Brazil has a long history of comics, dating all the way back to the 19th century, getting their start in magazine drawings and newspaper strips and eventually going on to have entire magazines of comics. Over the years, Brazil's comics have seen a lot of influences, from North American comics to Japanese manga.
Because of this, there are plenty of titles intended for all kinds of readers: Cartoonish stories meant for young children, dramas for young adults, fantasies for anime fans, political satire, and parodies of nearly every genre. And many of these works have inspired movies, television shows, and even video games.
10 Monica's Gang
Also known as Turma da Mônica, this series began in the 1950s and was inspired by North American comics like Little Lulu and Peanuts. It originally revolved a young boy and his dog, but eventually began to focus on a tough little girl named Monica who'd soon become the series' star. Over the years, Monica would have a variety of friends that serve as her supporting characters, including another little girl name Magali (or Maggy).
Over the years, Monica's Gang would have various spin-offs, including a manga-inspired series that features teenage versions of the characters. The comics have also been adapted into a long-lived animated series, live-action & animated films, and even video games as recently as a 2014 mobile title.
9 Chuck Billy 'n' Folks
Also known as Chico Bento, Chuck Billy is a little farm boy who lives in rural Brazil, which allows him to interact with the country's environment and occasional folklore characters in addition to stories with his friends and school. Sharing a creator with Monica, he has a similar history: He wasn't the original main character, but proved popular with readers. He's also had a manga-inspired spin-off and has appeared in animated adaptations.
The series is also rather infamous for a storyline in which Chuck Billy's baby sister, Mariana, becomes sick with fever and dies while still an infant, eventually becoming a star. Interestingly, there have also been quite a few stories where Chuck Billy himself dies and is brought back at the end. His dog, Fido, also died in one story, only to be brought back without much explanation.
8 Bug-A-Boo
Also known as Penadinho, this little ghost lives, for lack of a better term, in a graveyard, and is friends with other monster characters including a vampire and a werewolf. In some stories, Bug is the ghost of a boy whose family came to Brazil from Europe. Later stories retconned him into being an adult when he died, with one story explaining his childlike appearance by claiming he was crushed to death in an accident and was actually quite tall in life.
Another prominent character is Dona Morte, the personification of Death, who is actually quite friendly and often used as comic relief. For example, one story has a man fall in love with her and accidentally kill himself when he kisses her, but comes back to life with a second kiss. Overall, despite the macabre themes, the comics were intended to be funny.
7 Holy Avenger
Manga and anime have had quite an influence on Brazilian comics and that is showcased heavily in this series. Lisandra is a young girl who was raised by animals and is told in a dream that she must find powerful gems that can be used to revive a mysterious hero called the "Paladin." Eventually, this plan grows to include the hero Sandro Galtran, an elf mage named Niele, and the dwarf Tork.
Of course, in a world where all supernatural creatures seem to exist in some form or another, things might not be what they appear.
6 Jaguara
Jaguara is an indigenous Brazilian warrior woman who belongs to the Krenakores tribe in Jaguaretama, a hidden world within the Amazon, in a story showcasing figures from Brazilian folklore. In order to protect her people, Jaguara faces off against creatures from werewolves to the headless mule. Her most powerful weapon is the "Lance of Tupã."
The character has gone on to portrayals in animation and games. Some fans like to think of her as the country's counterpart to Wonder Woman, and the similarities between the two characters are many.
5 Luluzinha Teen E Sua Turma
Fans of early American comics might be surprised to learn that one of its famous heroines ended up getting a spin-off comic in Brazil: Little Lulu. In this series, she and her friends are now teenagers and have undergone surprising transformations. Drawn in a manga style, Tubby is now lean and an aspiring rock musician and Gloria, who is normally Lulu's rival, is now her close friend. Adapting to modern times, Annie is now into video games and tech.
The idea of retooling Lulu and her friends like this probably came from the Monica comics, which also redesigned the characters this way over the years. That said, one comic did come up with an interesting explanation for the changes: The characters might actually be the grandchildren of their North American counterparts.
4 Combo Rangers
In this series, a hero called Poderoso Combo shares his powers with five kids so they can protect their city from evil threats from space. Being children, however, they also have to balance school, family, and being members of the superhero community. The story was originally something of a parody series of Power Rangers-esque properties, but eventually became more serious over time.
Appearing as both a webcomic and in print, the series was popular enough with fans to inspire a crowdfunding campaign for more graphic novels.
3 XDragoon
In this manga-inspired series, dragon-like aliens crash land on Earth and befriend a girl named Renata while their Emperor searches for a mysterious jewel found on the planet. Soon, the aliens will have to face other threats against the planet.
The series was originally intended to serve as the basis for an animated series, eventually becoming a webcomic. Since then, however, the series has developed its own YouTube channel.
2 O Doutrinador
Meaning "The Awakener," this series revolves around a highly trained agent turned vigilante who fights corruption, said to be sort of a Brazilian counterpart to V for Vendetta.
Originally a webcomic, the series would later find itself published with three editions. It's also inspired quite a bit of media: A movie in 2018 and a television series in 2019.
1 Jose Carioca
Many North Americans are already familiar with this character thanks to the Disney films, Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros, but he's actually had a surprising history. This parrot was created by Brazilian artist José Carlos de Brito and showed the character to Walt Disney himself while visiting the country, allowing him to be incorporated into the animated films.
Over the years, he would continue to appear in Brazilian Disney comics, where he is known as "Zé Carioca," as well as other Disney comics around the world. In his home country, he was eventually given a superhero identity: "Morcego Verde." Probably known best as a friend of Donald Duck, they would appear with their third friend, Panchito Pistoles, in the animated series, Legend of the Three Caballeros, which first saw a release in the Philippines.