A review by crookedtreehouse
Alters Vol.1 by Paul Jenkins, Leila Leiz
3.0
This is a tough book to review. It's an average quality superhero tale that focuses on a trans character, and it's written by a cis-white guy. It could be awful but it's not. Jenkins addresses who he worked with to get the proper tones in his afterword, and I think he ended up doing a really good job portraying a realistic trans superhero.
I also believe his overall concept, a world where many of the people getting superpowers can't really control them but a select few, like Chalice (the protagonist) and Matter Man (the antagonist), are ridiculously overpowered near gods.
I liked the family angle, where you have a conservative family with a disabled son and, unbeknownst to them, a trans daughter. The mother seems very open minded. The father has a drunk problematic rant about alters in the middle of the story but later shows a progressive view of a new alters spokesperson.
There is a lot I liked about this book. So why just three stars instead of four or five?
It was mostly a rote beginning of a superhero universe that happens to include a trans character, and will probably also feature a disabled superhero. Every time the stakes seemed high the villain was easily thwarted or defeated. There is no period of adjustment for the protagonist to adapt to their powers. I never questioned any character's actions or motivations because they were obviously about to do a thing that every character in every average superhero book does. It was a completely predictable superhero story at every turn.
If it were ridiculously wholesome, I think that would be fine. You could get away with not doing anything shocking or unexpected. But there are moments where this book tries to be edgy, and they fall flat. Never problematically. Never in a way that I'm disappointed with Jenkin's writing. They just didn't engage me.
I liked this enough that I"m going to read volume two but I didn't enjoy it enough that I know who I would recommend it to. Sure, if you're looking for more trans representation in comics, this is a decent story with a trans protagonist. And while the author isn't trans, some members of the creative team are. It never felt exploity or out of touch. It just wasn't as great or intriguing as I'd hope a trans superhero comic would be.
I also believe his overall concept, a world where many of the people getting superpowers can't really control them but a select few, like Chalice (the protagonist) and Matter Man (the antagonist), are ridiculously overpowered near gods.
I liked the family angle, where you have a conservative family with a disabled son and, unbeknownst to them, a trans daughter. The mother seems very open minded. The father has a drunk problematic rant about alters in the middle of the story but later shows a progressive view of a new alters spokesperson.
There is a lot I liked about this book. So why just three stars instead of four or five?
It was mostly a rote beginning of a superhero universe that happens to include a trans character, and will probably also feature a disabled superhero. Every time the stakes seemed high the villain was easily thwarted or defeated. There is no period of adjustment for the protagonist to adapt to their powers. I never questioned any character's actions or motivations because they were obviously about to do a thing that every character in every average superhero book does. It was a completely predictable superhero story at every turn.
If it were ridiculously wholesome, I think that would be fine. You could get away with not doing anything shocking or unexpected. But there are moments where this book tries to be edgy, and they fall flat. Never problematically. Never in a way that I'm disappointed with Jenkin's writing. They just didn't engage me.
I liked this enough that I"m going to read volume two but I didn't enjoy it enough that I know who I would recommend it to. Sure, if you're looking for more trans representation in comics, this is a decent story with a trans protagonist. And while the author isn't trans, some members of the creative team are. It never felt exploity or out of touch. It just wasn't as great or intriguing as I'd hope a trans superhero comic would be.