A clever take on history turns a famed artist into a flawed and fascinating hero fighting for acceptance.
Mora’s graphic novel highlights the illicit romances and dramatic adventures of celebrated Baroque painter Michelangelo Caravaggio.
In Milan, 1591, Michelangelo Caravaggio has made a name for himself as both a skilled painter and a dangerous troublemaker. After seeing a dear friend burned at the stake for sodomy by the Inquisition, Caravaggio and his male lover Mario are desperate to flee the city (“Perhaps this is fate, telling me to leave Milan”). Impetuous and angry, Caravaggio begins slicing his way through the town to collect debts, making a dangerous enemy in Cavaliere Fabrizio along the way. After relocating to Rome, Caravaggio creates bewitching art that challenges perceptions of the church, but he also continues to find conflict in the streets. As Caravaggio’s temper draws more and more dangerous enemies, he and Mario must once again flee. They soon find themselves welcomed in Malta by a certain Fabrizio and his patron, Cavaliere di Giustizia. They pretend to love his art, but they are in fact the same men who tried to kill him in Milan years earlier, and they plan to use Caravaggio for their own political gain. With their take on Caravaggio, Mora and illustrator Mescaria subvert fusty ideas about classical painters, creating a queer, swashbuckling adventurer. Images of Caravaggio’s lithe, muscled figure against shadowy, gothic backdrops call to mind a fantasy hero more than a historical figure, while the story and exquisite artwork deliver one action-packed scene after another. The impact of Caravaggio’s art is addressed, especially in the Rome section, which works in some fascinating context about changing styles, but Mora is primarily focused on the doomed lovers and their cat-and-mouse game with various authorities. Some of the political intrigue and shifting motivations are a bit hard to follow, but those concerns are quickly swept aside as this unique and exciting version of Caravaggio repeatedly—and sometimes foolishly—charges into battle for the one he loves.
A clever take on history turns a famed artist into a flawed and fascinating hero fighting for acceptance.Pub Date: June 15, 2020
ISBN: 9781913359560
Page Count: 182
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A clever and timely conversation on reclaiming identity and acknowledging one’s full worth.
Superman confronts racism and learns to accept himself with the help of new friends.
In this graphic-novel adaptation of the 1940s storyline entitled “The Clan of the Fiery Cross” from The Adventures of Superman radio show, readers are reintroduced to the hero who regularly saves the day but is unsure of himself and his origins. The story also focuses on Roberta Lee, a young Chinese girl. She and her family have just moved from Chinatown to Metropolis proper, and mixed feelings abound. Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane’s colleague from the Daily Planet, takes a larger role here, befriending his new neighbors, the Lees. An altercation following racial slurs directed at Roberta’s brother after he joins the local baseball team escalates into an act of terrorism by the Klan of the Fiery Kross. What starts off as a run-of-the-mill superhero story then becomes a nuanced and personal exploration of the immigrant experience and blatant and internalized racism. Other main characters are White, but Black police inspector William Henderson fights his own battles against prejudice. Clean lines, less-saturated coloring, and character designs reminiscent of vintage comics help set the tone of this period piece while the varied panel cuts and action scenes give it a more modern sensibility. Cantonese dialogue is indicated through red speech bubbles; alien speech is in green.
A clever and timely conversation on reclaiming identity and acknowledging one’s full worth. (author’s note, bibliography) (Graphic fiction. 13-adult)Pub Date: May 12, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-77950-421-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: DC
Review Posted Online: Feb. 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Using modern language, McDonald spins the well-known tale of the two young, unrequited lovers. Set against Nagar’s at-times...
A bland, uninspired graphic adaptation of the Bard’s renowned love story.
Using modern language, McDonald spins the well-known tale of the two young, unrequited lovers. Set against Nagar’s at-times oddly psychedelic-tinged backgrounds of cool blues and purples, the mood is strange, and the overall ambiance of the story markedly absent. Appealing to what could only be a high-interest/low–reading level audience, McDonald falls short of the mark. He explains a scene in an open-air tavern with a footnote—“a place where people gather to drink”—but he declines to offer definitions for more difficult words, such as “dirges.” While the adaptation does follow the foundation of the play, the contemporary language offers nothing; cringeworthy lines include Benvolio saying to Romeo at the party where he first meets Juliet, “Let’s go. It’s best to leave now, while the party’s in full swing.” Nagar’s faces swirl between dishwater and grotesque, adding another layer of lost passion in a story that should boil with romantic intensity. Each page number is enclosed in a little red heart; while the object of this little nuance is obvious, it’s also unpleasantly saccharine. Notes after the story include such edifying tidbits about Taylor Swift and “ ‘Wow’ dialogs from the play” (which culls out the famous quotes).Pub Date: May 10, 2011
ISBN: 978-93-80028-58-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Campfire
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
