Where were you born? Where did you grow up?  
I was born and I grew up here in Recife, capital city of Pernambuco.

Have you already taken a drawing course/art training?
I'm a self-taught artist and though I don't have an academic graduation, I had the privilege of learning with good artists that supported me to develop my work during a long time.

How long have you been working professionally in comics?
I've been dedicating myself to the experimental production since 2003, in order to produce a professional portfolio, but it was two years ago, in 2006. where I had my very first work published here in Recife.

It was from that point on that I had the chance to dedicate myself to the comic book production for the international market.

In what things -- both in art and otherwise -- have you worked on besides comics? Are comics a full-time gig for you or part-time?
I worked for two years illustrating children's educational books before trying comics. Actually I think it was from 2000 to 2003 and then I stopped producing illustrations.

Nowadays, I work with comics full-time. I believe this should be the reality of almost every comic book artist haha.

Talk about how you broke into the business -- Was it easy or hard? Did you get through ups and downs? Any interesting anecdotes? When you held your first published work in your hands, how did you feel?
It was a really cool experience and seeing that work in black and white printed in high quality was simply wonderful.

Well, the story is almost always the same. A 16 pages story in a week. Does anyone know this story?

Have you already worked as an assistant of any other artists? If so, please talk a bit about these experiences.
Yes, yes.

When I was 12 years old, Wamberto Nicomedes, a great illustrator here in Recife, invited me to illustrate educational books for a publisher, even though I didn't have any technical knowledge to illustrate books. It basically started in 1999. I didn't know anything at the time. He needed to spend some time giving me more than exhaustive trainings, but they did work undoubtedly.

How did your parents take the idea of working with comics?
Well, they've always been very moderated when it's about intervene in my decisions and as I was illustrating for a while, they didn't notice much difference, because, on the whole, it was the same work, but in different markets.

How would you describe your work environment? Is it part of your home,
or do you go "to the studio"?
I've been working in my own room up till now, because it has a comfortable space. But I believe that I'll soon need more space and privacy.

Talk about your family: Parents, siblings, home situation. Are you married? Do you have kids? What are their names? Do you have anecdotes about married life? How does it relate to your busy schedule? If you have kids, do they understand your job? What do they say about it? Do they read comics?
I have a wonderful family composed of three brothers and my mom. We all live well, though my father has been absent for a while now. It's an already known situation.

The interesting thing is that all of them draw and my mother has influenced me a lot regarding art, because until my 10 or 12 years old, I used to watch her painting canvas in clothes. I remember I spent many hours watching it.

Well, only I have dedicated myself professionally up till now.

I hope I can find reinforcement when the deadlines get tighter haha.

What projects do you hope to work on in the future?
I don't have great ambitions in the comic book market. Seeing good works published with my drawings is what I seek for at the moment.

How big is the interest in comics in the place you live? Do your friends and neighbors know you make a living from comics? How do they react?
The interest in reading in general is still insignificant over here. Movies of famous comic book characters are everywhere, but when we talk about the movies and the comic books together, just a few people knew the characters from the comic book pages.

However, the ones who like reading are generally comic book appreciators, whether it's national, European or American comic book.

Well, when it's about working for the American market, the knowledge of this possibility is still something new over here. Who is an artist knows that, but neighbors and etc don't. They usually get surprised when we tell them about that.

What are your favorite interests? (i.e.: movies, music, TV, sports, any other hobbies, etc)
Music and movies are my favorites. Both inspire me and make me ready for the pages. I actually can't really watch movies. I like to watch the angles, the shots, the action sequences, etc. They somehow help me to think like a cameraman.

Music helps me to keep the rhythm up. Preferably gospel rock, new metal or something like that.

Have you ever thought about writing your own stories?
Yes, I just can't see myself with the needed maturity yet. The few I write and file are still inconsistent. In any case, I like to write them not to lose them, so I can improve them little by little.

What an average day in your life is like? Walk us through a typical day.
There's nothing much interesting in it. I'm very domestic and I usually wake up to draw and draw to sleep.

I don't usually organize my time and that's why my time-tables are very relative. Drawing, to me, up till now, is a matter of inspiration and that's why I sometimes start drawing at 9 in the morning and when nothing comes out, I go to do something else like reading some comic books, watching movies, visiting other artists' websites, etc.

In most of the times, nothing comes out during the day and when the sketches start working out, it's already nighttime, so I spend the whole early morning drawing. I feel much better producing at night. Usually, when everything goes well and I can produce during the day, I go to the church, I go out with my girlfriend, I visit my relative's house or I stay home studying.

Do you have any great unsold projects in your files that nobody's got to see published?
Not yet. I only have a few texts of different ideas.

If you weren't a comic-book artist today, what would you be?
A musician. Singing while playing the guitar is as inspiring as drawing to me. However, I don't have professional interest in music.

Have you taught anyone comic book art or had any assistants? If so, talk about that.
I taught for the last two years during the vacations at SENAC-PE here in Recife. It was two comic book drawing courses and they were very important to me. I think it was the time where I most learned. I remember I found out things I didn't know I knew.

Well, assistant... I think it wouldn't work. I think that only my drawing board and myself are enough.

Any closing words for your fans?
To the ones who have been accompanying my first steps, from the ones who have contributed to my professional growth to the ones who accompany it by far, here it goes my sincere thanks. Without you, I wouldn't have reached where I'm now.

To the ones who from now on will start to appreciate my work, I thank you equally. Without you, my work won't go ahead.