Leo Rising: Queer Spaces, Sexuality, and Fame

by Archie Bongiovanni

From the artist behind the hit A Quick and Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns, Archie Bongiovanni, an examination of the intersection of fame, identity, and sexuality in their latest audacious and genuine LGBTQIA+ graphic novel, Leo Rising

Lesbian influencer. Lifelong Alaskan. Part-time owl researcher. Leo Rising follows self-proclaimed “celesbian” Laura on a hilarious and heart-wrenching exploration of queer spaces, sexuality, and fame. After years of struggling for acceptance, Laura knows exactly who she is—or does she?

By day, Laura thrives as the Internet’s lesbian bestie, a role model for thousands of followers worldwide, while working part-time at the Alaska Bird Observatory. But when an old friend returns to town and introduces Laura to queer parties and sex apps she’s never experienced, she starts questioning her gender and sexuality simultaneously.

Seeking answers, Laura creates Leo, a secret trans identity. As Leo’s encounters become more and more steamy, Laura’s divergent identities collapse with real-world consequences.

Perfect for readers who loved the classic Dykes to Watch Out For, Genderqueer, and Bongiovanni’s debut graphic novel Mimosa, Leo Rising is a horny and hopelessly real comic about navigating queer space, both online and off, under the midnight sun.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, LGBT, Queer, Graphic Novels Comics, Contemporary, Adult

224 pages, Hardcover

Published January 20, 2026

Reviews

[Maia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laura and Rachel bonded in high school as the only two lesbians in their class in Squarebanks, Alaska. Now in their 30s, Laura runs a popular lesbian content account and works part time at a bird sanctuary, while Rachel works at a tourism company and yearns for a friend who will actually go camping or fishing with her. They end almost every night at the same bar full of straight people, both feeling very stuck in their lives, friendship, and lack of relationships. Then an old friend comes into town, Court, who left Squarebanks at 18, transitioned, and lives a rich poly queer life in New York. Court shakes up Laura and Rachel's ideas of themselves and what they could be doing with their lives. Laura realizes the identity she's made her online brand might not be the way she's identifying these days after all. Bongiovanni is the master writing a messy queer friend group, and I really appreciated this story of people who've been out for years but still have new things to discover about themselves. These character make mistakes but are willing to admit them and move towards change, which is refreshing!

[tillie hellman · Rating 4 out of 5]

i enjoyed this a lot more than the first book i read by this author. i think it helped going in knowing that things were going to be messy. i rlly didn’t love the mc but their journey was interesting. the secondary mcs were a lot better. lots of interesting journeys here and i really like the art/art style! the use of different “camera” angles was so fun

[Lianna Schechter · Rating 5 out of 5]

laughed, cried, took breaks to check grindr

[Nadin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, funny, awkward. Lots of booze.

[Oriana]

From PW's 9 Books That Should Be On Your Radar in 2026:

I’m an admitted Bongiovanni stan, and have been looking forward to this comic drama set in Alaska ever since I learned the artist, who strikes a city-savvy pose in their dance floor appearances at indie comic cons, did in fact grow up in the isolated north. There’s a catchy conceit here: what happens when a lesbian who has a big social media following for being a strong woman decides they might want to become a guy? But what follows is more grounded, loving, and funny than that log line implies. The comp Bongiovanni often gets to Alison Bechdel is overused but apt, both because Bongiovanni depicts the daily bits of queer life so neatly and because of the cocky winks in their work. They're unafraid to write and draw for a chosen community (expect plenty of sex jokes), and the fresh, flirty, real deets make things work all the better for broader readers.

[Julie]

not my favorite, Leo is kind of a jerk

[LonelyPlanetBoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The more I sit with this book the harder I find it to love. I’m a Bongiovanni fan. I like the hard and messy queer friendships and relationships. But something about Laura as a character I struggle with.

Spoilers from here on.

How does a person live their life thinking they are a lesbian but not once is shown being attracted to a single woman in the book? I understand the complicated journey of queer discovery. I understand a lot of transmascs identify as a lesbian before they understand their gender identity. But like, genuinely, I am perturbed by the fact that Laura has no interest in women EVER. It is unclear, besides not having access to a larger understanding of queer identities, why they ever ID’ed as a lesbian.

Every character who identified as a lesbian at the start of the book ends up bisexual by the end. Sexuality is fluid and complicated. But also god damn. It’s a small cast, the point of the story is sexuality is fluid and complicated, so fine, it’s fine. But I’m left wondering, when reading the internet takedowns L faces at the end of the book, why the fictional queer discourse is so flat? Why no one in this universe seems equipped to unpack that there COULD be nonbinary and trans dykes and that not every lesbian is a TERF? 😭

Not to put myself in this review, but as a trans lesbian, something about the ending left me feeling a bit empty. No one in this universe, despite its emphasis on fluctuating gender and sexuality, seems to understand that lesbians aren’t all cis women and trans people aren’t all bisexual and poly. Again, none of this is deeply wrong. I just didn’t love it personally. I have felt more and more bothered by it as I try to find something I like about the end. Not my cup of tea.

[Cheryl Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

It seems basic to compare Bongiovanni to Alison Bechdel in Dykes to Watch Out For mode, but I think it's also an accurate compliment, particularly in how Bongiovanni affectionately skewers culture. This is a novel about a trio of queer 20-somethings stuck in a rut in a small tourist town of "Squarebanks," Alaska. I'm an old queer (with my own middle-aged ruts, lol/sob), so I probably found some arcs less resonant than I would have 20 years ago. But I still really enjoyed the characters and site-specific details (like the bird observatory and gift store where Laura/Leo works), and the seamless, evenhanded depiction of online life as both lifesaving and limiting.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bongiovanni has such a gift for writing evil protagonists and I’d love to know whether it’s their way of addressing their own flaws or if a gay truly wronged them and this is slow motion revenge.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Archie Bongiovanni depicts an embarrassingly familiar experience of escaping the box of heteronormativity... and finding a new box instead. Laura (or Leo) is confined by the persona they have made as a microcelebrity with an online following, and her best friend Rachel has settled into an unsatisfying but familiar status quo. When an old friend returns to the town and bursts the bubble that the two think they are the only queers in the area, Laura and Rachel both start exploring who they each actually are and/or want to be.

This all sounds very dramatic but the story is packed with Bongiovanni's humour, and the characters are all fun even in their worst moments (Laura is a disaster and I love them).

I loved this book, it's my favourite of their works so far (and I bought their book Mimosa twice).

[sallanvaara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this more than Mimosa, but the story felt a little incomplete. But the dilemma of being very vocally and publicly something very specific and the pressure that creates to never experiment with or broaden your identity is very resonant and familiar to me, and definitely worth writing about. It's not exactly my story, but having identified as a lesbian for a very long time (I still mostly do), yet as of late being in a relationship that doesn't fit the appearances or expectations of that label has been an experience for sure. Anyway, liked the topic and the characters in all their messiness, but the art style still isn't fully to my tastes and the ending was a bit abrupt. 3,5-ish stars!

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another graphic novel about shitty gay people. How could I not love it?

Laura is a lesbian influencer and a shitty friend. When an old friend comes to town and she gets a book deal, Laura closes in on herself. Her best friend, Rachel, realizes that Laura has made their friendship about her. They never do anything Rachel wants. While Rachel starts to find herself again through an old friend, Laura is struggling with who she really is inside.

[Anna McDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

If there is one thing that Bongiovanni is excels at it is characters. Every character feels like a real complex person, reading this story the characters feel like people you have met before. The book focuses on finding identity when you thought you already know who you are with one character focused on gender and sexuality while the other on their life goals. Bongiovanni did a great job showing how this can look for different people in a way accessible to a wide range of readers.

[Fiore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how Laura's messy and a horrible friend but not in a way where I despise her character. I can understand how she feels stuck in her identity with what she feels is the weight of a community she found online. Loving what this says about how self-discovery can come in so many ways and that there isn't necessarily a neat little end point to it all. A good balance between that and Laura fumbling along in her real life friendship along the way.

[Ken French · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I didn't personally relate to as much of this as I did Mimosa (aging gays finding their place in the LGBTQIA+ community is more my story), Archie's work always brings me queer joy and they always get to the heart of what queer people go through in their daily lives. And their characters seem like real people. I loved it.

[Fable · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bongiovanni is a master of messy queer relationships - from the platonic to the romantic to the social - that explores the complexity of our experience and how to grow from it: while also being really funny and raunchy and a delight to read! The added layer of how to navigate discovering new layers of yourself while also having a very loud, public persona is a great new lense.

[Fran Clamser · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the art style and the Alaskan backdrop! Leo/Laura was a bit insufferable at times but Rachel was such a great friend/character. I enjoyed getting to see her grow and realize her strengths. The social media aspect was very interesting and how creators and viewers can differ between online vs in person.

[Grace Stafford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm an Bongiovanni fan girl at this point, I swear. This rocked. Bongiovanni's comics show the queer community from every angle and doesn't hide from showing the uglier sides. The comparisons to Dykes to Watch Out For are warranted, imo.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

My God, Leo as a person kind of sucked, but I guess all of us do kinda suck at some time in some ways, yeah? So there you go. Solid read and I enjoy the art style, as well as the commentary on fluid sexuality and the stifling expectations that can occur even in the most welcoming of spaces.

[Ryan Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love messy queer stories.

[Addison Boozer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I <3 Archie!!!

[lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Eva B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bongiovanni truly excels at writing the messiest of queer people and I love that for them

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the art style and the plot raises some interesting topics. I wish there were about 50 more pages at the end; a lot of the plot threads were unresolved.

[Athena · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5/5*

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 🌟

[Gwen Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart-warming! A nice little story about the world’s messiest transmasc egg-cracking. Also probably the densest collection of Alaskan in-jokes that I’ve ever seen.

[BeSnail · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book felt real

[Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

didn't love this one either but i appreciated the depiction of very real struggles with coming to terms with a genderqueer identity. wish it was more focused on court also! 3 stars.

[Sasha Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I related to the MC so hard I should probably be embarrassed about it lol. Nice art style, too. I will be seeking out more of Archie Bongiovanni's work.