On sale date: August 3, 2021
For the past 40 years, acclaimed graphic novelist Jaime Hernandez has been creating a Love and Rockets-adjacent world — set in the heyday of 1960s and '70s women's wrestling and lucha libre! — with an entirely separate cast of characters who have aged and evolved: the beautiful and brutal Bettie Rey, the I.F.W. Pacific Women's Champion — a.k.a. Golden Girl — as well as former champions Pantera Negra, Miss Kitty Perez, and many more.
As Hernandez puts it, "It's my Love and Rockets world that's not my Love and Rockets world." This best-of book spotlights the women who are often ignored in pro wrestling in 125 full color illustrations: pin-ups, action shots, fake wrestling magazine covers, all presented in a deluxe paperback that echoes the lucha libre magazines of the 1960s. Hernandez also discusses the work in an interview with fellow cartoonist Katie Skelly.
Despite having created one of the most expansive and remarkable casts of characters of any cartoonist who ever lived (under the umbrella of the ongoing L&R comic book series), acclaimed graphic novelist Jaime Hernandez — Will Eisner Hall of Famer; Eisner, Harvey, Ignatz, and PEN Award winner; L.A. Times Book Prize winner; and on a very short list of contenders for the title of America's Greatest Living Cartoonist — has been privately amassing a body of work that no one else has ever seen for over 40 years. Until now.
Queen of the Ring: Wrestling Drawings by Jaime Hernandez 1980-2020 is part of the Love and Rockets series.
Praise
"Hernandez shows off his trademark crisp draftsmanship and genius for character drawing in this art book devoted entirely to portraits of women wrestlers, in action and pin-ups. A rare opportunity to see a master cartoonist's work evolve over the decades. ... Any art comics follower would enjoy a round in this ring." — Publishers Weekly
"In Queen of the Ring, 1960s LA women's wrestling comes to life." — LAist
"If you love art, comic books, and pro wrestling too, you will dig Queen of the Ring." — Voices of Wrestling
"Hernandez has created an entire world of characters spun from his imagination. And now the rest of us are lucky enough to get to meet them. This is more than just an art book; it's an incredibly intimate look at an artist's creative process." — Syfy Wire
"In Queen of the Ring, Hernandez rightfully makes women wrestlers the main event." — CNMN Magazine
Specs
- Pages
- 128
- Format
- Hardback
- Color
- Full-color.
- Dimensions
- 8.3" × 10.8"
- ISBN-13
- 9781683964452