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This paper analyzes the novel Leapfrog and Other Stories (1994) by Cuban writer Guillermo Rosales (La Habana, 1946–Miami, 1993), focusing on its use of comics as a tool for engagement and intervention in the cultural debates of its time. The study explores how comics function as both a utopian escape and a narrative device within the fictional and dreamlike realm of the main character. This perspective offers a fresh approach to Rosales’ work, which has been somewhat overlooked by critics who have predominantly focused on his novel Boarding Home (1987). Written in 1968 and strategically set in 1957 Cuba, Leapfrog and Other Stories narrates the story of Agar, a child subjected to abuse by his father and a group of friends. Amid an oppressive and violent environment, Agar finds solace in the imaginary world of comics and serials from the United States. The paper examines how the incorporation of superheroes and pop culture icons mirrors the power dynamics, subjugation, and societal decay that permeate the life of the young protagonist in Rosales’ novel.
