Leon the Extraordinary by Jamar Nicholas. Scholastic Graphix, 2022. 978133874163. 272pp.
At the American Library Association Conference in June, Library Comic’s booth was near the National Cartoonists Society booth, and no one there was friendlier than Jamar. So when I came back home I had to check out the first book in this series.
Leon lives in a world full of superheroes. He not only hopes to become one of them, he wears his superhero uniform to school every day. A few kids make fun of him, and he doesn’t have any powers, though some kids do. Leon is trying to figure out how to become a hero anyway. One day he notices kids on their phones seem to be sleepwalking. It’s not long before it’s clear that the game everyone has been playing has hypnotized them, and that Leon, his friend Carlos, and Clementine (an unpleasant hall monitor with powers) have a chance to be heroes.
The story kept me entertained and had a lot of heart. Most of all, I loved Leon’s relationship with his mother, plus how he turns everything into a super-statement of sorts. His friend Carlos’s mom gives him cupcakes; Leon’s response is “My super weakness is your baked treats!” Later he tells Carlos, “I’m not sure, but I think your mom may have been bitten by a radioactive oven.”
There’s already a sequel, Leon: Worst Friends Forever, and a third book in the series, Leon and the Big, Big Problem, will be published in early 2027.
