''Horacio's World'' is a Brazilian comic strip, part of the
Monica and Friends
''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 ...
comic strips. The main character is Horácio, a baby
Tyrannosaurus rex
''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...
, created in 1961. He debuted as one of the supporting characters of Pitheco's comics in
The Cavern Clan, but their solo stories started in 1963. Other minor characters appear occasionally, but Horacio's strips mostly consist of
monologues
In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...
and self-reflections (some of them are even entirely pantomimic), thus making him
Mauricios's alter-ego
An alter ego (Latin for "other I", "doppelgänger") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require fin ...
. Also, all his stories are written by Mauricio himself.
Some comics have also been published in Japan before between 1975 and 1982, but recently have been published again by the
Sanrio
is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and produces products focusing on the '' kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories which are sold ...
's magazine ''Ichigo Shinbun''.
Characters
''Horácio'' – Of this group of characters, Horácio (or Horacio in English) is the main one. He is the only character whose comic strips are still drawn and written exclusively by Mauricio, who sees him as his ''
alter ego
An alter ego (Latin for "other I", "doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differe ...
''. Mauricio describes him as having an always optimistic view, as someone who likes to help his friends and, "sometimes, even the enemies. And he's got this calm, confident attitude." He is kind, friendly and concerned to help people around him. He has several friends. Horacio is also a carnivore, but insists on having a vegetarian diet. Horacio has a golden heart, is cheerful, wise, and eats only "alfacinhas" (small lettuce leaves) and is one of Mauricio de Sousa's most philosophical characters. He is very disputed by the dinosaurs Simone and Lucinda, who are both in love with him. Although he doesn't have an interest in either of them, he keeps them as good friends. His biggest dream is to meet his mother.
In his first stories, Horácio was described as a dinosaur who lived among the humans of
The Cavern Clan. He was banned from the village for eating all their food and started to search for his mother, who abandoned him while he was in his egg.
[ In most of his comic strips, he is reflecting about existence, or similar subjects. He does it mostly alone, but he also enjoys speaking to his few friends. Unlike common Tyrannosaurus stereotypes, he is very kind and friendly. He is also a vegetarian,][ having his very own lettuce crop near his cave. He is also constantly running away from Lucinda.
;Supporting characters
* ''Lucinda'' – Lucinda is a natural dreamer and is constantly trying to date Horacio, who is definitely not interested in any relationship at the moment. She usually ends up angry at Horácio because of his flees, but she won't stop her attempts to date him.
* ''Theco'' (''Tecodonte'') – Horacio best friend, a baby thecodont.
* ''Mack Mammoth'' (''Antão'') – A baby ]mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and ...
.
* ''Terry Pterodactyl'' (''Alfredo'') – Terry is a Pterodactyl
Pterosaurs (; from Greek ''pteron'' and ''sauros'', meaning "wing lizard") is an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order, Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 to ...
who looked after Horácio when he was a baby, but now, he is treated more like a friend than like a father. Horacio sometimes sits on his back to fly.
* ''Simone'' – Simone is Lucinda's best friend, but at the same time her main rival, because she is also in love with Horacio. However, Lucinda's attempts to date Horacio are much more frequent than Simone's.
* ''Brontson'' (''Brontossauro, often abbreviated to ''Bronto'') – Brontson is a big and strong Brontosaurus
''Brontosaurus'' (; meaning "thunder lizard" from Greek , "thunder" and , "lizard") is a genus of gigantic quadruped sauropod dinosaurs. Although the type species, ''B. excelsus'', had long been considered a species of the closely related ''A ...
.
Media
In 2018 a graphic novel based on Horacio's World characters entitled "Horácio: Mãe", was released as part of the Graphic MSP ''Graphic MSP'' is a series of graphic novels published by Panini Comics based on the characters of Monica and Friends.
Development
In November 2011, during the Festival Internacional de Quadrinhos held in Belo Horizonte, Sidney Gusman, editor of ...
being made by Fabio Coala
Fabio Coala is a Brazilian comics artist. After five years of working as a firefighter, he created the website ''Mentirinhas'' (''"Little Lies"'') in which he publishes, starting in 2010, webcomics with different characters. One of the main charac ...
.
References
Horacio's World at Monica and Friends official website
External links
*
{{Monica's Gang
1963 comics debuts
Comics about orphans
Comics spin-offs
Dinosaurs in comic strips
Monica and Friends