'Mancha No Espaço', starring Mickey, Goofy and Shamrock Bones (B 74161).
Moacir Rodrigues Soares was a prominent artist for the Brazilian production of Disney comics, working for the local licensee from 1972 until 1994 and again in 2001-2002. He mainly drew stories with 'Goofy', 'Mickey Mouse', 'Donald Duck' and 'José Carioca'. Prior to this, he worked on short-lived adventure comics like 'Targo', 'Zhor O Atlanta' and 'No Mundo Dos Gigantes' for the publishers Taika and GEP. Rodrigues Soares' younger brothers Irineu Soares Rodrigues and Verci Rodrigues de Mello were also artists of Disney comics. Since 1989, the three brothers have worked together through their own studio MW Editora e Ilustrações.
'Targo'.
Early life and career
Moacir Rodrigues Soares was born in 1950 in Bilac, São Paulo. The Rodrigues family eventually moved to Japurá in the state of Paraná, where Moacir and his two brothers grew up reading the Disney comic books by Editora Abril. However, Moacir Rodrigues began his career drawing in a realistic style, inspired by the American artist Russ Manning. For Editora Taika (previously operating under the name Editora Outubro), he was one of the artists for 'Targo', a Brazilian 'Tarzan' rip-off drawn in previous years by Rodolfo Zalla. The scripts during Rodrigues Soares' tenure in the late 1960s and early 1970s were written by Francisco de Assis. Rodrigues Soares also contributed to the Taika horror anthology 'Clássicos de Terror'.
Also for Taika, and again with writer De Assis, he was an artist of 'Zhor O Atlanta' (1973), a comic about a mythological warrior from Atlantis. Taika's single 'Zhor' anthology also featured stories drawn by Walmir Amaral.
No Mundo Dos Gigantes
In 1970, Rodrigues Soares and Paulo Hamasaki were artists for 'No Mundo Dos Gigantes' ("In the World of the Giants"), an original sci-fi comic book starring the hero Jony Star. The comic was created by Gedeone Malagola for the Brazilian Marvel licensee Gráfica Editora Penteado (GEP), but didn't last long. Moacir Rodrigues Soares additionally served as a cover artist for the Brazilian editions of DC comic books by Editorial Ebal.
'Superpateta' ('Supergoof')- 'O Torneio Dos Super-Heróis' (Almanaque Disney #48, 1975).
Disney comics
Between 1971 and 1974, Moacir Rodrigues Soares worked directly for the Walt Disney Studios in the USA, drawing about thirty stories for their comic production aimed at foreign licensees (the so-called "S-coded" stories). His association with the Brazilian production of Disney comics began in 1972, when he was hired by Editora Abril. His younger brother Irineu joined the team a couple of months later, followed in 1978 by the other brother, Verci. Although he started out drawing stories with 'Donald Duck' and his entourage, Moacir Rodrigues Soares was mainly known for drawing the funny adventures of 'Goofy' and his superhero counterpart 'Supergoof'. During the 1980s, he also drew about thirty stories with 'José Carioca', the anthropomorphic parrot from the 1942 Disney movie 'Saludos Amigos', who is very popular in Brazilian comic books. José's universe was expanded in the Brazilian stories by his fiancee Rosita Vaz, his nephews Zica and Zeca and other characters.
Disney comics by Rodrigues Soares.
Between 1973 and 1975, Rodrigues Soares drew thirteen adventure stories with Mickey Mouse and Goofy which also starred the detective Shamrock Bones. The main plot of the series dealt with the threesome chasing the Phantom Blot and a host of other Disney villains around the globe, and even in space. This attempt to introduce the originally American detective character to the Brazilian comics was written by Ivan Saidenberg.
In the 1980s, the artist's story production declined and he became one of the main cover artists for Zé Carioca, Margarida, Almanaque do Peninha, the Disney Especial series and other Brazilian Disney publications. His association with publisher Abril ended for the first time in 1994, when the Brazilian Disney production collapsed. He briefly returned to his trade in 2001 and 2002, illustrating some new 'Mickey Mouse' stories.
Zé Carioca - 'O Coroné Zé Buscapé' (B 820080).
Disney Babies
In the mid-1980s, Rodrigues Soares was allegedly also involved in the creation of the 'Disney Babies' for Disney Consumer Products. The characters became a big hit in France, where Claude Marin drew comic book series with the characters from 1986 on.
MW Editora e Ilustrações
In 1989, Rodrigues Soares founded his own company MW Editora e Ilustrações in São Paulo, where he was eventually joined by his two brothers. Later on, his son Moacir Rodrigues Soares Jr (born in 1973) also joined the company. The team has since then focused on illustrating educational material and children's books and doing commercial art assignments like character design, logo design and animations. They additionally worked on new comic projects like 'Wakay - O Guardião da Floresta', 'Os Vigilantes Ambientais' (2013), 'Curumim de Ouro' (2016), an adaptation of 'Treasure Island' ('Ilha do Tesouro', 2018) by Lucia Nobrega, and series of booklets based on classic fairy tales ('Contos Clássicos', 'Histórias Clássicas').
One of Rodrigues Soares' best-known post-Disney creations was the rabbit Pascoal, who served as a mascot for Lacta chocolate during the annual Easter festivities.
'Ilha do Tesouro'.