This week marked the release of writer and all-around-good-guy Alex Segura’s new novel, Alter ego. The book is a standalone sequel to Segura’s critically-beloved Secret Identity murder mystery, and like its predecessor, it’s set within the comics industry.
Alter ego is also steeped in insider nodes to comics figures and history. Essentially, what Segura has created between his two books is an alternate comics universe, complete with historical publishers, beloved-but-unappreciated classic creators, and a pair of fantastic heroines. It feels a bit metafictional in this way, so we thought, why not dive right into that? And instead of interviewing Alex, see if we could instead talk to the protagonist of Alter egoone Annie Bustamante an acclaimed filmmaker, author and comic book artist in his own right.
Fortunately, Annie just so happened to be available. The following interview is what you might read if you lived in the world of the book, where there are long-lost characters like The Lethal Lynx (ahem). And once you’re finished, make sure to snag your copy of Alter ego so well!
The Annie Bustamante From Alter Ego Interview
ZACK QUAINTANCE: What about The Lethal Lynx kept you coming back to it? The writing? The art style? How have those elements found expression in your own work?
ANNIE BUSTAMANTE: Y’know, it’s funny – because I never had to articulate this before. No one knew about this character. Those comics came out in the 70s, Triumph Comics went out of business, and the Lynx basically disappeared. It felt like this cozy little secret that was only for me, one that I shared with a select few people. But as I flip through those old comics now, it’s no longer just comfort food – it’s for work, and that’s a blessing and a curse, right? But those pages haven’t lost their wonder yet – and I think it’s because of the characterization, which feels so modern for the time and refreshingly relevant now, about this woman who is empowered to create this identity for herself to not only avenge the death of her sister, but to prevent anything like that from ever happening again. Detmer’s art does a lot of the heavy lift, of course. It’s just beautiful to look at. I think I read somewhere, some fanzine before Lynx came out, describes his artwork as ‘the perfect fusion of Toth, Kane, and Buscema,’ which is, okay, an absolutely INSANE thing to say – but also, isn’t far from the truth? Detmer was just in a league of his own, and you can see that in the Lynx, his final work. But the tragedy of it all, in addition to the fact that he took his own life, is that he was so challenging – such a perfectionist and bridge-burner – that his work didn’t really reach a larger audience. So, I guess this is a long-winded way of saying “both?” It’s the package. Harvey Stern, a middling writer before this, seems to catapult to a higher echelon, perhaps elevated by Detmer’s art – to create a superhero for the ages. At least I thought so like a kid, when I first found a copy of THE LEGENDARY LYNX #1. In terms of my own work – comics and films – I think revisiting those stories over and over as a kid and adult really instilled in me a belief in character, and the idea that all plot springs from character. Nothing really matters if you don’t have interesting people populating the world. The best plot twist in the world won’t save you if the reader doesn’t care about the characters. It’s a rule I live by, whether I’m drawing someone else’s script, writing my own, or directing a film. People need to be invested – obsessed – in your characters.
ZACK: In your own approach to the character of The Lynx you built off of what was already present. Was this to maintain continuity or is there something timeless about the character? That is, what does this character have to say to the world today?
ANNIE: That’s a great question, Zack. I never imagined this would happen – so much so, that while I was between film projects – my last movie was shelved for tax purposes, go figure – I just started drawing my own Lynx comic. For fun. I never expected it to exist, to be published, or to be seen by anyone outside of me and my daughter. But then Triumph Entertainment reached out and the next thing I knew, this little side gig had become a real gig, and so I had to give theory to these primal storytelling movements. My approach to the character is to honor what came before – at least the good stuff, if we’re being frank, not the weird, post-Detmer issues – and be additive. The Lynx is very much a product of its time, so do I try to start from scratch, or approach it from a different, meta way? And it took me back to the end of THE LEGENDARY LYNX #4, where Claudia wakes up and she has no idea who she is, or that she was ever the Lynx – and she walks into her bathroom and sees the Lynx in the mirror. That felt like such a compelling and fascinating springboard. Now, I know – there were a handful of other issues after that, and while I love those stories probably more than anyone alive on the planet, that fourth issue felt like a perfect off-ramp to my own story, a comic that explored the idea of characters and reboots and relaunches in a meta way that hopefully feels new. I don’t want to give away too much, because we’re very early days here, but what happens if Claudia Calla has no memory of having been the Lynx? She’s having these strange moments and episodes – dreams of leaping from rooftops and fighting villains, flashes of agility and fighting skills – that slowly peel away at some psychic blocks. What happens when she realizes someone put a towel over the birdcage, like it were? If you’re one of the twelve people that read those early issues, you might have an idea who I’m thinking of, but I think for new readers, it’ll feel like a fun twist on what I like to call reboot culture . I think that’s more compelling than, say, trying to make Lynx “extreme” or too edgy. I want her to be recognizable and her true self, and I want to shepherd that to today’s readers.
ZACK: How does your art style interact with Detmer’s? There are certainly echoes of his work in yours, so is this influence playing itself out or something more?
ANNIE: You’re not the first to say that, and I can only take it as a compliment. Detmer is one of those ingrained influences, I guess – whereas others, like Mazzucchelli, Lee Weeks, Darwyn Cooke, or more modern artists like Marguerite Sauvage – are people I see and say, hey, I want to do that. Not one for one, but in the ballpark. They inspire and motivate on a conscious level. But Detmer’s stuff has been a part of my life since as far back as I can remember, and I’ve been poring over his pages before I even thought about drawing. With something like this, where I’m literally coming into Detmer’s house and spending time there, I have to be really thoughtful about walking a taut line – you don’t want to see into parody because your imitation is so good, you know? I want to be additive but I also want to honor Detmer, too, because this is gonna be a big release and there will be eyes on it. That’s kind of a non-answer, but it feels genuine. I want people who know my work to look at THE LEGENDARY LYNX RETURNS! and say, hey, that’s Annie! Glad she’s back. But I also want people who are coming to the project because they miss Detmer and love his work to not feel like I forgot my roots – or the character’s.
ZACK: If you had to spin something off from The Lethal Lynx, what would that be? A character from the original run? Something new you’ve been playing with?
ANNIE: I’d love to do more with Apparition, Lynx’s sometimes partner and mentor. She’s such a fascinating character, and the subtext and nuance Stern (again, a big surprise, having read his past work) and Detmer gave her still feels modern today. I want to know what happened to her after THE LEGENDARY LYNX #4, and I’d love to think about how she’d fit into the story I’m working on, and perhaps beyond. But that’s for me to mull over a bit before I say more!
Alex Segura’s Alter Ego novel is out now!
