LEO DA VINCI

Leonardo da Vinci gets a youthful, action-oriented makeover in this graphic novel series opener, written by Hamilton and illustrated by Matrone.

In this speculative take on the famed artist’s teen years, Leo’s apprenticeship with Andrea del Verrocchio in Florence leads to new experiments and friends, with whom Leo uncovers a sinister plot. After moving to the city with his emotionally distant father, Leo, who was born out of wedlock, bonds with Tano, a clumsy Tunisian adoptee, and Donna Filomena Sophia Ginevra Federica d’Este di Mina di Speranza, who goes by “Filomena”—a wealthy girl with a beguiling smile whom Leo nicknames “the Sphinx.” All of them lack agency in contemporary society in different ways. While hanging out, the three repeatedly encounter a mysterious and violent masked man, known as “the Venetian,” who threatens to unleash war, and they decide that they must figure out how to stop him. Factual biographical details—such as the backgrounds of Leonardo’s parents, his dissection and study of birds, and his apparent attraction to men—give the graphic novel some historical grounding. Hamilton takes liberties with the inclusion of modern-day speech and lightly comedic touches; one fellow apprentice at del Verrocchio’s, for instance, orders Leo to fetch “one caramel latte, two pumps, extra goat milk foam—that’s goat milk!” Other flourishes are not so clearly fictional, such as Leo’s graffiti and pig prank and the collapse of del Verrocchio’s studio, which may confuse younger readers who may be expecting historical accuracy. Still, Matrone’s cartoon-style, full-color art pays delightful homage to some of Leonardo’s real-life concepts, including his artistic shading and perspective techniques, his plans for flying machines with wings. and the sketch of the Vitruvian Man. The story’s treatment of such themes as class inequality, children’s agency, and the power of using one’s artistic voice to unite people ring true.

A successful reframing of a legendary historical figure in a fresh, relevant thematic framework.