Mafalda
Quino’s wonderful comics collection Mafalda centers on a six-year-old girl, her family, and her friends.
Mafalda ran in Argentina from 1964 to 1973 and was beloved. In addition to its heroine, it features Manolito, a shopkeeper’s son who loves capitalism, and Susanita, who, to Mafalda’s chagrin, aspires to be a housewife. Much of the humor revolves around trenchant political attitudes about capitalism, communism, and politics, delivered through the eyes and understanding of children. Mafalda bemoans the flight of the educated class from Argentina, for example, while her friend Felipe points out that many professionals are also politicians and “you don’t see them going abroad.” Mafalda responds, “What a shame!” In another strip, Manolito compares playing with a yo-yo to the ups and downs of the stock market and casts himself as John D. Rockefeller.
The art features fine pen-and-ink craftsmanship and carries more than its share of the humor, sometimes with a sly surreality, as when the children explore the possibility of telepathic powers: Felipe looks at a dog and tries to picture what it’s thinking. In the next panel, a bone appears in Felipe’s thought balloon, and the dog sees it and begins chasing Felipe. The book’s blend of visual and verbal wit is sublime.
Mafalda is an amusing comic strip collection about a precocious Argentinian girl’s adventures.
Reviewed by
Peter Dabbene
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
