Whoa, Nellie!

Rating:
Summary: Fun for all ages!
Review: A comic book about women's wrestling? Yep, and it's a keeper, even if (like me) you don't care at all about wrestling. This isn't about wrestling anyway -- it's about what friendship and compassion mean when weighed against success and ambition.

Another reviewer on here rightly praised Jaime Hernandez's stunning wrestling tableaux, which go on for a wordless two or three pages. It's really Hernandez's way of getting to draw modern gladiator-goddesses in battle. What was in the background of several "Love & Rockets" stories is now the foreground, and we get to meet two up-and-coming (or perhaps up-and-falling) wrestlers, Xochitl (Xo for short) and Gina, as they discover the realities behind their dream-come-true of wrestling as a tag team. Fans of "L&R" will be happy to see veteran "Tia" Vicki playing a key role, and even Maggie pops in for a visit, as endearing as ever. The ending brought a damn tear to my eye -- not bad for "a comic book about women's wrestling," eh? Appropriate for all ages and for all comics readers except the hopelessly closed-minded ("I don't like it cuz it ain't superheroes," "I don't like it cuz it ain't Maggie and Hopey," etc.), "Whoa Nellie" deserves its place alongside the other Los Bros Hernandez volumes on your shelf. You DO have a Hernandez shelf, right?

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful but too short
Review: Jaime Hernandez draws so well, he can make a tiny graphic novel about female wrestlers worth reading. But, then again, this IS a book about wrestling, without enough length to be really impressive. It's a sweet, tossed-off book written and drawn between longer books.

Rating:
Summary: If Rocky deserved an Oscar than this deserved a Pulitzer
Review: This book collects a three-issue series that Jaime Hernandez created shortly after the initial gazillion-year run of LOVE AND ROCKETS. Those familiar with Jaime's work will be comfortable with his simplified drawing and eminently likable characters.

WHOA, NELLIE! is a wholesale tribute to women's wrestling -- the book contains several pages of "pin-ups" -- that contains all the narrative ups and downs of an actual bout. Rules are broken, the goods guys are winning, the good guys are losing, and then, well, anyway, it's all about loyalty. Xochitl "The Terrible" and Gina are an aspiring tag-team that appeared initially in LOVE AND ROCKETS. Working out of Vicki Glory's stable, they have to fight each other, several formidable opponents (including the terrifying Birmingham Lady Bashers), and, of course, the weird distortions of reality forced on the players in the wrestling universe. Who can be sure of their standing in the pecking order if you can't remember whether you're "good" or "bad" depending on which part of Texas you're in?

The dreams and friendships of Xochitl and Gina are innocent and naive, and their about to get stomped by some old fashioned real-world politics. WHOA, NELLIE! is a classic sports story, told in an entirely unique fashion. A thoroughly gratifying read.

Rating:
Summary: Sure Quality, High Entertainment
Review: This comic is an absolute treasure. After purchasing the book at a comic shop, I spent my first few minutes paging through the various images, reading every third page or so, on the subway ride home. At a random glance, the artwork is of such high quality, every emotion is immediately obvious. A complete read of the book gave a lot more insight into the genius of this work.

The book is about a women's wrestling tag team, and sticks to the idea of ugly, mean wrestlers rather than implant-happy models. The main characters are lifelong friends who try to make it into the higher ranks of the league. What they don't expect is that the other ladies mean business. The pages with dialog lay out the story in humble detail, the way that the Hernandez brothers do best. When the matches begin, however, you see their true skill. Without a word, you can 'read' the progression of the matches. From beginning to end, you literally see the topsy-turvy battle, shifting from one team's favor to the next, until the end of the match. No words, just pictures. It's great, I'd recommend it to anyone patient enough to read into the images. Definitely unique and an absolute delight to read.

Rating:
Summary: Fun for all ages!
Review: Whoa, Nellie! is a spectacular book for all ages, which is something of a surprise as the Los Bros Hernandez usually handle more adult material. The story is unique, the characters are wonderful (no one writes realistic and sympathetic women like the Hernandez Bros.), and it is just so much fun read! Most importantly, it has one of the most artfully done "messages" I've ever seen anywhere. Adults can enjoy it, but I would buy it for kids, too.