Praise
Mafalda is a hero of our time.
— Umberto Eco
Each Quino book is happiness.
— Gabriel García Márquez
Though her family was solidly middle class, Mafalda didn’t let that fool her into thinking that everything was fine in her unequal society. She was too sharp for that, too observant . . . She worries about the kinds of things that many parents want to protect their children from even noticing—poverty and war and repression . . . The expansive, bighearted politics of Quino’s strip feel out of step with this terrifying moment, but, then again, that may be precisely why now is the right time to return to its heroine.
"This is seriously the comic that the country needs in this moment,” said Ricardo Siri, who grew up reading “Mafalda” in Argentina and now lives in Vermont. (He is also the author of “Macanudo” and other work under the pen name Liniers.) “Mafalda has her point of view, but she always accepts as friends people who are very different from her.” . . . When wider American audiences do meet Mafalda, they’ll find a girl who resembles Ernie Bushmiller’s iconic character Nancy, but whose antics are entirely her own . . . Even if she’s unlikely to help Democrats and Republicans get along, her brand of innocent but opinionated curiosity could show the so-called adults in the room how to do better by future generations . . . “What Mafalda teaches you when you’re little, if you start to read with these books, isn’t to behave yourself but rather to ask questions, to doubt the world that comes from on high,” Siri said.
Quino’s cartoons made sense of the absurd details of life and society. Each lesson is a wink of silent laughter turned to pure philosophy, social criticism, expressive gestures, and the most refined humor. What a great companion Malfalda has been.
— Ana Merino
I can't imagine Mafalda except as the witty girl she was, is, and always will be. Comic characters have that privilege (like Peter Pan) of never aging.
— Roberto Fontanarrosa
The real Little Prince was Quino.
— Miguel Rep
Mafalda is this little girl with big thoughts: funny, rebellious, deeply human. Through her, Quino taught generations how to question authority, care about the world and laugh at life’s absurdities. That little comic strip shaped the way I see justice, politics, and yes, even food.
— José Andrés, New York Times
I may have learned from her that taking the world’s troubles to heart—even if it leads to a certain amount of personal misery—is a thing worth doing. And that hard questions are worth asking, just as peace is worth hoping for. For a comic where all the kids have big heads and tiny bodies, it taught me that kids can be as serious as they are silly. That they can feel things about the world and look beyond their own circumstances, even when the results are grim. It may say something about us that a comic set in 1960s Argentina feels more relevant today than it did when I first read it.
— Lili Loofbourow, Slate
[Mafalda's] running gag is that its heroine is too political. She knows far more than any six-year-old should, and she uses that knowledge to skewer grown-up cowardice and complacency.
The cartoon character Mafalda, with her massive round head, sixties bob, triangular dress, and black Mary Janes, appears innocent. But this inquisitive girl-against-the-world is no ingenue—Mafalda often fires off sharp, incisive, and cynical observations about the political world around her . . . When I was growing up in Argentina in the early aughts, in the middle of yet another political crisis, Mafalda taught me how to think politically, even when I was too young for it. Children enjoy this—they appreciate it when you don’t underestimate their intelligence, and rise to the occasion as a result . . .In many ways, the intergenerational battle that Mafalda represents still rings true, and is bound to educate nonconformist children in conformist times.
Mafalda ran for less than ten years in Argentina (1964-1973), but in South America its eponymous protagonist is still revered both as a lovable cartoon character and as a symbol of resistance . . . This collection, the first of five volumes to be published in a new translation by Frank Wynne, reflects concerns both global and specific to Argentina in the 1960s and 1970s . . . Wynne captures nicely [Mafalda's] spirit.
— Miranda France, TLS
For many immigrants like me, Mafalda is more than a cartoon character. She’s a core memory, a mindset, a Latin American cultural icon. And in a country once again led by a president allergic to dissent, nuance, and the truth, what would Mafalda say to Trump? Whatever it might be, it would be sharp and right on time.
Simultaneously precocious and realistically childlike, [Mafalda] attempts to make sense of current events while embarking on flights of fancy. Speaking to universal childhood experiences while also offering pointed commentary on Argentina’s sociopolitical climate during the ’60s, this is a wise, wickedly funny work.
An acerbic 6-year-old skewers societal foibles . . . With its forthright, articulate, and frequently bickering cast of children, comparisons to Charles Schulz's Peanuts are inevitable . . . Mafalda rails against Argentinian leadership, decries wars and social crises abroad, and stands as a staunch advocate for women's rights . . . A historical comic strip with ongoing relevance and plenty to laugh about.
— Kirkus Reviews
Although the concept of universalism has been sneered at for the past 40 years, evidence of its existence can be found in the pages of Mafalda.
— Tom Bowden, Book Beat
This five-volume series gathers a collection of the comics translated into English by Frank Wynne, engaging new audiences with her wide-eyed curiosity, sassy retorts, and insatiable desire to understand the world . . . [Mafalda's] critiques of politicians, openness to the perspectives of others, and unwavering defense of human rights are universal—and especially timely.
Mafalda's blend of visual and verbal wit is sublime.
— Peter Dabbene, Foreword Reviews
Mafalda is huge. Think Peanuts but imbued with late 60s/early 70s Argentinian politics. Still, it seemed so odd that I’d never encountered her before. If she truly was so influential, where were the translations? . . . I had a chance to read the new Mafalda [in Frank Wynne's translation] and to my infinite relief it was everything that I’d hoped for and more.
— Betsy Bird, School Library Journal's Fuse 8 Blog
Mafalda is such a singular character and a singular world. There is so much depth, so many kinds of humor, to be found in this simple looking strip. Throughout the writing and researching of this article, I’ve kept Mafalda on my desk and keep returning to it, flipping through it and reading strips at random. I have yet to get tired of it.
The delightfully precocious Mafalda deserves prominent space on anyone's shelves . . . her quick-witted, bitingly sharp observations, created more than a half a century ago, prove even more relevant amid contemporary chaos. Once again, Mafalda and friends are ready for their well-deserved close-ups.
Mafalda is a very philosophical comic. Questions like where we are, who we are, and what we are doing in this world, and why we suffer. Mafalda was my first encounter with politics and philosophy, at a very early age...I have read this comic so many times, and every time I come back, there’s something new. It’s so, so incredible.
— Samanta Schweblin, The Shakespeare & Co Podcast
The questions that hold Mafalda are the questions that hold all children. There’s never going to be a child growing up where there isn’t a war going on somewhere that they don’t understand. ‘Explain the mess in Vietnam, papa’ is never going to be different from ‘explain the mess in Gaza,’ or in Ukraine. Children are always asking the same questions . . . Mafalda’s parents are trying to do what all parents try to do, which is preserve the innocence of childhood. But of course children aren’t like that at all.
— Frank Wynne, The Shakespeare & Co Podcast
Extras
We have a couple fun launch events lined up for Mafalda! Join us on the evening of June 12th at Sullaluna and at McNally Jackson on June 20th. More details here!