Carmen

Stepping out of the sun-drenched pages of Gilbert Hernandez's landmark Love and Rockets in 1983, Carmen is a Bronze Age original woven into one of alternative comics' most celebrated and enduring tapestries. Over the course of more than three decades, she moves through the richly imagined world Hernandez built at Fantagraphics, sharing her story across Love and Rockets, Love and Rockets: New Stories, and Love and Rockets Bonanza! — keeping vivid company with the likes of Luba, Penny Century, and Chelo along the way. Two of her appearances carry key-issue weight, a testament to the significance of the moments she inhabits in this beloved series. For anyone exploring the literary heart of alternative comics, Carmen is exactly the kind of character who rewards a careful read.