Done torturing myself

I'd decided to just read what I had to read once and for all. Or not. Maybe I should write decent reviews. But I won't. Maybe I should post some pics. But no.

Besides The Major, there are a few short stories you can read at the right column on Hector Lima's website. I think Steve Brain is the only one worth reading.

Here's a parody of Den by Junim called Ankh video.

Promises of love to strangers while waiting for the end of the world s a very interesting alternative experimental comic by Pedro Franz. It's divided in three parts, with four chapters each. I highly recommend reading this, but chapters are too short, maybe you should wait for a whole part to be available in English (so far, there are only 2 chapters) to get the real feel. Or maybe wait for the whole series to be done. I know I'll have to read it again when it's over.

If you're feeling romantic, try these short stories by Mario Cau.

A sci-fi shortie drawn by Edu Francisco

Here's a very balanced report on the police action in the favelas of Rio, made for a Dutch political cartoon website by Augusto Paim and MauMau can be read here.

Not bad comic strips by Adão Iturrusgarai in English and Spanish.

And here's some stuff I wouldn't even dare to read: Supersonic HQ and Foreskin Man.

Some short stories by Amilcar Pinna and Amanda Grazini. They're so beatiful... I wish there were more than just three...

Here and here you can find stuff by Odyr. I don't really recommend it though... the comics are mixed up with some other stuff, uncategorized, and some of them are "subtitled". Ok, Odyr made another more organised and bilingual blog.

Quickies #45

200 Sueños Ilustrados is a collection of illustrations made by Mexican, Spanish and Brazilian artists, based on children's dreams

That Monica's Gang/Tezuka crossover is finally coming out. The characters will save the Amazon forest, promote sustainabilty and stuff. It'll be published in Turma da Mônica Jovem #43 and #44 (february and march).

Mauricio de Sousa got the Bing Xin Child Literature award with an illustrated book of a Monica's Gang interpretation of classic tales

Adriana Melo will draw Cat-Woman

There'll be an exhibit of La Bouche du Monde, French/Brazilian magazine, in Toulouse, France

Sources: @4mundo, @UltraLafa and Universo HQ.

Pigs, pigs, pigs, pigs

Iris Yan is a Chinese blooded Brazilian chick who does volunteer work in Mozambique. She has a quite high rate of production of these little amateur comics you see above, in four different blogs. I think the quality of Pigs in Maputo varies a lot, there's some pretty good stuff and some waste of time. I didn't have much fun with the other blogs, Pigs in Math, Pigs in Spirit and Pigs Incorporated, perhaps they're way too niche, as the name suggests.

Quickies #44

Interview with Fábio Moon about Serenity

Adão Iturrusgarai's Rocky & Hudson is on a small list of good gay-themed comics published in Spain

The Monica's Gang website took part in the SOPA blackout

A cartoon on internet freedom

Morro da Favela, by André Diniz, a biography of photographer Maurício Hora, will be published in France (through Des Ronds dans L'O Éditions, title not yet defined) and in England (through Self Made Hero, as Picture a Favela, being sold also in the USA).

Rafael Albuquerque will draw Batman

Quero ser Turma da Mônica (I wanna be Monica's Gang) is a new iSomething app that makes a Monca's Gang style cartoon out of you. It's free and it's already the number one top download for iPad in Brazil, and number two for iPhone.

French release and preview of José Roosevelt's Ce #6

Five Brazilian comics are running for the BD Prix Alternative of Angoulême. It's the second time Brazilians are nominated. The comics are Silêncio, São Jorge da Mata Escura, Café Espacial #10, Lorde Kramus and Escorpião de Prata. Covers here.

The Roach, a super-hero parody by Giorgio Capelli, has been released digitally in the UK

Sources: Blog dos Quadrinhos, @elgroucho, @MarinaSchnoor, Neorama dos Quadrinhos and Universo HQ.

Change of heart

Remember when I said, in the last post, that you should expect a lot of posts etc.? Well, I realized that a lot of those things would be a waste of time. In fact, I think I'm getting tired of scanlation... so let's get this over with!

I'm putting all not really important stuff aside. I'll just mess a little with the structure of the blog, host some Enxame stuff, and finish proofreading for Opentrain, and then the REAL work!

Master's Screen

While you wait for new chapters that take like forever to be done, I offer you this little treat: a recent Tormenta Master's Screen!

NO LONGER AVAILABLE

And lemme tell ya, I just finished scanning all those magazines I'd borrowed, and now I'm moving on to some peripheral anthropophagous activities I'd put aside. That means no new chapters yet, but we're closer. And there'll be a lot of new posts in the blog.

Once Upon a Saturday

Once Upon a Saturday is a comedy webcomic about God, and Adam, and Eve, and the creation of the world, stuff like that. It's quite famous in Brazil. Funny and everything, but not as fucking awesome as people make it seem. Anyway, it's translated in full here.

Ratantia

Ratantia is another webcomic I shouldn't even tell you about, but this time, for different reasons.

In an island where an alchemist used to make experiments, rats, frogs and bats have gained human-like intelligence. As if the war wasn't enough trouble, it seems that someone is plotting to awaken an ancient enemy...

It's actually a well written and skillfully drawn adventure comic by Ricardo Goulart and Lúcio Pimentel. The translation isn't bad either. The problem is that only the first two chapters have been translated. In footnotes. It's a bummer, but you may check it out, and if you like it, tell the authors to continue the translation in a better format.

Quacks of a Random Platy

I made a commitment to read every Brazilian webcomic available in English and tell you about it. So, here we go. Another one of the "just don't read it" series.

Quacks of a Random Play, by... Random Platy. It's supposed to be a funny strip about a platypus. I guess random defines it well. It just doesn't make sense. And it seems to have been originally written in English, but I guess a Google translation would've been better.

To be fair, I did laugh once or twice during the whole thing.

Here.

2011 - The year Brazilian comics happened

Paulo Ramos wrote a two-part essay whose title could be traslated as "2011 - The year Brazilian comics happened". Taking away what I already metioned in this year's Quickies, here are a few points I'd like to highlight:

- We'd never had as many comics published as in 2011.
- This year also broke a record of comic book events.
- Comics came through big publishers, independently or as webcomics.
- Quantity, quality and variety.
- Brazilian comic artists still don't really make much money.
- Brazilian long stories never worked out, now they do.
- A lot of adaptations of literary classics, aiming at government buys (and some are actually pretty good).
- So far, Daytripper had 18.000 copies published in Brazil. 3.000 sold out in the first week after its release.
- Turma da Mônica Jovem (aka Teen Monica's Gang) still printing between 300.000 and 400.000 copies.
- And last... for many, many years, some Brazilian comic artists have been trying to create a law that would force companies to publish 20% of made in Brazil comics. It's a very debated subject. Now there's a possibility of that law being approved in 2012. If it does, it'll already be useless.

Quickies #43

Sítio do Picapau Amarelo, a famous series of child books, has ben made into an animation. Cartoon Network bought the rights, and it'll be exhibited throughout Latin America.

Amilcar Pinna will release his first independent comic book, called 02+01=00. He's more known for working for Marvel and DC, but he does some independent stuff too, where he can experiment more freely. In this "intergalactic porn", he tries to pay homage to some of those who influenced him, like Moebius, Otomo, Manara and Mucha. You can get a copy here.

Daytripper will be published in France

Gabriel Andrade draws Ferals

Meu Pé de Laranja Lima is a famous Brazilian book for teens published in 1968. In 2003, it was made into a comic book in Korea. Only now that adaptation is going to be published in Brazil.

Luke Ross and Daniel HDR will draw The Avengers

Sources: @blogpauloramos, Neorama dos Quadrinhos, Universo HQ and Vice Brasil.