cover image Trance

Trance

Kelly Meding. Pocket, $7.99 mass market (384p) ISBN 978-1-4516-2092-4

Ex-con Teresa West was a young MetaHuman called Trance until her powers mysteriously vanished at the end of a war between the government’s Rangers and the evil Bane. Fifteen years later, she’s barely surviving as an underpaid barmaid and housecleaner when her abilities suddenly return in a powerful new form. Returning to the reopened Rangers headquarters near burned-out Los Angeles, she reunites with her former schoolmates in a desperate fight against the psychic body-stealer Spector, who is bent on destroying the untrained young Metas before they can emerge as a team and untangle the mystery of their powers’ disappearance and return. Though most characters are shallowly drawn and the plot offers few surprises, Meding (Three Days to Dead) successfully captures the action-packed pace of superhero team comics—particularly The New Teen Titans, which she cites as an influence—with her group of colorful young adventurers. (Nov.)