I've gone back and forth. I mentioned a bit about it above but with more detail...When I got into them, it was all about Jaime. The punk rock lesbians, the gangs, the sci-fi action in the early stuff. Gilbert's stuff I didn't really appreciate. As I got older and the series progessed and evolved, there was a period where I suddenly started to really get into Gilbert, I loved the magical realism element and the stories in general. At a certain point I felt like Jaime's stuff was losing me, like he was just doing these slice of life things with these characters and I was losing sense of any overal story arc, while Gilbert was just getting bigger and better. Stuff like Poison River really killed me. And Gilbert's many non-Palomar stuff and different series and side-projects and the New Love stuff, the really twisted Jim Woodring-esque craziness.
But I totally lost track, just couldn't keep up with all the different series and Gilbert's Palomar family tree got too big for me to follow. And more recently I fell back in love with Jaime.
I mean, I'm splitting hairs, I love them both for similar and different reasons. Much of it is my own fault, it's been a long time since I've stepped back and read a lot in order, but I blame them...all the different series, it got so complicated! And they wouldn't come out for ages then suddenly there'd be a bunch and I'd forget if I had one already and I'd buy the same one again. Then they'd come out with the book and they've edited the story and added 50 pages. It's really frustrating!
If I had the money I'd go back and buy all the books of everything since the first series, because I'm just lost.
― dan selzer, Saturday, 29 September 2012 20:42 (eleven years ago) link
I mean, read this:
http://www.fantagraphics.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=76&Itemid=135
and tell me it doesn't piss you off!
― dan selzer, Saturday, 29 September 2012 20:44 (eleven years ago) link
Which reminds me, why didn't they include Poison River in the Palomar hardcover? I don't know how you can read that without realizing that in the middle of those stories Gilbert wrote an epic history that relates to current story.
― dan selzer, Saturday, 29 September 2012 20:45 (eleven years ago) link
The hardcovers are ridiculous. It seems like the new reprint 'digests' are gonna be pretty all-encompassing, so I think you can stick with those if you're patient. But, yeah, the numerous collection projects are pretty irritating, but I have all of the original series collections and all of the v.2 issues and I'm slowly amassing the 'digests' and the New Stories annuals, so I feel like I don't have to worry about much else.
I do agree with you re: the scattershot nature of Beto's latter day output. I gave up trying to get it all (or even keep up with however many books he puts out in a year), but that's due in large part to the fact that the stuff he's done lately doesn't interest or engage me as much as the Palomar proper stuff does. Hopefully he recollects it into 'digests' at some point down the line.
― Old Lunch, Saturday, 29 September 2012 23:19 (eleven years ago) link
Oh, in keeping with milking the cash cow, Fantagraphics are releasing a collection of covers, a Reader, and a Companion (what's the difference between a Reader and a Companion, and why do they have to be two separate books?) in celebration of L&R's 30th anniversary.
― Old Lunch, Saturday, 29 September 2012 23:24 (eleven years ago) link
it's not super hard, at least for Jaime: Mechanic, HOPPERS, Perla, Penny Century, Esperanza
― alpha flighticles (Drugs A. Money), Sunday, 30 September 2012 01:36 (eleven years ago) link
Yeah, Jaime's concise like that. Beto, though, has something like 9 or 10 or more collections (Luba, Book of Ofelia, Three Sisters [all collected in the Luba HC...I think?], High Soft Lisp, Adventures of Venus, Birdland, Love From The Shadows, Troublemakers, New Tales Of Old Palomar, etc.) beyond his three Palomar 'digests' that are varying degrees of Palomar-related.
― Old Lunch, Sunday, 30 September 2012 02:05 (eleven years ago) link
i think i have pretty much everything but it's in multiple different formats: first run tpb, current reissues, individual floppies, hardbacks...
― EVERYONE COOKING SCMABLED EGGS,CHEESE WITH TOASTER!! (forksclovetofu), Sunday, 30 September 2012 02:32 (eleven years ago) link
Aside from the recent-ish slew of Beto books I couldn't keep up with, I'm thankfully just a few issues of Luba and Measles away from having everything in one format (and/)or another.
― Old Lunch, Sunday, 30 September 2012 02:50 (eleven years ago) link
It's been 9 years since I picked up L&R ( La Perdida, Peter Bagge's stuff and Minimum Wage). This rings true:But I totally lost track, just couldn't keep up with all the different series and Gilbert's Palomar family tree got too big for me to follow. And more recently I fell back in love with Jaime.
Feel like I have missed a lot in but I have a mental block not knowing where to pick up, what I'd even purchase..... Last I read was Luba in America. I do prefer Jaime.
― *tera, Sunday, 30 September 2012 04:40 (eleven years ago) link
Primary Gilbert works, a continuing story of sorts:Heartbreak Soup, Human Diastrophism, Beyond Palomar, the Luba collection (contains Luba in America, Book of Ofelia, Three Daughters), High Soft Lisp.
Secondary, mostly stand-alone stories: the three Fritz "film adaptations" (Chance in Hell, The Troublemakers, Love from the Shadows), various one-shots (Birdland, Speak of the Devil, Sloth), everything else...
― fit and working again, Sunday, 30 September 2012 05:08 (eleven years ago) link
The line about "losing track" reminds me of why I finally have up on the X-Books back in 1994 or so and never looked back.
― Raymond Cummings, Sunday, 30 September 2012 09:03 (eleven years ago) link
TBF, this isn't a remotely comparable situation. Although I have mostly kept up with the X-stuff so I don't really have a leg to stand on re: Beto.
I would probably add New Tales Of Old Palomar to the essential Beto list, as well.
― Old Lunch, Sunday, 30 September 2012 10:27 (eleven years ago) link
My stuff is in storage. I wish I could see what I have and don't have. Been forgetting a lot lately, so if I had my stuff, I'd probably have to read it all again.
― *tera, Sunday, 30 September 2012 16:13 (eleven years ago) link
Okay, so I've read this stuff over the years but never got around to buying much of it beyond a signed Titan Books edition of Heartbreak Soup and the Palomar hardcover. I bought one of those $50 now for $100 gift certificate to Fantagraphics a little while ago and thought I'd finally buy some for my collection. Since I have the Palomar book, I think it makes more sense to buy the Locas collection and Amor y Cohetes than to buy the complete volume 1 box. Am I wrong in thinking that?
― EZ Snappin, Friday, 5 July 2013 17:16 (eleven years ago) link
If you have the palomar book, you should make sure get Poison River in some form. I think they left it out of Palomar but it's great and essential back-story.
― dan selzer, Friday, 5 July 2013 17:24 (eleven years ago) link
Okay, so I need Beyond Palomar to go with Amor y Cohetes. Those plus The Locas Collection is roughly $99. Consider it done.
― EZ Snappin, Friday, 5 July 2013 17:30 (eleven years ago) link
So, Locas ordered from Fanta, the other two from Amazon (if anyone needs Amor y Cohetes it's $6.80 from Amazon right now). Thanks for the feedback, Dan.
― EZ Snappin, Friday, 5 July 2013 17:54 (eleven years ago) link
The whole thing is so confusing and really pisses me off. So many different versions, and some of the books add pages, or scramble pages. Even the Poison River book scrambled pages around and added a ton of pages that weren't in the original comic!
I don't know what is what and am totally lost.
In any case, Poison River is great and Love and Rockets X is much less related to the Palomar storyline (though it has a bit of crossover) but is still good reading.
― dan selzer, Friday, 5 July 2013 18:50 (eleven years ago) link
Far too confusing. I think the big hardcovers were a good idea but they only muddied the waters further.
At least los bros are consistent - TI Girls has new stuff not in the annual comics. Frustrating.
― EZ Snappin, Friday, 5 July 2013 19:09 (eleven years ago) link
poison river in the comics skipped back-and-forth in time and hard to follow which iirc is why it was rearranged (chronologically) when collected.
― fit and working again, Friday, 5 July 2013 20:49 (eleven years ago) link
*was* hard to follow.
also just that Beto adds pages and panels and stuff all the time, ever since the X collection
Ti-Girls is the first time Xaime has reworked for the collection afair
― pink, fleshy, and gleeful (sic), Saturday, 6 July 2013 00:58 (eleven years ago) link
I thought he had for the two Locas hardcovers but not to the extent Beto had. Could be totally mistaken.
― EZ Snappin, Saturday, 6 July 2013 01:19 (eleven years ago) link
Locals HC 1 doesn't include stories about non-Maggie & Hopey characters (eg Flies On The Ceiling), no actual new pages or rewriting though afaik
― pink, fleshy, and gleeful (sic), Saturday, 6 July 2013 01:23 (eleven years ago) link
The new soft backs starting from the beginning are comprehensive, no?
― Chuck_Tatum, Saturday, 6 July 2013 22:47 (eleven years ago) link
As comprehensive as they ought to be, yes (eg no Birdland).
― pink, fleshy, and gleeful (sic), Saturday, 6 July 2013 22:55 (eleven years ago) link
The first three Jaime softbacks, plus the three Gilbert softbacks, plus Amor Y Cohetes = the complete L&R first series (if I'm not mistaken).
Two more Jaime softbacks reprint his stuff from the miniseries that came after and L&R vol 2. Subsequent Gilbert stuff, plus the likes of Birdland, have not been reprinted in this format yet.
― fit and working again, Saturday, 6 July 2013 23:11 (eleven years ago) link
yah if I were getting into Jaime I would totally go with the softcovers. There's more to pay for maybe, but its def more complete. I have the first four volumes, the three from the og series and then Penny Century as well.
EZ I think a lot of the stuff missing from the Locas hardcover can be found on the second SC, which I can send to you if you want...
― the gospel of meth (Drugs A. Money), Sunday, 7 July 2013 03:09 (eleven years ago) link
Thanks, but when my orders arrive I'll have all the Locas stuff. I might be missing some Beto from the first two SC collections because I have the Palomar HC. But excepting that I will end up with all the volume 1 stuff from all 3 brothers and the Penny Century & Esperanza books.
Next will be the Luba books, New Takes of Old Palomar, and Ti-Girls. So much great stuff to read and, in the case of volume 1, reread.
― EZ Snappin, Sunday, 7 July 2013 03:36 (eleven years ago) link
New Takes? Fat finger phone typing motherfucker.
― EZ Snappin, Sunday, 7 July 2013 03:37 (eleven years ago) link
New Tales gets collected soon as "Children of Palomar".
― fit and working again, Sunday, 7 July 2013 04:13 (eleven years ago) link
Don't know if I've mentioned, but Gilbert's crazy underground stuff from the New Love series is amazing. That can be found in the Fear of Comics collection. The rest of New Love was Venus stuff I think that has probably been compiled with some of the post-Palomar paperbacks.
― dan selzer, Sunday, 7 July 2013 04:52 (eleven years ago) link
man, i stop reading for a few years and it's more baffling than ever lol. tri-girls?
― Nhex, Sunday, 7 July 2013 05:11 (eleven years ago) link
Human Driastophism? Whoa Nrellie? Blood Of Pralomar? Chrester Square?
― pink, fleshy, and gleeful (sic), Sunday, 7 July 2013 16:13 (eleven years ago) link
So far, reading the Locas stories chronologically feels weird. The reordered Palomar stories make so much sense, but the vignettes of Locas worked for me going backwards and forwards in time in the original issues. It works fine but feels strange after all these years.
― EZ Snappin, Sunday, 21 July 2013 15:21 (eleven years ago) link
The most recent annual is apparently the last, but only because they're moving back to a semi-regular comic format.
― There must be some magic clue inside these gentle walls (Old Lunch), Monday, 27 June 2016 23:56 (eight years ago) link
I need to catch up since Love Bunglers. That was almost so good I didn't want to read any more.
I also haven't read *any* of Beto's stuff from the original run, just Jaime's. That is.. an oversight.
― Chuck_Tatum, Tuesday, 28 June 2016 09:22 (eight years ago) link
Dude Heartbreak Soup and Human Diastrophism are amazing and collect his Palomar stuff beautifully, you should get on it imo.
― albvivertine, Tuesday, 28 June 2016 09:55 (eight years ago) link
I know! I've been hoarding HD and HS for a rainy day(s), but I just need to get on with it and read the things already.
― Chuck_Tatum, Tuesday, 28 June 2016 10:10 (eight years ago) link
The Palomar stuff is at least as good as Locas. I think I may have preferred it on my last readthrough.
― There must be some magic clue inside these gentle walls (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 28 June 2016 10:27 (eight years ago) link
After p much adoring those two books I eagerly bought the first volume of the collected Locas and it was dismal. I'm sure it was a bad place to start etc but I doubt I'll ever read further, and the generally Gilbert<Jaime opinions I always read rly bug me.
― albvivertine, Tuesday, 28 June 2016 14:07 (eight years ago) link
Also Fear of Comics is great!
― albvivertine, Tuesday, 28 June 2016 14:08 (eight years ago) link
Fear of Comics is the best, but now there's a new book that has a lot of the same stuff. As someone who's been reading since issue 18 of the original run, I have to say I can't keep up and am pretty annoyed by all the reprinting and shuffling of stories and duplicating collections. I just can't keep up.
― dan selzer, Tuesday, 28 June 2016 14:18 (eight years ago) link
Agreed-upon wisdom that I'm sure has been repeated ad infinitum in this very thread: starting Locas from the beginning is a bad idea. Jaime didn't have as clear a vision from the start as Beto did for Palomar, but dismissing Jaime's work out of hand on that basis is doing yourself a grave disservice. Pick up like the second digest-y Locas trade paperback. Los Bros have been operating on roughly the same qualitative level for a long time.
Fear of Comics is wonderful. If you're a fan, I highly recommend Beto's current Fanta series, Blubber. Pure homoerotic id.
― There must be some magic clue inside these gentle walls (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 28 June 2016 14:20 (eight years ago) link
(Re: the ridiculous number of reconfigured collections, I have some of the same L&R material in three different formats at this point. It's goofy. I'm just sticking with buying the annuals/single issues and the new digest things as they come out.)
― There must be some magic clue inside these gentle walls (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 28 June 2016 14:23 (eight years ago) link
god Blubber is some seriously sick and twisted shit
― sexy dander (Stevie D(eux)), Tuesday, 28 June 2016 16:29 (eight years ago) link
One alien phallus penetrating an alien orifice after another.
― There must be some magic clue inside these gentle walls (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 28 June 2016 16:31 (eight years ago) link
I'd be fascinated to know what Beto's actual views on sex are. One could certainly draw all kinds of conclusions based on his comics work.
― There must be some magic clue inside these gentle walls (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 28 June 2016 16:33 (eight years ago) link
creepy thing tho is that it seems to flirt ever so slightly w things like rape and pedophilia and it is so so so graphic
― sexy dander (Stevie D(eux)), Tuesday, 28 June 2016 17:32 (eight years ago) link