''Bug-a-Booo'' ("Turma do Penadinho") is a Brazilian comic strip, created in 1963 and part of the
Monica's Gang
''Monica's Gang'' or ''Monica and Friends'' (Portuguese: ''Turma da Mônica''; British English: ''Monica & Friends'') is a Brazilian comic book series and media franchise created by Mauricio de Sousa.
The series originated in a newspaper comic ...
series. All of the characters are
monsters
A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...
or other
supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
creatures, none of them being a human being. The main location for their stories is a
cemetery
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
. However, their stories are not intended to be scary, they are sometimes classified as “Terrir”, which is a
Portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words of the Portuguese words "Terror" ''(
horror
Horror may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Genres
*Horror fiction, a genre of fiction
** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction
**Korean horror, Korean horror fiction
* Horror film, a film genre
*Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...
)'' and "Rir" ''(to laugh)''. In some of the stories, they have to deal with the fact that vampires, ghosts, zombies and mummies are no longer appreciated as characters of horror films. People instead are opting for assassins, psychopaths, serial killers, etc.
Characters
* ''Bug-a-Booo'' (''Penadinho'') – Bug-a-Booo is the main character, a short ghost. Originally he was introduced in 1963 in the
Jimmy Five
Jimmy Five, known as Cebolinha in Portuguese, is one of '' Monica and Friends'' main characters. He was created in 1960, at first as a support character for Franklin and Blu who the following year became the protagonist of his own series of new ...
's comic strips, as a friend of the titular character, in his first appearances he was an unnamed ghost child whose family had immigrated from Europe to Brazil. He continued appearing in the Jimmy Five comic strips until the following year when Mauricio de Sousa decided to create a separate comic strip focused on him and also giving him the current name. He is actually invisible, but wears a white sheet so he can be seen. In one strip, it is stated that he was engaged to a woman named Ernestina and was about to open a factory of disposable socks for people suffering from foot odor before he died. An unnamed friend of his reveals while regretting Bug's death in his death anniversary at his grave that he ended up both marrying Ernestina and opening the factory, though the factory closed three months later and Ernestina became obese.
* ''Lady MacDeath'' (''Dona Morte'') – Lady MacDeath is a Grim Reaper, the personification of Death who is responsible of going after all people whose time to die has come, although unlike a typical Grim Reaper, sometimes her body is not pictured as made of bones. She uses her sickle to kill people, by hitting them in the head with the back of it rather than using the blade (often hitting the ghost again to resuscitate if necessary), and then she takes their souls to the
purgatory
Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...
, for them to be judged and sent whether to
hell
In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...
or
heaven
Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...
(sometimes after much bureaucracy). She always carries a list with the name of the people she must kill on the day. Most of her stories feature a pursuit, sometimes punctuated with struggles faced every day by normal people. Maurico says that the purpose of creating her is "taking death less seriously, while it doesn't come to us."
* ''Vic Vampire'' (''Zé Vampir'', full name José Morcego (''Bat'') Vampiro) – Vic is a yellow-skinned
vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
, and therefore, he is able to turn himself into a
bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...
. He feeds on
blood
Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...
and fears
crosses
Crosses may refer to:
* Cross, the symbol
Geography
* Crosses, Cher, a French municipality
* Crosses, Arkansas, a small community located in the Ozarks of north west Arkansas
Language
* Crosses, a truce term used in East Anglia and Lincolnshire ...
(even though he lives in a cemetery full of them),
sunlight
Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when t ...
,
garlic
Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...
and
holy water
Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...
. In one strip, it is revealed that he was born 300 years ago in the fictional city of Transilvânia do Sul (South Transylvania), near
Varginha
Varginha is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in southwest Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Varginha stands out as one of the major centers of commerce and coffee production in Brazil and the world. The city is a center for export of coffee drai ...
and turned into a vampire at infancy after one of them bit his dog, which in turn bit him and his parents. Vic has the power to turn other people vampires with a bite on their necks.
* ''Moe the Mummy'' (''Muminho'') – Moe is a mummy of
Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
ancestry. When the swabs which cover his bodies are taken out, Moe appears either invisible, as if the swabs were covering nothing, or as a dry corpse.
* ''Frank'' – A reference to
Frankenstein
''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...
, Frank is a green construct with a very weak brain, so that the virtue he least holds is intelligence.
* ''Wolfgang'' (''Lobi'') – A charming
werewolf
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely or ...
. While being able to talk, think and walk by two feet, he must live side-to-side with his
canidae
Canidae (; from Latin, ''canis'', "dog") is a biological family of dog-like carnivorans, colloquially referred to as dogs, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (). There are three subfamilies found within th ...
instincts, like chasing cats, urinating on lamp posts and trees, and howling to the moon. He hasn't an "official" human from, thus this form may change its personality dramatically from story to story. He has fangs, claws and yellow eyes.
* ''Skully'' (''Cranicola'') – Skully is single
skull
The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...
, which rests all day on top of a stone. He cannot walk nor move (although in some stories he is seen jumping around), but on the other hand, he provides fine conversations to whoever speaks to him.
* ''Al Ashmore'' (''Zé Cremadinho'') – Al Ashmore is nothing but the remains of someone who's been
cremated
Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning.
Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...
. However, he is still able to talk, and jumps around just like Skully does sometimes. In most of his appearances, he is confused with dust and is attacked by broomsticks and
vacuum cleaners
A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum or a hoover, is a device that causes suction in order to remove dirt from floors, upholstery, draperies, and other surfaces. It is generally electrically driven.
The dirt is collected by either a d ...
.
* ''Sid Skully'' (''Zé Caveirinha'') – A full
skeleton
A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...
. He is clumsy and is always losing his bones.
* ''Sally Soul'' (''Alminha'') – Sally is Bug's girlfriend, although they are constantly seen having arguments with each other. Like Bug, she is actually an invisible ghost who wears a white sheet.
* ''Little Boy Boo'' (''Pixuquinha'') - The Bug's nephew. He is a child ghost.
* ''Espírito de Porco'' - In
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, pranksters are sometimes called "espíritos de porco" (lit. "pig spirit"). Espírito de Porco is thus a pig-nosed ghost who likes pulling irritating pranks on the other residents of the cemetery.
Media
In 2015 a graphic novel based on the Bug-a-Booo characters entitled "Penadinho: Vida", was released as part of the Graphic MSP being made by Paulo Crumbim and Cristina Eiko. This graphic novel had a sequel in 2020 entitled "Penadinho: Lar".
Bug-a-Booo has also appeared in a few of the ''Monica Toy'' episodes, with one episode under the title ''Penadinho Toy'', starring Bug-a-Booo, Skully, and Vic Vampire.