Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro is a fantasy, as much as a city. A destination for every runaway criminal in the movies. To scape to Rio seems like a solution to every problem – broken heart, debts, the mob or the police. Never mind. Lets just samba on the beach and drink caipirinhas forever. Well, what they don´t know is how smart they´d have to be to outsmart our criminals or even the average cab driver. What we call “malandragem”, our word to streetwise, is a way of life in Brasil, especially on Rio and particularly in Copacabana, destionation of every clueless tourist on the world. Here the whores, doormen, cab drivers and busboys live to serve and trick tourists on the same measure. With a smile. Diana´s not so bad. Working the streets of Copacabana, she plays the field with grace and mostly fairly, but things are hard now. She´s in deep shit. She´ll have to come up with some money, fast. So she takes some shortcuts. And things go wrong. Really wrong. Suelen is the one who started it. She´s way harder than Diana and needed a wingwoman to trick a german tourist. She ends up dead, the money goes missing and a lot of people are looking for answers. And they think Diana is it. She´ll need wits and guts to get out of this and some luck too.
The album Copacabana is the first graphic novel by Lobo and Odyr, writer and artist. 170 black and white pages of a noir thriller on a brazilian call girl caught in a con job gone wrong, with bodies piling up, money missing and some tough people after Diana, our street hero. The script is the result of many sleepless nights that Lobo , art director by day, spend walking the streets of Copacabana, getting to know its players – talkative and lonely doormen, friendly transexuals and a army of girls of every shape and color working, literally, their asses off. Whores, drug dealers, tourists, street vendors, flower girls and many many senior citizens, that move to Copacabana to enjoy the sun, much like Americans at Florida. All this circus and the multitude of stories that surround it, as the genuine warmth and vitality of these people, found its way on the script, that Lobo crafted along the years, from 95 to 99, weaving stories, urban legends and myths and creating a compelling cast along the way. He now works as comics editor to various companies and at several new scripts. And still occasionally roam the nights. Odyr lived in a quiet place at the far south of Brazil, far away from the carnival. But arriving on Rio, in 2005, on a job as art director, met Lobo and reading the script, was drawn to its vitality and scope. He ended up living in Copacabana for two years, to absorb the mood and the looks of the place while working on the art. After the album was done, he returned to the cold and far, far south of Brazil, away from the beach and the drums, while he and Lobo still work at distancy, plotting new stuff. He´s currently working on a album that is set in Mexico, with writer Angelica Freitas, but he intends to do these one from his own house. Not a big fan of travel. The album its being published in Brazil by publishing house Desiderata, with release date of april 2009.
the characters
Morcego really doesn´t have a clue. He waltzed right in the middle of this whole mess just because he liked Diana. He writes women romances by day, under some fancy pen name and walks the streets of Copacabana by night, looking for some fun. But you know, fun and trouble usually live really near by.
Diana is having a bad, bad week. Her rent is due, her period too and that´s far from the worst of it. She took a loan from some quite unpleasant guy and trying to score fast ends up in a con job gone seriously wrong. It´s time for some major streetwise.
Princesa once was called Aníbal and was Diana´s fiancée. Funny how things work out, uh? Now they work side by side on Copacabana´s streets. And good friends too. What you could expect? Princesa was Diana´s first man. Well, Anibal was. It can get a little confusing.
the characters
Nobody likes Suelen. Well, men do, of course. But Diana knows she´s bad news. You can´t trust the woman. And yet, out of need, they partner up on a con. Big surprise, things don´t go exactly as planned.
Álvaro wants the money, that´s all. A cop´s pay just doesn´t cut it anymore. He thinks he deserves better. And he´s not shy about it. Anyone who stands on his way might no be standing anymore pretty soon.
Souza is that vaguely sinister guy you barely notice at the hotel reception, but oh, he takes notice of you. Of your clothes and money and women you bring to the room… he´s got some plans that involve you, actually.
Someone once Said “ If they put a wall around Copacabana, it´d be a mental hospital, if they put fences, it´d be a zoo”
Hey, sugar. A cup of coffee to warm you heart?
The night is cold.
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No, thanks, Severino.
nd what´s wrong with warming the little thing?
Cold heart is a tool of the trade.
Haha, that´s a good one.
Hazard´ll be the cold you´ll get.
Occupacional hazard, Severino.
Ha, ok, give me one.
The night is slow, a coffee won´t make it worst.
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Hey, babe.
Hey, babe, what´s your name?
Princesa.
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Forty for a party, twenty to sing on your mike.
And what´s the deal, Princesa?
So, what do you think?
And what do you sing?
I don´t know, man.
No discount? From samba to metal. Way to go, Princesa!
Sing me a song!
Hey!
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How much do we´ve got?
What´s up, Bacana?
What you´ve got today?
Hey, man.
Thirty and twenty. See you, man.
Give me two of thirty.
Yeah.
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Fuck you . I´ve got nothing to you.
But I wanna pay… Come on.
-I´d rather fuck a dog.
I know you like it, doggy style…
Yeah, keep walking.
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ah, ah, aha.
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Hey, Mark. It rained last night but I´m at the beach right now, under the sun, in fucking Copacabana.
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It´s heaven, man.
Women are easy, beautiful, and they come in all colors.
Believe men, paradise is here.
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Easy life
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Fuck.
Good morning.
Fuck, i´ve slept in my clothes.
Good morning my ass. This hangover is killing me.
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fuck. What time it is? The witch is coming.
uahhh...
Uhh, Suelen, you stink!
Gross.
Diana, go fuck yo…
Fuck, I puked.
You have one hour to scat.
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I don´t want anyone here after 7, I have people coming.
Good morning, Mrs Cleide…
And you, Diana, don´t forget you owe me 10 days from last month.
You´te got 2 days to pay.
Fuck, if today is 6…
Sure thing, Mrs Cleide.
my period is coming in… 3
Rent day come up, I´ll have it all.
or 4 days…
And now, get you asses moving!
You better.
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Hell, that´s a lot.
Yeah, Mom, I´ll send you the money.
How much you need?
No, it´s ok, I´ll ask for a advance at the hospital.
eah, in two days I´ll send to you. Love you too.
I´m fucked. Rent,,,,,, Plus money for mom… Couple days and my period is coming…
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No mom, no doctor interested in me, bye.
To pay it all and still have money for 5 days off the market..
Charging less… some 20 guys in 3 days… about 7 per day…
all kinds and flavours.
Got pussy?
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Finally, someone interesting‌ Me?
They all just wanna come in my face.
Yeah.
Only gringos today. Can´t stand these creeps.
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may i pay you a drink?
Hmmm, you´re a grower.
Caipirinha
Yeah, come, I´m almost coming.
Ahh, I´m coming.
Ahh, don´t stop!
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Ahhhhh..
You look like an interesting guy窶ｦ
Me?
These tourists are creeps.
?e ISTO A TI TE GUSTA?
LOS BRASILEﾃ前S SOLO QUIEREN JODERNOS EL CULO.
AHHH, SI MI NOVIO SABE DE ESTO...
!JODER! E QUI CULO!
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SOLO CON MI NOVIO.
Finally...
...someone...
...I´ve found...
Yeah, come!
‌interesting.
Come with me. Yeah. On my face.
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Fuck me, I did it.
12 fucks, 6 blowjobs, 4 anal…
Hey, got fire?
3 handjobs. 25 orgasms with 23 guys…that amounts to..
Thanks, bitch.
Ahn...
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Hey, Morcego.
Way to go, morcego. The boss is soft on you‌
Nahh, she´s just being nice.
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Uhh, she could be nice with me.
Talking about ass, the other day at the beach I saw the sweetest ass ever.
What a piece of ass. Ahh, I´d tap that.
When I stopped the car, she turned. Fuck, it was a man.
Ah, some of the finest asses are tranny´s, man.
I always wondered:
when you fuck a tranny, he gets a hard on?
It depends.
Too much hormon and their cocks get soft forever.
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And you know that because…
A friend´s cousin fucked a tranny?
But let´s talk pussy, there´s nothing better in the world.
Ok, see ya.
I gotta go, man.
Do you think he´s gay?
I saw on tv.
This guy is weird, isn´t?
Never talks of pussy…
But he knew about trannys, uh?
Nahh, the guy is quiet, that´s all.
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Do you think they come, even without a hard-on?
Lobo is a writer that has found his place, themes and characters on Rio de Janeiro, where he liveD for 20 yeas. also as comics editor for various publishing houses. In 2014, he created his own, Mojo books (www.MOJOBOOKS.COM.BR), where he´s been coordinating talent at the thriving brazilian comics scene while working at new scripts Odyr is a comics artist, living at the extreme south of Brazil. He lived in Rio for 3 years, while working as art director by day and drawing Copacabana by night, after which he his returned to his city, now to draw full time. His second album, Guadalupe, is a onyric road movie, set in Mexico, with script by AgÊlica Freitas and is due to 2013.
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