Tonta
Jaime Hernandez

Jaime Hernandez—one of three brothers who created the now-classic Love & Rockets comics of the 80s—centers his most recent project around the character of Tonta in his graphic novel that bears the same name. The story expertly captures the angst of moving-beyond-adolescence-to-adulthood through the main character Tonta, a young woman who insists that she is just a “[loner] in this sucky world” (8). Tonta is a classically awkward young woman, doing her best to just get along. Navigating a dysfunctional family and confusing sexual feelings she has for the Lopez brothers (one who doesn’t care about her and another who does) all while trying to gauge when to talk and how much to say, she is a believable character. In her believability, it is easy to see how Tonta can easily spark nostalgia from its readers, reminding them of similar challenges they faced during these tumultuous years.  

While Tonta’s storyline follows a family crime drama, which might be a far-fetched reality from the experiences of its readers, the minor details describing the neighborhood landscape create a level of nostalgia for anyone who has ever been involved with the local band scene or been privy to the idiosyncrasies of a specific place. Apart from this, Tonta creates nostalgia for the wonder and promise of summer vacation and its possibility of creating new experiences and sparking romantic interests. As is often the case when adolescents are growing into young adults, those romanticized thoughts don’t manifest into reality, and Tonta reminds of this, too. 

Jaime Hernandez is co-creator of the long-running, award-winning, and critically acclaimed series Love and Rockets, first published in 1981 and widely heralded as launching the alternative comics movement. The New York Times called Jaime, "one of the most talented artists our polyglot culture has produced." 

Tonta is a publication by Fantagraphics. Click here to purchase

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Reviewed by
Melinda Zepeda
​12/15/2019

Melinda Zepeda has writing published or forthcoming in the anthologies ¡Basta! 100+ Latinas Against Gender Violence and Péinate: Hair Battles Between Latina Mothers & Daughters. She writes monthly for the online magazine Hispanecdotes. Her children’s manuscripts tentatively titled Diego Finds Spanish and Miss Papas Visits City Council are currently in review. 

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