conversations.from: human
conversations.value: What is a description for a book titled The Love Bunglers about Love, Maggie, Starred with the genre: Comics & Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels?
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: *Starred Review* Along with his brother Gilbert, the author helped usher in the alternative-comics movement in the 1980s with their groundbreaking Love and Rockets series. Three decades later, he remains at the top of his game, as proven by this masterful tale centered on his frustratingly flawed but immensely sympathetic longtime heroine Maggie Chascarrillo. The years have not been particularly kind to Maggie, whose once-turbulent life has settled into a drab existence managing a seedy apartment building. She occasionally sees friends from the old days, among them her on-and-off boyfriend, Ray Dominguez, who still carries a massive torch for her. Skillfully merging tragedy and serendipity, the author brings the pairs intertwining stories to a satisfying, if hard-won, culmination. The simplicity of the authors page designs and the elegant economy of his drawing style belie the thoughtful sophistication of his storytelling, exemplified by a two-page spread that brilliantly encapsulates two entire lifetimes in just 18 panels. Although The Love Bunglers certainly isnt a jumping-on point for new readers, fans who have followed Maggies exploits over the years will find it a heartbreakingly satisfying achievement that leaves the door wide open for further chapters in this most rewarding and accomplished of serialized comics. --Gordon Flagg