AN E-ZINE ABOUT PORTUGUESE SUPER-HEROES
BY PORTUGUESE ILLUSTRATORS.
Each illustrator creates their own super-hero, then we make a zine of it.
It sounded fun.
I wanted to put together a zine made up of talent from my home country because, like many
other Portuguese artists, I grew up hardly knowing about any other Portuguese illustrators. Not
knowing whether the career I had in mind - a life of drawing - was a valid career choice or just a
pipe dream.
Fortunately, things have changed in the past decade, partly because of the internet, partly
because of a new generation of artists. But I still feel that the Portuguese community, of which I
admittedly not know much, is still small and fragmented, so a lot of great talent is overlooked.
So in the end, this project became a platform for more than a (fairly diverse) team of super-heroes; it’s a showcase for a great group of young talented illustrators. In their way they’re
heroes too, all of them.
Though to be honest… this mostly happened because it sounded really fun. I hope you’ll agree.
RIC ARDO BESS A
This PDF is interactive. Click the artist names to be taken to their super-hero and visit their online portfolios by clicking the links.
Ana Gomes
Ana Marta Huffstot
André Marques
Carla Rodrigues
Carlos Martins
Carolina Búzio
Daniela Viçoso
Darsy Fernandes
David Rodrigues
Eleonor Piteira
Estrela Lourenço
I. M. Bravo
Joana Lafuente
M. Cândido Gomes Teixeira (MANGALHO)
Marta Patalão (BLACK CURLS)
Nuno Rodrigues
Patrícia Cassis
Joana Rolo
Miguel Lima (ZERO)
Ricardo Bessa
Kuropin
BANANA GIRL
A na G omes
facebook.com/ArtofAnaGomes
“A banana at the beginning makes the day full
of winning!” - this is Banana Girl’s motto.
Even before she learned how to walk, our hero
had already taught herself how to climb, jump and
reach any place otherwise unreachable for someone
her age… Why? Because she wanted those bananas.
She couldn’t have been born in a better place than
Madeira island, known for its banana plantations.
She’s quite keen on protecting the weak, but
easily forgets to fight crime if she gets too hungry…
When she’s not beating up bad guys, she’s your
typical 5 feet tall teenager with an attitude.
TITA
A na M arta H uffstot
amhuffstot.com
The doctors had always told her that her daughter
was special. They told her she should brace her
self for her daughter would be different than other
children. A sweet autistic girl, lost in her own world.
Tita was, in fact, in her own world... but she
was not lost. It was from within her world that she
could absorb the sadness from those around her, and
turned it into something good but incomprehensible
to our eyes.
CELESTE
A n D R É M ARQUE S
theknightofwands.tumblr.com
Celeste’s magical powers come from the stars
and are focused on her star tipped wand. She is the
embodiment of celestial bodies and the astronomy
instruments of olden days that were used by sailors at
sea, and she has the ability to fly, which she does to
help lost sailors find their way.
Fundamentally connected to the Portuguese
dream world, she can escape reality into imaginary
worlds, where her constant search for the Fifth Empire
carries on.
BLUE HOOD
carla rodrigues
carlarodriguesart.tumblr.com
@cslayer
Not much is known about the origin of Blue
Hood. Rumours say that he was first sighted a few
months after the Faculty of Science of the University
of Porto cancelled the enrolment of a certain student:
he had gone missing while he was doing fieldwork,
studying the population fragmentation of the Iberian
emerald lizard. Curiously enough, our hero possesses
a very lizard-like ability: regeneration.
Those who have witnessed him in action swear
that no harm lasts on him for too long. Agile, fun
and athletic, he runs through the streets of Porto on a
mission to protect those in need. It’s said that he can
control his scarf at will, almost like a third arm - but
only if we ever run into him will we be able to witness
the powers of the Astonishing Blue Hood!
THE GIRL OF
SINTRA ROAD
C arlos martins
behance.net/Golem
Her name has been lost to time… All that is
known about this young woman is that she passed
away in the 80s, in a road accident in the outskirts
of Sintra. Her spirit couldn’t move on and was stuck
between the world of the living and the dimension of
the dead.
Confused, she kept hitchhiking on the same spot,
recreating the last moments she could remember as
a living being - the accident. All she wanted was to
peacefully move on to the afterlife, but instead she
would unwittingly harm those who agreed to welcome
her into their cars.
As the years went on, she gradually became
aware of her situation and the consequence of her
actions. She is now a benign ghost and is able to
travel between the two dimensions, even though
she can only stay in the world of the dead for a few
minutes, as she grows older at a very fast rate there.
She is also able to make her body intangible and
draw powers from the afterlife.
SEA WOLF
C arOL I N A B ÚZ I O
carolinabuzio.com
@CarolinaBuzio
“Sea Wolf”: that’s the only name he remembers
ever being called. Not his birth name, but his father’s
name, who was a fisherman in a small village in
Algarve. He got that curious title from being crazy
enough to face the strong waves in stormy days and
rescue people from shipwrecks along the coast.
Twenty years ago, in a fateful night when he
was trying to retrieve his wife and daughter from the
raging sea, the waves claimed his life and that was
the last time he was seen.
Or was it?
There’s a figure, a mysterious super-human being,
who is said to appear during storms and save those
whose lives are held captive by the sea.
super minhota
moça varina
&
DA N I EL A V I ÇOSO
behance.net/danibonbon
danibonbon.tumblr.com
@Danibonbonbon
Super Minhota was just a regular girl until the
weight of responsibility fell on her shoulders. When
she began attending university, she was given a
“Minho bride” head scarf that had been her greatgrandmother’s. It turns out the head scarf possessed
incredible powers of portuguesity.
With D. Afonso Henriques’s sword in hand and
her fun teen sidekick, Moça Varina, they lurk the
streets looking for criminal activity, which always
happens to be connected to the mysterious villain
Black Fado…
Will our hero be able to bring down the criminal
organisation behind these fado houses? Will she
manage to honour the April 25th rebels and fight for
the crisis-stricken Portugal? Will Moça Varina ever stop
taking selfies during their missions?
Maybe.
major alba
darsy fernandes
darsyx.com
lapisazulis.blogspot.com
@Darsyman
Where there is light there is Alba, the hero of
Agualva! The pride of the Portuguese national guard the GNR – and every criminal’s worst nightmare.
And if there’s a beer around, he’s everyone’s
worst nightmare.
careto
david rodrigues
3rdclover.deviantart.com
facebook.com/3rdclover
Born in a corrupt and unfair society, Jaime
was raised in the outskirts of Lisbon in a precarious
economical situation. When he was 12, he found
solace in learning about the ancient pagan civilisations
of the north of Portugal. This passion became his
mission.
When he was 18, he travelled to the north to
learn more about these cultures. However, during the
trip, he found what looked like a pagan temple, where
he stumbled upon a red mask on a stone pedestal.
When he put it on, an odd obscure force took over
him; when he came to, Jaime found himself face-toface with Luthias, the spectre of a powerful druid, now
freed from ancient slumber. They made a pact: Jaime
was bestowed with the power to summon spells and
paranormal entities, and in return he had to carry on
Luthias’s unfinished business, fighting injustice and
inequality.
After perfecting his new abilities, Jaime went back
to Lisbon. During the day he’s a History teacher, but
by night he is Careto, prowling through the city with a
thirst for justice and a list of names.
CL AVIS
EL E O N OR PI T E I RA
EleonorP-Art.blogspot.pt
EleonorPiteira.tumblr.com
@_EleonorP
Clavis is the Guardian of Cais das Colunas
(Columns Wharf), also known as the Doors of Lisbon.
The Guardian roams freely between our dimension
and an invisible spiritual dimension, protecting the
gates that exist in the spiritual dimension and judging
who may or may not enter the city of Lisbon.
She holds the power of teleportation, being
able to appear anywhere in our world momentarily
while staying invisible. The key that opens the Doors
of Lisbon may only be used by her, which effectively
makes her part of the key.
Ever since the wharf has been built, there have
been tales of bright blue reflections in the waters of
the Tagus river in the middle of the night, and of an
inexplicable force that prevents some people from
approaching the columns, occasionally making them
extremely paranoid, and eventually driving them out of
the city, never to return.
mISS S
estrela lourenço
EstrelaLourenco.tumblr.com
@LourencoEstrela
Miss S (Swallow Girl) is the protector of
Portuguese travellers. When the economical crisis
struck the country, particularly affecting the young,
Miss S took it upon herself to help all those who were
made to leave the country looking for a better life (or
just for an adventure).
She flies to the rescue of those in need in foreign
lands, be they lost adventurers or homesick travellers.
She makes use of her hyper-sonic speed to reach them,
wherever in the world they might be, and extensive
geographical knowledge of the 7 continents.
VIA
I . M . B RAV O
im-bravo.tumblr.com
im-bravo.deviantart.com
instagram.com/imbravoo
@imbravoo
Born in the Atlantic, Via is one of the seven
daughters of the Oceans. She is responsible for the
north of the Atlantic, sharing the burden with her sister
Sequor who’s in charge of the south of the Atlantic.
She is therefore very fond of Portuguese culture, and
has made a belt out of Portuguese coins.
She usually lurks in the shadows, but when
danger strikes the sea is always there for her, helping
her fight off any evil. She doesn’t like leaving her
comfort zone, and while she is immortal in her natural
habitat, she becomes as vulnerable as a human as
soon as she leaves the water.
She’s inspired by folklore like the Hirã, women
with huge head and puny bodies that turn into snakes
and must go live in the ocean when they turn 12, and
sea women that seems perfect at first glance, but who
are scaly from the waist down and have goat feet.
MOCHA
J OA N A L AF UE N TE
joanalafuente.com
@JoanaLafuente
With the popular denomination of “Mocha”,
this being is a manifestation of a spirit that originally
dwelled in a cork tree and could only be invoked by
a seventh child and in possession of an item made of
its cork. With such specific and rare conditions, the
sighting reports of Mocha became legends told in
villages increasingly smaller as time went on.
The invocation of the Mocha occurs during
sleep and in an unconscious way, therefore its host is
unaware that the Mocha wanders through the night
terrorizing the population with its ragged outfit, shiny
eyes and its “sarronca” sound. The host may rarely
glimpse it in dreams but in the end, the Mocha returns
to its’ cocoon of cork.
It’s not possible to photograph or film this creature
because it only lives in peoples’ minds, being what
people see of it a projection in their own heads.
Because the Mocha doesn’t have any sense of ethics
or moral code of its own, the interaction with this being
can be extremely traumatizing since the its priority is to
protect and benefit its host, without any consideration
for consequences. However, the more innocent the host
is, the less severe its actions will be.
MARIPOSA
J OA N A ROLO
cargocollective.com/joanarolo
A small mystery from Alentejo, no one knows the
origins or true identity of the little heroine that shows
up when you least expect to defend the flora and
fauna of the region.
With the ability to fly, shrink to the size of a moth
and possessing night vision, Mariposa is as kind as
she is fearless.
THE
FISH-MONGERING
GANG
K U ROP I N
kuropin.tumblr.com
@KomeMerda
The Fish-Mongering Gang is technically a duo but
there’ll be more members. For sure. Probably? (No.)
In 1968 one lone grandma took it upon herself
to protect a (small portion) of the city of Lisbon. She
decided that this would become her family’s tradition,
but her son ran away to the navy and escaped this
fate. However his sea-sick prone daughter wasn’t
so lucky and got dragged into the whole vigilante
business.
They spend every Wednesday hanging out in the
streets, branding their cheap IKEA kitchen knives till
around midnight because grandma is tired. Thanks
to these two fearless warriors the only crime being
committed around the place is loitering.
AZULEJO
M . c â ndido gomes teixeira
a . k. a . M angalho
mangalho.tumblr.com
@mangalheiro
Fallen from an old wall, Azulejo took on a human
shape and was then adopted by a lesbian couple (a
lupine seller and a fado singer) that found the baby on
the street.
Named Cícero by his mothers, the wall tile he
originated from remains embedded into his chest. He
protects the lupine sellers from evil (a.k.a. the Food
Standards Agency) and is beloved by all the old
ladies. Azulejo has the ability to create tiles out of thin
air that change and mutate at will, creating barriers or
throwing weapons.
If he’s seriously wounded he may turn into a
wall tile again until he recovers fully. But if the tile is
broken, he will die.
SOLDIER OF ROSES
M A R TA PATALÃO
a .k.a . B L ACK C URL S
blackcurlsart.weebly.com
facebook.com/BlackCurls.Art
@BlackCurls20
Rosaline is a young Portuguese woman who
started volunteering for the Red Cross and Ami at
age 20, and was eventually sent to war-torn countries
all over the world to work as a medic. For years she
witnessed death, hunger and despair. She wouldn’t be
able to take it for much longer.
One day, however, she was hit by a violent
explosion that led her to discover that her DNA (passed
on for centuries, through generations) had a very
peculiar reaction when exposed to radioactive energy.
This fusion activated her healing powers and the
ability to create force fields, as if it was manifesting
her instincts, suppressed since 1271, when her
ancestor Elizabeth of Aragon had turned bread into
roses to help those in need.
GREEN CAP
ZERO
a . k.a . Miguel lima
zeroillustrations.com
facebook.com/zeroillustrations
Untamed and reckless, Green-Cap is a brave
animal lover. Abandoned in the mountains as a child,
he grew up feral among wild bulls, which became his
real family.
He suddenly came back in contact with modern
society after a whole life with no human relationships,
which actually made him a great countryman.
However when the leader of the herd and his best
friend, the Scarlet Bull, died saving his life, Green Cap
reverted to his feral state and something awoke within
him - the power to summon the spirits of ancestor
bulls. With unbelievable agility and brute strength, he
became a vigilante, and now lives in the shadows.
FUSION
N uno lourenço Rodrigues
nunorodriguesart.com
facebook.com/Nunorodriguesart
Fusion has the power to merge worlds and shape
realities. He is a legend, a mythical being never truly
known by anyone, as he’s never been seen. He merely
appears in dreams, but his image never sticks to
memory; he merely makes his presence known, almost
like a feeling.
Occasionally he will make himself felt while we’re
daydreaming, in which he momentarily transports us
to imaginary places, or when he wakes us from our
nightmares to soothe our terrified anxious minds.
He is like a guardian that carries us between
dreams and reality.
MANEL PORCO-PRETO
patr í cia cassis
a .k.a . naru
narurainbow.tumblr.com
facebook.com/artofakuma
@insertbarahere
Born and raised in Alentejo, Manel has always
lived a regular life, well known in his village for his
fierce personality, his gluttony and unending love of
Portuguese gastronomy, and for always being the life
of the party. He worked as a policeman during the day
and helped out at his mother’s bakery at night, all the
while dreaming of becoming the protector of his nation.
One day, after finding out about his uncle’s
passing, he visited his home, where he found
a mysterious bread peel. He soon discovered it
contained super powers that only the chosen one
could use. He was that chosen one.
From then on his life changed: he started fighting
crime as a super-hero. Eventually he made up his mind
to make his dream come true, going on a journey
across Portugal to protect the nation against all evil.
GAME OVER
R I C A R D O B E SS A
ricardobessa.com
ricardobessa.tumblr.com
facebook.com/RBessaIllustration
@RFBessa
She could barely remember her life before
everything around her became a video game, but she
remembered the panic and confusion she felt in those
first few days. Suddenly everyone around her had a
health meter above their head and random things like
juice boxes had apparently become “power ups”.
Stronger, she could jump a little higher, run tirelessly,
perform ridiculous moves that should have been
impossible. And the people in suit – always behind her,
everywhere she went. But around her life went on. No
one could see what she saw.
However, as she learned more and more about
the Company and her own powers, something shifted
inside her. She started trying to lose her pursuers so
she could follow them back to their headquarters, and
one night she broke into the Company. Fear became
defiance, and she was determined to dismantle the
organisation who had done this to her. Gradually, the
scarf and the hood that hid her face became more
than a disguise. They became a secret identity, and this
mysterious girl had had enough. Her real name was
unimportant.
But she became known as Game Over.
project coordination,
D esign & Cover illustration
Ricardo Bessa
T hanks
Rute Freire, Carolina Búzio, Daniela Viçoso
(for the design advice)
Joana Rolo
(for the spellchecking and translation aid)
And to all the participants
Ana Gomes
Ana Marta Huffstot
André Marques
Carla Rodrigues
Carlos Martins
Carolina Búzio
Daniela Viçoso
Darsy Fernandes
David Rodrigues
Eleonor Piteira
Estrela Lourenço
I. M. Bravo
Joana Lafuente
Joana Rolo
Kuropin
M. Cândido Gomes Teixeira
Marta Patalão
Miguel Lima
Nuno Rodrigues
Patrícia Cassis
. . . A Huge T hank you !