The Adventures of Venus

by Gilbert Hernández

A rare foray into all-ages work, “The Adventures of Venus” was Gilbert Hernandez’s contribution to the kids’ anthology Measles, which he edited in 1999 and 2000. Luba’s niece Venus creates and collects comic books, walks through a scary forest, plays soccer, schemes to get the cute boy she likes, laments the snowlessless of a California Christmas, catches measles, and travels to a distant planet (OK, the last one may be a dream).

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

104 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2012

About the author

Gilbert and his brother Jaime Hernández mostly publish their separate storylines together in Love And Rockets and are often referred to as 'Los Bros Hernandez'.

Gilbert Hernandez is an American cartoonist best known for the Palomar and Heartbreak Soup stories in Love and Rockets, the groundbreaking alternative comic series he created with his brothers Jaime and Mario. Raised in Oxnard, California in a lively household shaped by comics, rock music and a strong creative streak, he developed an early fascination with graphic storytelling. His influences ranged from Marvel legends Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko to the humor and clarity of Hank Ketcham and the Archie line, as well as the raw energy of the underground comix that entered his life through his brother Mario.
In 1981 the brothers self-published the first issue of Love and Rockets, which quickly drew the attention of Fantagraphics Books. The series became a defining work of the independent comics movement, notable for its punk spirit, emotional depth and multiracial cast. Gilbert's Palomar stories, centered on the residents of a fictional Latin American village, combined magic realism with soap-opera intimacy and grew into an ambitious narrative cycle admired for its complex characters and bold storytelling. Works like Human Diastrophism helped solidify his reputation as one of the medium's most inventive voices.
Across periods when Love and Rockets was on hiatus, Hernandez built out a parallel body of work, creating titles such as New Love, Luba, and Luba's Comics and Stories, as well as later graphic novels including Sloth and The Troublemakers. He also collaborated with Peter Bagge on the short-lived series Yeah! and continued to explore new directions in Love and Rockets: New Stories.
Celebrated for his portrayal of independent women and for his distinctive blend of realism and myth, Hernandez remains a major figure in contemporary comics and a lasting influence on generations of artists.

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Venus is a young (10 year old?) girl who likes playing football, plotting against her rival Glinda Gonzalez for the attentions of local dreamboat Miguel Mendoza (who only has eyes for Venus’ curvy mum), and various things little girls do, like going into a garden maze to visit Frankenstein’s grave(!).

The Adventures of Venus collects Gilbert Hernandez’s various playful strips about Venus in one book. Like his other, more adult Palomar books, Hernandez’s stories contain magical elements (the blooter baby returns!), humour (Venus and Glinda’s rivalry), and quirkiness (the dropped cookie story), that are well put-together via small, but effective, four-panel pages.

Venus herself is a great protagonist, Venus’ (wrestler?) single mum is awesome, the football match story is great, and little scenes here and there are cute. Like when she decides to make a comic to help her lil sis Marie read and then realises how tough it is to actually create a comic!

Quite a few stories though are very so-so and forgettable, like the fig picker story and the fantasy sci-fi/dream sequence (though I liked how the sequence included numerous cameos from indie artists like Jim Woodring, Lewis Trondheim and even Gilbert’s brothers!). A number are non-stories with Venus thinking to herself about whatever.

I get the impression this is aimed at younger readers but it’s a bit too “indie comics” for that audience (lack of colour/too much introspection) and it’s a bit too light/kiddie-ish for Gilbert’s older readers. The Adventures of Venus is very middle of the road but Gilbert’s such a good cartoonist (he really is the best of the Hernandez brothers), even something small like this book isn’t a waste of time. That said this isn’t a must-read even for fans of Gilbert Hernandez.

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was intrigued when I stumbled upon a all ages book by Gilbert Hernandez and as a big fan of both Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez I had to check it out. It's not nearly as enjoyable as their books for adults but that doesn't mean it's a bad book. A few parts of the book are cute and/or interesting surreal and it was great to see Luba's sisters and nieces but other than that, the book was just okay. I don't know if it would really appeal to a younger audience and it just doesn't have the punch of Hernandez's work that's aimed for an older audience.

[Norman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts I loved, especially some of the middle stories. Loved some of the Crumb-ness of the art. Was bored with a lot of it too though, and I didn't really "get" some of the abstract stuff. Either way, maybe it would have been interesting if I were a kid. Sort of Archie-like. Also that is one buff mom.

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Venus is one of Gilbert's most irresistible characters, and this book is a lovely thing to find in the branch library and read over lunch while your scooter is being serviced.

[Dov Zeller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Beautiful storytelling. Touching, funny, absurd, true. I don't know that anyone can write about childhood the way Gilbert Hernandez can.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Anybody who doesn't like comic books has got very serious emotional problems, I say."

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a shame this isn't an ongoing series, because it will be hard to get it into kids' hands as a one-off. There is definitely an audience for books like this, even if it's sightly fringe. Venus is a likeable and unique character and kids who might be puzzled at the weirdness scattered throughout should still be able to relate to her. The black-and-white artwork will probably be a deterrent as well. But this is good stuff, so handsell handsell handsell!
P.S. Some of the alien characters remind me of Hernandez's work on Blubber, which is definitely NOT for kids...

[StrictlySequential · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's just some good ol' ella effervescent fun from the goofy girl that's impossible to ignore and endlessly endearing. Charming shorts AND stylishly appropriate art!

I have very nearly read everything Beto and this ranks in the upper middle.

[Shaun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genius as always

[Ruz El · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back when the Los Bros shut down "Love & Rockets" after issue 50 they started to produce comics separately. One of the projects Beto did was an all ages anthology called "Measles" that was deadly fun to read. Beto's contribution is collected here, The Adventures of Venus, with Venus being the niece of Fritz who L&R fans will recognize from Beto's long going "Palomar" universe. So it's a bit of an odd duck, a suitable for all ages comic that's not even one stepped removed from the decidedly not for kids Love & Rockets.

And it works. Venus is a great headstrong 10 year old girl that manages to be whimsical yet worldly. There's more going on in these little comics than meets the eye, and Beto is clearly having a blast. It's not going to blow your mind and it doesn't compare with his greater stories. But as a pocket of the world he's built it a pretty fun way to spend an hour or so and I think this one is the better of his "all ages" book. (The other being "Yeah!" that he did with Peter Bagge. Which is also good, but this one is better.)

[Malcolm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Los Bros Hernandez are among the best of the contemporary comic book artists, and along with The Watchmen and Art Speigelman did wonders in the mid 1980s to revive the art form as a serious form of literature. Gilbert’s Palomar story-line in Love and Rockets is superb; in Venus he has a character worthy of Palomar, but with much greater appeal to younger readers (whereas the Palomar series is much more obviously directed to adult or at least more mature audiences). This collection, pulled together from several of The Adventures of Venus comic books retains the playful sense of many of the Palomar stories, a little of the magic (although without some of the threats of the older series) and is packed full of great, strong, inventive women characters. This is a fabulous little book.

[Whatsupchuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a marvelous surprise; an kid-friendly Hernandez book. I am a recent fan of the Hernandez bros (I've known their work for almost a year now, but have read every Love and Rockets collection, a few of the Palomar stories, and most of their other stuff (all thanks to our local library). I love their work in general, but tend to be conservative when purchasing comics that have mature themes. It's great to know that if I ever have kids some day I can have Hernandez bros stories in the house without having to keep it hidden.

[Marta Veenhof · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't a bad comic. It is basically the thoughts of the main character, Venus, throughout the whole thing. There is some dialogue too. It felt a little empty to me like there wasn't really a story. At some point we were introduced to one of her best friends, a boy she liked, her mom and her sister, and only one memorable situation of a conflict that lasted for a few pages.

I did enjoy the different drawings at the end though, regarding various Santa's on different planets, and the fact that they would look different than on Earth.

[Stephen]

As a piece of Los Bros Hernandez ephemera I really liked this. As a comic it was pretty slight. As a kid's comic... not sure that my childhood self would have found it especially interesting, but that probably says more about my childhood tastes than the quality of the comic. Decent, if slight - but I don't think I'm the intended audience.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly charming stories by Gilbert Hernandez that take place in the same world as his Heartbreak Soup/Palomar stories, but aimed at younger readers (or perhaps rather, an all-ages audience) and featuring the immensely appealing Venus. If you like Gilbert's other stuff, you'll probably like this too.

[Endserenading · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Hernandez Bros work. so far I've read the first two Palomar and first two Locas books in the 'Love And Rockets Library' editions. I'm getting more for Christmas, so I picked this up from my local comic shop to read as a stop gap between books. It's funny and cute, not great but good for a bit of light reading

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give 3.5 stars if I could, but I'll err on the low side as much of this material has been published before in quite a few formats, so longtime Gilbert fans don't need this at all. But it's a nice collection if you want some charming Gilbert surrealism for a young, but not entirely immature, reader in your life.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I guess I'm just not a Gilbert Hernandez fan...

[Emma Mastad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute comic book!

[Fantasy Literature]

5 stars from Brad: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...