Quadrinhos, that’s what I hope these comics from Brazil will be called. The most anyone hears about this region’s comics is because of two factors. From Mauricio de Sousa’s iconic Monica franchise to a deliberately bad Mega Man comic. That latter one however is not without merit. Brazil has a long history of relying on foreign content, so much that Sousa’s work are the only notable originals. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad thing though. The comics much like Brazil itself have come to establish their own identity.

The Foreign Model

Like most comics, Brazil’s quadrinhos begin in political satire. Naturally however, this is due to the Portugese presence. Pretty soon magazines in tribute to French publications appear. Of course most of their content and characters are knockoffs or imports like Felix the Cat. After a while, most people just began to rely on license imports like Flash Gordon. For pity’s sake there was even a Comics Code in reaction to the horror comics. It’s a blessing in disguise though; the restrictions allow for the development of Turma de Mônica.

The Quadrinhos’ Icon

Mauricio de Sousa’s groundbreaking series was inspired by the likes of the Peanuts while drawing on his own childhood. After a lot of trial and error, Sousa develops the characters until three protagonists take the spotlight. The title character proves popular enough to compete with the likes of even Disney comics. Heck Sousa’s work is so widespread he establishes himself as a Walt Disney-like figure, complete with a theme park. Unfortunately with that much fame comes a lack of competition.

A Period of Knockoffs

With most people in Brazil lacking formal knowledge on comics other than imports, it’s hard to establish an identity. Most of the time people just create pastiches of popular characters like Tarzan or Zorro. Some artists of Japanese descent even try pastiches of Astro Boy when not doing samurai tales. For most of the sixties to early seventies, when it wasn’t imports, creators try to recreate foreign characters. For example Black Knight is a series that is sometimes adapting the Durango Kid comics. Other times Brazilian publishers try to recreate their own versions of characters like The Judoka from Charlton Comics’ Judomaster. It’d be a few decades before anyone made more original content.

Quadrinhos Inspired by Manga

After years of missed opportunities and rise of comic associations in Brazil, manga-inspired projects arise. Noted webcomic Combo Rangers is a reaction to the growing presence of manga. So present it’s a semi-regular winner of the Troféu HQ Mix awards. Other like Holy Avenger use the designs of 90s manga such as Record of Lodoss War while using Dungeons & Dragons-like systems. It’s notoriety not only wins the series HQ Mix awards but awarded recognition in Japan. Holy Avenger even gets people trying to ride its success with their own takes on it. Before long even Monica gets the manga treatment.

Monica Adventures takes the kids from Monica’s Gang and has them reimagined as teenagers. The high school hijinks and absurdist commentary evoke both slice-of-life manga and even Archie Comics. How can anyone tell this is successful? Creators try to do the same thing with every imitator of Monica like Luluzinha. By now you probably see the point that jerkish artist, José Roberto Pereira, up top; what’s the point of having success if it’s just renewing existing content or trying to copy others? But who cares when international interest picks up?

International Quadrinhos

Share that feeling twins

By the 2010s comics from Brazil enter the 21st century with people taking a keen interest. Brothers Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá gain so much notoriety their series Daytripper wins an Eisner. Some Brazilian creators follow suit to have their work licensed for the states. One in particular Valente (Vincent in the states) is given a chance to be seen by many people over the internet. The positive reception on Netgalley allows for even more comics to come over.

Not least of these comics going international is Monica Adventures. First published in January, the series gets a piggyback through Papercutz’s Free Comic Book Day 2019 issue. With the entirety of the States now listening; it’s a good time to search for these works they missed out on. One in particular Bear can be found on Tapas. While Pereira had a point; if he saw anything happening today he would’ve taken a better route than trying to kill off Mega Man.

Quadrinhos Are Here To Stay

Hey, the Comics Code isn’t in Brazil!

Some people in Brazil have even set up their own crowdfunding website for such a route. Catarse much like Kickstarter allows creators to get funds through a campaign or a subscription payment like on Patreon. Aside from series like Combo Rangers, original series like Orixas have also come up. That series in turn is likely a reaction to the rise of Nigerian comics due to the focus on Yoruba deities. But you know what, that’s okay. The modern Brazil has built up an identity from all of the people living in there.

A land’s identity isn’t just who lives there but how it reacts to the world around them. Brazil is a land that learns much from its surroundings. While many of their most notable stories are inspired by other ones, no Brazilian denies that help is great. In their attempts to stay relevant in a changing world, the country’s creatives take strides to innovate. From apps to interactive QR Codes, Quadrinhos show the world what they’ve got.

Thanks for coming and as always remember to look between the panels.

If you like the posts, consider patronage so you can choose the next one.