As a strip, there is nothing really all that much like Moomin…You could read entire anthologies of comic strips that do not contain the sadness and truth that Jansson gets into three panels there. That is ultimately Jansson’s real gift: stuffing so, so much into the tiniest of spaces. I can only imagine how world-expanding that would seem to a child. As an adult, it’s an overstuffed reminder of how horrible it is to crave simplicity.
National Post
$69.95 CAD/USD
Celebrating Tove Jansson’s legacy, one hundred years after her birth
Tove Jansson’s Moomin stories made her one of the most beloved Scandinavian authors of the twentieth century. Jansson’s whimsical tales of Moominvalley resonate with children for their lighthearted spirit, and with adults for their incisive commentary on the banality of everyday life. The year 2014 marks the centenary of her birth, and Jansson is being honored with events in Japan, Scandinavia, England, Germany, Russia, Australia, Italy, Spain, and France. Drawn & Quarterly is joining the festivities by releasing Moomin: The Deluxe Anniversary Edition, a slipcased hardcover collection of the complete Tove Jansson–penned Moomin comic strip, replete with all of her most popular storylines and original pencil sketches.
It has been more than sixty years since the Moomin comic strip debuted in the London Evening News. By the end of its run in 1975, Moomin was syndicated in more than forty newspapers around the world and hailed for its light-handed, charming stories. The comics were revived in 2005 by Drawn & Quarterly and published to widespread acclaim, sparking a new generation of devoted Moomin fans with international editions around the world. Moomin: The Deluxe Anniversary Edition celebrates the classic comics the world adores, and will feature an essay about Tove’s work on the Moomin strip.
Praise for Moomin: The Deluxe Anniversary Edition
This single volume edition… comes with several full-page, never-seen-before character studies and sketches, runs to 400 pages, and weighs in at about 2kg… If you love Sniff, Snufkin and the rest, you’ll find it irresistible.
The Guardian
Moomin: The Deluxe Anniversary Edition is a compilation that serves longtime fans of Jansson, as much as it should engage newbies, who will undoubtedly have a hard time putting the book down. One would think that the fact that they are black and white illustrations would render them monotonous at some point, but Jansson’s greatest talent always lied in coloring our thoughts, not coloring cartoons.
PopMatters
With a sincere childlike nature and a stoic acceptance of misadventure… Moomin and company — Moominmamma, Snufkin, Stinky and Snork Maiden, to name a few — emerge from each story full of tolerance and quiet humor.
The New York TImes
Sixty years after their original serialization – and to celebrate Jansson’s centenary – the fanciful comic strip frolics of the hippo-like Moomins are collected together in one volume, handsome and big enough to hug.
Globe & Mail, Best Books of 2014
[This is] a surprisingly meaty comic that bears re-reading, and this beautifully produced collection is an excellent way to experience them, whether for the first time or the fortieth.
Robot 6 / Comic Book Resources
