And Team Gilbert here.

I think he's just a much better writer -

There's just so much more emotional range to his stuff, and he can do both darker and more abstract.

On the other hand it's harder to follow. I had to read Poison River 3-4 times before I figured out what actually happened. And there are gmultiple generations of characters in multiple countries... And the current Love and Rockets stories are fictional movies that the actual Luba-verse characters star in, which is a little hard to followThere's so much history here.

Love Jaime - I'd probably call him a top ten all time American comic writer - but his emotional range is sweet, and nostalgic, and sweetly nostalgic and sometimes kinda sad. But Gilbert goes a lot darker and a lot weirder and a lot less "Holding the audiences hand"-y which I always appreciate.

At least in the abstract, if not the actual experience of reading!

I know what you mean and the comments of Icctrombone and Shaxper on their experiences with L&R would seem to indicate that it might be a good idea for at least for some readers to follow your advice or some variation of it - Death of Speedy and Human Diastrophism seem a little late to me but I'd probably have to go back and re-read the whole series to say where I think the best starting point would be. There have been times when I've recommended skipping the first volume myself and coming back to it later, but I can see there is an argument to choose something later than Book 2 of the collected L&R.

I have a similar feeling about Gilbert's recent stuff: to take just one aspect, his focus on Fritz (one of his many long-standing characters) often strikes me as a little excessive - for example, his Maria M. book was good and I look forward to the sequel, but I would have enjoyed it much more if it had been starred Maria herself rather than Fritz playing her mother in a movie.

I envy readers like you and Brutalis who were smart enough to recognise the greatness of the series from the very first issues and I'd love to hear more about your early reactions.

In the beginning it was Jaime's slick artwork combined with the science fictiony/fantasy aspects of the world of Maggie and Hopey and Penny Century that drew me in. But with each issue that came out it was Berto' and the Palomar cast that was proving even more interesting and intriguing for me. Growing up in a poorer south Phoenix part of town that was predominately Hispanic and Korean Palomar was very real and something I understood and could relate to and Berto captured that world perfectly. 

Jaime was artistic perfection almost from the start and his pencil produced gorgeous stuff. You could tell it was most likely Jaime's art that was initially the selling point to Fantagraphics but it was Berto's stories and styling that were more like the underground comics which Gary Groth adored. It was fun to watch Berto' pencil skills grow over time. At 1st his pencils were rougher and less refined but during the long haul and devoting more and more of his time and writing to the villagers of Palomar his pencil power and skills were growing as he explored each character. While Jaime characters were all visually attractive it was mostly superficial and only served to keep their inner demons hidden from others. Berto delivered up ugly on the outside and inside while showing that which is inside counts for more than the outer beauty ever could. 

Maggie's insecurities and Hopey's in your face i don't give a shit attitude she hides behind are people that i grew up with in my neighborhood and could readily understand and laugh along with in their adventures but it was Palomar and the depths of the characterization that each seemingly could be seen as a certain type of character at first but then as you read along you find stronger depths of emotions and character which shine forth after peeling away the initial layers of concepts. 

All of this in an independent black and white magazine sized format away from the Big Two. Love and Rockets along with Elfquest were the 2 premiere great finds for me going from the high school youth into young working adult. 

I was late to the L & R party, it being one of those indie titles that I always heard great things about in my youth but never seeing on sale anywhere. So I was very thankful for the collection trades and started from Vol. 1 because I wanted to experience it from the beginning, both brothers' work.

And yeah, Maggie and Mechanics is a rough early volume, with sci-fi elements that are no longer visible for the most part. But I could see the seeds of what was being formed there, the relationships and friendships and all the emotional drama that could entail. By the second volume, Jaime is finding his footing more as he develops this small but tight community of friends.(In fact, a few years ago, I wrote them a fan letter expressing how much I had come to enjoy their work and to my surprise, Jaime actually wrote me back. He expressed his thanks that the title was continuing to draw in new readers while also expressing some cringe over the early Mechanic work. As with all creators apparently, they can see the rough faults and false starts in their early work but I tend to see how their craft and storytelling expanded and matured as time passed).

So yeah, Locas and Hoppers, they feel like old friends now, characters you can relate to and feel empathy for their triumphs as well as their failures. It's like visiting your home neighborhood.

As for Beto..well, I've read Palomar, Heartbreak Soup and such and really, some great stories and comics there. But sometimes I feel like I'm just not that...progressive enough to fully understand his work and themes. I don't know if this makes any sense, but for those arguments that say that comic art is not HIGH art, Beto's work to me would seem to qualify. And no, not for the T & A (though there is that), but the themes he seems to explore, the quality and display of his work and panels, again, it just feels like I'm missing something sometimes.

And that's not a bad thing in this case. Enjoy it for what it is however you can for very few can accomplish the same.