Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip - Book One (Hardcover)

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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; illustrated edition edition (November 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1894937805
• ISBN-13: 978-1894937801
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #53,813 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 1 in The Tove Jansson Moomin Comic Strip Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, November 17, 2006

By	Katherine Ivy "A mom" - See all my reviews

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!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining for adults and children, January 22, 2007

By	Yaran "Yarecki" (Secaucus, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

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Tove Jansson classic stories about Moomin family and friends have been enjoyed all over Europe for years. I've been reading all Moomin's books since I was 5 years old, and re-reading them recently for my 7-year old daughter who enjoyed them as much as I did when I was her age. The cartoonish comic strip is a great addition to novels and animated series. Although, the drawings are not colored, the book has been a huge favorite of mine and my daughter since publication in November. The stories are lively, humorous and educational. The plot is easy to follow and attractive enough to enmesh my daughter in reading for few hours every day. But since her first perusal of the book, she is going back to the book and reads and looks through the stories again and again. I wish US publisher would come out with the next installment pretty soon. I would also love to get my hands on DVD with animated series which has been such a huge children's hit in Europe.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars childhood favorite, December 1, 2006

By	N. Hall (Wauwatosa, Wisconsin United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My father had a Fullbright fellowship to teach and research blood diseases in Finland from August 1960 to August 1961. I was eleven when the family moved to Turku for the year. We had a copy of this book in English, possibly published in Great Britain. From the description of stories yet to be released, it sounds like the book we had included the entire series and not just the story in this volume. I remember the pictures of the Moomintrolls wearing their bikinis in the Riviera. It was and still is my favorite picture book. My brother, sister, and I read it until it fell apart. We don't know what happened to our copy, but it was unreadable by the time we were finished with it. Mom probably tossed what was left of it when we weren't paying attention. The Moomintroll stories are a little darker, edgier and more mysterious than many other popular children's series, I think. That was certainly part of their appeal for me. I'm thrilled to see this in print through a US publisher. I've searched for it for years, not even finding a used copy anywhere.