Love and Rockets #20
Love and Rockets #20 (April 1987) marks the opening chapter of Jaime Hernandez's 'Vida Loca: The Death of Speedy Ortiz,' widely regarded as the single finest sustained arc in the Locas saga — a socially acute, emotionally devastating story of gang life, thwarted love, and loss in the Los Angeles barrio of Hoppers that runs through issue #27. The issue simultaneously carries a Gilbert Hernandez Palomar story centering on Heraclio Calderon as a narrator who traces Palomar's history across many years, deepening the mythological texture of that parallel universe just before the even more ambitious 'Human Diastrophism' begins next issue. Together the two strips in this one package demonstrate the dual-masterwork structure that made Love and Rockets a defining achievement of the alternative-comics movement, influencing a generation of literary cartoonists in their understanding of how sequential art could sustain novelistic character development and sociological depth.
In "The Return of Ray D.," Jaime Hernandez delivers a quiet yet electric chapter of the Love and Rockets saga, capturing the messy, tender rhythms of life in the fictional neighborhood of Palomar. With Hopey on tour, Maggie reconnects with her family and old friends, including Ray Dominguez, who’s returned after three years, stirring up memories and unspoken tensions. The story unfolds with Jaime’s signature blend of intimacy and realism, his distinctive art and lettering bringing the characters’ small moments to life—whether they’re celebrating a new freedom, sharing a ride home, or revisiting a pivotal moment from their past.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
By 1987, Jaime Hernandez had been developing the Locas characters — Maggie, Hopey, Speedy, Izzy, and their sprawling Hoppers social circle — for roughly five years in the pages of Love and Rockets under editor Gary Groth at Fantagraphics. According to the Grand Comics Database, production design for the issue was handled by Peppy White, and the wraparound cover was a collaborative showpiece: Jaime and Gilbert each drew their respective casts in two horizontal dancing friezes, resulting in one of the most visually inventive covers in the series' run. The 'Death of Speedy' arc had been in development from 1986 onward, with Jaime working on the material that would ultimately reshape reader expectations for what an alternative comic-book story could accomplish emotionally.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published April 1987 by Fantagraphics Books; edited by Gary Groth with production by Peppy White.
- The wraparound cover is a joint work by Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez, depicting two horizontal strips of characters from both creators' casts dancing — assembling nearly the entire ensemble of both the Locas and Palomar universes in a single image.
- Issue #20 is the first chapter of Jaime Hernandez's 'Vida Loca: The Death of Speedy Ortiz,' the arc in which Speedy — Izzy Ortiz's youngest brother, gang member, and Maggie's unrequited love — moves toward the tragic conclusion that gives the arc its name; the story runs across issues #20–27.
- Gilbert Hernandez contributes a Palomar story narrated by Heraclio Calderon that spans several years of the village's history in flashback form, bridging earlier Heartbreak Soup continuity ahead of the landmark 'Human Diastrophism' serial beginning in issue #21.
- The GCD notes this issue contains the fourth in-series mention of the character Del Chimney, who will not actually appear on-panel until issue #28 — a subtle example of the series' long-range continuity planning.
- Stories from this issue were first collected in The Complete Love & Rockets Vol. 7: The Death of Speedy (Fantagraphics, November 1989), and subsequently in the Love and Rockets Library volume The Girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S. (2007) and Love and Rockets: The First Fifty — The Classic 40th Anniversary Collection Vol. 3 (Fantagraphics, 2022).
- The 'Death of Speedy Ortiz' arc, of which this issue is the opening installment, has been described by critics as 'a skillful piece of sociological storytelling, with keen insights on gang life and the sexual mores of Latino culture,' and is frequently cited as the ideal entry point into Jaime's Locas work.
- The Locas characters in this issue include Maggie Chascarillo, Hopey Glass, Speedy Ortiz, Izzy Ortiz, Ray Dominguez, Penny Century, Vicki Glori, Doyle Blackburn, Danita Lincoln, and Terry Downe, among others; the Palomar characters include Luba, Heraclio Calderon, Carmen Calderon, Ofelia Beltran, Tonantzín Villaseñor, Chelo, and Satch, among others.
Cast · 40 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
With Hopey away on tour with her band for the next few months, Maggie goes to a family get-together and meets her mom, her sister and Izzy. Ray Dominguez, back in town for the first time in three years, hangs out with Doyle and catches up on old times. Danita and Maggie celebrate quitting their fast food jobs by getting sloshed late into the night. Ray spots Maggie walking home and drives her the rest of the way. Flashback to Hopey and Maggie's younger days, where they hide out in Del Chimney's place as Hopey seduces her for the first time.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).