Just start at the beginning! That's what I did, though it was a different "Mechanics" collection that someone "borrowed" from me.

Yeah, part of the intimidation is that it always looks to me like some of the material is collected multiple ways. But it looks like the Mpls library has the one you linked, so the request is in.

Is it best to go through in straight chronological order, or can you skip around after you're grounded on who's who?

Yeah, you can't go wrong doing as John says. And it's not at all necessary, though perhaps most satisfying, to go chronologically.

I just recently saw a great collection of the Love-N-Rockets "Death of Speedy" story arc as well (probably still in comic shops), which you can't beat. The Maggie and Hopey stories are probably my all-time faves, but Gilbert should not be neglected either.

Oh, and do yourself a favor and buy a copy of this ("10 used & new available from $1.94").

It's fun now, having bought the original issues, heh.

Well, the plot kind of changes after fifteen issues of "Mechanics" or so--the science-fictional elements (!) disappear, and it becomes more about the girls and some of the guys they know and stuff. But you meet all the characters in "Mechanics", and they stay essentially the same.

As for the Gilbert stuff, I've never liked it, so I haven't read it closely. I'm pretty sure that Palomar and its characters are introduced early on.

You're right about the collections--they're very weird about how they put the stuff together.

Love and Rockets is the only comic I've read all the way through. And I do recommend it - I was never overly fond of the Gilbert stuff, either.

OMG !OMG! Ok, right in one of the first ones, we understand that Hopey is really addicted to painting walls as she sees a white one.. Oh and did I tell you about years later when Maggie gained all that weight and someone drove a car into spookeys wall?

I went through it all nilly willy, and don't think you need straight order to get it right but your basic starting point are Maggie and Hopey. Fall in love with either or both, and then you're set.

(I ended up liking the Gilbert stuff in the end)

LUBA is the key to Gilbert.

(I'll shut up now)

Ha! Shane beat me to the Locas link. Speaking as a fan of both Beto (Gilbert) and Xaime (Jaime:-), I must follow that recommendation with one for Palomar, the collected edition of the Palomar stories.

Gilbert's stories about Palomar are painted across a much broader canvas than Jaime's focus on Maggie and Hopey and it's hardly fair to compare the two. It would be like comparing Casablanca to Citizen Kane - both great movies but for very different reasons.

Of course, if you get both Locas and Palomar instead of the shorter/smaller collected volumes you'll miss a bunch of Beto's interstitial weird shorts as well as the stories by the third Hernandez, Mario. It's also much easier to find the original collected volumes cheaply now that Locas and Palomar were published so that's another vote for them, too.

Personally, I would go with the shorter collections and if the rockets and science fiction stuff get in the way, just skip it until you get to more of the personal stories.

Love and Rockets is now collected in half a dozen ways, all of them good. You can pick up any of the trade paperbacks from Fantagraphics to get your toes wet. If you find yourself leaning toward one of the bros, pick up one of the hardcovers ooga mentions.

I say buy all the TPs. They're fucking awesome, each and every one.

Chronological, from the beginning. The later material is more rewarding if you have followed these characters over the many years of development.

I prefer the original collected volumes over the recent repackaging. Some of the new collections are printed on a smaller page size and on lower-quality paper than the old volumes I have.

Thanks, everybody!