Marble Season
A new, semi-autobiographical work by Gilbert Hernandez, one of the three Hernandez brothers behind cult comic series Love and Rockets, tells the story of a childhood in 1960s suburban California.
Loosely based on Hernandez’s own childhood in the town of Oxnard, a suburb of Los Angeles, Marble Season is a coming of age story – a tale of comic books, creative childhood play and, yes, marbles, overshadowed with darker themes of bullying and casual racism.
The book has the disjointed feel of a child’s conversation – you’re never quite sure where the story and the dialogue will lead next.
Hernandez’s style, meanwhile, overtly – and perhaps subversively – mimics that of Archie and other American teen comics.
And for those perplexed by the (many) pop culture references, there’s a handy glossary at the back, with details of such icons as the Beatles, Elasti-Girl and Bozo the Clown…
Marble Season, by Gilbert Hernandez, is published by Faber and Faber on 16 May priced at £14.99.
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