Chuck Billy 'n' Folks


Chuck Billy 'n' Folks is a Brazilian comic strip and part of the Monica's Gang comic book series, created by Mauricio de Sousa.
The stories are centered on Chuck Billy and his friends and parents, who are all caipiras and live in the small Vila Abobrinha, a fictional location on the countryside of Brazil. The only characters who don't live on the countryside are Chuck's cousin, Zeca, and his parents, who live in the city.
The comics originally debuted in 1961 in the newspaper "Folha da Manhã", at first having as protagonists the characters Cousin Benny and Taka, but the comics changed after the introduction of Chuck Billy in 1963 who due to his popularity with the public, became the main protagonist after a few years. This was also the first series by Maurício de Sousa to be adapted in its own solo comic book series starting in August 26, 1982.

Characters

Main characters

A line of products such as toys, clothing and software are also commonly sold as part of the Monica's Gang products. In 1965 two picture books were released by publisher :pt:Editora FTD|FTD, one starring Cousin Benny and the other starring Chuck Billy, who was part of a series of books inspired the Mauricio de Sousa's characters. In 1971 a song to Chuck Billy was composed for the album "A Bandinha da Turma da Mônica". The series also has an almanac with classic stories which is published since 1981 by the publisher Abril. The series also had some special comic books in the '90s by Editora Globo.
In the videogames Chuck Billy is a playable character in the Brazilian adaptation of the game replacing the Lizard-Man form. He is also playable in the 2018 game Mônica e a Guarda dos Coelhos.
In 2013 a graphical novel based on the Chuck Billy 'n' Folks characters titled: Chico Bento - Pavor Espaciar, was released as part of the Graphic MSP. Another graphical novel titled Chico Bento - Arvorada was released in 2017.

Animation

The first appearances of the characters in animation were in TV commercials in the 60s. Several animated adaptations of the comics were adapted into episodes in films such as :pt:As Novas Aventuras da Turma da Mônica|As Novas Aventuras da Turma da Mônica, :pt:Chico Bento, Oia a Onça!|Chico Bento, Oia a Onça! and :pt:Cine Gibi 2|Cine Gibi 2, in total there were 12 episodes focused on Chuck Billy between 1986 and 2005 with some shorts made exclusively for DVDs. Chuck Billy also makes a cameo in the Monica's Gang's 2007 animated film: Uma Aventura no Tempo.
Chuck Billy, Zeke, Rosie Lee and some animals appear occasionally or star in some episodes of the webcartoon Monica Toy. Ma Megg, the Chuck Billy's pet chicken, also appears as one of the protagonists of the webcartoon Biduzidos.

Spin-off

In 2013 a manga-style comic titled Chico Bento Moço started to be published by Panini. Like Monica Teen the comic shows a grown-up version of the main characters as teenagers.