As the name suggests, The Legendary Lynx is the stuff of legends—a 70s feminist superhero classic whose pages were long believed to be lost in a labyrinthine conspiracy of murder, drugs, and intellectual property theft.
Or at least, that's how the fictional comic book is framed in the pages of Secret Identity, Alex Segura's pulpy crime thriller about the 70s comic book industry. The book's twisty noir plot centers around a queer Latina woman working as a secretary at a comic book company who has to hide her identity to order to get recognized as an actual writer with her book, The Legendary Lynx. But a few behind-the-scenes betrayals cause more complications for poor Carmen Valdez, leaving her comic pages and identity unknown for years (in the story's world, anyway.)
Real-life author Alex Segura has teamed up with artist Sandy Jarrell to create a metafictional "reprint" of the "long lost" issues of The Legendary Lynx from within the world of Secret Identity. Here's the official blurb:
EXPERIENCE ONE OF COMICS' MOST-BELOVED "LOST" STORIES – 1970s SUPERHERO CLASSIC 'THE LEGENDARY LYNX' IS FINALLY BACK IN PRINT
The influential street-level superhero saga is available again for the first time in 50 years – remastered and featuring essential bonus material!
Welcome to Triumph City. A city plagued by corruption and crime, where every alleyway and dark corner holds a deadly secret. The lone figure, standing against the onslaught of crime, is a savvy crimefighter known as the Lynx – sworn to protect the city that forged her.By day, she's Claudia Calla, a quiet secretary at Triumph City's biggest paper. A woman haunted by a dark tragedy that has pushed her toward taking on the mantle of the Lynx – to prevent others from experiencing the same pain she's dealt with. But when a specter from her earliest days returns, asking for her help against a cabal of dark forces, the Lynx must choose between her heroic responsibilities and her debt to a dear friend.
THE LEGENDARY LYNX was created by writer Harvey Stern and artist Doug Detmer, two creators who died under mysterious circumstances before and shortly after the series was first published. Though originally credited solely to Stern as the writer, diligent research has uncovered that Stern co-created the script and story to the Lynx's seminal debut by renowned novelist and writer Carmen Valdez. For the first time ever, she is given proper credit in this volume.
(But in reality, "The Legendary Lynx" is no reprint. Crafted by LA Times Book Prize-winning novelist Alex Segura in his 2022 work, "Secret Identity" – a story that continues in the follow-up, "Alter Ego," – and brought to life by artist Sandy Jarrell's masterful artwork, this series blurs the lines between fiction and reality in the best way possible – the remastered pages of this forgotten gem, restored to its former glory and presented anew for readers hungry for adventure.)
Secret Identity was one of the best books I read in 2022, and I've been looking forward to the modern-day sequel, Alter Ego, which comes out in December 2024. I'm also a huge fan of gritty, street-level superhero comics—even better if they have that weird '70s charm. So I'm very much looking forward to this fun metafictional project.
The "new" "remastered" collection of The Legendary Lynx is out November 12, 2024 from Mad Cave Studios.
Previously:
• This new comic book is a single image that's 15 feet long
