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Webcomic by comic artist José Aguiar is a journey through the different ways of what being a child has been like in the five centuries of Brazilian history

In his newest work, awarded comic artist José Aguiar releases his view on the past in order to reflect on our present. He invites the reader to embark on a journey through the history of Brazil to unravel the phase of greatest importance in the lives of everyone: the childhood. This work is presented in a six-chapter comics series, which will be released on a monthly basis from 12th September 2015 onwards on the website www.ainfanciadobrasil.com.br. It is portrayed through specific moments in the lives of Brazilian children during the 500-year historical period of this country, going from the beginning of the colonial era to this date.

Between September 2015 and February 2016, all 6 chapters of this story will be published with interactivity resources, which will be available for reading in both commented and non-commented versions. Besides displaying extra material such as texts on the historical context discussed in each chapter, the website will also provide studies and testimonials by the author on his creation process. They are contents that altogether make up the journey through other childhoods that make up Brazil’s childhoods. This is a project of international outreach as all episodes are available in English, French, Spanish as well as Portuguese. Quadrinhofilia Produções Artísticas carried out this project with the incentive of Programa de Apoio e Incentivo à Cultura (Program for Cultural Support and Incentive) from Fundação Cultural de Curitiba, sponsored by Caixa Econômica Federal.

It is a six-episode story, which will be published on the website www.ainfanciadobrasil.com.br. The José Aguiar HQ aims at a reflection on the history of country that finds itself in the middle of a maturing process. It is not, however, about dates or historical personalities. Instead, it focuses on the human perspective. Each chapter speaks about the relationships of the common people and the way they relate to their children within the historical moment they were living. Starting off in the sixteenth century, the author portrays a different time in the construction of his country in each chapter. By focusing on a different view of the childhood, he makes us face the fact that being a child has not always been what we perceive it to be today. According to José Aguiar, his aim is to seek a better understanding of our present.

Brazilians today have been raised with the idea that they live in a young country, which, in fact, is inevitably growing up and leaving its childhood to the side. This period is always a part of us as it is a fundamental part in the lives of everyone. It is a period of experimenting, learning, discoveries, achievements and, why not, sadness. After all, the adult, the citizen and the full human being part of our society is sketched in it. We have come to a point where it is paramount to look backwards and reflect on our trajectory to understand where we live, where we come from, what we have turned into and thus, think of our future as a nation or simply as individuals inserted into a community or family.

However fictional it may have been, José Aguiar counted with the consultancy of historian Claudia Moreira – doctorate at Universidade Federal do Paraná – in order to create historically correct scripts. Apart from supplying useful information for the characters and scenery creation on the website, Cláudia contextualises the reality in each century where the plots created by the artist take place by using articles.

This is the first webcomic by José Aguiar, whose works have been printed in Brazil by his own independent publisher, Quadrinhofilia, as well as by other publishers, newspapers and magazines. By means of seeking to expand the outreach of his proposal, he chose electronic support due to him believing in the opportunities beyond aesthetics that it opens to his project. The comics series may be read in two different ways: in a normal or in a commented version, in which each page gives the reader access to more historical information on the universe depicted.

“The digital format offers interactivity ways, which would be difficult to connect to history by other means. It allows me to share more information than that only visible in the first reading of the work. The reader may have access to researches, biography sources, it is, the world into which I dived to create this great saga on the childhood.” Says José Aguiar.

The idea of displaying the whole content of the website for free, including the translation into English, French and Spanish arises from the prospects of diffusion far ampler than the digital format offers.

“Had I opted for the traditional printed way to initiate this project, it would have a smaller outreach and agility to be diffused. Comics work very well for the reading on electronic devices, be them mobile or not. The webcomics are reinventing the way not only to read the HQs, but also to distribute them. With the versions translated and available on an online platform, I can reach out for many readers simultaneously across the globe. In this moment, with events such as the World Cup and by the political protests we have recently experienced, or the 2016 Olympics, the world has its attentions turned to Brazil. Foreigners are more willing to better understand my country. It is also a great moment for us, Brazilians, to better understand how we have come here.” adds the author.

In the future, a printed and extended version of the saga may be created, after all Aguiar believes that with the public reached by the project, interest from both Brazilian and foreign publishers will allow the project to expand:

“The digital format does not override the value of the printed book. A new edition gathering all content available on the website as well as new chapters could bring new possibilities, such as using it at schools, for instance. There are many shocking, funny and incredible stories that have happened in the past 500 years of our childhood. Delimiting what has turned into a theme in each chapter of this “saga” was a great challenge as Brazil’s history is more complex and richer than we usually think. The time has come for us to stop underestimating our origins and start telling these stories to the world.”

José Aguiar is a comic artist, scriptwriter and editor of the independent publisher Quadrinhofilia, which has publish the series Folheteen and Vigor Mortis comics. José has received several awards such as Ângelo Agostini and the Trophy HQMIX, besides being the winner of the 1st National Contest for Comics of Senac-SP. In France, he drew the series Ernie Adams and also drew for the collection Un Jour de Mai. he is the co-creator of Cena HQ, a project that puts on monthly drama readings of HQs in the theatre as well as Gibicon – International Comics Convention of Curitiba. With his book Reisetagebuch – Uma Viagem Ilustrada pela Alemanha, he was the illustrator nominated for the Prêmio Jabuti, the most important Brazilian literary award. Nowadays, he publishes his comic strips Folheteen on the cultural magazine Curitiba Apresenta and the strips Nada Com Coisa Alguma on Gazeta do Povo newspaper and on his website www.quadrinhofilia.com.br. Brazil’s Childhood is his first webcomic and can be accessed on the website: www.ainfanciadobrasil.com.br/english

Artists José Aguiar and Fernanda Baukat idealised this company, which works on different segments of creation: editorial market, theatrical milieu and education (workshops and courses). It also promotes art events, spectacles, releases and projects of cultural relevance related to graphic arts, literature and theatre. It focuses on the broadcast of culture through a professional posture and a contemporary artistic vision. Here are some successful projects we helped to conceive: Cena HQ – dramatic reading of comics, which has been taking place on a monthly basis since 2012 at Teatro da Caixa, the GIBICON – Convenção Internacional de Quadrinhos de Curitiba, among others. These books are among our publications Nada com Coisa alguma, Folheteen: direto ao ponto, Vigor Mortis Comics 1 e 2 and the trip diary Reisetagebuch – Uma viagem ilustrada pela Alemanha, finalist nominee for the 2014 Jabuti Award. Please visit our website: www.quadrinhofilia.com.br.