Annie Bustamante is a cultural force like none other: an acclaimed filmmaker, an author, a comic book artist known for one of the all time best superhero comics in recent memory. But she’s never been able to tackle her longtime favorite superhero, the Lethal Lynx. Only known to the most die-hard comics fans and long out of print, the rights were never available―until now.
But Annie is skeptical of who is making the offer: Bert Carlyle’s father started Triumph Comics, and has long claimed ownership of the Lynx. When she starts getting anonymous messages urging her not to trust anyone, Annie’s inner alarms go off. Even worse? Carlyle wants to pair her with a disgraced filmmaker for a desperate media play.
Annie, who has been called a genius, a sell-out, a visionary, a hack, and everything else under the sun, is sick of the money grab. For the first time since she started reading a tattered copy of The Legendary Lynx #1 as a kid, she feels a pure, creative spark. The chance to tell a story her way. She’s not about to let that go. Even if it means uncovering the dark truth about the character she loves.
I don’t really know how Alex Segura does it, man. Seems like he’s got at least two books coming out every year (his upcoming Daredevil novel, ENEMY OF MY ENEMY is definitely one of my most anticipated 2026 releases!), in addition to the many different comic books he’s writing (his run on the new Dick Tracy comic has been such a blast!). On top of all that, I feel like I see blurbs from him on SO MANY books these days! He’s a busy guy!
And wow, I’ve loved so much of what I’ve read from him. I’ve been slowly working through his PETE FERNANDEZ series on audio (I’ve been giving myself “permission” to just listen to them & not stress about reviewing them), although I know the books are getting new covers soon, so I may have to “upgrade.”
But it was last year’s SECRET IDENTITY that really blew me away…I loved everything about that book & it became an instant new favorite crime novel for me. I was so excited to learn there would be a sequel, ALTER EGO, and this book beautifully expanded on Segura’s world of comic book publishing, mystery, and murder.
This story bounces around in several different time periods, but the bulk of the story is set in the present day (as compared to SECRET IDENTITY, which was primarily set in the mid-70’s).
I can’t remember if it’s a proper epilogue or just the last few pages of SECRET IDENTITY, but either way, Segura uses that as a sort of jump-off point for ALTER EGO.
Our main character is Annie Bustamante, an extremely versatile Cuban American artist. She’s an award-winning filmmaker, in addition to being a writer & comic book artist.
As a kid (and we get lots of great flashbacks to Annie’s childhood), her favorite comic book was the somewhat-obscure (and short-lived) “The Legendary Lynx.”
In her adult life, Annie is a single mother to a teenage daughter, Margot. She’s in a bit of a creative holding pattern, after a couple of professional misfires (not exactly her fault), when a dream opportunity basically falls in her lap: a chance to reboot “The Legendary Lynx.” She’ll be working in tandem with a cranky old filmmaker, renowned but disgraced. The idea is that Annie will create the comic which will then be adapted into a movie.
But if you’ve read SECRET IDENTITY, you’ll know that people who get close to The Legendary Lynx have a habit of turning up dead. And Annie soon finds herself embroiled in a dangerous mystery that calls into question not just her creative future, but her whole sense of identity as well.
One thing I’ve really enjoyed about Alex Segura’s work is he is not afraid to give you an extremely messy protagonist. Someone just really working through the hardships that life has thrown them, sometimes totally fucking things up. But fighting nonetheless. Annie has some huge ups & downs in her life, but she’s a really big-hearted character, and she’s easy to root for.
Through Annie, Segura is able to explore the rampant misogyny that plagues the comics industry, as well as take a hard look at the strange balance between creating something to earn a living vs. creating something purely for the love of it.
The book is also full of fun little nods to Segura’s previous work, some that I’ve read & some that are on my TBR!
This was really cool! I think I slightly preferred the 70’s setting of SECRET IDENTITY, but ALTER EGO is an extremely good sequel & the two books really go hand-in-hand. Alex Segura has (unsurprisingly) a lot of really cool things in the works (including his first horror novel, THE MOONLIGHT CHILDREN!) and I’m so excited to keep up with his work!
Grimdark Dad 