Quino – RIP
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Famed cartoonist Quino has passed away.
Joaquín Salvador Lavado (“Quino”)
July 17, 1932 – September 30, 2020
“Quino has died. All good people in the country and in the world will mourn him,” Daniel Divinsky, the head of Buenos Aires publisher Ediciones de la Flor, wrote on Twitter.
Under his pen-name “Quino”, the cartoonist created Mafalda in 1964. The strip became popular in newspapers across Latin America, Europe and much of Asia before being turned into books.
above: the first ‘Mafalda’ strip of 28 September 1964
(Mafalda asks her dad whether he’s a good father and “better than all the dads in the world?” He answers he doesn’t know whether he’s better than all other fathers, but he’s certainly good (enough) for her. Mafalda: “I supposed so.” )
More from The Times:
In the series, Quino reflects the world of adults as seen through the eyes of a group of children, with ironic, non-conformist Mafalda the central character.
Following the military coup in Argentina in 1976 that ushered in a brutal dictatorship, Quino fled to Milan, before becoming a Spanish citizen in 1990. He has lived alternately in Madrid, Paris, Milan and Buenos Aires.
above: First amateur publication of Quino, in Dibujantes of 9 October 1954
From Lambiek’s Comiclopedia entry (where the above self-portrait and strips are found):
In 1950 he made his first illustrated advertisement for a fabric store. After his military service, he settled down in Buenos Aires. On 9 October 1954 his first gag comics appeared in the weekly magazine Esto Es, soon followed by work in Leoplán, TV Guía, Vea y Lea, Damas y Damitas, Usted, Panorama, Adán, Atlántida, Che, Democracia, and especially Rico Tipo, Tía Vicenta and Dr. Merengue, where he was the house cartoonist.
Sylvia Liu Land provides an appreciation and some translations of Mafalda.
More of Quino’s art and life at his official website.
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