Perla la Loca

Writer(s): Jaime Hernandez
Artist(s): Jaime Hernandez
Publisher: Fantagraphics
ISBN: 978-1560978831
Price: $16.95
Page count: 288
Year Released: 2007
Status: in print
Original Source: Love and Rockets (vol. 1)
Other Collected Edition(s): Locas: The Maggie and Hopey Stories
Genres: coming of age; humor; magic realism; romance/relationships; short stories; slice of life; teen/young adult
Recommended for Fans Of:
Possibly Objectionable Material: coarse language; nudity; violence; explicit sexual situations
If You Like This Book, Try: Strangers in Paradise Pocket Book, vol. 1
Also in This Series: preceded by The Girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S.; followed by Whoa Nellie!

Plot Summary
This is the third volume of Jaime Hernandez's "Locas" stories from Love and Rockets (vol. 1). Since I don't own this volume myself (I have the Locas: The Maggie and Hopey Stories book [not to mention the original comic books], which collects these first three volumes), please allow the person who wrote the blurb on the back of the book to tell you what happens in this volume:

"Perla la Loca begins with the story 'Wigwam Bam,' arguably Jaime's definitive statement on the post-punk culture. As Maggie, Hopey, and the rest of the Locas prowl Los Angeles, the East Coast, and parts in between trying to recapture the carefree spirit of those early days--except for Izzy, who tries to flee and ultimately, ironically, is the one who finds Hopey (and who unlocks the secret of Maggie and Hopey's relationship.) Split up from Hopey yet again, Maggie bounces back and forth between a one-laundromat town in Texas (the 'Chester Square' that serves as the title of two of the strongest stories in the book), where she has to contend with both her own inner demons and a murderous hooker, and Camp Vicki, where she has to fend off her aunt Vicki's attempts to make her a professional wrestler and the unwanted advances of the amorous wrestling champ-to-be, Gina. As usual, Jaime spotlights a wide range of headstrong female characters, including Maggie's sister Esther and her cousin Xochitl; Penny Century, Hopey, and Danita show up as well, as does Rena Titañon, who, joined by the wrestler El Diablo, dominates the finale with a rousing free-for-all slugfest against six armed thugs."

My Own 2 Cents
As I mention in my 2 cents on Locas: The Maggie and Hopey Stories, this volume and the two that precede it are recommended over the Locas collection because the Locas collection is missing a few of the stories that are contained in these three volumes. So Maggie the Mechanic is the best place to start if you want to read Jaime's half of the Love and Rockets phenomenon.