| Mauricio de Sousa | |
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Mauricio de Sousa (left) and President Lula (right) introducing the new character Tikara. |
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| Born | October 27, 1935 Santa Isabel, São Paulo |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Area(s) | Writer, Cartoonist, Reporter |
| Notable works | Monica's Gang and all related works |
Mauricio de Sousa (born October 27, 1935) is a Brazilian cartoonist who has created over 200 characters for his popular series of children's comic books.
At 17 years of age, he worked for a daily newspaper called Folha da Manhã as a crime reporter.[1] In 1959 Sousa quit that job and began his comic book career. He created Turma da Mônica ("Monica's Gang"). Sousa's characters were inspired by children he knew from his childhood and by his own children. His later style is slightly reminiscent of that of Osamu Tezuka, a famous Japanese manga artist and personal friend.[2]
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Mauricio de Sousa was born in Santa Isabel on October 27, 1935. His father, Antonio Maurício de Sousa, was a poet and a barber, and his mother, Petronilha Araújo de Sousa, also delved into poetry. Mauricio developed an interest in cartooning at a young age, and began to draw posters and illustrations for periodicals of Mogi das Cruzes, where he lived. He sought penciling work in São Paulo, but instead took a job writing the police blotter for Folha de São Paulo, but he soon quit and focused on his budding comic book career. This led to the creation of his first character, Bidu, who later became the symbol of his company, Maurício de Sousa Productions, where he employs a great team of tracers and scriptwriters to complement his illustrations.
Today, he is the father of ten children, and drew inspiration from them for new characters such as Monica,[3] Maggy,[4] Marina,[5] Mary Angela.[6] Nimbus[7] and Nick Nope.[8] Three of his children are even employed at his studio: Mônica handles licensing duties, Magali works as a scriptwriter, and Marina is a storyline developer.
The comics of Mauricio de Sousa have gained international fame, been featured on licensed merchandise, and have even been adapted for movies, television, video games, and even a São Paulo amusement park, the Parque da Mônica ("Monica's Park"). Two other Parque da Mônica facilities were also located in Curitiba and Rio de Janeiro, but they both closed in 2000 and 2005, respectively.
From 1970 to 1986, Mauricio's comic books had been published by Editora Abril, until Globo took over in January 1987. His work has been published in many magazines and newspapers since 1959. Since January 2007, the comic book series is published by Panini Comics.
In 1997, the cartoonist founded the Mauricio de Sousa Cultural Institute, whose mandate is to develop social action campaigns that translate serious subjects into a comic book format to appeal to both young and adult readers.
Mauricio's public service work has earned him international recognition. Among the honors he has received are a Brazilian presidential medal of honor for his promotion of human rights; an honorary doctorate in public service from La Roche College of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Brazilian International Press Association.[9]
Some of Mauricio's creations include:
Prior to the creation of Ronaldinho Gaucho, Mauricio had also previously developed two additional footballing characters based on Diego Maradona (named "Dieguito") and Ronaldo, but they never made it to publication.
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