Jaime Hernandez facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jaime Hernandez |
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Jaime Hernandez at Heroes Con 2006. Gilbert Hernandez is visible on the left.
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| Born | October 10. 1959 Oxnard, California |
| Area(s) | Penciller, Inker, Writer |
| Pseudonym(s) | Xaime Hernandez |
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Notable works
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Love and Rockets |
Jaime Hernandez (born 1959) is a famous American comic book artist and writer. He is best known for co-creating the Love and Rockets comic series. He worked on this series with his brothers, Gilbert and Mario. Love and Rockets is known as an alternative comic. This means it tells different kinds of stories than typical superhero comics.
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Who is Jaime Hernandez?
Jaime Hernandez grew up in Oxnard, California. He was the youngest of six children. His family loved comics, and their home was always full of them. Jaime said, "We grew up with comics. I wanted to draw comics my whole life."
His family read all sorts of comics. They enjoyed stories about everyday family life, as well as superhero adventures. Jaime was especially inspired by Dennis the Menace and Archie comics. You can see their influence in his art. He also admired the work of other great artists like Alex Toth and Charles Schulz.
Jaime has always loved pro wrestling, especially women's wrestling. This interest often appears in his comic stories. He is also a big punk rock fan. He even played in bands himself! Punk rock music and culture are a big part of his comics. Many of his characters love punk music.
What are his famous comics?
Jaime's main work in Love and Rockets is a long story called Locas. This series follows the lives of a group of mostly Latina characters. Their stories begin when they are teenagers in the early California punk scene. The two main characters are Margarita Luisa "Maggie" Chascarrillo and Esperanza Leticia "Hopey" Glass. Their friendship and on-again, off-again romance are central to many Locas stories.
At first, the stories mixed sci-fi adventures with realistic tales. Maggie would travel the world repairing rocketships. But soon, Jaime focused more on the realistic stories. These stories showed Maggie and her friends in a gritty, mostly Latin neighborhood called "Hoppers." Even though he mostly stopped the sci-fi, he still sometimes adds references to those early stories. He also draws short comics about superheroines or robots.
The Hernandez brothers once announced they would stop Love and Rockets after issue 50. They planned to create solo books instead. Jaime then made several books about his Locas characters. Later, they decided to bring Love and Rockets back. Maggie became the main character again. The comic changed from a large magazine style to a more traditional comic book size.
All of the Locas stories were collected into a huge 700-page graphic novel in 2004.
Jaime Hernandez is praised for drawing beautiful female characters. He also makes their personalities very complex and real. He has said that Maggie and another character, Ray Dominguez, show different parts of his own personality.
What other work has he done?
Besides his Locas stories, Jaime Hernandez has worked for other companies. He has drawn for DC Comics and The New Yorker magazine. He has also created many album covers for musicians. These include artists like Michelle Shocked and Los Lobos. Earlier in his career, he designed covers for punk bands like Ill Repute.
In the mid-1980s, Jaime worked with his brothers Gilbert and Mario on a sci-fi comic series called Mister X. Jaime did the art, and his brothers helped with the story. This comic's dark, stylish look influenced shows like Batman: The Animated Series.
In 2006, a book called Ghost of Hoppers was ranked as one of the best comic books of the year by Publishers Weekly.
Awards and Recognition
Jaime Hernandez has won many awards for his amazing work in comics. Here are some of them:
- 1986 Kirby Award – Best Artist and Best Black-and-White Comic (for Love and Rockets)
- 1986 Inkpot Award
- 1989 Harvey Award – Best Continuing or Limited Series (for Love and Rockets)
- 1990 Harvey Award – Best Continuing or Limited Series (for Love and Rockets)
- 1992 Harvey Award – Best Inker (for Love and Rockets)
- 1998 Harvey Award – Best New Series (for Penny Century)
- 1999 Harvey Award – Best Single Issue (for Penny Century #3)
- 2000 Harvey Award – Best Inker (for Penny Century)
- 2001 Harvey Award – Best Artist or Penciller (for Penny Century)
- 2003 Harvey Award – Best Inker (for Love and Rockets)
- 2004 Harvey Award – Best Single Issue or Story (for Love and Rockets #9)
- 2006 Harvey Award – Best Single Issue (for Love and Rockets, Volume 2, #15)
- 2007 Harvey Award – Best Cartoonist (for Love and Rockets)
- 2012 Ignatz Award - Outstanding Artist (for Love and Rockets New Stories)
- 2013 Harvey Award - Best Cartoonist (for Love and Rockets New Stories)
- 2014 Eisner Award - Best Writer/Artist (for Love and Rockets New Stories #6)
- 2014 Los Angeles Times Book Prize - Best Graphic Novel/Comics
- 2023 PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award for Love and Rockets: The First Fifty: The Classic 40th Anniversary Collection
See also
In Spanish: Jaime Hernández para niños
