Moomin trolls complete collection of comics. "Hooray!" Moomin comics and “Down!” adult complexes

10.01.2024 -

The Moomins are one of the most popular fairy-tale characters of the 20th century, thanks to which their creator Tove Jansson became a symbol of Finland. For many decades, cartoon films have been made about the inhabitants of Moomin Valley, there is a huge line of souvenir products, a Moomin museum, theme parks in Finland and Japan (where a second park will open soon). The Moomin series is not just a fascinating read for children, but multifaceted literary texts that interest philologists, psychologists, philosophers, and art critics as much as readers of all ages. How did a Swedish-speaking Finnish woman create a pop culture myth of such magnitude?

Who is Tove Jansson

Tove Jansson. Self-portrait. 1940© Moomin Characters™

Tove Jansson in her studio. 1956Reino Loppinen / Wikimedia Commons

Tove Marika Jansson (1914-2001) is not only the creator of the world of the Moomins. Her books “The Sculptor's Daughter” (1968) and “The Summer Book” (1972) have been translated into many languages and are considered classics of Finnish literature. Jansson herself considered herself first and foremost an artist: she painted pictures all her life, experimented with a variety of techniques and artistic movements (from impressionism to abstractionism), and participated in many exhibitions. Her wall paintings in administrative buildings in different cities of Finland and even the altar of a church in the city of Teuva are especially famous.

Tove began drawing in early childhood. Her father, Victor Jansson, was a famous sculptor, and her Swedish mother, Signe Hammarsten-Jansson, was a graphic artist and illustrator (she painted hundreds of stamps for Finland, which gained independence in 1918). The Tove Jansson brothers also chose creative professions. Per Olof became a photographer, and Lars became a graphic artist and illustrator: for many years he helped his sister draw comics about the Moomins, and from 1960 to 1975 he worked on new issues alone (when the contract ended, Jansson was tired of work and did not renew it). And yet, despite the fact that Jansson is an artist, caricature-tourist, illustrator, author of several novels, collections of stories, plays and scripts, she received national and then world recognition precisely as the author of The Moomins.

How did the Moomins appear?

Tove Jansson. Self-portrait with characters from Moomin books Moomin Characters™

In 1939, the aspiring artist Tove Jansson was horrified by the events taking place in Europe and Finland, and, judging by her letters and diaries, she understood that an even greater catastrophe was looming:

“Sometimes I feel such endless hopelessness when I think about those young people who are killed at the front. Don’t we all, Finns, Russians, Germans, have the right to live and create something with our lives... Is it possible to hope to give new life in this hell, which will still be repeated over and over again..." Tuula Karjalainen. Tove Jansson: work and love. M., 2017.

Creativity began to be much more difficult for Jansson, and in order to overcome this crisis, she decided to write a story about an unusually happy family. She came up with the image of the main character as a child: after an argument with her brother Per Olof about Immanuel Kant, she drew him on the wall of a street toilet on the island of the Pellinki archipelago (where they had a family vacation in the summer) and said that this was the ugliest creature in the world. Jansson named him Snork and spent an hour drawing him afterwards. But the word “Moomintroll” itself appeared in the 1930s, when Tove studied in Stockholm and lived with her uncle Einar Hammersten. He told her about the unpleasant and frightening “mu-u-umitrolls” who live behind the stove and protect his food from the night raids of his niece. They emit long sighs - hence the name. Since then, in her diaries, Jansson began to use the word “Moomintroll” to mean something terrible or frightening. Snork has become a kind of signature of Jans-son For example, it can be seen in the Finnish political magazine Garm, where Tove began working as a teenager. It was there that her famous caricature of Hitler was published in the form of a screaming baby, to whom the countries of Europe were presented on a silver platter..

First edition of the book "Little Trolls and the Great Flood". 1945 Söderström & Co

In 1939, the image of Snork formed the basis of the story about little trolls and the flood. Then Jansson decided to give this character and his family a common name - the Moomins. The book could have remained unfinished and unpublished if not for Jansson’s friends and, first of all, her lover, the politician and intellectual Atos Virtanen, whom she wanted to marry (but never did). It was he who supported Tove and repeatedly said that the story of the Moomins is a children's fairy tale that the world should see.

Chronology

Since there are really a lot of texts about the Moomins and not all of them have been translated, it is quite easy to get confused in their chronology. They came out in the following order:

1945 — “Little Trolls and the Great Flood”
1946 - “The Comet Arrives” In 1956, a new edition of the text entitled “Moomintroll and the Comet” was published, and in 1968 another version was published.
1947-1948 - Moomin comics in Swedish in the Ny Tid newspaper
1948 — “The Wizard’s Hat”
1950 - “Memoirs of Moomintroll Dad”
1952 - picture book “What’s next? A book about Myuml, Moomintroll and Little My"
1954 — “Dangerous Summer”
1954-1975 - comics about the Moomins in English in the British edition of The Evening News The translator into English was Tove's brother Lars. Since 1959, he began working on comics as an artist, and since 1960 he became the sole author of comics about the Moomins.
1957 — “Magic Winter”
1960 - picture book “Who Will Comfort Knutt?”
1962 - collection of stories “The Invisible Child”
1965 — “Daddy and the Sea”
1971 - “At the end of November”
1977 - picture book “Dangerous Journey”
1980 — “Uninvited Guest” Also translated as “The Fraudsters in the Moomin House.” This is a picture book with photographs of a Moominhouse doll model as illustrations. Written in prose, translated into English, but very little known and not included in the canon of Moomin tales.
1993 - collection “Songs of Moomin Valley” A book of songs written by Tove Jansson with Lars (both wrote lyrics inspired by Moomin tales) and Erna Tauro (composer). The book has lyrics and chords.

In what order should I read it?

The history of publications and especially translations of The Moomins is unusual. Firstly, Tove Jansson wrote in Swedish for the linguistic minority of Finland, to which she herself belonged; her books began to be translated into Finnish quite late. After the relatively unnoticed release of the first book about the Moomins in 1945, a year later the second part of the Moomin epic “The Comet Arrives” was published, which brought the Moomins fame in their homeland, and in 1948 - “The Wizard’s Hat”, a book with which Jansson's worldwide fame began. In 1950, it was published in Great Britain in a translation by Elizabeth Porch; in 1951, it came to the USA, where “The Comet Arrives” was immediately translated. All subsequent books in the series are published in English within a year or two after publication. The English-speaking reader became acquainted with the first book, “Little Trolls and the Great Flood” only in 2005.

"The comet is coming." First edition. 1946© Söderström & Co

"Moomintroll and the Comet." First edition in Russian. 1967© Children's Literature Publishing House

"Wizard's Hat" First edition. 1948© Schildts Forlags

"Wizard's Hat" First edition in English. 1950© Penguin Books

In the 1950s, Tove Jansson was translated into several languages, and her Moomin comics were published in the English newspaper The Evening News. The first translation of “The Comet Arrives” into Finnish appears only in 1955, and in 1967 this book, translated by Vladimir Smirnov, becomes the first publication about the Moomins in the USSR.

As a result, “The Comet Arrives” began to be considered the first book in the series, and it’s not just about the history of the translation. “Little Trolls and the Big Flood” differs from the rest of the fairy tales in the series: Moomintroll and his family in this book are not yet the gentle and touching creatures that the reader always imagines, but just trolls, skinny and awkward (this is connected including the fact that Finland starved throughout the war). The word combination “little trolls” (småtrollen) is also unusual: in 1945, publishers were confident that the word “Moomins” (mumintrollen) invented by Jansson would be incomprehensible to readers, so it was better to use a well-known word in the title. However, it is in this book that the heroes find the valley of their dreams, into which the house built by Moominpappa floats. It turns out that the first catastrophe in the life of the Moomins became a kind of act of creation of the Moomin universe:

“They walked all day, and wherever they passed, it was beautiful, because after the rain the most wonderful flowers bloomed, and flowers and fruits appeared on the trees everywhere. As soon as they shook the tree a little, fruits began to fall to the ground around them. Eventually they came to a small valley. They couldn’t see anything more beautiful that day. And there, in the middle of a green meadow, stood a house that strongly resembled an oven, a very beautiful house, painted blue.

- This is my home! - Dad exclaimed beside himself with joy. “He sailed here and now stands here in this valley!”

It is also not customary to read the rest of the books in a certain order: there is no cross-cutting plot in the cycle, each story is holistic and is perceived as a separate fairy tale or collection of short stories. However, if you still read the series in chronological order, you will notice a rather important motif: how Moomintroll grows up, how his view of the world changes and how he faces increasingly complex philosophical problems.

Finnish researcher Tove Hollander, who analyzed the illustrations for the Moomin series, writes that the chronological reading order allows you to see how the classical idyll gradually turns into a more serious and sad world. In addition, it becomes clear that the series has a cyclical composition: in The Little Trolls there is a family who, at the end of the book, finds the best house in the world; in the last book of the series (“At the end of November”), his family leaves him, and the orphaned inhabitants of Moomin Valley await the return of warmth and love.

First edition of the book “Magic Winter”. 1957 Schildts Forlags

Some researchers divide the nine books about the Moomins into adventure-fun and philosophical parts. If the first five books are eventful, then the sixth (“Magic Winter”) opens a new side of the Moomin world: this book, like the following ones, is about relationships and self-knowledge. Tove wrote her sixth book after meeting Tuulikki Pietilä, who became her lover and lived with Jansson until her death. It was she who inspired the writer to new books and a different, more lyrical look at the Moomins, although she was sure that she was tired of her heroes and would not be able to write anything new. The main themes of the four “philosophical” volumes of the series are the process of Moomintroll growing up, the Moomintrolls finding a new home, Moominmama’s nostalgia for the old home and, finally, the residents of Moominvalley experiencing the loss of the Moomins and finding themselves.

Spread from the book “Who Will Comfort Knutt?” 1960 Schildts Forlags

Comics and picture books stand apart: they are a separate story, created with a different audience in mind. Jansson wrote comics for adults, some of them partially duplicate and complement the plots of the books, while they contain more aggression, politics and black humor. Picture books in verse “What's next? A book about Mymle, Moomintroll and Little My", "Who will console Knutt?" and “Dangerous Journey” are addressed mainly to very young children. And completely separate are the little-known book with photo illustrations “The Uninvited Guest” (or “The Fraudsters in the Moomin House”) and the collection of songs “Songs of the Moomin Valley”, which have not been translated into Russian.

What formed the basis of the Moomin series?

On the one hand, books about the Moomins are a completely independent phenomenon. Jansson invents his own world, in fact creates a myth about a happy place and happy creatures. She invented and named each of them, adding many amazing characters to the bestiary of European children's literature. On the other hand, one cannot help but notice that The Moomins have many sources.

Edward the Dodo, inspired by Lewis Carroll's Dodo, appears in The Memoirs of Moomin Daddy, and the flood from the first book in the series, Little Trolls and the Great Flood, references Alice's Sea of Tears. Jansson loved Carroll very much and even illustrated Alice herself for the Swedish edition in 1966. And in “A Dangerous Journey” “Alice in Through the Looking Glass” is played out: on the first page of the picture book, the girl Susanna scolds the cat for sleeping when she wants adventure, and “Alice in Through the Looking Glass” begins with her dialogue with the cat Dina and her kittens, whom she also scolds.

Tove Jansson. Illustration for "Alice in Wonderland". 1966© Moomin Characters™ / Tate Publishing

Another source is the Bible. Hence the “great flood”, and the end of the world with the Egyptian locusts in “Moomintroll and the Comet”, and the concept of Moominvalley as paradise, and the image of the leviathan-Morra.

In books and comics there are many allusions and references to books, paintings and films. For example, in “The Wizard’s Hat,” Moomintroll and Miss Snork play Tarzan, and Moomintroll begins to speak in quotes from the film, parodying the awkward speech of the main character in broken English: “Tarzan hungry, Tarzan eat now.”

Poetics of books about Moomins

Nevertheless, the entry of human culture into the world of the Moomins does not bring them closer to the reader, but rather, on the contrary, emphasizes the isolation of this world. And this is understandable: after all, Moomin Valley is a classic European pastoral, a secluded place in the lap of nature that makes the hero wiser and happier. Time in this place is not linear, but cyclical: the seasons are very important here, although none of the characters know what year it is. This calendar moves in a circle: in the fall they make supplies, in the winter they hibernate, in the spring they meet the regenerating nature and Snusmumrik returning from his wanderings, and in the summer they organize holidays.

The seasons were incredibly important for Tove Jansson herself: she associated summer with childhood and happiness, and “At the End of November” - a book about orphanhood, sadness and cold - was written after the death of her mother.

Characters

Another feature of books about the Moomins is the harmonious coexistence of different heroes in a confined space. The inhabitants of Moominvalley are not alike: among them there are grumblers, anxious people, narcissistic characters, but in the Moomin house, each of them finds shelter and love, everyone is accepted for who they are. Psychologists and educators drew attention to this feature of Jansson’s books, and stories about the Moomins are often used in fairy tale therapy and in the methods of a new direction in preschool pedagogy - emotional education.

However, literary critics, including some of Jansson’s friends, were irritated by the bohemianism and bourgeois nature of the characters: the inhabitants of Moominvalley do not go to work, smoke, drink and swear, and give birth to children out of wedlock.

All the Moomin characters are, to one degree or another, based on real people. Jansson portrayed herself in the images of Moomintroll, Little My and Toft the homsa, Snusmumrik was copied from the aforementioned Athos Virtanen, and Tuulikki Pietil, as you might guess, is Tuu-tikki, who opens the world of winter to Moomintroll. Everyone's favorite Moominmama is, of course, the image of Tove Jansson's mother, and the endless parties and stay of various creatures in the Moominhouse as residents reflect the family life of the Janssons, a bohemian family who always had guests and real parties. Tofsla and Vifsla are Tove Jansson herself and Vivica Bandler, an actress and director with whom the writer had an affair. Until 1971, homosexual relationships were punishable by law in Finland, and Tove and Vivica hid their affair: when discussing plans and relationships over the phone, they resorted to euphemisms and code words. Inseparable friends Tofsla and Vifsla also speak a language that is not entirely understandable to others: it consists of ordinary words to which the suffix “fsla” is attached.

Moomin Characters™

Researcher Maja Liisa Harju calls Jansson's books a phenomenon of so-called transitional literature - crossover literature: in other words, it is a universal text addressed to readers of different ages and generations. Jansson became the most successful Finnish writer, and comics about the Moomins at the peak of their popularity were published in 120 newspapers in 40 countries, and this is not surprising. Jansson is a member of a linguistic minority, born into a family of artists during a period of devaluation of “bourgeois values.” After thirty, she realized that she loved a woman. Few people could so keenly feel the need for a world where you can be accepted for who you are, and where there is a place for everyone. In her books, Jansson made the dream of such a safe space come true and, through the story of Moomintroll, she talked about herself and her own spiritual growth, placed all her favorite people in the world of Moominvalley, recreated the lost world of her childhood memories, and then talked about how to learn live without him.

Moomins. Complete collection of comics in 5 volumes.

In 1954, Tove Jansson accepted an offer from the largest newspaper in the world at that time, the London Evening News, to begin publishing original comics about the Moomins. They were read by 20 million people every day in more than 40 countries for 20 years.

The time has come for Russian-speaking readers to meet well-known and completely new characters invented by Tove Jansson, but in the form of comic book heroes.

Moomins. Volume 1

A series of books with real comics by Tove Jansson began to be published in Russia - and in what form! It’s impossible to imagine anything better! The book is quite expensive.

It’s very cool to get acquainted with such comics - real timeless classics, there is, perhaps, simply no better option to get acquainted with the comics genre. Children aged 10 and over read this book without stopping, and more than once. And they take out a lot of good thoughts from there - these are the wise Moomintrolls! Therefore, we HIGHLY recommend the book. At least one, all 5 are not at all necessary (although you probably want to).

I think there is no point in telling the plot and praising the drawings - one cannot help but be familiar with such comics, one way or another we have all probably seen them, at least excerpts. And now - a magnificent complete edition!

The book is magnificent - the binding is perfect, the cover feels unusual, the paper is excellent, and the print quality is excellent.

In the first volume of The Moomins, you will discover the magical world of Moominvalley, a world of naive dreamers, irritable schemers and creative amateurs involved in a whirlpool of adventures, secrets and surprises. You will witness the accidental transformation of Moomintroll into a modern artist, and the enterprising Sniff into a merchant of the elixir of life, find out what kind of package was sent to Aunt Jane and where Snufkin lured her, see the beauty Miss Snork squeezing into a bikini, and, among other things, meet with the sinister mummies of the Moomin ancestors, possessed by pyromania!

Moomins. Volume 2

In the second volume of "The Moomins" by Tove Jansson from the Complete Comics Collection, you will read four new stories: about jealousy among snowdrifts and ice floes, a mysterious housekeeper, about how to build a house from scrap materials and about the beginning of a new life!

According to the custom of their ancestors, the Moomins will try to hibernate, but sudden insomnia will turn into a winter sports day and competitions with Mr. Brisk, an obsessed winter sports enthusiast. The fickle and amorous Mymla will compete in an exciting fight for the heart of a vigorous athlete with Miss Snork. The Moomins will meet their new neighbor, Fillyjonk, and also teach the depressed maid Misabel how to wash dishes. Mummy will appear on the Moomins' doorstep with a litter of 17 children, including Little My. And finally, the Teacher will appear on the stage and explain to the Moomins that, contrary to their opinion, they are unhappy, and the only way out of the situation is to free themselves from the shackles of habits and return to nature! But the acquired freedom will backfire on the restless family...

The main thing is to be clear from the very beginning that this is not a blatant exploitation of a well-promoted brand. The comics were drawn and written by Tove Jansson herself between 1955 and 1959 for the London Evening News newspaper. Moreover, she first turned to the format even earlier, in 1947, that is, the very next year after the release of Moomintroll and the Comet. It also contains four original stories in which the inhabitants of Moominvalley survive winter, build houses, rehabilitate servants and start a new life.

It’s not for nothing that “The Moomins” are considered an ideal book for the whole family: children and adults read them with equal pleasure, extracting completely different meanings from the same events.

The afterword to the second book of Tove Jansson's Complete Comics Collection was written by a classic of children's literature, a wonderful writer Grigory Oster.

Moomins. Volume 3

Publishing house "Zangavar" has released the third volume of the complete collection of comics about the Moomins. Tove Jansson's comic book consists of another five amazing stories: about Moomintroll who suddenly falls in love; about a valley that has turned into an impassable jungle; about the Martian invasion; about the mysterious lighthouse and the creative impulses of Moominpappa, as well as about the idle club life that shook up the inhabitants of Moominvalley!

The universal flood did not spare Moominvalley... Streams of water threw the remains of a traveling circus tent into the valley, and with it Moomin's new love, arousing pangs of jealousy in the hitherto frivolous Miss Snork. The stifling heat disrupted the climatic balance of the cozy little world dozing between the pines and stones, causing a bountiful harvest of ficus, palm trees and vines and populating the entire area with alien fauna.

A wandering flying saucer from Mars made an unexpected visit (or, more simply put, fell!) into the garden carefully nurtured by Moominmama. A mysterious lighthouse lost in the swells of the sea welcomes an impetuous and energetic caretaker (who decided to temporarily change his top hat to a windbreaker), and the Moomin family meets the taciturn Too-tikki.

And finally, trying to keep up with the times, the Moomins plunge headlong into what turns out to be not so carefree club life with all its burdensome attributes and conventions...

Moomins. Volume 4

The fourth volume of Tove Jansson's Complete Comics Collection contains five new stories from the life of the inhabitants of Moominvalley: about travels to the harsh Wild West and the Rococo era, made with the help of a time machine; about the power of personal magnetism and manifestations of working consciousness; about a falling comet and the expectation of the end of the world, as well as about a tassel of pure gold on the tail of Moomintroll!

Using a couple of plumbing tools, the active Moominpappa built a time machine from a sewing machine and a broken watch! The temptation to use it for its intended purpose leads a restless family to the vast prairies of the Wild West. As a result of a risky experiment, the newly-made Western heroes will experience encounters with cowboys and Indians, scammers and well-wishers who inhabited American lands in the mid-19th century. Turn the car wheel... and Miss Snork, dreaming of the romanticism of powdered wigs, meets a rebellious servant of the muses and immediately falls into the pool of love.

Moominvalley is in the grip of a job fever. The former lazy days have passed, and some slackers are pushed by the pricks of an awakened conscience onto the path of correction and the acquisition of unusual work calluses.
The next chapter is Tove Jansson's timeless classic, but in comic book form: a comet is approaching Moominvalley! The exodus of all residents predetermines the future fate of those who did not join - the Moomins are left alone with the inevitability of a catastrophe and philosophical thoughts, but they do not lose heart here either!
And finally - the story of how, as a result of a mysterious illness, Moomintroll's tail turned to gold and what this led to...

Moomins. Volume 5

So, fifth volume of The Complete Comics Collection Tove Jansson has three new stories under her cover: about an extremely hectic winter in Moomin House; about an epic journey on a sailboat on the high seas and about the vicissitudes of the unrequited love of the unfortunate Smurka!

Heavy snowfalls cut off the Moomin family's home from the rest of the world. It would seem that what else is needed for a peaceful hibernation?.. But that was not the case - unexpected guests disturbed the fragile peace of the protected home and brought chaos to its walls.

Building a dream ship, filling the sails with wind and handing over the mooring lines is the dream of romantics, but not in combination with comic turns of the plot and the rare gift of getting into the most unexpected situations, which the famous Moomin family possesses.

And at the end - a story about the life full of heartache of Smurok, the son of Shnyrk, who inherited from his father not only an absurd appearance and a collection of buttons, but also catastrophic bad luck.

Moomins. Volume 1. Book pages, photo

The book is large, I publish only a few spreads. They already give an idea of the book. But it’s better to hold it in your hands - the great joy of a true bibliomaniac!

Description of the Moomin comic: The Complete Comic Book Collection by Tove Jansson. Volume 1:

In 2010, the inhabitants of Moominvalley turn 65! Their story began with Tove Jansson’s book “Little Trolls and the Big Flood”, published back in 1945, and continued with 8 more stories. Since then, books about the Moomins have gained a huge number of fans all over the world, and their characters have migrated to animated series, theaters and opera, on T-shirts and posters.

But few people know that in 1954, Tove Jansson accepted an offer from the largest newspaper in the world at that time, the London Evening News, to begin publishing original comics about the Moomins. They were read by 20 million people every day in more than 40 countries for 20 years... Now the time has come for Russian-speaking readers to meet well-known and completely new characters invented by Tove Jansson, but in the form of comic book heroes.

Here is the first volume of Tove Jansson's Complete Comic Book Collection, published for the first time in Russian. This is our gift both to the Moomins themselves celebrating their anniversary, and to all those whose lives were changed by the world invented by the famous writer and artist Tove Jansson.

Please note that product specifications are subject to change by the manufacturer without prior notice. The price of the product may also change at the time the order is shipped.

Genre: comics
Subject: Humorous stories from the life of the Moomin family and their friends
Keywords: Moomintroll, love, house, aliens, jungle, nightclub, flood, humor
Knowledge and skills: Comics will open up another facet of Tove Jansson’s work to fans of Moomin stories, and will instill in teenagers a good sense of humor and show them that a little imagination and absurdity will not spoil even a fully grown-up story.
For what age: from 10 years
For independent reading

Buy on Ozon.ru 599 rub.

Buy in the Labyrinth 630 rub.

H What has been happening to our harmonious and understandable inner world in the last few years? The templates in it are torn one after another, and the horizons expand uncontrollably. This is greatly facilitated by travel agencies, the Internet, new technologies and, of course, book publishers. It is thanks to the latter that we suddenly learn that a fairy tale familiar from childhood with the only correct illustrations is adapted and illustrated by a dozen of the world's best artists, that there are a great many options for using this or that familiar plot, that our favorite writer turns out to have written all sorts of things!

For example, Tove Jansson wrote not only several original fairy tales about the Moomins, which we usually read aloud to children 5-8 years old. It turned out that she also wrote Moomin books for the little ones (“What next?” and “Who will console Knutt?”, beautifully published for us by “Samokat”), drew illustrations for “Alice in Wonderland” by L. Carroll (which started children's series published by Ripol) and created many comics for adults and older children with the same Moomins. So many that there were enough of them for as many as 5 voluminous volumes (and if you add to them the comics drawn by her brother Lars, then it’s scary to think how many volumes there will be, because there are 73 comic stories in total). Tove Jansson did not address her comics to a children's audience - these were stories for adults and for family reading, which she did on commission starting in 1952 (in the period 1954-57, her comics were regularly published in the London newspaper The Evening News). Since 2010, the Zangavar publishing house has taken on the good mission of translating and publishing these 5 volumes of Moomin comics in Russian and thereby expanding our horizons in two directions at once. Firstly, we learn that Tove Jansson knew how to create not only worlds of comfort, family love and children's philosophical fairy tales, she, it turns out, was great at making jokes in the world of adults. Secondly, someone will finally understand that comics are not necessarily a genre for those who are stupid and lazy to read, it’s just a genre in itself, with its masterpieces and a hefty share of “consumer goods”, without which no direction today art doesn't exist.

IN In August 2012, the third volume of comics was presented to readers, and it contains five new stories translated by Anastasia Beresneva. In each of them we meet the Moomin family, their usual surroundings and a variety of problems - adult, fantastic or absurd - that invade the Moomin world. In the first comic, three disasters befall Moominvalley at once: the relationship between Moomintroll and Miss Snork seems to be undergoing a crisis, the valley itself becomes a sea due to flooding, and in this very sea Moomintroll finds a beauty and a circus star, whom he immediately falls in love with. Next, we watch hilarious and well-known scenes for almost every couple of quarrels, jealousy, separation, a new meeting and the regaining of the former strength of feelings. In the second story, a misfortune befalls Moominvalley in the form of drought and a box of tropical plant seeds. As a result of the cataclysm, readers will learn about what happens when two biologists of different specializations meet, understand the essential difference between will and environment, and again see a number of situations typical of couples in love. The third tale is completely fantastic, because this time Moominvalley is hit not by a flood, heat or any other natural disaster, but by a real flying saucer with a Martian on board. The Moomin family behaves as usual: Moominmama tries to feed and reconcile everyone, Moomintroll plays with interest and learns the unknown, Sniff tries his best to benefit himself... The cutest one here is the strict police inspector, who is so impressed by this whole situation It’s exhausting that he declares: “If this continues, I’ll leave the service and become a cartoonist or do something equally stupid...”.

The theme “Moominpappa and the Sea” is close and understandable for all readers and admirers of Jansson’s books, so the next comic book of the third volume of the collection will not be a surprise. Moominpappa is going to become a lighthouse keeper and not just like that, but because he wants to write a book about the sea. When Moominmama is packing up things to move and settling into a place that is not intended for any form of life, Too-Tikki teams up with a little ghost and gives him a master class, and Moominpappa suffers another torment of creativity - it’s very funny. Besides, the Moomin family, as always, is having a good time! The last comic in the book is the least childish and the most ironic. There you will find quite a few quite accurate comments about the meaning of interest clubs and their activities. The funny thing is that Moominmama becomes a member of this kind of club, and even founds her own club, which can “wow” anyone.

N Despite the fact that these Moomin stories bear little resemblance to the fairy-tale stories we are used to and are generously diluted with irony, situational humor and wordplay, the Moomins still remain themselves. Each of the stories ends with a return to familiar harmony, the Moomin house and the family hearth.

Parent readers will probably wonder, who exactly are these kinds of comics intended for? Yes, perhaps, to everyone who is not averse to reading them - children who have left a younger age, adults, fans of the Moomins, fans of the comic book genre, simply curious readers greedy for new experiences. In the future, we are waiting for the fourth and fifth volumes of the complete collection of comics by Tove Jansson, and in general we continue to wait for wonderful surprises from the Zangavar publishing house.

Jansson T. Moomins: complete collection of comics in 5 volumes: [vol. 3]. – M.: Zangavar, 2012. – 104 p.: ill. – ISBN 978-5-904662-06-6

Can comics be called a full-fledged book? Of course, yes, if we are talking about the book "The Moomins. The Complete Collection of Tove Jansson's Comics. In 5 Volumes." In 2010, the Zangavar publishing house began publishing a complete collection of comics about troll mummies. 2 volumes have already been published: “The Moomins. Complete collection of comics in 5 volumes. Volume 1" and "Moomins. Complete collection of comics in 5 volumes. Volume 2".

Often, adults don't consider comics worthy reading for their children. But Tove Jansson’s comics can hardly be called ordinary, although they look like standard “drawn stories.” In Moomin comics, reading is no less important than looking at the drawings, because the characters' dialogues are in most cases more meaningful than the pictures. They are extremely rich in meaning; much of them remains behind the scenes and is not said directly. Therefore, there is room here for your own reflections and for discussions with the child.

World famous

At the books Tove Jansson The Moomins have a huge number of fans all over the world, and their characters have migrated to animated series, theaters and operas, on T-shirts and posters. But original comics about the Moomins are not so well known in Russia. This is despite the fact that, since 1954, in which Tove Jansson accepted an offer to publish comics from the London Evening News, at that time the largest newspaper in the world, they were read by 20 million people daily in more than 40 countries for 20 years. years... Now the time has come for Russian-speaking readers to meet well-known and completely new characters invented by Tove Jansson, but in the form of comic book heroes. Tove Jansson's comics are being published in Russian for the first time. These are the same Moomins we know from stories, but all the stories are new, not a single one is repeated.

Psychologists' opinion

The ideal time for reading comics is early school age, up to 10-12 years old. Comics about the Moomins are very close to children. These stories are extremely specific, there are no descriptions or lyrical digressions in them - only action and its consequences. In addition, there are no terrible villains familiar to comics, and no fight against evil in general. Tove Jansson's heroes are the same children as the readers, with the same interests, values and problems, with funny habits and whims. Each hero has his own psychological characteristics. Therefore, psychologists advise talking to your child about why, for example, Snufkin acts this way and Moomintroll acts differently, and what they feel.

Images of troll mummies are addressed to the earliest sensations and experiences of man. Perhaps this is the secret of the amazing appeal of Tove Jansson's books. Their deepest themes are the feelings of a very young child: the experience of loneliness, the first understanding of his separation from his mother. Such feelings live in the unconscious of every person (they are no less relevant, for example, for a first-grader). Books about the Moomins give you the opportunity to return to them and relive them - in a safe and almost painless form.

Although this does not mean that Jansson’s comics are intended for children. Subtle humor is unlikely to be accessible to a preschool child. But older children and adults will definitely get a lot of pleasure from the incomparable stories and illustrations.