“One of the happiest memories of my life, discovering Moomin comics for the first time (I will love D+Q forever for publishing the complete strip collections). Around that time my work was going nowhere, I couldn’t fit into any mainstream or ‘industry’ and my personal stuff was painfully uninspired and derivative. For a month or two I stopped drawing and spent most of the time in the library browsing & reading. Best decision in my life. I wish I could afford to take another research vacation like that. I still have no idea how to ‘sell’ myself.”

That’s just lovely; Roman Muradov talking about the power of Tove Jansson’s finest creation. Everyone should have a Moomin on their side.

And it’s such a lovely image as well – in fact, Muradov loves the image so much he’s now using it for his “about” page on his website. And if you’re after something Moomin for yourself in the New Year – how about some of these?

Oh wow. Just like the fine folks at Drawn & Quarterly I had no idea that this even existed. Tove Jansson illustrating Alice. Beautiful.

Seems it was published by Delcorte in ’77, but Tate have a new edition out. Christmas gift book for Alice loving friends methinks.

And whilst on the subject of Jansson and covers for others…. here are her Tolkien covers:

A short while ago we mentioned the new 3D Moomin movie, Moomin and the Comet Chase.  The Discovery Film Festival in Dundee, a festival aimed at promoting international cinema for younger audiences,  is proud to announce the UK premiere of this film on  Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th October 2010.

Throughout the weekend there will be Moomin-themed workshops (craft sessions, storytelling, an introduction in animation and a talk about Moomin creator Tove Jansson), and a real Moomin party on Saturday !

The film, which is aimed at the ages 3 to 8, is in English and starts at 1 PM and tickets are available at the Discovery Film Festival website, or at the Dundee contemporary Arts website, both of which also have more info on the gig and the related events. Other treats at the Discovery Film Festival include another chance to see the recent Miyazaki film Ponyo, the beautiful (Oscar nominated and BAA winning) Irish animation Brendan and the Secret of Kells, Mamora Hosoda’s Summer Wars, not to mention the Gruffalo, among other events.

On the topic of Dundee, the six final architectural designs for a new Victoria & Albert Museum planned for the city for 2014 have been unveiled; give the London V&A’s recent strong support for comics (including a graphic novelist in residence) one would hope when it does open the Dundee V&A will include an arts element that pays homage to that city’s long comics publishing history too.

(some absolutely gorgeous comic art from Tangencias by and (c) Miguelanxo Prado)

Any of our comics chums (MCC crew?) going along to this? For more on Prado you could check out George Khoury’s interview from last spring on CBR. I also notice in the festival’s catalogue Sophia Jansson, Tove Jansson’s niece, is doing The World of Moomin event on Sunday 24th October at the Whitworth Gallery, reading from some of her favourite Moonins tales and discussing her aunt’s still much loved work. More details on these and other events at the Manchester Literature Festival site; the MLF runs from the 14th to the 25th of October.

Written by Lars Jansson and drawn by Tove Jansson

Drawn & Quarterly

This volume of Moomin contains the final three stories to feature Tove Jansson’s artwork. Her brother Lars, the writer of these three stories would subsequently provide both words and pictures, but this is an ending of sorts.

I looked through the previous review of Volume 4 before starting on this one and to be honest everything there applies here:

“….the simple imagery of the Moomins; hippopotomous nosed white troll creatures, with wide open eyes full of innocence is something deep in my cultural memory and, I’d imagine, yours as well. At first glance, it’s the simplicity of Jansson’s artwork that entices you into the book. It looks just like a classic old strip should look and just to add to the effect, Drawn & Quarterly have printed it on a subtle yellow page, making it immediately feel of some other time.”

“….Tove Jansson’s observations of the world around her fifty years ago now are obviously enchanting whimsy for children, with the incredibly cutesy Moomin family and their adventures, but there’s also a darker undertone to it all that Jansson explores. The Moomins are the dreamers of their world; complete innocents used to make poignant and critical comments about modern life. And although these strips were drawn by Jansson back in the 50s they still resonate today; with themes of social mobility, an environmental message, rejection of the rampant consumerist lifestyle and most of all, the fear and distrust that the outside world harbours towards anyone daring to be simply happy, free and without a care. The Moomins represent freedom, optimism and hope for the future, true innocents abroad.”

The first story; “Moomin Winter” finds our Moomins settling down for a winter’s hibernation – or at least that’s the plan. Interruptions and unwanted guests are continually getting in their way, with our consistently good natured Moomins trying so hard to get on with their guests without displaying their irritation at the disturbances. And then the Nibling turns up;

“Mummy sent me. Said I’d made a nervous wreck of her. You know what she meant?”
“Not yet …..”

The Nibling’s continual interference brings an end to any hopes of hibernation and the Moomins have to deal with both the onset of winter and the Nibling’s continual prying and secret gathering as he spreads deceit and suspicion throughout the Moomin household.

The second story “Moomin Under Sail” features something I never thought I’d see in these beautifully designed and constructed Drawn & Quarterly reprint volumes – a proof reading mistake. One of the daily strips from Moomin Winter appears in Moomin Under Sail by mistake. Nothing terrible, but should have been caught.

Once over this, the actual story is a delight, as the Moomins spend the story looking for an adventure that sees them taking to sea. The first two strips of this story contain a brilliant “break the 4th wall” moment. Something Jansson was never afraid to do, but rarely as perfectly as this:

The final tale; “Fuddler’s Courtship” is perhaps the strangest of the lot, skirting issues of madness and our reactions to those creatures who sit outside our narrow definitions of normality. The Moomins are helping out poor Fuddler in his romantic entanglements, as he tries to win the heart of Mymble. But his inept attempts drive her into the arms of Dr. Hatter, psychiatrist, a man who really defines the concept of “physician, heal thyself”; a mess of anxieties and psychological tics masquerading as a shrink. One by one everyone in Moominland finds themselves undergoing one of his increasingly bizarre treatments.

It’s a great final story, capturing the essence of the Moomins, perfectly at peace with themselves and their world, if only outside influences wouldn’t keep upsetting the delicate balance of this unique and endearing ecosystem.

Jansson’s Moomin strips in this final volume are lovely, surreal things, with lines as sparse and perfectly formed as you would expect. But the addition of Lars as writer gives the strips a slightly darker, stranger, metatextual feel. All the fun is there, but there’s an extra edge here that I didn’t notice in the previous volume. The three stories all revolve around the Moomins being thrust into some adventure or other, drawn apart and then brought back together as one loving family in the end but the issues they address; lost children, family secrets, bribery, guilt, restlessness and madness are dark, deeply philosophical ones.

And it’s that beautiful mix of wonderfully silly children’s tales that mask stories populated by the very adult ideas of the dreamers and deep thinking philospophers of Moominland that make Moomin a pure delight.

It’s Finnish animation studio Filmkmompaniet’s second feature with the Moomins.  An earlier movie, Moomin and Midsummer Madness (see trailer below), was created by using and reformatting footage from the original TV series (giving the Moomins actual dialogue in the process).  This one, however, is an all-new creation, which uses digital 3D techniques to conjure up that vintage stop-motion feel that made the early animation so adorable.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkCe9rylUb4

The story of the film, which is directed by Maria Lindberg, is eerily topical.  When the Moomins wake up one morning, they find their that their colorful, cheerful valley is completely covered in dust.  For once, it’s not a Nordic volcano that’s erupted, but a comet which, as a philosopher predicts, will cause the end of the world.  Moomintroll, Snufkin and Sniff take up a journey to the mountains observatory to find out if that’s really true.  What begins as a summery rafting trip quickly changes in a big adventure… (sounds a lot like one of the Pooh movies, if you ask me)

On their site, Filmkompaniet also mentions a Moomin TV series of 78 episodes which should be in production at the moment.  As yet, no UK or US  release date has been announced.  In the mean time, here’s a quick look at singer Bjork’s title track to Comet Chase :

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkCe9rylUb4

Thanks to Drawn for these – a collection of scans from Tove Janson’s non Moomin work, including Tolkein’s Hobbit and Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland and The Hunting Of The Snark.

(cover to the upcoming fifth volume of complete Moomin comic strips by Tove Jansson, to be published this summer by Drawn & Quarterly)

As the blog of respected German comics publisher Reprodukt reports, Finland will be represented at the Expo as well. Amongst other things, the Moomins, the famous ghost-like creatures from Tove Jansson’s comics and storybooks (recently spotlighted here on the blog), would be featured in a stage play, called “The Father and the Sea”. However, the subject matter and content of the play has not been received well by the local authorities.  The German news blog Die Welt is quoted as reporting that the play is considered  to “not distinguish adequately between good and evil” and that one of the characters is supposed to be individualistic,”

The Chinese censors are now demanding changes, but director Anneli Mäkelä has rejected making any alterations.

Wim Lockefeer lives in Belgium and considers this to be another bad Shanghai Surprise; you can read more of his comics musings on The Ephemerist blog

“Just getting a big warm hug from Moominmamma surely says it all and usually children tend to whisper their dreams and worries into the Moomins’ ears, or they write them letters.” That has to be the sweetest thing I’ve ever read in a business column…

(no, not the ‘spring’ weather we had in the UK this week, it’s cold but happy kids playing in a winter wonderland at Moomin World)