Born in Manaus, Brazil, and currently living in Redwood City, CA, Alex is a former Forest Engineer and Professor turned translator and writer. Since 1999 he's been writing fanzines, poetry, and tales, but only in 2021 he released his first book, Iwará-iwê. A long-term friend of the founders of Black Eye Estúdio, he started the localization of their comics and released the English version of Sete Cores da Amazônia and Speechless through Tucupi Books. Alex also worked as the creator and organizer of The Hierophant - An Artwork Collection, where he also contributed as writer.

Black Eye Estúdio started in 2018 as an initiative of childhood friends Ademar Vieira and Raphael Russo, along with artist Tieê Santos, as a vehicle for their creations. Their studio is based in Manaus, Brazil, and since 2021, it has a USA division within Tucupi Books.

Tieê Santos

Illustrator

Emerson Medina

Writer

Born in Manaus and currently living in Macapá, Brazil, Tieê has been working as a professional illustrator since 2003. Focusing on comics with informative content, he worked with major companies such as Petrobras, Masa da Amazonia, Honda, and Philips. Currently, he is part of the staff of C-4 Studio and Black Eye Estúdio as illustrator.

Emerson Medina is a journalist with advanced degree in visual arts. He was part of the Clube dos Quadrinheiros de Manaus (Manaus Comics Artists Club) in the 1990s, then he moved on to the visual arts and press coverage. He returned to comics writing in 2018 with The Last Arrow, in partnership with Romahs Mascarenhas. Currently he is a movie director and producer and writer.

Romahs Mascarenhas

Illustrator

Regina Kim

Assistant Editor & English Reviewer

Romahs is a comics writer and illustrator, working for 14 years with the Maurício de Souza Produções, one of the Brazil’s greatest comics studio and IP producers, publishing in over 50 countries. He also worked for Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Panini Press in diverse capacities. He also wrote and illustrate two children’s books Todos os Meus Gatos de Volta and O Menino que Morava no Poste. His most recent work is Akitãi e os Caçadores de Mapinguari.

Our in-house English reviewer and assistant editor, Regina started working with us in 2021, reviewing and editing all English translations for Tucupi Books. She received her BA in English, with emphasis in Rhetoric and Composition from California State University, Long Beach. She is a California native and currently based in Oklahoma.

Sofía Collimedaglia

Spanish Translator & Reviewer

EN: Argentinian teacher, editor, and translator. Sofía worked on translating and reviewing several graphic novels and books for Tucupi Books/Black Eye Estúdio. She works as a high school teacher in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and has been developing independent projects as an editor and Spanish teacher.
ES: Profesora, editora y traductora argentina. Ha colaborado en la revisión y la traducción al español de varias novelas gráficas por Black Eye Studio. Actualmente se desempeña como profesora en Escuela Media en Buenos Aires (Argentina), mientras desarrolla proyectos independientes como editora y profesora de español.

Black Eye Estúdio

Partner

Alex Souza

Editor-in-Chief, Writer

Raphael Russo

Writer, Assistant Editor

Ademar Vieira

Illustrator, Writer

Also from Manaus, Raphael Russo is one of the founders of Black Eye Estúdio and co-author of the graphic novel A Maldição do Governador (The Governor's Curse), he manages most of the administrative tasks and marketing for the studio and for Tucupi Books in Brazil. Raphael has a degree in History and works as a public officer for the Brazilian federal government.

Born in Manaus, Ademar received a degree in journalism from the Amazonas Federal University. He started his career as a writer for the Hyper Comix magazine (1997-1999), dabbled in amateur movie making in the early 2000's, and since 2015 he has been working as a writer at the Petit Fabrik studios, as one of the head writers of the kid’s show “Lupita”, winner of the best children’s show award at the Gramado Festival in Brazil. He also showcases some of his work on Instagram and recently released his first book with a collection of his Instagram posts.

Garrett Wieck

Author

Garrett Wieck (pronounced “Wick”. Yes, like John.) is the debut author of the new novel “Maple Ridge: Mall of Horrors” and “The Circle of Mundus” short stories. A Bay Area native, he enjoys telling stories that include the sights and history that sets The Bay apart, as well as fun and fantastical stories with groundings in what makes us human. He graduated with a BFA in Cinema from San Francisco State University which helped solidify the love of storytelling that had defined his childhood. Now, he lives with his wife, pug, and two cats in Benicia, CA. He enjoys watching television with his wife, walking around town with his dog, and playing games of all kinds.