Cartoonist Jaime Hernandez (“Love and Rockets”) on KCRW

From DJ Eric J Lawrence:

As KCRW’s Music Librarian and late night DJ here at the station (heard Sunday night, mid-3am), it hardly needs to be said that I’m a music obsessive.

However, that is only one facet of my obsession-diamond.

Another big one for me is comic books, which I’ve read & collected since I was a kid. I’ve enjoyed chatting with some of my favorite comic book writers & illustrators on various episodes of KCRW’s Guest DJ Project, but it was a distinct pleasure to spend a full half-hour in conversation with the legendary cartoonist Jaime Hernandez for this week’s edition of “The Politics of Culture.”

Southern California-native Jaime, along with his brothers Gilbert & Mario, created the ground-breaking alternative comic “Love and Rockets” back in 1981. Its influence over the comics industry during the past 30 years has been immense, in great part due to Jaime’s brilliant artwork and superior storytelling.

My visit with Jaime was inspired by the recent release of a beautiful coffee-table-sized book, “The Art of Jaime Hernandez: The Secrets of Life and Death,” by Todd Hignite, who also joined in the conversation to give some context of why Jaime’s comics are so special.

If you’re a serious comic book nerd like myself, have ever been curious about the world of comics, or just a fan of amazing art, I think you’ll find it to be a stimulating half-hour. Tune in this afternoon on 89.9FM in LA and KCRW.com at 2:30pm, or check out on-demand on our website later today.

ERIC J. LAWRENCE