LOVE AND ROCKETS — Los Bros Hernandez — Issues #1-25 covers and graphic excellence

The incredible first series of LOVE AND ROCKETS by Los Bros Hernandez stand out for me as being some of the best drawn comics of the 1980s. That the Bros are talented storytellers is a given, but as impressed as I am by the interiors, I am amazed by the poster-like quality of many of their beautifully drawn covers.

These are the first 25 issues of their initial run, published by Fantagraphics Books. I have included the back covers, some of which are even more dramatic and striking than the front covers. Issue numbers 11-19 had Fantagraphics house ads.

Cover scans are Copyright © 1982-1987 by Fantagraphics Books.

Artwork Copyright © 1982-1987 by Jaime, Gilbert and Mario Hernandez

Chas Balun's DEEP RED #1 — Complete issue, 1986

I met Chas Balun, dressed in his bloody apron and wielding a meat cleaver, at the 1986 San Diego Comic-Con. He couldn't fool me with his costume, because he was also wearing a big smile on his face.

Balun had a particular love for gory horror movies, and published a professional-looking fanzine called DEEP RED. I scanned the 20-page first issue from 1986, and am presenting it in honor of Halloween Week, and the memory of Chas Balun, who died at age 61 in 2009.