Step Into the World of Comic Books in Alex Segura’s “Alter Ego”

Alter Ego by Alex Segura

Alex Segura is a creative force. The award-winning and bestselling author has captured the respect of those who love comic books and adventurous novels filled with immersive storytelling, with fans who eagerly wait for his next project.

He has written a selection of books featuring well-known superheroes, as well as original characters that star in some of his most popular thriller and mystery novels. From a book centered around a beloved Star Wars hero, Poe Dameron: Free Fall, to comic book stories for Marvel and DC Comics, Segura is as multifaceted as he is talented when it comes to his craft.

Secret Identity was a runaway bestseller that won him accolades such as a Los Angeles Times Book Prize for the Mystery/Thriller category, and was selected as both an NPR Mystery of the Year and The New York Times Editor’s Choice when it was released.

Segura recently released a follow-up to this acclaimed and popular novel. Alter Ego is a stand-alone sequel that follows Annie Bustamante, a successful and award-winning writer and artist who dreams of adapting the stories of her favorite superhero, The Lethal Lynx. A moving, at times funny, touching and gripping novel, Alter Ego realistically tackles the ups and downs of the comic book industry.

BookTrib had a chance to talk with Alex Segura about his varied writing experience, a love of comic books that inspired his new novel, and what is up next for him.

Many of your books are inspired by the world of graphic novels and comic books, and some have graphics added to the stories. Why did you choose this creative way to deliver stories, and how have readers reacted to this diverse approach?

The response has been mostly positive! I’m always flattered when I connect with a comics reader who got turned on to mysteries by these novels, or vice-versa. The big idea was to have these two wonderful mediums in conversation with each other, so I’m glad it seems to be working. You get to read the main story via the prose, but you also get a very intimate peek into the subconscious of Annie or Carmen through the comics they create, and that felt very unique to me when we were first coming up with the idea.

You’ve written stories featuring well-known characters such as Poe Dameron from Star Wars (Poe Dameron: Free Fall), comic book legend Spider-Man (Spiderman 2099-Dark Tomorrow), and other Marvel and DC characters. Do you have a favorite fandom? And what inspired you to write these stories?

I’m always a fan – so the idea of adding to these wonderful universes is like catnip to me. I was a big comics kid in Miami, but I also loved sci-fi like Star Wars and Star Trek and pulp heroes and mysteries. I was a voracious reader, so I’d burn through a series of books or comics and then look around for the next thing. 

When I write in a shared universe that I love, my first goal is to make sure I get it right – the tone, the voices, the canon – but I also want to add my voice in a way that feels unique but also true to my kind of storytelling, which often revolves around character-driven stories and mysteries.

In Alter Ego, the follow-up to Secret Identity, readers will return to the world of comic books and The Lethal Lynx, this time following a new protagonist. Did you always expect that another book would follow Secret Identity? What were the challenges and surprises in creating a brand new protagonist and premise for this stand-alone novel?

I had no idea we were going to do another one until close to the end of the Secret Identity process – when I started writing a new epilogue to the novel that sent readers forward to the present day. Without spoiling too much, that section gave me a sense of what things were like for Carmen in the present, and opened the door for the adventure of Alter Ego. But the big challenge, for me, was mostly self-imposed.

 I think the easy path would have been to just write another mystery that directly picked up from Secret Identity, with Carmen solving crimes over the years. But that didn’t interest me as much as trying to really create a new story and mystery that was in conversation with Secret Identity – with a new protagonist.

 I think sequels are very hard, because you have the built-in expectations from the original, so I want to subvert that in a way and create a story that was more of a companion to the original, and a story that could stand alone, rather than Secret Identity part 2.

It’s clear that diversity and inclusion are of utmost importance when it comes to your characters and stories. Why is this something that you prioritize in your writing?

Writing and stories should reflect the world we live in. If we only see a certain kind of character – if every story stars a white male, for example – then you’re limiting your narrative opportunities – but you’re also telling young readers that these are the only people that can star in books or movies or whatever. 

When I was a kid, seeing a Latino hero or protagonist who wasn’t a sidekick or comic relief was eye-opening, and it spurred me on to write my own stories. It’s important to me to show readers that stories don’t have to be just one way.

Do you have writers and graphic artists that you admire and who inspire your stories?

Oh, for sure. I love the work of Los Bros. Hernandez, who do the long-running Love & Rockets comic from Fantagraphics. Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Greg Rucka. Kelly Thompson. Julia Wertz. David Lapham. George Pelecanos. Megan Abbott. The list goes on!

What are you currently reading?

I just started Rachel Kushner’s wonderful Creation Lake while on tour and I can’t put it down. Her prose and voice makes me very jealous as a writer!

What’s next for you in the creative world? Is there anything that you can share with us?

I’m writing a Daredevil novel for Harper Avenue, featuring the Marvel Comics hero, and putting together a draft of my next crime novel, which will be an organized crime standalone with a female protagonist.