Quino

Hush... master at work.

Joaquín Salvador Lavado, known by his Pen Name Quino, is an Argentinian cartoonist born in 1932.

Widely known as the creator of Mafalda, which is considered by many as his masterpiece, however Quino has also published several cartoons and humor books. Most of these works have an intelligent and dark sense of humor, similar to The Perry Bible Fellowship.

A list of books published by him (not including Mafalda):

• Mundo Quino (Quino World, 1963)
• ¡A mí no me grite! (Don't you yell at me!, 1972)
• Yo que usted... (If I were you... , 1973)
• Bien gracias, ¿y usted? (Well thank you, and you?, 1976)
• Hombres de Bolsillo (Pocket men, 1977)
• A la buena mesa (To the fine dinning, 1980)
• Ni arte ni parte (Neither art nor part, 1981)
• Déjenme Inventar (Let me Invent, 1983)
• Quinoterapia (Quinotherapy, 1985)
• Gente en su sitio (People in their place, 1986)
• Sí, Cariño (Yes, Dear, 1987)
• Potentes, prepotentes e impotentes (Powerful, arrogant and impotent", 1989)
• Humano se nace (As a human one is born, 1991)
• ¡Yo no fui! (I didn't do it!, 1994)
• ¡Qué mala es la gente! (How bad are people!, 1996)
• ¡Cuánta bondad! (How much goodness!, 1999)
• Esto no es todo (This is not all, 2002)
• ¡Qué presente impresentable! (What unpresentable present!, 2005)
• La aventura de comer (The adventure of eating,2007)

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Quino provides examples of the following tropes:

• Adult Fear: Some of his strips deal with things like economic failure, parenting problems, shattered life aspirations, relationship problems, and hopelessness in the future.
• Art Evolution: Like Mafalda, Quino's style evolved over time.
• As the Good Book Says...
• A World Half Full: Most of the time.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Frequent punch-line.
• Bilingual Bonus
• Black Comedy
• Children Are Innocent
• Crapsack World: When its not A World Half Full.
• Creator Breakdown: Quino started publishing during the period the Argentinian military junta was in power, his first works had an innocent yet intelligent sense of humor to cope with the situation; however during the 90's and early 2000's he got pushed too far with the worst economic crisis Argentina had faced in its history, so many of his works became cynical and with very little hope.
• The Cameo: Mafalda sometimes makes background appearances.
• Christianity Is Catholic - Truth in Television in Argentina, so its completely justified.
• Earthshattering Kaboom
• Food Porn: He has two books dedicated to the fine dinning, and a recognition from the Chef's League of Spain.
• Gallows Humour
• God: Recurring character.
  • God Is Good
• The Grim Reaper
• Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: Characters in Quino's cartoons that made background or main appearances are: Superman, Batman, Pink Panther, Obelix, Tarzan, Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, The Smurfs and others.
• Magic Realism
• Not So Different: Played straight in some strips and deconstructed in others (usually the ones that deal with economic inequality).
• Satan: Recurring character.
  • Satan Is Good: Or at least in very good terms with God.
• Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism
• You No Take Candle: Cavemen and aboriginal people are portrayed speaking in this manner.

Individual cartoons provide examples of:

• Always a Bigger Fish: Death to the big guy.
  • Another one ^{[dead link]} .
• Animal Motifs: This one.
• Apocalypse How: Class 6.
• Attempted Rape / Completely Missing the Point: Incidentally NSFW.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Oh, Guardian Angel. If you exist, please free my son from all that horrible TV violence!!
  • Another one
• Bedroom Adultery Scene: This ^{[dead link]} .
• Can't Get Away with Nuthin': Do not smoke!
• Career Killer / Mundane Utility: This.
• Crystal Dragon Jesus: This
• Dumb Is Good: Here
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: This doctor has.
• Food Fight: Desconstructed here.
• Fortune Teller: Here ^{[dead link]} .
• Remembered Too Late: With emphasis in TOO LATE. Could also count as Fridge Horror.
• Hooker with a Heart of Gold: This example
• Literal-Minded: This waiter.
• Lottery of Doom: This strip.
• Male Gaze: Literally. ^{[dead link]}
• Manipulative Bastard: Politicians are portrayed like this.
• Moral Guardians: Mocked ^{[dead link]} .
  • Another one
• Or Was It a Dream?: One example ^{[dead link]} .
• Paper-Thin Disguise: "No. The man of the house is out." ^{[dead link]}
• Pet the Dog: Here.
• Pitying Perversion: "Son como nosotros" ^{[dead link]} ("They are just like us" ) You can find an English translation of the comic strip at the trope link.
• Recursive Reality: What.
• Red Scare: But we're....
• Science Is Wrong: God and the laws of Physics
• Serenade Your Lover: Not always works.
• There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Yeah...
• The Tetris Effect: A non videogame example.
• The Power of Friendship: Funny!
• Yank the Dog's Chain: Poor dog...