Themo Lobos facts for kids

Themo Lobos (born Themístocles Nazario Lobos Aguirre, December 3, 1928 – July 24, 2012) was a famous cartoonist from Chile. He created many popular characters like Máximo Chambónez, Ferrilo, Nick Obre, and Alaraco. His most famous creation was Mampato. Themo Lobos wrote and drew Mampato's adventures from 1968 to 1978. He also published the comic book Cucalón, which featured all his characters and stories.

Themo Lobos: Early Life and First Cartoons

Becoming a Cartoonist

Themo Lobos was born in San Miguel, Santiago, Chile, in 1928. He started drawing cartoons when he was just 7 years old. At first, he copied other drawings. But by age 12, he knew he wanted to create his own unique characters and stories.

Themo Lobos loved the children's magazine El Peneca. The comic strip "Quintín el Aventurero" was a big inspiration for him. He tried studying art at the Chilean Academy of Fine Arts, but it wasn't what he expected. Later, he went to the Chilean School of Applied Arts. There, he created his first original characters: Ferrilo the Robot and Homero the Pilot.

First Professional Work

His first professional drawings were published in the newspaper La Nación in 1949. His characters helped advertise products. The next year, he began working for El Peneca magazine. He then joined Guido Vallejos's team for the famous Chilean comic book Barrabases. For Barrabases, he created characters like Cicleto, Cucufato, and Ñeclito.

In the mid-1950s, he started working for the humor magazine El Pingüino ("The Penguin"). This is where he introduced his first truly popular character: Alaraco. Alaraco was a comic strip about a man who worried and overreacted a lot. This character was based on Themo Lobos's own personality. During this time, his work also appeared in magazines like Pobre Diablo, Flash, Humor de Hoy, and Humanoide.

The Mampato Magazine Era

Kilikilis and Golagolas (1968) was the first Mampato story fully written and drawn by Themo Lobos.

Starting Mampato

In 1968, Chilean artist Eduardo Armstrong launched a children's magazine called Mampato. This magazine came out every two weeks. It had educational articles, stories, and many Chilean and foreign comic strips. The first Mampato comic story was written by Armstrong and drawn by Óscar Vega.

The comic was about a young Chilean boy named Mampato. He finds a "space-time belt" that lets him travel through time. Mampato uses the belt to experience history's greatest adventures. The character of Mampato was partly inspired by Dennis the Menace and Astérix.

Themo Lobos Takes Over

Themo Lobos was very busy with El Peneca at the time. Armstrong offered him the chance to draw Mampato. Lobos first said no, but later accepted. He and Armstrong became good friends. Lobos started drawing the series from the third chapter of Mampato's first adventure.

Lobos told Armstrong that he preferred to work with his own stories. So, Armstrong gave Lobos complete freedom to create stories and characters for all future Mampato comics. From the second Mampato adventure, "Kilikilis and Golagolas", Lobos wrote and drew the entire series. (Only a few stories were done by Vega). The magazine became very popular with young people in Chile. At its best, it sold about 100,000 copies per issue. In April 1971, it started coming out every week.

Challenges and End of Mampato

The Chilean comics industry, including Mampato, faced problems after the 1973 coup d'état. This was when Augusto Pinochet took over the government. Many comics stopped being published. In November 1973, Eduardo Armstrong sadly passed away from cancer at age 41.

After 1973, Lobos found it harder to produce the Mampato strip. Some people had issues with certain stories. For example, "Los Tres" ("The Three"), also known as "El Árbol Gigante" ("The Giant Tree"). In this story, Mampato fights mutants ruled by a character named Ferjus, who leads a dictatorship. Lobos explained that he created this story before the coup. He believed it was wrong to turn children's comics into political messages.

Because of the country's difficult situation, Mampato magazine stopped being published in January 1978. Between 1968 and 1978, Lobos created 25 complete Mampato stories. The magazine was also a main place for other Chilean comic artists to publish their work. Other comics by Lobos, like Máximo Chambónez, also became more popular in Mampato.

Cucalón and Later Success

First issue of Cucalón (1986)

A New Beginning with Cucalón

After Mampato ended in 1978, some of Lobos's stories and art were left unfinished. Many of his friends and colleagues left Chile during this time. But Themo Lobos decided to stay. Until 1986, he worked with smaller or foreign publishers. He also drew promotional materials for popular foreign characters like The Smurfs and Super Friends.

In 1983, a Chilean TV show called Jappening Con Ja created a live-action sketch based on his Alaraco comic strip. The comedian Fernando Alarcón starred in it. This sketch became very popular across Chile. It made people interested in Themo Lobos's comics again.

In 1986, Themo Lobos gathered the money and rights he needed. He then created a new publication called Cucalón. This comic book collected all of Lobos's past work from different magazines. It also included new and never-before-seen material. Cucalón was very well-received in Chile. It ran for 48 issues until 1993. Most of Lobos's work was featured during its run.

Mampato Returns and a Movie

In 1996, Ediciones Dolmen started publishing Mampato's adventures again. They came out in comic album format, with new colors and covers. These books have been sold in South America and Europe. In 2002, the movie Ogu and Mampato in Rapa Nui was released. It was an animated movie by the Chilean studio Cine Animadores. The film was based on the Mampato storyline known as "Mata-ki-te-rangui".