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Mafalda; Semiotics; Critical Humor; Reading Mediation.
This dissertation aims to investigate the critical humor presented in Quino's Mafalda comic strips from a semiotic perspective, as well as to develop a reading mediation proposal that explores its potential in the process of emancipating the reading competence of the developing reader. The study is based on the theoretical foundations of semiotics, with an emphasis on the contributions of Charles Sanders Peirce (2005) and Roland Barthes (2009), in order to develop the mechanisms of signification underlying the structuring of verbal-visual texts. Methodologically, the research adopts a qualitative approach, of bibliographic and analytical nature, in dialogue with references from semiotics and humor studies. The analysis demonstrates that the comic strips effectively articulate visual and verbal signs in the construction of a discourse permeated by social, cultural, and political critiques, highlighting their potential as an instrument for the formation of critical and reflective reading. It presents a reading mediation proposal based on the expanded sequence of literary literacy, which is aligned with the guidelines of the Brazilian National Common Curriculum Base (BNCC), aiming for the improvement of the reader's competence and the formation of a critical-emancipatory stance, based on the exploration of Mafalda comic strips.