The "first time", in the 1950's
Tex was published for the first time in the '50's by Rio Grafica Editora, starting with n. 28 of the magazine Junior (up to n. 27, Junior had published other characters). The magazine had a subtitle, "The Adventures of Texas Kid" and came out every week. The format, up to n. 178, was the traditional strip with 36 pages (like the Italian version), while from n. 179 the format was changed to 13.5x17.5 cm (slightly smaller than the "giant" Italian version). Junior published Tex exclusively up to n. 265, which appeared in July 1957, after which it began publishing other westerns and Tex was not published until 1971.

The rebirth in the 1970
In February 1971, n. 1 of the new series of Tex appeared in all the Brazilian newstands. The format corrisponded to the Italian version (each issue was 100-130 pages). It was published by Editora Vecchi (the founders of which were Italian). As a gift to younger readers, the

Cover of Brazilian Tex n.1

first issue included a small set of bow and arrows in plastic. The story published in n. 1 by G.L. Bonelli & Galep was entitled "The Sign of the Serpent" (and corresponded to the Italian version "Il Segno del Serpente"). It had been published in Italy in 1960 in the strip format and re-issued in "giant" format in n. 47 and 48 (September and October 1964). Contrary to the pioneer phase of Junior, the original order of the series was not observed by Vecchi.

From the 1980's to today
By the end of the '70's, Tex was the highest selling magazine of Editora Vecchi (about 150,000 copies). The success was so phenomenal that in 1977 Tex was reissued and other magazines started to publish westerns. At the beginning of the '80's both editions of Tex had arrived at their 15th anniversary. Despite this success, however, in 1983 Editora Vecchi closed shop and suspended publication of Tex with n. 164.
In October 1983, Rio Grafica Editora purchased the rights to Tex and proceeded with the numbers of Vecchi, from n. 165 to n. 350 (December 1998). Starting from January 1999, Tex is published by the Editora Mythos (see here for more information). The current Brazilian edition is slightly smaller than the Italian version (13.5x17.5 cm) and every number is 112 pages long.

Tex Coleção n.1

Re-issues
In April 1977 Editora Vecchi started a second edition of Tex which lasted until n. 94 when the publishing house closed shop. It had come out every month and was 100-130 pages with a format corresponding to that of the Italian version.
From November 1986 Rio Grafica Editora published TEX COLEÇÃO, the first story of which was entitled "A Mão Vermelha" (The red hand). This edition, which is published by Editora Mythos from n. 144, is issued monthly, is 100 pages, and has a format of 13.5x17.5 cm. The stories correspond exactly to those in the Italian series. It is the Brazilian "Tutto Tex".

Tex Edição Histórica n.1

Starting in August 1993 Editora Globo has been publishing a series entitled TEX EDIÇÃO HISTÓRICA. The stories follow the order of the Italian version; however, each issue is longer (260-350 pages) and the stories are complete within each issue. For example, there are 736 strips in the n. 1 (those which were published from September 1948 to February 1949 in Italy). The covers were done by Claudio Villa and are known to the Italian public (through the re-issue of "Tex Nuova Ristampa". Now they are issued quarterly and the format is traditional Brazilian (that is, 13.5x17.5 cm).

Special Issues
Once a year Editora Globo published a colored version of Tex using the Italian format. Six have been published thus far.
The "Texoni" were also published (issues that are large format 19x28 cm). Six of these have also been published, and now the Editora Mythos are publishing them quarterly with the name TEX EDIÇÃO ESPECIAL.

Villa's illustration which is the cover for Edição Histórica n.5, "Pacto de Sangue". Copyright (c) SBE 1996

The first was published by Editora Vecchi in 1980 and was entitled "O Idolo de Cristal" (Tex Gigante, n. 200, "The Crystal Idol" by Bonelli and Galep). It was a story re-issued in the first colored version of Tex by Editora Globo.
The others were issued by Editora Globo. In 1988, they published "Tex o Grande", a special issue for the 40th annivesary, "Tex the Great" by Nizzi and Buzzelli).
In 1993, "A Marca da Serpente" (Texone n. 3, The Sign of the Serpent by Nizzi and Galep). The word "sign" was translated "marca" and not "signo" to avoid repeating the title of the n. 1 issue of the Brazilian Tex.
In 1994, "O Grande Roubo" (Texone n. 6, The Great Robbery by Nizzi and Ortiz) was published.
In 1995, "Arizona em Chamas" (Texone n. 5, Flames on the Arizona by Nizzi and De La Fuente) was published.
Finally, in 1996, "O Vale do Terror" (Texone n. 9, The Valley of Terror by Nizzi and Magnus) was published.

Other informations and covers in the article Bonelli comics in Brazil.

Covers of 1999: click here.

Covers of 2000: click here.