Us

by Sara Soler (Created by), Silvia Perea Labayen (Translator), Joamette Gil (Illustrator)

Overview

What happens when the life you thought you had does a 180º turn? Everything, and yet…nothing.

Us is Sara and Diana’s love story, as well as the story of Diana’s gender transition. Full of humor, heartache, and the everyday triumphs and struggles of identity, this graphic memoir speaks to changing conceptions of the world as well as the self, at the same time revealing that some things don’t really have to change.

Written, drawn, and colored by Sara Soler, with English translation by Silvia Perea Labayen and letters by Joamette Gil.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506734187
Publisher:	Dark Horse Comics
Publication date:	08/08/2023
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	170,733
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Sara Soler (born 1992 in Barbastro, Spain) is an Aragonese comics artist and illustrator living in Barcelona, where she studied fine arts and graphic arts at the Escola Joso. She worked designing costumes and scenery for the film Morpheus (from Factory Productions), as an animation storyboarder, and as a showrunner for the animated movie Memoirs of a Man in Pajamas.

She began her narrative comics career in 2017 when she was awarded a Carnet Jove Connecta’t al Cómic grant, which allowed her to publish her first title as sole creator, Red & Blue (Panini). Since then she’s worked for a variety of Spanish and U.S. publishers, and has published En La Oscuridad (Planeta), an adaptation of the classic Robinson Crusoe (RBA), Planeta Manga vol 2 (Planeta), Dr. Horrible: Best Friends Forever, and Plants vs Zombies vol 14 (Dark Horse).

Us began as a self-published fanzine, and received a number of prizes throughout 2019 and 2020. It was published as a full-length graphic novel for the first time through Astiberri (2021). Currently Sara continues to work on various projects in both the U.S. and Spain, in addition to teaching comics classes at the Escola Joso.

Editorial Reviews

11/03/2023

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

Library Journal