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Publishers Weekly

The much heralded Love & Rockets cartoonist turns in his first original graphic novel and it showcases a creator still making vital work after two decades. The story is of young people too creative, too smart and too passionate for the constraints of suburbia. Miguel Serra wakes up from a yearlong coma, slower physically but not mentally. He is literally out of step with the rest of the world, a perfectly disaffected youth. Miguel, his friend Romeo and girlfriend Lita use rock 'n' roll, urban legends and sex to feel alive. It leads to a love triangle that complicates things nicely. Hernandez takes a big gamble in the middle of the book by having everyone change roles in the story. It's unclear at first whether it pays off, but eventually the reader sees the characters from different angles, making the humanity in the story stronger as our sympathies are challenged. Hernandez has been compared to Garcia Marquez, and uses heavy symbolism, in this case the image of a lemon orchard, which represents both the unconscious and how plant life makes the rest of the world look artificial. Sloth packs a lot of emotion and complicated storytelling into an unusual tale. (July) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Gilbert Hernandez and brother Jamie are known for the highly regarded "Love and Rockets" series, a mondo baroque melodrama with a large cast of quirky, engaging characters and intricate plots in a style described as "magical realism." Sloth is Gilbert's first independent graphic novel. Minimalist by comparison, it introduces Miguel, a disaffected teen coming out of a yearlong coma. He resumes his warm relationships with girlfriend Lita and band-mate Romeo, but uncertainties emerge in a possible liaison between the two and the threat of a supernatural and deadly "goatman" lurking in the lemon groves. Before any resolution, however, a new version of the story begins as the characters switch roles: now Lita is the one coming out of the coma to pursue liaisons with the two young men. By the end, Romeo goes into his own coma, and there is still no resolution about the goatman or the triad's relationship. Gilbert has taken an innovative risk with plot and symbolism, which come off as rather opaque. Miguel and his friends, their uncertainties, and their torporal pleasures will resonate with youngsters. Gilbert's clean black-and-white art is more arty-stylized than in "Love and Rockets," which fits this story very well. But there's not as much "there" there in Sloth. For older teens and up.-M.C. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Gr 10 Up
Disillusioned high school student Miguel lives in a typical small town, and he is filled with ennui and restlessness. He wills himself into a coma to escape-and wills himself out, one year later. He resumes his normal life with his friend Romeo and girlfriend, Lita. One night, the trio venture out into their town's lemon orchards to investigate an urban legend about a goat man who can supposedly charm someone into switching lives with him. There, they find that there is some truth to the legend. Hernandez has crafted an exceptional story with a brilliant twist, and it will most likely lend itself to multiple readings. The three main characters' love triangle, combined with their rock-and-roll lifestyles, will attract teens, and the compelling plot will keep them engaged. Cursing and mild sexual situations earn this book its publisher-designated "mature" rating. Hernandez has splendidly encapsulated all of the verisimilitude and angst of life in a small town and added the perfect ending.
—Jennifer FeigelmanCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.