Us

November 3, 2023

Upon seeing a transgender actress depicted as a regular person rather than a joke, Soler's boyfriend of seven years confesses to feeling like a woman instead of a man. But what now? A twentysomething Spanish cartoonist, Soler (Plants vs. Zombies) and her partner retreat from the shock for several years until the aspiring creator gets her first real job. Now both are ready, turning Diana's transition into a mutual growth project that Soler journals through social media posts and a short fanzine. Family and friends' reactions, considerations about hormones and surgery, Soler recognizing her own bisexuality, Diana's choosing pronouns and getting her name changed--all these facts lend the graphic novel the air of a friendly guidebook for other trans or trans-curious people and those who love them. Especially striking is Diana's experiencing such new challenges as donning pantyhose, dealing with pushy come-ons from men, and being mansplained in videogames and tabletop gaming. The book's cute chibi-esque art in blues and pinks makes the story friendly as well as approachable. A glossary appears at the end. VERDICT This charming, even humorous chronicle of a journey fraught with immense complications will be welcomed by romance lovers as well as those looking for information about trans matters. An empathic adventure for teens and adults.--Martha Cornog

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 10, 2023
"We don't want this comic to be a melodrama or a guide for trans people," Soler insists. "This is just the story of two people who were not as cis-het as they thought." The two are Soler and Diana--both comics creators--who appear as adorably rounded characters in black-and-white panels aptly enhanced with a range of hues of pink and blue. "Not without a sense of humor," Soler presents the "personal, unique, and one-of-a-kind experience" of a young couple in love and navigating transition. Their journey inspired a 24-page zine Soler drew in 2014, two years after Diana began her transition. Their expanded "true story," published originally in Spain in 2021 and energetically translated by polyglot Labayen, arrives in this U.S. edition amid virulent anti-trans rhetoric, legislation, and attacks. Soler brilliantly addresses transphobia and misogyny by inserting a henohenomoheji doll (an anonymous face drawn with Japanese hiragana characters) to recreate the uncomfortable, intrusive, abusive conversations and confrontations they've had to deal with. Detractors are plenty, but Soler and Diana (and their kitty, Cimmi) get their happy beginning.

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