5 Thoughts on “Alters” #1, the So-Called Transgender Superhero Comic
AfterShock Comics’ new superheroine has been deemed the world’s first transgender superhero. So what does “Alters” have to offer?
Chalice, the central heroine of AfterShock’s new comic series Alters, written by Paul Jenkins with art by Leila Leitz and Tamra Bonvillain, has been characterized as no ordinary superheroine. This is because she is one of few transgender superheroines on offer in comics right now.
The issue of “diversity” in comics has been on the radar for a while. Increasingly, publications are reporting that we are in a new era of inclusivity, particularly when it comes to superhero comics.
As a result of the way in which comics have been considered male territory, new comics that aren’t about white/hetero/cisgender men are thought of as a big deal. They occasionally gain the attention of mainstream media. Much in the way that Ms. Marvel was considered the “Muslim superhero” and Batwoman was the “lesbian superhero,” Alters is being talked about as a “transgender superhero” comic. So what can we expect from the series and, more importantly, what’s the first issue like?
“Alters” Has a Classic Superhero Feel
If the examples of books like Ms. Marvel or A-Force are anything to go by, Alters is going to be judged by how well it does or does not integrate its politics into its storytelling. Generally, the two are considered separate in the critical reception of “identity” focused media, with “quality” books offering its politics in a non-intrusive way. The precise criteria of “non-intrusive” differs from critic to critic, which is partly the reason why politics in popular media are such a touchy subject.
With that in mind, I’m going to start by pointing out that Alters is technically crafted to a really high standard. The pencils and inks by Leila Leiz evoke another era of comic book art — think something along the lines of the Bronze Age of comics. Colorist Tamra Bonvillain’s palette is a moody orange-purple dream. Everything looks as if it’s being lit by a sunset, which perhaps signals the central character’s impending awakening as a hero. It is very beautiful.
Jenkin’s script has a nice pace and the characters feel more or less believable. The issue introduces the foundational elements of the series: there are superpowered people called Alters (like mutants or metahumans), whose powers surface at some point, presumably adolescence. There are opposing groups of Alters (at the moment these seem a bit like an Xavier/Magneto deal).
At times the supervillain dialogue might draw a little too much from ropey traditions. For instance, the villain Matter Man is a character I want to keep an eye on because of his interesting presentation, seeming almost camp with his lines veering towards the Marvel hyperbole style. This may or may not be bothersome to some readers.
“Alters” Highlights Identity Issues Through Superhero Narratives…
Building on the classic superhero vibe, Alters uses a tried-and-tested formula. Superheroes have had secret identities for as long as anyone can remember, so naturally they have offered themselves to a queer reading or two. In other words, superheroes, with their focus on secret identities, can be analogous to LGBT experiences.
This is particularly acute at times when LGBT people have to hide their identities. The X-Men (“Mutant and Proud”) have usually been singled out for their status as gay analogy (although, as Joseph Darowski notes, there was a gradual shift to this from a focus on black identity issues).
Like many contemporary LGBT narratives, at the heart of Alters are issues about “authentic” identity and “being oneself.” However, a point is made that Chalice can only be herself when she is masquerading as a superhero and is essentially “being” someone else. This opens up a whole can of worms about what it means to even have a self that one can call one’s own. I’m looking forward to seeing how these elements develop.
Alters uses direct-address through the central character writing her experiences in a diary. In this way, the book explicitly draws attention to the parallels between superheroing and being trans. Likewise, Alters specifically refers to the idea of intersections of identity when Chalice writes “I’m an Alter. I’m transgender. I’m a middle brother of three.”
So the analogy isn’t so much subtext as it is text. This reminded me of the Young Avengers storyline from 2005 in which Billy, who is a teen superhero, wants to come out to his parents as a superhero only to have them assume he is gay. Which he also is. These books contain a savviness about the ways in which queer identity has been wrapped up in superheroes and actively contribute to a queering of the whole concept of the superhero. It also indicates how politics and the popular are enmeshed.
…But the Actual Context of “Alters” is a Lot More Complicated
What’s interesting about a lot of LGBT narratives is the way in which they problematize LGBT identity. In other words, they’re saying, “Here is an identity! Look at all the problems having this identity can bring!”
This approach has strengths and weaknesses. On one hand, representation of marginalized people is incredibly valuable, as we can see from characters such as Kamala Khan, who has been welcomed with open arms by many. On the other hand, there’s an element of the “problem narrative” which seems almost paradoxical in an era which has been characterized by many as a kind of new age of diversity. Prior to Alters’ release, there were some obvious issues in the ways in which it could and couldn’t be spoken about as a book that deals with identity.
For instance, Jenkins said that
I have tried to be clear that our book is not solely LGBT-centric. We have other Alters dealing with disadvantages or being marginalised: a homeless character, a shape-changer who breaks his neck, a character with PTSD and many more.
From this, we might think that identity issues are a central focus of Alters. But the New York Times told a different story:
Mr. Jenkins said that he firmly believed that Alters would not turn into a series of moral lessons in which everyone learns about tolerance and grows as a person. “The most important thing in approaching this book is for me to concentrate on these characters as heroes and villains, and to let these things come out during the process,” he said.
These articles highlight that Alters is an “identity” book but at the same time, present the main focus as being on characters. This type of reasoning has cropped up before in discussions politics in comics — it’s not supposed to be about identities, it’s supposed to be just good storytelling.
So the context of Alters is super convoluted. Diversity in comics is perceived as a good thing and Alters is about the specific problems of marginalized identities… except also not because the focus is actually the characters being heroes and villains, which relates to the core characteristics of the superhero format and ideas about quality.
On reading the book, though, this is definitely a “problem narrative.” That’s not even me reading anything particular into it. Chalice literally writes in her diary “I’m an Alter. For real. I’m one in fifty million — one of the special ones … Which is a problem.”
The Creators Have Done Their Research
A lot of the promotional material around Alters has focused on the authenticity of the narrative as having been informed by the voices of marginalized people. Jenkins, for example, made a point of drawing attention to the different backgrounds of the creative team and the fact that asks trans people to proof his scripts. Colorist Bonvillain is also a transwoman and has significant creative input.
Heidi MacDonald from Comics Beat even said “Now I know what you are thinking: another cishetwhiteman writing about the other” before reassuring readers that Jenkins’ claim to these issues is legit. This anticipates a criticism which has manifested in other ways towards “identity” books.
For example, it was considered okay for G. Willow Wilson write about a Muslim American-Pakistani superheroine because Wilson herself is Muslim (she also worked under the guidance of editor Sana Amanat, who is Pakistani-American). But when two white men Mark Waid and J. G. Jones attempted to tackle issues of black identity in Strange Fruit, which came out last year, the book was met with condemnation.
The issue, according to these criticisms, was the authors’ lack of awareness of their own social privilege. Contrast this to the work of Ales Kot, who was at one point the mainstream media’s poster boy for inclusive writing, and is frequently quoted highlighting his awareness of his own social positioning as a white man.
The debate of who is “allowed” to write about what is applicable to Alters because of Jenkins’ status as a “cishetwhiteman,” as MacDonald puts it. But reports have focused on this idea of self-awareness and communication with marginalized people as something which has had a positive impact on the book’s content. (That and he has a gay mom, which doesn’t automatically mean he can have a handle on trans issues, but such is the idea that LGBT are all basically the same thing.)
The issue contains a number of seemingly innocuous little references to gender conformity which, with the knowledge of Chalice’s secret, readers can attempt to imagine the effects of or personally relate to. So the main prerequisite for reading this book is empathy because without it, the narrative has considerably less heft. Likewise, Jenkins seems to have written the book with an empathetic mindset. On that note, I’m keen to find out what trans critics who have had similar or different life stories to Chalice’s have to say about this book.
Could Alters Break into the Mainstream?
While David Barnett of the Guardian does note that there have been a few other transgender superheroes, he still declares that Chalice is, well, the first transgender superhero. Bleeding Cool also calls her “The World’s First Transgender Superhero.” Comic’s Beat’s headline reads “Paul Jenkins’ ALTERS may be the first mainstream superhero book with a transgender protagonist,” which is also misleading because Alters’ publisher AfterShock is far from mainstream.
In July, AfterShock’s Captain Kid sold just over 6,000 copies, while DC’s Justice League sold 200,000, giving you an idea of where the company stands in relation to the big guns. DC and Marvel comics get movies and TV shows; Image and Vertigo books might get TV shows if they’re lucky. Through TV and movies, superheroes gain exposure and that’s how they become “mainstream.”
So while it’s nice that Alters is receiving a fair amount of attention, it would really have to blow up with readers to make a big impact. In order to do that, it needs to carve out its own unique qualities (beyond just being seen as the “trans superhero book”) in the way that Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel did.
Alters #1 is out now. Alters #2 has a release date of October 19.
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