Monica's Gang

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Monica's Gang (originally titled Turma da Mônica in Portuguese) is a popular Brazilian comic book series. The series was created by Mauricio de Sousa, who signs his work as "Mauricio". Plots are centered on the adventures of a group of seven-year-old friends in the fictional neighborhood of "Bairro do Limoeiro" in São Paulo. The neighborhood was inspired by the neighborhood of Cambuí, in Campinas.^[1]

Contents 1 History 2 Characters 2.1 Main characters 2.2 Minor characters 3 Related works 4 Films 5 Video games 6 Mônica Park 7 Publications 7.1 Comic books (released weekly) 7.2 Almanacs 7.2.1 Bi-monthly publications 7.2.2 Quarterly publications 7.2.3 Biannual publications 7.3 Annual publications 7.4 Defunct publications 7.5 Gibizão (Big Comic) 8 Monica outside Brazil 8.1 Italy 8.2 Indonesia 9 References 10 External links

[edit] History

Mauricio began his comic universe in 1959 with a newspaper comic strip titled Bidu, printed on Folha da Manhã, the newspaper where Mauricio worked as police reporter^[2]. Cebolinha followed in 1960. The character Mônica first saw the light of day in 1963. Comic books featuring the characters started appearing: Mônica (1970), Cebolinha (1972), and many more. The stories have been translated to several languages and sold in dozens of countries. The series has been running steadily for over forty years, and generated uncountable spin-offs in the realms of merchandising, animated cartoons, video games, theme parks, and more. Mauricio employs a large staff on his company Estúdios Mauricio de Sousa to execute these projects.

The characters are drawn in a simple cartoon style and the stories often finish with a happy ending. In the end of each comic book, there are three panels with a quick joke, such as newspaper strips. Compared with the Peanuts characters, Monica's gang is less reflective and a bit more fantastic, less psychological and more active.

Characters often break the fourth wall, acknowledging they are performing or even talking to the writers from inside the papersheet. In some stories, they go "behind the sets", as if they were filming a TV show or a movie. The main characters also make fun of other characters by being secondaries (Sunny, a yellow-haired boy is the one that is most mocked by being a secondary character). Other is a recently returned character called Manezinho (Little Foul in Brazilian Portuguese), that is referred by Smudge as "the new secondary character").

Also, to avoid any copyright problems, when referring to any person, company or band, Mauricio writes something similar, resulting in word plays. Examples: Coca-Cola = Tota-Tóia; Michael Jackson = Maicou Jeca; Titãs = Tantãs; and so on.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Main characters

The four main characters of Monica's Gang are:

• Monica (Mônica)

Main article: Monica (Monica's Gang)

• Jimmy Five (Cebolinha)

Main article: Jimmy Five

• Smudge (Cascão)

Main article: Smudge (Monica's Gang)

• Maggy (Magali)

Main article: Maggy (Monica's Gang)

[edit] Minor characters

• Angel (Anjinho) – As the name suggests, he is the guardian angel of Monica’s Gang. From the clouds high up above (presumably heaven), he will listen to any scream for help, and will descend to save the day, just like a superhero. He also works like an advice-giver to the gang. The problem is that is impossible to him to protect all the kids from the confusions they always get involved to. Sometimes he eventually gets himself involved to these confusions.
• Bloguinho (literally Little Blog) – This recently introduced character is a bright, smart child. His speech balloons are written with internet slangs and emoticons, so it’s easy to anyone to see that he’s addicted to computer and chatting on the net. Because of this, he was introduced as Teveluisão’s little brother. In addition, his hair is a simple “@”.
• Blu (Bidu)

Main article: Blu (Monica's Gang)

• Bucky (Titi) – Bucky is as toothy as Monica, but his friends hardly make fun of that. Bucky dates Isabel, but hangs around with any girls he sees, just like Curly. He sometimes ends up alone and hated by his ex-girlfriends, because he dates so many girls that it becomes impossible for him to hide one from the others, and vice-versa.
• Doreen (Dorinha) – Another recently introduced character, she is blind. As she is blind since birth, she doesn’t know the shape of things, so she just imagines. Her remaining senses are very precise, though.
  • Radar – Dorinha’s guide dog, very loyal to his owner. He is a labrador.
• Hummer (Humberto) – Hummer suffers from muteness, so all he can do to communicate is to murmur “hmm-hmm”. In some strips, it is stated that he is also deaf, and that he reads people’s lips to understand what they are saying.
• Isabel (Aninha) – Bucky’s main girlfriend. She sometimes discovers his many betrayals, but in the end, she forgives her non-loyal boyfriend. She’s very jealous of him, but Bucky still manages to date other girls while Isabel’s not watching over him.
• Jeremiah (Jeremias) – One of Bucky’s best friends, and one of the few Afro-Brazilian characters of Mauricio. At first, he was drawn in a strong black color, but nowadays, his color is a softer brown.
• Lorde Coelhão (Lord Big Rabbit) – One of the gang’s most famous (and inoffensive) enemies. First appeared on the movie “As Aventuras da Turma da Mônica”. He is based on Darth Vader, and hails from the planet Cenourando. He commands a great army of “coelhóides” (a portmanteau of the Portuguese words “Coelho” (rabbit) and “Andróide” (Android). His main assistant is “Zoiudo”, a flying being who does nothing but repeat the orders given by his master. But he’s also a good spy.
• Luca – Also called “Da Roda” (of the wheel, due to his wheel chair), this recently introduced character is paralytic. He is very active, though. He plays basketball, and performs tricks on his chair, just like a skateboarder. The girls find him a very cute boy, especially Monica.
• Marina – One of the few characters whose English and Portuguese names are equal. She was based on one of Mauricio daughters, also called Marina. ^[3] Both Marinas are addicted to painting and drawing. Marina caught Franklin’s eyes, who became in love with her. Still, she’s not interested in dating him (nor anyone else).
• Nick Nope (Do Contra) – “Agreed”, “equal” and its derivates are words missing in Nick’s vocabulary. He likes to do everything his way, or in other words, in reverse of the normal way. He likes to eat strange food, like salty ice creams, rice with pieces of water melon, and anything that may show up in his mind. Like Marina, he is based on one of Mauricio’s sons (also called Mauricio). ^[4]
• Nimbus – Another of Mauricio’s few characters whose name remains the same in both Portuguese and English versions. He is very interested in meteorology, and fears thunders and storms, just like Smudge. The only difference is that he still likes water. He is also a magician, and all girls find him cute.^[5] Like Marina and Nick Nope, he was also based on one of Mauricio’s sons (Mauro). .^{[6] [7]}
• Ronaldinho Gaúcho

Main article: Ronaldinho Gaucho (comic strip)

• Mr. Juca (Seu Juca) – This character appears doing a different job every strip. He changes jobs so frequently because Monica and her friends always try to help him with his work, but Juca tries to stop them, and this generates a great confusion, which always leads to Juca’s loss of his job, and also to his insanity, so that his second home is the psychiatric hospital.
• Professor Spada/Doctor Spam (Professor Spada (a slightly different way of saying sword in Portuguese)/Doutor Spam) – The newest enemy of Monica's gang, he is the only character who owns two double personalities. When Professor Spada, he is a gentle, happy computer technician. But if eventually he is hit by a short circuit, he becomes the evil Doctor Spam, who can travel through the internet, which means he can be in any part of the globe in within some seconds, to disseminate computer viruses.
• Specs (Zé Luís) – The oldest of the gang. When Monica first appeared, she was said to be his little sister, but as she gained more notability among the gang, she earned her own family. Specs likes reading and studying, but also finds time to hang with his friends and girls.
• Sunny (Xaveco) – The main characteristic of this boy is not having any characteristic, at all. He is always resembled as “the secondary character”, and the main characters always make fun of his apparent “uselessness”. He is also the only of the gang to have divorced parents. ^[8]
• Teveluisão (a portmanteau of the Portuguese words “Televisão” (Television), “Luís”, and “Luisão” (Big Luís)) – As his name suggests, he is addicted to television, and spends all day in front of it. His friend Specs always tells him that this is not healthy, and forces him to the outdoors. He is Bloguinho’s brother.
• Tikara (Brazilian way of saying "Chikara" (力), Japanese word that means power, strengh) - This Japanese Brazilian character was created by Mauricio to be the mascot of the "Comemoração do Centenário da Imigração Japonesa no Brasil" (Celebration of the Centenary of the Japanese immigration to Brazil). He is expected to appear at Monica's strips in May and June 2008.^[9]

[edit] Related works

Most other works made by Sousa are related to Monica's Gang. They are usually separated stories at all from Monica's gang, but sometimes some cross-overs are presented. Just Chuck Billy (Chico Bento), which actually came in the same year (1963) as Monica itself, has a separate comic book, but once in a while there are stories from one into another book.

Quoting the official website, about Chuck Billy:

Silly country bumpkins who are comical yet so very wise in their ways. They'll love you; you'll love them. In Chuck Billy's world - a small country village complete with church square, bandshell and schoolhouse surrounded by farmland and rolling countryside - everybody knows everybody and life is full of wit and creativity.

• Chuck Billy 'n' Folks
• Horacio's World
• Bug-a-Booo
• The Cavern Clan
• Tina's Pals
• The Tribe
• The Funnies
• Lionel's Kingdom

[edit] Films

• As Aventuras da Turma da Mônica (1982)
• A Princesa e o Robô (1983)
• As Novas Aventuras da Turma da Mônica (1986)
• Mônica e a Sereia do Rio (1986)
• O Bicho-Papão (1987)
• A Estrelinha Mágica (1988)
• Chico Bento, Óia a Onça (1990)
• Cinegibi - O Filme (2004)
• Cine Gibi 2 (2005)
• Uma Aventura no Tempo (2007)

[edit] Video games

In 90s, some video games titles was released by Tec Toy for Master System console. The first game [[Mônica no Castelo do Dragão was released in 1992 and consists in a romhack from Wonder Boy in Monster Land adapted for the Monica universe. The sequels, also Wonder Boy romhacks, completes the trilogy.

[edit] Mônica Park

An amusement park themed with Mauricio de Souza's characters, located at the Shopping Eldorado in São Paulo. It was opened in January 1993, and features a number of attractions, like the “Carrossel do Horácio” (Horacio's merry-go-round, a carousel featuring dinosaurs instead of horses), the 3-D cinema, and many more. The Parque da Mônica of Curitiba and of Rio de Janeiro were also created, in 1998 and 2001, respectively, but both were closed, in 2000 and 2005, respectively. Until the end of 2006, it has it’s own comic book, featuring adventures of Monica’s gang at the park. When Panini Comics started to publish Mauricio’s works, this magazine was replaced by Turma da Mônica.

[edit] Publications

Monica’s Gang and its related works are released in a number of different books. Firstly, they were published by Editora Abril, from 1970 to 1986, then Editora Globo, from 1987 to 2006. From 2007 on, Panini Comics was chosen to keep the publications.

[edit] Comic books (released weekly)

• Mônica
  • Ed. Abril (1970-1986): 1-200
  • Ed. Globo (1987-2006): 1-246
  • Ed. Panini (2007-): 1-
• Cebolinha
  • Ed. Abril (1973-1986): 1-168
  • Ed. Globo (1987-2006): 1-246
  • Ed. Panini (2007-): 1-
• Cascão
  • Ed. Abril (1982-1986): 1-114
  • Ed. Globo (1987-2006): 1-467
  • Ed. Panini (2007-): 1-
• Chico Bento
  • Ed. Abril (1982-1986): 1-114
  • Ed. Globo (1987-2006): 1-467
  • Ed. Panini (2007-): 1-
• Magali
  • Ed. Globo (1989-2006): 1-403
  • Ed. Panini (2007-): 1-
• Turma da Mônica

It features mainly adventures at the Parque da Mônica, which were formerly published at the defunct “Revista Parque da Mônica”.

• • Ed. Panini (2007-): 1-
• Ronaldinho Gaúcho

Adventures of Ronaldinho Gaúcho, interacting or not with the rest of the gang.

• • Ed. Globo (2006): 1-3
  • Ed. Panini (2007-): 1-

[edit] Almanacs

The “Almanaques da Turma da Mônica” (Monica's Gang Almanacs) bring republications of the best stories.

[edit] Bi-monthly publications

• Almanaque da Mônica (Monica's Almanac)
• Almanaque do Cebolinha (Jimmy Five’s Almanac)
• Almanaque do Cascão (Smudge’s Almanac)
• Almanaque do Chico Bento (Chuck Billy’s Almanac)
• Almanaque da Magali (Maggy’s Almanac)

[edit] Quarterly publications

• Almanaque Temático (Thematic Almanac, with several stories featuring several different characters, but with the same theme, formerly named “Coleção Um Tema Só” (One Single Theme Collection))

[edit] Biannual publications

• Almanaque Turma do Penadinho (Bug-a-Booo’s Almanac)
• Almanaque Turma da Tina (Tina’s Pals’ Almanac)
• Almanaque Turma do Astronauta (The Funnies’ Almanac)
• Grande Almanaque de Férias (Great Holydays Almanac, released during Brazil school holydays, former “Almanacão de Férias” (Holydays Big Almanac))
• Grande Almanaque Turma da Mônica (Great Monica’s Gang Almanac, a big-sized Almanac, former “Almanacão Turma da Mônica” (Monica’s Gang Big Almanac))
• Almanaque Historinhas de Uma Página (Single-page strories Almanac, featuring only stories that occupies only one page at a comic book)
• Clássicos do Cinema Turma da Mônica (Monica's Gang Classics of the Cinema)

[edit] Annual publications

• Mônica Especial de Natal (Mônica’s Christmas Special, featuring Christmas-related strories only, former “Mônica Edição Especial de Natal” (Monica’s Special Chrsitmas Edition))

[edit] Defunct publications

• Pelezinho
  • Editora Abril (1977-1982): 1-60
• Almanaque do Pelezinho (Pelezinho’s Almanac)
  • Editora Abril (1977-1986)
• As melhores piadas (The Best Jokes)
  • Editora Abril (1976-1978)(1986)
• Tiras Especial
  • Editora Abril (1974-1975)
• Bidu (Blu)
  • Editora Continental (1960)
• Gibizinho da Mônica (Monica’s Little Comic, pocket comic book)
  • Editora Globo (1991-1998): 1-84
• Almanaque do Gibizinho (Little Comic’s Almanac)
  • Editora Globo (1997-2001): 1-46 ; 2ª série: (2003-2006): 1-40

[edit] Gibizão (Big Comic)

This huge-sized Comic book (even bigger than the Almanacão) had only nine editions until Panini Comics replaced it by “Clássicos do Cinema Turma da Mônica”:

• Batmenino Eternamente (Batboy Forever)- parody of Batman Forever. ^[10]
• Horacic Park - parody of Jurassic Park. ^[11]
• Os Doze Trabalhos da Mônica (The Twelve Labors of Monica) – Parody of Labors of Hercules, slightly modified. ^[12]
• Romeu e Julieta (Romeo & Juliet) – adaptation of a movie of the gang. It transforms the William Shakespeare’s story, providing a less tragic end to "Romeo Montague Five" and "Juliet Monicapulet". ^[13]
• Comandante Gancho (Captain Hook) – parody of Hook. ^[14]
• Mônica e os Bárbaros (Mônica & The Barbarians) - republication. Mônica travels on a time machine created by Franklin and helps a warior on the Middle Age. ^[15]
• Superparque (Superpark) – Some superheroes are on vacations andgo to the Parque da Mônica. ^[16]
• Coelhada nas Estrelas (Star Warp) - parody of Star Wars. ^[17]
• A Volta ao mundo em 80 Garfadas (Around the World in Eighty Meals) – Parody of Around the World in Eighty Days.

[edit] Monica outside Brazil

Monica's Gang and related works have all been translated and published in other countries.

[edit] Italy

La banda di Monica Characters: Monica, Cipollino (Jimmy Five), Patacca (Smudge), Magali, Tito (Bucky), Frangetta (Franklin), Nimbus, Gaio (Sunny), Maria Cipollino (Mary Angela), Vic Vampiro (Vic Vampire), Fantasmino (Bug-a-Booo), Osti Nato (Nick Nope), Piteco and many others.

[edit] Indonesia

Monika dan kawan kawan Comics are published there since 1997: Monika, Jimmi Lima (Jimmy Five) and Ciko Bento (Chuck Billy).

[edit] References

• Monica’s Gang at Monica’s Gang official website
• English Monica's Gang official website

[edit] External links

• Parque da Mônica's official website
• Official site (features list of characters, games, downloads, and many more):
  • English version
  • Portuguese version

v • d • e Monica's Gang Creator Mauricio de Sousa Main Characters Monica · Jimmy Five · Smudge · Maggy Minor characters Blu Related Works Chuck Billy 'n' Folks · Horacio's World · Bug-a-Booo · The Cavern Clan · Tina's Pals · The Tribe · The Funnies · Lionel's Kingdom · Ronaldinho Gaúcho

v • d • e Universal Press Syndicate Comics Currently syndicated Adam@home  · Baldo  · Calvin and Hobbes  · Cathy  · Clear Blue Water  · Cleats  · Close to Home  · Condorito  · Cornered  · Cul de Sac  · Doonesbury  · The Duplex  · The Elderberries  · The 5th Wave  · The Flying McCoys  · For Better or For Worse  · FoxTrot  · Fred Basset  · The Fusco Brothers  · Garfield  · Gaturro  · Ginger Meggs  · Heart of the City  · In the Bleachers  · Ink Pen  · James Bond  · Judge Dredd  · La Cucaracha  · Leyendas Míticas  · Liō  · Lucky Cow  · Maintaining  · Modesty Blaise  · Monica's Gang  · Mutt & Jeff  · Non Sequitur  · Overboard  · Pepe  · Pooch Café  · PreTeena  · Prickly City  · Princess Ai  · Real Life Adventures  · Ronaldinho Gaucho  · Stone Soup  · Tank McNamara  · Tom the Dancing Bug  · Tutelandia  · Ziggy