 I will continue working my way through the series as they are collected via access to them on Hoopla。 They are very text heavy comics so it will likely take me a while to make it through。 Looking forward to the challenge。 。。。more
Nic
，
The early episodes are a bit uneven - many are definitely comic strips rather than comic books - but overall there's a lot of punky charm in the daily lives （and occasional dramatic misadventures） of Maggie， Hopey and friends。 The early episodes are a bit uneven - many are definitely comic strips rather than comic books - but overall there's a lot of punky charm in the daily lives （and occasional dramatic misadventures） of Maggie， Hopey and friends。 。。。more
ComicNerdSam
，
Super invested in these characters， Jaime really makes them feel like family。 I want to know what happens next so bad。
Clint
，
Before starting this I read that vol1 is much different than the rest of Jamie’s Love and Rockets stories， and that new readers should probably start at vol2， but I knew better and， well， starting at vol2 is likely smarter。 The b&w art is striking and charming from the first page， but the stories take a while to settle in to the grounded drama I expect the series will be going forward。 Once that happens in the back half， this is a delight。 Hopey and Maggie and Izzy are such funny， invigorating c Before starting this I read that vol1 is much different than the rest of Jamie’s Love and Rockets stories， and that new readers should probably start at vol2， but I knew better and， well， starting at vol2 is likely smarter。 The b&w art is striking and charming from the first page， but the stories take a while to settle in to the grounded drama I expect the series will be going forward。 Once that happens in the back half， this is a delight。 Hopey and Maggie and Izzy are such funny， invigorating characters and I’m excited to read more about them and their extended social circle as they age。 The 80s LA mexi-punk culture they live in （contemporary to when these were published of course） is conveyed so naturally as well。The first half of this is a slog， though; it took me weeks to get through it （compared to a single day for the back half）。 The wobbly inclusion of sci-fi fantasy ideas like dinosaurs and rocket ships （which are thankfully abandoned） feels novel at first， but quickly muddles the character drama。 The pages also seem much more dense with text early on， often using 9 panel pages with multiple paragraph-length exchanges in each panel that impinge on the gorgeous art。 Some of the women are drawn early on in a leering alt comix style that is off-putting to me， but that becomes more reliably naturalistic in the back half （I know this is an ongoing consideration with Beto’s L&R comics， so maybe it took a bit for Jamie to move away from his bro’s stylistic quirks early on？）So， it’s a less than perfect intro to this world， but I’m glad to know these characters and their early， uneven stories and excited to read more consistent ones in the future。 。。。more
Zack Quaintance
，
These characters may as well be real， and this book’s reputation as one of the greatest comics ever is very much deserved。
Ashley Earley
，
I’m going to give this 3。5 Stars just because I didn’t like it for the first bit。 It was scattered and it took me a while to get into it。 Enjoyed it by the end though！
Adam Stone
，
I've spent years trying to get into Love & Rockets。 I bought the shiny different versions in the early 2000s， and started picking up some of the LOCAS books when they started showing up in stores I worked at。L&R is an incredibly important part of not-mainstream comics， and I can understand why someone expired to them early in their comic reading days might love and feel nostalgic for these books。 Jaime's art is spectacular from the very first panel， and is consistent。 But these early stories are I've spent years trying to get into Love & Rockets。 I bought the shiny different versions in the early 2000s， and started picking up some of the LOCAS books when they started showing up in stores I worked at。L&R is an incredibly important part of not-mainstream comics， and I can understand why someone expired to them early in their comic reading days might love and feel nostalgic for these books。 Jaime's art is spectacular from the very first panel， and is consistent。 But these early stories are garbage。 Unless you， like me， have an affinity for chronology， don't waste your time in this book。 It's a succession of barely related stories， amateur attempts at breaking the fourth wall to offer meta commentary， and just aimless writing about screechy， hot， young women， written by someone to whom no one would advise those adjectives。 It never feels accurate， especially when they're thrown into sci-fi situations， or Jaime tries to make political statements。 It's， like， really， really， really bad writing attached to impeccable art。I'm going to try and read their some other L&R books and see if I enjoy them more， but this book is less a graphic novel collection of stories than it is a historical documentation of Jaime's early work。 。。。more
Jacob
，
Sometimes things we like in pop culture point us to other things， which is how I discovered Love and Rockets。 My favorite contemporary band is named Speedy Ortiz， which if you've already read some Love and Rockets you'll recognize as one of the character's names。 I've been a fan of Speedy Ortiz since before I started reading comics， and given how I've dived into the comic world in the last three or so years， it's likely I would have discovered Love and Rockets on my own。 But having that connecti Sometimes things we like in pop culture point us to other things， which is how I discovered Love and Rockets。 My favorite contemporary band is named Speedy Ortiz， which if you've already read some Love and Rockets you'll recognize as one of the character's names。 I've been a fan of Speedy Ortiz since before I started reading comics， and given how I've dived into the comic world in the last three or so years， it's likely I would have discovered Love and Rockets on my own。 But having that connection with the band gave me a fun little "in" to the series。However， I cannot say that my love of Speedy Ortiz meant that I was destined to love Maggie the Mechanic--that is something it earned all on its own。I came up with several points of comparison while reading: Old Marvel （in how dialogue is written， at least through the first half of the volume）， Watchmen and Sin City （for the willingness to embrace larger chunks of text， though never as extremely as Alan Moore/Frank Miller）， and Archie Comics （for reasons I don't know because I've never read old Archie--just a gut impulse）。 I was gratified to see the author bio at the end specifically cites Marvel and Archie as big influences。 As well as R。 Crumb （who I haven't read， but is so， so iconic that I can say， "Yes， definitely"）。Yet despite the wide spate of obvious influences， there's something so unique about what this does。 In a lot of ways this feels like slice-of-life。 Characters hanging out， talking， arguing， stressing about rent， boyfriends （or the lack thereof）， dreams。 Reading Maggie the Mechanic is like finding a new friend group; it feels like I too am hanging out with them， participating。 At the same time， however， there's fantastic pulpy sci-fi slant that crops up。 This is a world with hover bikes， dinosaurs， superheros， robots。 There's political turmoil at every turn--revolution is a constant theme， not as the thrust of any given story arc， but just as a natural part of the world around the characters。 And it does creep into their lives， affecting the way arcs play out。The sci-fi stuff is approached in a very casual way。 It's not about those things; in most cases they do nothing in the plot。 Like with the political turmoil， it's just a part of the world。 No one really thinks about superheroes （except Penny， who wants to be one）， they're just needed sometimes， like your banker。 Dinosaurs are a bit exotic and Maggie's tickled to meet one， but they're not something that are an attraction themselves; this isn't Jurassic Park or anything。 It'd be like you meeting a sloth: cool， but you're not changing your life for it。 The robots are interesting because the ones we see are non-functioning。 In fact， we see very little advanced tech--at least in the everyday life of Maggie and her friends--to suggest that this is a world much beyond the 80s/90s when it was written in。 Because the story accepts these things as just part of the world， so do we。It's such a cool， cool way to communicate story， character， and plot。 。。。more
Matthew WK
，
Took me a few pages to get into and understand the mood and storytelling style， but once i did i really enjoyed it。 The line work for the art is beautiful。 I really love the style - a lot of panels are backlit so that the shadows and ink work are prominent。 What a fun story and definitely one I'm going to follow as I'll be picking up volume 2 shortly。 Took me a few pages to get into and understand the mood and storytelling style， but once i did i really enjoyed it。 The line work for the art is beautiful。 I really love the style - a lot of panels are backlit so that the shadows and ink work are prominent。 What a fun story and definitely one I'm going to follow as I'll be picking up volume 2 shortly。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Maggie the Mechanic
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Maggie the Mechanic&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Maggie the Mechanic&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0