Lucio Luiz
Lucio Luiz is a Brazilian journalist, writer, editor, researcher, podcaster, and comics author. He holds a degree in Journalism and a PhD in Education. He is the co-creator of the comic book series Meninos e Dragões, founder of the independent publisher Marsupial, and a member of the podcast Papo de Gordo.
Personal life
Lucio Luiz was born in Rio de Janeiro on July 14, 1978, but has lived in Nova Iguaçu, a city in the metropolitan region of Rio, since he was a child.He graduated in Journalism in 1998 from Gama Filho University. Between 2007 and 2009, Lucio took a master's degree in Education at Estácio de Sá University, developing a dissertation on the impact of the creation of fan fiction by teachers and students in relation to school written production and digital literacy.
In 2013, Lucio founded the independent publishing house Marsupial Editora, focused on books in the areas of Education, Communication and Technology. The following year, he created the Jupati Books imprint, intended for the publication of comics, being responsible for editing several collections and graphic novels.
In 2018, Lucio completed his Doctorate in Education at Estácio de Sá University, defending a thesis on the perception of Basic education teachers on the use of comics in the classroom. In 2021, this thesis was published in the book Professores Protagonistas: os quadrinhos em sala de aula na visão dos docentes.
In 2024, he took on the role of editorial coordinator of the newly created publishing house of the Association of Researchers in Sequential Art, an institution of which he was already a member of the board.
Career
Early writings
Lucio was responsible for the fan site Lobo Brasil, which he maintained between 1997 and 2008 about the DC Comics comic book character Lobo, and in which he regularly published articles, reviews and news, in addition to having interviewed comic artists who worked with the character, such as Alan Grant and Todd Nauck.In 2002, Lucio independently published the book of poems Amor, Escatologia e Etcetera.
Also from 2002, Lucio started writing fan fiction on the Hyperfan website, then one of the main Brazilian websites dedicated to fanfics. In 2006, already as editor-in-chief of the site, he organized the book Hyperfan: cinco anos de fanfic in honor of the site's anniversary, which brought unpublished stories created by its members, as well as illustrations by the comics artist JJ Marreiro.
The short stories were set in a new fictional universe, created by the authors, in which ordinary people gain superpowers thanks to a mysterious phenomenon. This book is considered the first Brazilian fiction book dedicated to the superhero genre. In addition to being responsible for editing and organizing the book, Lucio wrote the humorous short story "Super tia", about a kindergarten teacher who began to mentally control her students with tragicomic results.
After his 2002 poetry book, Lucio has also written children's books such as A Mamãe Tamanduá, with illustrations by PriWi, and Palavras, Palabras, with illustrations by Bianca Pinheiro.
Research
As soon as he began his master's degree in 2007, Lucio began to regularly publish academic research at various conferences in the areas of Communication and Education, and he was also one of the first Brazilian researchers to study and write academic articles on participatory culture.At that time, there was not yet a consecrated translation in Brazil for the term "participatory culture", with Lucio suggesting the use of "cultura participatória" as it is closer to the original intention of Henry Jenkins, creator of the term. However, as more research was carried out, the translation "cultura participativa" ended up becoming the most used in Portuguese.
In 2013, Lucio organized the book Os Quadrinhos na Era Digital: HQtrônicas, webcomics e cultura participativa, which featured texts, among others, by researchers Octavio Aragão, Edgar Franco, Roberto Elísio dos Santos, Henrique Magalhães, and, in addition to Lucio himself. This book was nominated for the Troféu HQ Mix for Best Theoretical Book in 2014.
The following year, he organized the book Reflexões Sobre o Podcast, the first book on the subject in Portuguese, which featured podcasters such as Luciano Pires and Pedro Duarte, among others. In 2023, the book was adapted for audio in podcast format.
On May 10, 2023, Lucio launched the independent website Quadrinhopédia, a database with information about artists, writers, editors and other people linked to Brazilian comics. The project took four years to develop, with 850 entries published at its launch and regular additions of new biographies and expansions of existing ones.
Podcast
In 2008, Lucio began participating as a regular member of the podcast Papo de Gordo, which he co-founded. The biweekly program on health and behavior became one of the most popular Brazilian podcasts between the late 2000s and early 2010s.In addition to being a participant in the Papo de Gordo podcast and editor of the website of the same name, where he wrote the humor column "Gordo de raiz" and was one of those responsible for the journalistic texts, Lucio also created, in 2009, the comic strip As Aventuras do MorsaMan with Flavio Soares, who was also a member of the podcast. The comic presented short stories of the character MorsaMan, the website's "mascot".
In 2011, Lucio was also one of the authors of the book Papo de Gordo: o blog que virou livro, released by the publisher Blogbooks, which featured a collection of articles and news published by Papo de Gordo as a result of the website's victory in the "Universo masculino" category of the second edition of the Blogbooks Awards.
Comics
2009-2014: Comics writer
Lucio debuted as a comics writer in 2009, with the webcomic As Aventuras do MorsaMan, illustrated by Flavio Soares. The stories were published regularly until 2010 on the website Papo de Gordo and, in 2023, were published in a printed collection that also included some unpublished stories.In 2012, again in co-authorship with Flavio, Lucio created the children's comic book series Meninos & Dragões, which won the 2nd Prêmio Abril de Personagens and was released as a regular comic book by Editora Abril the following year.
However, due to the crisis that Editora Abril was going through at the time, which was resulting in several cuts in publications, especially comics, the comic book was canceled after the publication of the first issue. Still, the comic won the Prêmio Angelo Agostini for Best Release in 2014.
Also in 2014, Lucio published comics in collections such as Feitiço da Vila, with stories inspired by the songs of Noel Rosa, and Café Espacial #13, with a story drawn by Flavio Soares, among other works.
2015-2021: Comics editor
As of 2015, Lucio began to work almost exclusively as a comic book editor for the Jupati Books imprint, having edited works such as Pétalas, Pieces: partes do todo and Olimpo Tropical, among many others.He was also responsible for the Brazilian editions of graphic novels such as The Sculptor, Ruins and Barbarella: Les Colères du mange-minutes.
Lucio only returned to writing a comic book in 2018, when he and Flavio relaunched the Meninos e Dragões series, which was re-released in the format of albums with unique stories and with the characters' look completely reformulated. The first volume was nominated for the Troféu HQ Mix for Best Children's Publication the following year.
In addition to his work as an editor, Lucio was a juror for the 2020 Prêmio Jabuti in the “Comic Book" category, alongside Germana Viana and Marcelo D'Salete. The judges were chosen by the award's Board of Curators after a public consultation.
2022-presen: New authorial comics
In July 2022, Lucio published on the platform Webtoon the webcomic 4th Wall Brawl, written by him and with pencils by Flávio Luiz, ink by Flavio Soares and colors by Will Rez and Marco Pelandra. The following year, he released its printed version in Portuguese, with the title Quebra-Quebra da Quarta Parede. The comic was printed continuously, maintaining the vertical webtoon format and measuring 8 centimeters wide by 5 meters high.In 2023, Lucio simultaneously released in Portuguese and English the comic book Atirei o Pau no Gato e Outras Histórias de Terror, with 15 stories written by him and, each one, with a different artist, including Laudo Ferreira, Mario Cau, Luiza Lemos and Wagner Willian, among others.
The stories transformed classic children's songs into horror tales. The English version, titled The Wheels on the Bus and Other Horror Stories, was nominated for the 2024 Ignatz Award.