Macanudo: What’s in the Box?!

Are you ready to step into the world of Macanudo by Liniers, a place that feels far less like a traditional comic strip and far more like a world you suddenly realize you have been living in all along? This is a universe where witches casually sip tea beside opinionated cats, where imaginative children wander through thoughts and ideas that feel uncannily familiar, and where imaginary monsters show up like old friends, unannounced but always welcome.

Everything in Macanudo coexists in perfect, playful harmony. Characters, creatures, and moments live together under one roof, or inside one beautifully curated box, bound by whimsy, warmth, and emotional intelligence. It is a world that makes room for curiosity, humor, tenderness, and surprise, often all within the same strip.

Fantagraphics brings this magical experience together in a delightful box set, gathering the early Macanudo collections into one inviting package. It is the ideal entry point for new readers and a must-have for longtime fans, offering an open door into one of the most imaginative and quietly joyful comic worlds ever created.

The Macanudo: What’s in the Box?! The box set includes the following three volumes:

• Welcome to Elsewhere
  The opening chapter of Macanudo introduces Liniers’ whimsical world and rotating cast of characters. This volume sets the tone with playful humor, gentle philosophy, and imaginative leaps that blur the line between the everyday and the surreal.
• The Way of the Penguin
  Expanding the universe, this volume leans into some of Macanudo’s most beloved recurring figures, including the penguins, who offer sharp, funny, and oddly profound commentary on human behavior. It deepens the strip’s emotional range while keeping its light, curious spirit intact.
• Optimism Is for the Brave
  A defining collection that embraces hope, creativity, and emotional honesty. This volume highlights Liniers’ talent for finding beauty and meaning in small moments, balancing humor with reflection in a way that feels both comforting and quietly revelatory.

Macanudo transforms everyday imagination into something vivid and alive, blending whimsy, warmth, and quiet wonder in a way few comic strips ever achieve. It is playful without being shallow, surreal without losing its emotional center, and endlessly inviting. Once you step inside its world, it feels less like reading and more like belonging.

Macanudo is beloved for its whimsy, its gentle optimism, and its quiet philosophical depth, but at its core, it began as something even simpler and more personal. It started as a small act of optimistic resistance. At a moment when the news felt overwhelming and the world seemed locked into a constant state of alarm, Macanudo became a way of softly pushing back, of saying “it’s fine” or “it’s all right” in the middle of all that noise.

Reading Macanudo reminds me why I fell in love with comic strips in the first place. Like Peanuts and Argentina’s own Mafalda, it understands that small moments can carry enormous emotional weight. At the same time, it channels the playful intelligence of Krazy Kat and the deep, open-hearted wonder of Calvin and Hobbes. Liniers does not just tell jokes. He invites you to slow down, notice something odd or tender, and sit with it for a beat longer than you expected.

Each strip feels alive, freewheeling, and gently manic, full of charm without ever trying too hard. There is always the sense that the next panel might veer into something surreal, philosophical, or quietly beautiful. Liniers has an uncanny sense of rhythm and flow, pairing childlike joy with images that can stop you cold. The feeling is pure and physical, like kicking through the first fallen leaves of autumn or discovering a creek you did not know existed and deciding to wade in anyway.

Macanudo trusts that life is complicated and contradictory, that things can be difficult and beautiful at the same time. Comics, at their best, have the unique ability to hold those two truths side by side without forcing a resolution. They can be playful and serious in the same breath, light without being shallow, thoughtful without becoming heavy.

It makes perfect sense that admirers include Matt Groening, David Byrne, and Jeff Smith. Macanudo speaks to artists because it respects curiosity, play, and emotional honesty. It trusts the reader to meet it halfway.

This box set collects the first three Fantagraphics volumes, Welcome to Elsewhere, The Way of the Penguin, and Optimism is for the Brave, and it feels essential. Not just for fans of comic strips as art, but for anyone who believes there is still hidden wonder tucked into ordinary days.

Created by Ricardo Siri, known as Liniers, Macanudo first appeared in 2002 in Argentina’s La Nación newspaper. It was born during a time of economic hardship and global anxiety, meant as a small daily dose of optimism. That spirit still hums through every strip. Now living in Vermont, Liniers continues to build a universe that blends observational humor, gentle philosophy, and surreal detours that somehow feel emotionally grounded.

There is no single main character, just a rotating cast that starts to feel like neighbors. Henrietta, a sharp and imaginative little girl, explores the world alongside her black cat, Fellini and her teddy bear, Mandelbaum. Z-25 is a robot with a sensitive soul. Duendes pop up as convenient explanations for life’s minor mysteries. Penguins deliver sideways commentary on human behavior. Olga, the big, blue, furry imaginary friend, feels as real as anyone else in the room. Even the Mysterious Man in Black remains unknowable, a reminder that not everything needs an explanation.

Macanudo now appears in multiple countries and languages and has been syndicated in English since 2018. You can find it in newspapers, online, and soon in a new form. An animated series is currently in production, with a projected release around 2027 or 2028, focusing on Henrietta and Martincito.

Macanudo serves as an open invitation to see the world differently. Reading Macanudo feels like stepping inside another mind for a moment, borrowing its perspective, and watching how everyday moments are observed, questioned, and gently reimagined. Instead of offering tidy answers, the comic strip delivers insight and emotional resonance, reminding readers that even in uncertain times, imagination and kindness still have room to thrive.

From the beginning, there was no concern with meeting expectations or chasing punchlines. Macanudo was created without a rigid plan, guided by curiosity, instinct, and complete creative freedom. Each idea is allowed to wander naturally, whether it turns funny, tender, surreal, or quietly philosophical. If a meaningful story emerges, that is more than enough. At its heart, Macanudo reminds us that imagination is not something we outgrow, but something we simply forget to revisit. This collection feels like an open door, inviting us back in.

Macanudo: What’s in the Box?! arrives housed in a beautifully designed slipcase, collecting the first three volumes that launched Liniers’ modern comic strip classic. This thoughtfully curated box set is an ideal entry point into the work of one of the most celebrated voices in contemporary comics and a perfect gift for readers who love whimsy, imagination, and a smart, offbeat sense of the absurd. The collection goes on sale August 25, 2026.