Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip - Book One [Hardcover]

Tove Jansson (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 14, 2006 | Series: Moomin

The enchanting comic strip that introduced adult readers to the wonderful world of Moomin


Tove Jansson is revered around the world as one of the foremost children's authors of the twentieth century for her illustrated chapter books regarding the magical worlds of her creation, the Moomins. The Moomins saw life in many forms but debuted to its biggest audience ever on the pages of the world's largest newspaper, the London Evening News, in 1954. The strip was syndicated in newspapers around the world with millions of readers in forty countries. Moomin Book One is the first volume of Drawn & Quarterly's publishing plan to reprint the entire strip drawn by Jansson before she handed over the reins to her brother Lars in 1960. This is the first time the strip will be published in any form in North America and will deservedly place Jansson among the international cartooning greats of the last century.


The Moomins are a tight-knit family-hippo-shaped creatures with easygoing and adventurous outlooks. Jansson's art is pared down and precise, yet able to compose beautiful portraits of ambling creatures in fields of flowers or on rock-strewn beaches that recall Jansson's Nordic roots. The comic strip reached out to adults with its gentle and droll sense of humor. Whimsical but with biting undertones, Jansson's observations of everyday life, including guests who overstay their welcome, modern art, movie stars, and high society, easily caught the attention of an international audience and still resonate today.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Tove Jansson's Moomin stories are read and loved around the world, enjoying devoted attention in Japan, Europe and Jansson's native Scandinavia. Jansson's work is now seeing a further growth in popularity, with the Moomin chapter books republished in Britain and France, and new US editions released by FSG. The revival continues in North America with this new volume of comic strips from premium publishers Drawn & Quarterly.

Originally published in London's Evening News, Jansson drew and wrote these strips in English. Written in the same period (1954-1960) as the chapter books Moominsummer Madness and Moominland Midwinter, these strips will entertain children with their familiar characters, while adult readers will appreciate their gentle wit and often satirical stance.

This volume is the first in an anticipated five-volume set, and collects the four stories Brigands, Family Life, Moomin on the Riviera and Moomin's Desert Island.

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. From 1953 to 1960, the late Finnish artist Jansson drew a comic strip about her creation Moomin for the London Evening News. Though the strip was an enormous success around the world, this is the first North American edition of an expressive and endearing classic. Moomin's stories begin simply (he needs to rid his home of freeloaders, or goes on a family vacation) and snowball into a series of amusing, whimsical misadventures, which can involve elements of the fantastic, like magic, monsters and ghosts. Although Moomin, his parents and his girlfriend, Snorkmaiden, are trolls, they look like friendly hippopotamuses. Moomin is reminiscent of a big, chubby baby; there is something of Charlie Brown in him: Moomin is like a child beset by life's troubles and usually (but not always) too passive to get angry and fight back. Adults should appreciate Jansson's satire—although she always provides happy endings, dark undercurrents are at play: one episode opens with Moomin attempting suicide; reunited with his missing parents, he's abandoned by them again. Jansson's deceptively childlike style masterfully conveys her characters' personalities. Moomin's mouth rarely appears, but his eyes, his brows and his gestures are expressive and endearing. (Oct.)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly; First Edition edition (November 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1894937805
• ISBN-13: 978-1894937801
• Product Dimensions: 0.7 x 8.6 x 12.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,097 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Publishers > Drawn and Quarterly

More About the Author

TOVE JANSSON (1914-2001) is revered around the world as one of the foremost children's authors of the twentieth century for her illustrated Moomin chapter books.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars I didn't recognize my old friends, the Moomins March 26, 2010

By Lynnie Bean

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I wanted to love this book. I've loved all the Moomintroll books. The characters are real to me, and I love them all, even the naughty ones, like Little My, and the control-freaks called Hemulins.(I think I might be a Fillyjonk, myself.) But I was really surprised to find out how distorted all my favorite characters were in these comic strips.

For example, in the second story, Moominpappa asks Moominmamma to run away with him in search of adventure, not tell anybody, and leave their son at home wondering what happened to them. Moominmamma has some qualms about leaving her son without a word, but Moominpappa wins her over by saying "He'll get along." So they leave, and then Moomintroll is frantic with worry that they've drowned.

This was a real shocker to me! Moominmamma was always the mother everyone wished they had. Soft, round and comforting, her love for her "own, dear Moomintroll" is one of the sweetest things about the books. She makes tea and sandwiches, gives hugs, and takes little lost creatures into her house and treats them like her own children. That she would sneak away from her son without saying a word was beyond belief, considering that Jansson spent eight books building her character as the world's sweetest mother.

In one story, timid little Sniff bullies Moomintroll and cheats rich Aunt Jane out of a lot of money. In another, Moominpappa and the Snork Maiden drag the family to the Riviera for champagne, gambling, and pretending they are rich nobility. By this time I couldn't recognize any of my old friends except Moomintroll himself.

There's nothing really wrong or harmful about this book... except that it's nothing like the original Moomintroll books. Three of the four stories are obsessively about large amounts of money, which is hard to take when you remember Moominmamma as the one who, when she came into a lot of gold nuggets, used them to decorate the edges of her garden. Very little of the action happens in the Finnish forests, with its cast of assorted creeps, woodies, tree-spirits and trolls. I really regretted spending the money to buy this book new.

For those of you who loved the book, don't be angry with me. Remember that Fillyjonks never take well to changes of any sort.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not nearly as good as the books April 4, 2007

By T. Horowitz

Format:Hardcover

I love children's literature, and Tove Jansson's Moominvalley books are in my opinion among the best children's books ever written. They are engaging adventures for a child, with excellent use of half-human, half-animal characters. At the same time, they provide more than enough depth of character, portrayal of family dynamics and other interpersonal dynamics, humor and gentle social satire, and expression of love of place to satisfy the adult reader.

The comic strips are good, but they are not nearly as good as the books. There simply aren't enough words, and the pictures are not sufficient to substitute for Jansson's masterful descriptions in the books. For the reader who already knows the books, the comic strips will be a pleasant diversion, just to see more of Jansson's work. But anyone who reads the comic strips without having read the books is missing out on the real treasure.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful November 17, 2006

By Katherine Ivy

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I discovered Tove Jansson's Moomin world while visiting Finland in the summer of 1999. There was an exhibit at the Tampere library that caught my attention and where I fell in love with this wonderful world she created. Being an American who adored Winnie the Pooh as a child (and still do as an adult) I always tell people who have never heard of Moomin's that they're kind of like the Finnish version of Winnie the Pooh. We visisted Moomin World while in Finland which was great fun. I have since collected all of the books translated in to English and love reading them myself or to my grade school age children who also now love Moomins. This particular book is a collection of the comic series Tove Jansson did for the Londan paper in the late 1950s. They are magical; witty; wonderful; warm; and just plain great fun. Even my first grader was laughing out loud when we read through them last night. Who doesn't love the comics? Quickly becoming obsolete in today's high tech world this book is a charming respite back to good old basic fun. There is great little tid bits of wisdom woven in to this wonderful imaginary world and I always find some trivit to ponder or chuckle. I will always be grateful for discovering this wonderful world of Moomins. I am so glad that I did and can pass on the magic to my own kids. I think this book is a must have for Moomin fans!