Alex Segura

Free Fall is everything that you would expect from a YA book focused on Poe Dameron: it’s a fast-paced bildungsroman involving a young hot-shot pilot getting into trouble with criminals in a galaxy far, far away. Poe’s parents are former rebellion heroes who settled down on Yavin 4 after the fall of the Empire, but the peace that his father values is driving Poe crazy. All Poe wants is to fly, like his mom, and have a life of adventure. His father only wants Poe to be safe. This show more opposition leads Poe to hastily accept a job as a pilot before he learns that he’ll be flying for the Spice Runners of Kijimi. Although he didn’t anticipate joining a criminal organization, Poe quickly falls into a life of adventure and into friendship with Zorii Bliss.

One of the most important things for me when reading a SW novel is to hear the voice of known characters when reading. Segura captures the voice of Poe, Zorii, and Babu Frik and they come life on the page. It’s great to read about what is obviously a pivotal time for Poe in his teens and to learn more about his backstory. I was also excited to learn more about the mysterious Zorii whom we met in TROS. I do wish that the interaction with Poe and Zorii had been shown more on page. They share many adventures, but we are told many times about their friendship and the quiet moments when they bonded away from the crew, yet we don’t see that foundation of their friendship. Nevertheless, when it comes to giving background on events that are hinted at in TROS, this book does a great job.

Free Fall is a fun adventure story and a good addition to the SW canon. TROS hinted at an intriguing backstory for Poe and Zorii, and Segura delivers. show less

When I first heard about @alexsegurajr’s SECRET IDENTITY, a noir murder mystery set in the world of 1970s comic book publishers, I knew right off I wanted to read it. What I wasn’t expecting was in addition to the murder mystery, Segura also delivers a story dealing with the hyper-sexist world of comic books in the 70s (which is still prevalent today, unfortunately), as seen through the eyes of the protagonist, Carmen Valdez, who desperately wants to break into the comics business as a show more writer, but being a woman means that is almost impossible for her. When she is finally presented the opportunity to help create a female hero for the company where she works as a secretary, she thinks she’s found her chance. However, when she’s convinced by her partner, Harvey, to keep her part in the Legendary Lynx’s creation a secret and Harvey is subsequently murdered, Carmen must find out what happened to Harvey if she’s ever going to be able to prove she is really the brains behind the Lynx.

What’s already a great story is improved on with interspersed pages of the comic Carmen helped create. These glimpses into what The Legendary Lynx comics would have looked like just add more of a real-world feel to the story, which is already sprinkled throughout with the names of actual comics greats from the time.

As a lifelong comic book fan myself, I really enjoyed the setting for SECRET IDENTITY, and I wish I could actually read The Legendary Lynx. The murder mystery is well-paced, the characters are all fleshed out and feel real, the writing creates the dirty feel of NYC in the 70s… this is just a great book overall. SECRET IDENTITY by Alex Segura will hit shelves March 15, 2022.

A huge thanks to @flatiron_books and @goodreads for the advanced copy of SECRET IDENTITY in exchange for an honest review. show less

In the story Lara Dominguez is a troubled City of Creighton police reporter who is obsessed with the city's debonair vigilante, the Black Ghost. With the help of a mysterious cyber-informant named Lone, she is getting closer to uncovering the Ghost's identity. But as she searches for the breakthrough story that she desperately needs, Lara will have to navigate the corruption of her city, the uncertainties of virtue, and her own personal demons. The question is whether she will have the show more strength to be part of the solution or will she become the problem?

There was plenty of suspense in this mystery. Each release ended with a bang and that kept me interested enough in the plot to continue reading. The book is a blend of the crime noir and vigilante superhero genres. Lara is an alcoholic, lesbian vigilante who takes on the Black Ghost identity after the previous Black Ghost was killed in action. Our heroine is always drunk or has a hangover. She abandoned all her other journalist assignments to pursue the vigilante in the night and loses her job as a result. Also, Lara has a lot of family history to process concerning the death of her brother and all of this impedes her judgement. In addition, Lara also finds time to teach night GED classes and this where she meets Ernesto, who becomes her unlikely partner.

Lara is a great character. She is tough physically and is a fabulous investigative rreporter. I also liked Ernesto. He played a small role on these releases but I can see he is going to be a good sidekick for Lara. He met Lara in a GED class that she was teaching. This is an odd dimension to her character but I assume it will be drawn upon in later editions. Other characters were either co-workers or the villains the Black Ghost is fighting.

The story had a light feel and was a fun, relaxing read. Season 2 of the story is out and I am definitely going to read it. show less

Alex Segura’s Alter Ego picks up in the years following his novel Secret Identity, though it is not a direct secret merely continuing Carmen Valdez’s story. Her presence is felt, but this is the story of Annie Bustamante, who became a fan of comics at a young age. She particularly loved Triumph Comics’ The Lynx, despite the short-lived nature of the character and the publisher. She and her childhood friend eventually broke into the comics industry, but found themselves facing the fates show more of all too many in the field who move from small publisher to small publisher, trying to create something in which they can take artistic pride while also working their way up to a stable career. In her heart of hearts, Annie wants to return to the comic that first inspired her, but it seems so far away, particularly after she changes careers and becomes a successful filmmaker. Only later does this perfect opportunity appear, but Annie learns that there is more going on behind the scenes and that the ghosts of Triumph’s past have cast long shadows.

Segura deftly weaves his latest crime story into the world of comics history. The character of Annie Bustamante keeps the story unique and avoids the pitfall to do a direct sequel in which Carmen Valdez moves through the last forty years of comic book history Forrest Gump style. Segura still incorporates the references long-time fans expect so that his fictional characters and publisher feel a part of the world, just as he did in Secret Identity and in the same style as Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. The periods Segura covers include the explosion of comics and pop culture journalism in the form of Wizard Magazine and blogs, all of which punctuate the action in the story. The way companies transformed these stories into intellectual property to be milled and packaged and shipped out shapes the tone of the story. Segura writes, “Like movies and television and books, comics were always about the conflict of commerce and art. For every critical darling, there was a number-crunching accountant in the background tugging at the rug underneath it. Kirby’s New Gods books were cancelled, Watchmen sequels existed, and Jean Grey had died and been reborn a half dozen times” (p. 62). Even as capitalism threatens to tear down everything that makes these characters meaningful, writers, artists, and fans all work to preserve their significance. Segura writes, “I’d wanted more for Claudia Calla – I’d wanted her to thrive and to remind the world why they needed someone like the Lynx. A woman who realized her power and potential and used it to help others like her” (p. 187).

Alter Ego is a worthy successor to Secret Identity and a great meta-work of fiction set in the comic book industry. Segura has brought the metatextual narrative full-circle with the recent publication of The Legendary Lynx, an in-universe compilation of the stories referenced in his two novels as if they had been written in the 1970s by Carmen Valdez and read by Annie Bustamante. show less