The First Martyr for Thought—SOCRATES Comes to Mad Cave Studios

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

JULY 7, 2025 (PORTLAND, OR) — Accused of corrupting the youth and defying the gods, Socrates stood trial in 399 BC not with fear, but with clarity…

Mad Cave Studios is proud to present SOCRATES: THE TRIAL OF A PHILOSOPHER, a powerful graphic novel that reimagines the final days of one of history’s greatest minds, from acclaimed writer Francesco Barilli (Stalag-X, The Red Line) and artist Alessandro Ranghiasci (Zenobia, Refugees).

This timely and timeless work is brought to vivid life with elegant, classically inspired illustrations by Ranghiasci and a resonant color and lettering approach that grounds readers in both the era and the urgency of its message.

Athens, 399 BC. In what may be remembered as the first trial for crimes of opinion, Socrates is sentenced to death. Accused of corrupting youth with atheistic doctrines, the philosopher’s line of defense is uncompromising and defiant. He is thus sentenced to drink hemlock by an even larger majority of jurors, and once in prison, awaiting execution, he refuses to flee lest he violate those laws to which he has always been devoted. Socrates was not only one of the best known and most influential philosophers in human history, but also the first martyr for his own ideas. His trial tells how the greatest democracy of the time could have sentenced the best of its citizens to death.

“Socrates: The Trial of a Philosopher is a thought-provoking reimagining of the life and conversations of one of the world’s greatest philosophers,” said Mad Cave Studios editor Sarah Brunstad. “Through Socrates’ story, we wrestle with questions as relevant today as they were upon his death in 399 B.C.—questions of the value of truth and knowledge in a world where ignorance is encouraged because it is manipulable. This volume is another inspiring and eye-opening historical reframing by the masters of the craft at BeccoGiallo.”

With moral weight and intellectual fire, Socrates: The Trial of a Philosopher, offers readers a powerful meditation on the cost of truth and the enduring courage of conviction. For fans of Logicomix, They Called Us Enemy, and The Trial of the Chicago 7, this is essential reading for anyone interested in philosophy, history, and justice.