Fifty years ago on July 18, 1959, the first daily strip signed by Mauricio de Sousa, featuring Blu and Franklin, was published in the newspaper "Folha da Manhã" in Sao Paulo. A police reporter at the age of 23, Mauricio then realized that what he really wanted to do was to draw comics and tell stories.
 
That is exactly what he did. Today, after creating over 200 characters for kids, Mauricio revisits the world he had in mind at the beginning of his career. “I had no idea my creations would become so widespread, even though I must confess that I did imagine it happening.”
 
The celebration started with a documentary produced in his honor by the Biography Channel, an A&E cable TV network. The special, "Biography: Mauricio de Sousa," premiered in Brazil and Latin America in July and will be released on DVD. Featured in the production are other Brazilian artists as well as Jim Davis, the renowned cartoonist and creator of Garfield.

At the prestigious MuBE (Museum of Brazilian Sculpture), there was an exhibition called "Mauricio 50 Years", "A comprehensive show covering five decades of his work", “‑ including many pieces that I had no idea existed", said the artist. The show has two parts: one is a collection of strips, comics and characters created by Mauricio, some well‑known and others almost forgotten. The other shows famous sculptures and artists ‑ such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo ‑ that Mauricio revisited and depicted on the faces of Monica’s Gang characters.
“The public is sure to be surprised," guarantees Mauricio.
 
50 years of success in numbers:
 
- more than one billion magazines published
- more than 200 characters created
- more than one thousand songs created
- more than three thousand products licensed
- comics and books published in 126 countries in 50 languages
- the largest Brazilian animation producer
- the number one comic book series in Brazil

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MSP International
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