Comic Book Casting: The LOVE & ROCKETS Television Series

Love & Rockets is perhaps one of the most unique and far-ranging comic series of all time. Spanning everything from science fiction to punk rock to (sub)urban life, the Hernandez brothers — Gilbert, Jaime and Mario — have contributed to this communal narrative through their own corralled-off set of characters and also through their crossing of paths. There have been numerous failed attempts to translate it from comics to live action, but I still hold out hope for one to make it. Biding my time as I can, I can’t  help but imagine what a Love & Rockets live-action series would be. Here’s how I’d do it.

The Concept:

There’s more juicy time periods and moments in Los Bros Hernandez ouvre, but for me I’d go (almost) chronologically starting with “The Death of Speedy Ortiz” arc. This Jaime arc delves into Maggie’s personal life and into the California music scene. I’m always in favor of doing a 80s Cali music scene period piece, and this gives me an excuse to vouch for it; some might argue it would be best to keep it in the modern day, but I have a reason for this that’ll I’ll go into later on. Back to the story itself, I’d love to see the epic pairing of Maggie and Hopey in this first arc of a television series, all the while bringing in beaus for the both of them along with their extended cast during this Hoppers timeframe.

To take advantage of the varied time frames and arcs of the series, I’d opt to jump around season to season, telling stories from different periods and jumping between casts. For example, the next arc could delve into Gilbert’s Palomar, mixing “Heartbreak Soup” with perhaps “An American In Palomar” to give it some outside context.

The Showrunner:

For running the show I’d tap the current showrunner of Fox’s Raising Hope, Greg Garcia, but fans might know him better for his previous show, My Name Is Earl. Although his background is more comedic than a Love & Rockets television show would be, I think he has something special that would mesh itself well if he would be the one to step in the shoes of the Hernandezes and attempt to bring this story to television. Borrowing from the Sin City and The Walking Dead patterns, I’d pull Gilbert, Jaime and Mario in extensively as writers and executive producers to make this work.

The Cast:

Maggie – Victoria Justice: This Nickelodeon live-action alum recently graduated to more seriously funny fare when she starred in Chuck co-creator Josh Schwartz’ recent movie Fun Size, and I think she’s a diamond in the rough when it comes to taking on the awesome role of Maggie. Although some might beg for a way to put Salma  Hayek in a time machine or something, until that happens I think being realistic that Victoria is the best woman for the job.

Hopey – Seychelle Gabriel: The one of the only good parts about the lackluster The Last Airbender live-action movie was the Seychelle Gabriel’s performance, and she’s playing a more meekish role in TNT’s Falling Skies. She has some range, and it’d be intriguing to see how she’s fill out the more unbalanced role of Hopey Glass for a young Love & Rockets TV series.

Ray – Victor Rasuk: He’s best known to most (unfortunately) as the voice of Taco Bell’s Doritos tacos commercials, but for me I first came to know and appreciate Victor Rasuk for his role in the short-lived How To Make It In America series. I’d love to see him play Ray and try to keep up with Maggie.

Izzy – Sara Ramirez: Although this Grey’s Anatomy alum would be high on my list to play an older Maggie, I can’t stop myself from using her now in the pivotal, albiet under-recognized, role of Izzy. She’s be ideal in a mentor role for Maggie, and dealing with the tribulations she goes through in the comic.

Speedy – Jake T. Austin: Despite being in the title, Speedy Ortiz isn’t the biggest character in the arc — but still very pivotal. I think Go Diego Go!‘s voice actor Jake T. Austin would be interesting in this role. Vying for Maggie’s affections while living with what his sister Izzy goes through while spiraling downward. This casting could be the greatest ever, or the worst. *gulp*

Comments

  1. I really want to get into this series. I’ve heard amazing things about it — but does anyone have a good recommended reading order? My library has a lot of it, but I feel pretty lost on where to start (chronological or otherwise). I’ve Googled it a few times, but any suggestions from the trusted iFanboy community?

    I think I tried “Music for Mechanics” but only got a little ways into it, & was having trouble understanding where it was going. The stuff felt pretty dated, but I don’t want to drop into the latest stuff & miss out on the relationships too much…

    • I suggest you try The GIRL From H.O.P.P.E.R.S. This book contains The Death of Speedy Ortiz and Flies on the Ceiling a story about Izzy, (a personal favorite), among other greats. You won’t be disappointed. All of these collections are more of anthologies than chronological trades, so keep that in mind when approaching it.

      On a different subject, a while back Fiona Staples did the cover art to Josie and the Pussycats playing on stage and I’d said that this piece reminded me of a Love & Rockets cover. The one at the beginning of this article is what I was referring to.

    • Cool, many thanks. I will give that one a try.

    • I would say just continue with the oversized trade volumes after Music for Mechanics. It gets WAY better after that. And its the only way (to my knowledge) of getting the whole, unabridged, first series.

    • Cool, thanks man. That’s good to hear. If I just have to power through the first collection but then it really picks up after that, that’s not too hard.

  2. Luba = Sofia Vergara

  3. I’ve been wanting to get in on this series, but have no idea where to start since there are so many stories. I’ve taken the iFanboy advice and just picked up “Palomar.” It was on sale digitally and only $15 for 200+ pages. Looking forward to this!