Boa tarde, leitores! Good afternoon, readers!

Who remembers fighting over the comic strip section of the newspaper over breakfast? Truth is, most of us enjoy reading tirinhas (comic strips) because they are fun, humorous and short, which makes for a great, easy-to-read experience. Reading tirinhas in a foreign language can a be a very enjoyable way of learning, in addition to teaching you a lot about a country’s cultural aspects and sense of humour. So today we are going to delve into the world of Brazilian cartoonist prominent cartoonist André Dahmer and his amusing series Malvados. First, let’s read a little bit about the author and his projects:

O autor | The author

For almost 20 years, the series Malvados and many others have been rising to popularity online, and is currently published daily in two of Brazil’s major newspapers: Folha de São Paulo and O Globo. The simple, minimalist style and his sarcastic, black humour are the most distinguishing characteristics of Dahmer’s work. Winner of four HQMix awards, the Brazilian oscars for graphic novels, the artist approaches with a critical eye and an ironic touch contemporary issues like politics, corruption, social relations and the internet in Brazil. How about you see it for yourself? I have made a selection of ten André Dahmer’s tirinhas and translated them so you can enjoy youselves and practice your reading skills!

All of the tirinhas below have been taken from his website, which you access for more content here: http://www.malvados.com.br/

• “I am thinking about becoming a vegetarian”/ “When?”/ “When lettuce tastes like beef”

• “Are you still sad?”/ “No, now I feel devastated”/ “I told you the sadness would go away”

• “Lecture on the new age: Did you see the new law? We can’t hit our children anymore”/ They are going to grow up without boundaries!”/ “Maybe even happy!”

• “A summary of the internet?”/ “People using 21rst century technology”/ “To state 19th century opinions”

• “I need good news”/ “Okay: the bad news have not arrived yet”/ “That’s already a reason to celebrate” “They’ll arrive during the celebration”

• “Having friends helps us fight depression”/ “That is halfway through happiness”/ “You are already depressed, now all that’s missing are friends”

• “The world we want to leave for our children: Two men kidnap a girl”/ “They take her to a distant and unknown place”/ “And spend hours listening to her problems”

• “Cuckold, stupid, loser!”/ “Have you lost your mind, man?”/ “I forgot I am not on the internet””

• “You can lose the uniform, grandpa! War is over for decades”/ “Did they kill all the comunists?”/ “Even better: we bought them”

• “Be cool, the world is going to be a better place for our children”/ (…)/ “A better place to tell lies”

Espero que tenham gostado! I hope you liked it!