Meet my high-tech graphic-novel 21st-century Saci

Can largely unknown Brazilian folklore characters like #Saci, #Boitatá, #Iara and #Curupira compete with #Halloween?

Not with low-tech approaches.

Over the last semesters, my kindergarten-age kids have been studying Saci: a one-legged young Black Brazilian folklore character with a magical red cap who rides whirlwinds. He’s a mischievous trickster who plays pranks on travelers and households. The myth dates back to the late 18th century.

I like their school, but they are limited by their old-schoolness, and want the kids not only to get interested in special things, but to do it in a low tech way. But this is a high-tech world!

Out side school, they are doing LEGO robotics and Minecraft programming classes. We read different books every night with Kindle Unlimited. Watch cool movies and cartoons on streaming. Make playlists with Spotify. How can the school expect to keep their attention with artisanal Saci’s books and doll? I don’t think they can. And they end up sabotaging their purpose of keeping Brazilian traditions alive in the modern world.

To keep their relevance in a high-tech world, Folklore characters should be allowed to evolve and schools should be using high-tech to do it. Legislate a ‘Saci day’ is not enough.

Batman isn’t the same character he was 85 years ago. He’s changed in both design and personality.

In a world of “Despicable Me” and Minions, Saci has enormous potential to go viral.

While I don’t have the talent that the disputed brazilian designers that draw superheroes for Marvel and DC do, I have Midjourney and imagination.

So to try to prove my point, here is my graphic-novel, 21st-century version of Saci.

He is a cool prankster with magical powers who uses pranks to unravel corruption, lies, and hypocrisies. He’s no longer one-legged because he has a bionic prosthetic. He’s Black and beautiful. His cap can transform from a bandana to a baseball cap according to his mood or the occasion. He has dreadlocks. He lives in the city but often goes back to the forest to ‘recharge’.

Check it out.

I’d be willing to work with anyone wanting to further develop this as a graphic novel