For 40 years punk, sci-fi, and the best in true-to-life storytelling have combined in the Hernandez brothers’ cult classic comics series Love & Rockets. KCET/PBS’s series Artbound focuses on the southern California contributions to art and pop culture, so what better place to tell the story of Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez’s monumental comic book series.
Artbound’s premiere Love & Rockets: The Great American Comic Book will debut on Wednesday, October 5 on KCET.
Love and Rockets astounded the alternative comic book scene and garnered a worldwide fanbase by pushing the edge of storytelling through graphic art. Originally published by the Hernandez Brothers, Love and Rockets has been praised for its diversity and nuance. Its storylines have continued for the past 40 years with its characters aging and situations developing in real-time. Directed and produced by Dignicraft.
I watched this premiere episode and can’t say how overdue this mini-documentary was. Love & Rockets was one of the first counter-programs to the fantastical chiseled jaw lines, slim waists, and unrealistic anatomies of the capes-and-tights books of the era. The Herandez brothers’ story parallels the DIY punk rock mentality that gave the world bands like Youth Brigade and NOFX. While the lens of this documentary is a bit dry for the material, the struggles and triumphs of this series shine through to create something every fans of the comics and cartoon medium should see.
Artbound’s Love & Rockets episode premieres Wed., Oct. 5 at 9 p.m. on KCET / Fri., Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. PT on PBS SoCal / Tues., Oct. 11 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Link TV. You will also be able to watch episodes from the series after air on Artbound’s site.
Other episodes this season on Artbound include:
Duchamp Comes to Pasadena”– Wed., Oct. 5 at 10:01 p.m. on KCET / Fri., Oct. 7 at 11 p.m. PT on PBS SoCal / Tues., Oct. 11 at 11 p.m. ET/PT on Link TV
In 1963, Marcel Duchamp, considered by many to be the father of conceptual art, was photographed in a museum playing chess against a nude model. This documentary tells the story behind this iconic image as well as reveals how Duchamp agreed to hold his first-ever career retrospective in LA. The opening night party would become a defining moment for generations of artists who would go on to revolutionize the contemporary art world. Directed by David Grabias. Produced by Artifact Studios, Inc.
“Arte Cósmico”– Wed., Oct. 12 at 9 p.m. on KCET / Fri., Oct. 14 at 8 p.m. PT on PBS SoCal / Tues., Oct. 18 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Link TV
This documentary follows noted artists rafa esparza, Beatriz Cortez, Patrick Martinez, Guadalupe Rosales, Gabriella Sanchez and Gabriela Ruiz working in Los Angeles exhibiting both locally and worldwide. These artists have been taking center stage at international art fairs and museums, catalyzing conversations about their place in the history of American art. Directed by Antonio Diaz. Produced with Hector Pacheco at Life & Thyme.
“A New Deal for Los Angeles”– Wed., Oct. 19 at 9 p.m. on KCET / Fri., Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. PT on PBS SoCal / Tues., Oct. 25 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Link TV
This film explores the importance of art in infrastructure in the WPA era and takes a look at publicly funded arts programs across the city to ask the question: what would a ‘New Deal’ look like today? When Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as a way to provide opportunities to millions of unemployed Americans recovering from The Great Depression, no one imagined how far-reaching its impact would be. From critical infrastructure to visual art pieces, over 140 projects were completed by the WPA in Los Angeles. However, the WPA also gifted Americans with a lesser known legacy of music, theater and literary works. Directed by Anna Rau and Corbett Jones. Produced by The Range.
“Giant Robot: Asian Pop Culture and Beyond”– Wed., Oct. 26 at 9 p.m. on KCET / Fri., Oct. 28 at 8 p.m. PT on PBS SoCal / Tues., Nov. 1 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Link TV
Giant Robot created an appetite for Asian and Asian American pop culture, exploring Sawtelle Boulevard as a Japanese American enclave, and ultimately resulted in a lasting legacy of Asian American artists that achieved worldwide recognition. Founded in 1994, Giant Robot was a bimonthly magazine driven by Eric Nakamura and Martin Wong covering Asian popular culture and soon featured Asian American artists such as David Choe and James Jean. The film features interviews with Margaret Cho, Takashi Murakami and Daniel Wu among others. Directed by Dylan Robertson and Dennis Nishi. Produced by Radiant Features.
“A Rubén Ortiz Torres Story”– Wed., Nov. 2 at 9 p.m. on KCET / Fri., Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. PT on PBS SoCal / Tues., Nov. 8 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Link TV
Since the early ‘80s, artist Rubén Ortiz Torres has been working as a photographer, painter, sculptor, writer, filmmaker and video producer. Often associated with the development of a specifically Mexican form of postmodernism, Ortiz Torres’s life is a collage that explores the social and aesthetic transformations related to cross-cultural exchange and globalization. This episode examines how his past and present informs an uncertain socio-economic future. Directed by Michael Vargas and Moni Vargas. Produced by Friends We Love, Inc.
