The Children Of Palomar

New Tales of Old Palomar is Gilbert Hernandez’s much-anticipated return to the small Central American town of Palomar, more than a decade after his last “Heartbreak Soup” story. Originally released as a three-issue magazine series in the acclaimed international “Ignatz” format, New Tales Old Palomar is finally collected into one handsome book. All three issues deal with the classic characters of Palomar such as sweet Pipo, her sharp-tongue sister Carmen, sheriff Chelo, and the gang of boys who help start it all: studious Heraclio, tall and fey Israel, disfigured but good-natured Vicente, and girl-crazy Jesús and Satch. In the first story, “Children of Palomar,” mysterious, fast-moving thieves are stealing food from wherever they can grab it; Sheriff Chelo and some citizens do their best to solve this mystery, but nobody seems to be able to catch these bandits in action until Pipo puts her soccer-trained legs to work and goes after them herself. In the second, Gato, Soledad, Guero, Pintor, and Arturo go exploring a bottomless chasm and come face to face with... well, we won’t spoil the surprise. The third and last story focuses on one of Palomar’s most beloved characters, the gorgeous but troubled Tonantzín: Everybody in Palomar seems to take the supernatural with a grain of salt, but young Tonantzín is determined to uncover the mystery of the laughing baby that only appears to her, haunting her daily life. What is the baby’s link to the giant stone idols that stand outside the small town...?

From the pages of Love & Rockets, an intimate epic from south of the border.

Gilbert Hernandez, co-creator of Love and Rockets, returns to his roots with this collection of self-contained stories set in the early days of Palomar. In the first volume, The Children of Palomar', little demons have been stealing food from under the noses of the citizens. Where do they come from and how will they be captured? Sheriff Chelo and speedy Pipo are on the case!'

In his first book with Faber, Hernandez tells the untold stories of these American comics legends' youth, and portrays the reality of life in a large family in suburban 1960s California. Told largely from the point of view of middle child Huey - who stages Captain America plays and treasures his older brother's comic book collection almost as much as his approval - Marble Season deftly follows these boys as they navigate their cultural and neighborhood norms. Set against the golden age of the American dream and the silver age of comics, and awash with pop-culture references - TV shows, comic books, super-heroes and music -Marble Season subtly details how their innocent, joyfully creative play changes as they grow older and encounter name-calling, abusive bullies, and the value judgments of others. A coming-of-age story both comic and moving, it will have timeless resonance for children and adults alike.

In Ofelia, the sisters, the kids, and the cousins are all settled comfortably in California after leaving Palomar in Luba and Her Family. Luba and her cousin Ofelia’s relationship has always been fraught, but when Ofelia threatens to write a book about Luba, past memories, secrets, resentments, and pain resurface. Meanwhile, Luba’s children―genius Socorro, recently out-and-proud Doralis, and prickly Maricela―show that a talent for trouble may be hereditary. Luba’s sisters, Fritz and Petra, swap lovers (as usual), but . . . are Fritz and family friend Pipo sittin’ in a tree? These vividly drawn characters are charged with Hernandez’s trademark complexity; they live, love, age, fight― and die―in this sweeping, multi-generational saga.

This comics omnibus includes the graphic novels Julio's Day and The Children of Palomar, as well as never-before-collected work by brothers Mario and Gilbert Hernandez, some of which has never been available since its early 2000s run in comic book single issues.

It begins in the year 1900, with the scream of a newborn. It ends, 100 pages later, in the year 2000, with the death-rattle of a 100-year-old man. The infant and the old man are both Julio, and Gilbert Hernandez's Julio's Day (originally serialized in Love and Rockets Vol. II but never completed until now) is his latest graphic novel, a masterpiece of elliptical, emotional storytelling that traces one life -- indeed, one century in a human life -- through a series of carefully crafted, consistently surprising and enthralling vignettes. There is hope and joy, there is bullying and grief, there is war (so much war -- this is after all the 20th century), there is love, there is heartbreak. This is very much a singular, standalone story that will help cement Hernandez's position as one of the strongest and most original cartoonists of this, or any other, century.

Gilbert Hernandez’s sprawling family saga focuses on the United States, where newly immigrated Luba and her sisters, body-builder Petra and therapist/film star Fritz, find their families’ and friends’ lives becoming more and more intertwined. As the three sisters have “memories of sweet youth,” the next generation finds the spotlight: Luba’s adult daughter Doralís emcees the proceedings in her role as mischievous host of a children’s TV show, while Petra’s little girl, Venus, has adventures with her aunt Fritz and her best friend Yoshio. At her mother’s urging, Venus also writes missives to her fierce, one-armed cousin Casimira, who’s back in Palomar. In these stories ― never before collected together ― Venus tells it like it is!