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The Love Bunglers (2014)

by Jaime Hernández(Favorite Author)

4.44 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1606997297 (ISBN13: 9781606997291)

languge

English

genre

Graphic Novels & Comics

publisher

Fantagraphics Books

review 1: Okay, now that I've (mostly) stopped crying...What a great time to be a fan of the Hernandez brothers. I first came to Love and Rockets in the mid 80's and it was one of the greatest things that had ever happened to me. The series stayed strong for years, but after the book's initial run ended, Jaime and Gilbert both went through a long-ish period when their work just appealed to me less.Then Love and Rockets: New Stories launched in 2008. I was wary. I was going to read it, certainly, but my expectations were modest.But the Bros. were back. New Stories has gone from strength to strength. It's a later career renaissance that is endlessly amazing and gratifying.A lot of The Love Bunglers felt familiar to me. Strong, but familiar. And I found myself not entirely on b... moreoard with every character's endless adoration of Maggie. Sure, I love Maggie too, but the obsession gets a bit thick. The first side story, Browntown, seemed a little long, a little heavy-handed. Good, very good, sure.The second half of the book offers another side story, Return to Me, and it's lovely. For quite a while, though, I'd been reading that The Love Bunglers is IT, Jaime's definitive masterwork, THE ultimate Maggie story. I'd waited for the hardcover release, knowing that it would contain new material, and then I held on to that until just the right moment. And as I read, I was thinking maybe this wasn't all it was cracked up to be.Even as my stomach wrenched at a climactic act of violence, a part of my mind thought, "Well, yeah, but it's like that time when..."Then we get to the last few pages. A head-spinning collage that is beautifully constructed and emotionally devastating. An absolutely perfect cameo by Hopey. An unabashedly romantic conclusion.Waterworks.Greatest Jamie story ever? Not to me. But a great story, and a cause for celebration.
review 2: I saw this at my library and decided to pick it up. Because I wanted to support and read more stories written by people of color, I chose this graphic novel. I don't know how this work was executed but the beauty and sadness illustrated gripped me and inspired me as a writer. I've never heard of Jaime Hernandez until now and I must venture out and get more of his work. I loved this. I can't even explain how much this graphic novel has affected me as a person and I finished the novel in one sitting! As I write this, I can only thank Hernandez for this and I can't wait to be plunged into more of Maggie and Ray's stories in the future - even if I'm traveling to their past (my present). Excellent, excellent work. less

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