Radiant Comics

I’m back from the comic shop this week and I got two new comicc plus a trade paperback collection:

And now for a review of something I’ve read recently.

“Love From the Shadows” by Gilbert Hernandez

One of Gilbert Hernandez’s characters from his comic “Love and Rockets” is named Fritzi. In that comic Fritzi is a semi-famous actress who starred in a lot of B-movies in the Mexican Cinema. She has a very large chest and always appeared naked in her movies.

This book, “Love From the Shadows”, is the third book in a series of books that are all comic book adaptations of the movies that Fritzi made. Since she’s a fictional character she didn’t really make the movies but if a fictional character can make a movie then this is the comic book adaptation of that movie. Follow? Yeah, it’s all a little “Meta”.

I’m not too familiar with Mexican movies but the few I have seen were of the really weird variety. All sorts of strange things happened and there was a lot of odd over the top symbolism going on. Dream-like sequences and lots of “Huh?” moments ruled the day. Of course I was seeing these films precisely because they were so weird so they might not be typical of Mexican cinema. Either way this book matched them for weirdness.

I won’t go into the plot because it’s way too odd and convoluted to recount here. Fritzi plays a forty year old woman who is searching for something more in life. She gets involved in all sorts of situations including plotting with her brother to off their father, getting involved in a con game, and seeking revenge.

Just like those Mexican movies I watched I’m not sure what it all means. I think it the story may have even been told out of sequence but I’m not positive. I’m sure that’s the way Gilbert intended it to be because the storytelling in generally flawless. I alway knew what was going on but didn’t always know why.

I think this book was my favorite of the three Fritzi movie adaptations. It was a fun time. Just when I thought I knew where things were headed they took an unexpected turn. In a good way. Give it a read. There is also lots of nudity and some sex in this book so don’t be expecting a kid’s book.