Leo Ortolani's Rat-Man and Beyond: Retrospective at Ex Lazzaretto in Cagliari

A major retrospective of cartoonist Leo Ortolani, creator of the iconic Rat-Man, is on view at Ex Lazzaretto in Cagliari, Sardinia. Born in Pisa in 1967 and adopted by Parma, Ortolani won the Premio Spot for Best Screenplay in 1990 for Rat-Man. The exhibition features sixty original plates and numerous covers spanning his thirty-year career, from the masked rat-monkey hero's existential and inclusive comedy to parodies of Batman and Marvel heroes. Six sections trace his evolution: early Rat-Man works, the graphic novel 'Cinzia' (230 plates on gender inclusion), and adaptations of 'Star Wars' and 'Harry Potter'. Also included is 'C'è spazio per tutti', a Rat-Man space adventure created for scientific outreach with the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and astronaut Paolo Nespoli. During the show, a fundraiser for Associazione Il Sorriso di Piè (supporting the Oncohematology ward of Ospedale Businco in Cagliari) features live drawing sessions by Sardinian colleagues Daniele Serra and Ilenia Loddo, whose works will be part of a section titled 'Only Rat-Man Fans' opening April 20. Further tributes by Claudio Vinci, Mario Atzori, Guido Masala, and Ermenegildo Atzori are planned. The exhibition is curated by Roberta Vanali, critic and contemporary art curator who studied at the University of Cagliari and previously served as editor-in-chief for Exibart.