A review by simsbrarian
Alters Vol.1 by Paul Jenkins, Leila Leiz

4.0

I struggled with the disco-ball-esque pacing in this but otherwise really enjoyed this complete-arc of a story telling us the origins of the trans superhero: Chalice. It's a world very similar to ours. Except the terrorist du-jour is an "Alteration" or; as they call them more frequently, an "Alter". Matter Man seeks to add any newly powered up Alter to his gang and oh yeah, also wants to destroy the world. Chalice is a trans woman who has not yet come out to her family, who loves baseball and her family (mother, father, younger brother, and older brother with cerebral palsy), and who finds out she's also an Alter who can see it as new Alters are coming into their powers. It covers a lot of ground in this arc but it doesn't feel like "A book about coming out; and also there's super powers". Instead; it nicely reads like "A super hero book where, about damn time, the lead hero is trans". So it balanced really well between being just a fun action comic without hiding OR over-emphasizing the issues Chalice is dealing with as a transitioning trans woman. Highly recommend.