Mauricio Araújo de Sousa[1] (Brazilian Portuguese: [mawˈɾisju dʒi ˈsowzɐ]; born October 27, 1935), also mononymously known as Mauricio, is a Brazilian cartoonist and businessman who has created over 200 characters for his popular series of children's comic books named Turma da Mônica (Monica and Friends).

[2][3] At 17 years of age, he worked for a daily newspaper called Folha da Manhã as a crime reporter.

[7] At 17 years of age, Mauricio worked for a daily newspaper called Folha da Manhã as a crime reporter.

[citation needed] In 1997, the cartoonist founded the Maurício de Sousa Cultural Institute, whose mandate is to develop social action campaigns that translate serious subjects into a comic book format to appeal to both young and adult readers.

[10] In 2012, Mauricio published a two-issue story arc in the Monica Teen comic book featuring some of Osamu Tezuka's main characters, such as Astro, Sapphire and Kimba, joining Monica and her friends in an adventure in the Amazon rainforest against a smuggling organization chopping down hundreds of trees in the jungles of the Amazon.

[citation needed] Most of his children were the source of inspiration of the creation of characters such as Monica,[12] Maggy,[13] Marina,[14] Mary Angela,[15] Nimbus,[16] and Nick Nope.