Macunaíma in comics: modernist aesthetic aspects in an anthropophagic graphic-visual rhapsody

Abstract

We analyze the comic book Macunaíma em quadrinhos (2016), by Angelo Abu and Dan X, concentrating on the analysis of the (re) presentation of modernism within comics. We consider the signs indicative of the modernist project, as presented in Mário de Andrade’s prose, which appears in the comics. Therefore, we chose, as a theoretical-methodological reference, to perform an Intersemiotic reading of the comics, which puts into play the two main signs that exist: verbal and visual. Based on the Intersemiotic Theory, we interpret Macunaíma em quadrinhos as a translation between signs, capable of bringing to the field of visuality a lot of modernist arguments, beyond what we found in the Andradian prose. We argue that Macunaíma em quadrinhos is an anthropophagic graphic-visual rhapsody, based on indices such as arts, colors and stylistic traits, which highlight twentieth-century modernism.