Moomin Every Day: Tove and Lars Jansson and the Creation of the Moomin Comic Strip

A loving look at the history of the renowned Moomin strip and its creator, Tove Jansson

Moomin Every Day details the genesis of the beloved Moomin comic strip. The strip originally appeared in the world's largest newspaper, The Evening News, and was syndicated in more than forty newspapers around the world between 1953 and 1975. The comics were revived in 2005 by Drawn & Quarterly and published as a hardcover series, sparking an international resurgence of the strip and recognition of Tove Jansson as one of the great twentieth-century cartoonists. The book features unseen drawings, rare comics, and photos of the Jansson family.

Carefully researched and written in an engaging, clear voice, Moomin Every Day is all the more appealing for Juhani Tolvanen's clear affection for the Moomins as fictional characters and appreciation of the power of the Moomin stories to appeal to readers of all ages. Tolvanen explains how Jansson came to publish her comic in England, why she eventually quit working on the strip, and how her brother Lars came to replace her as author and illustrator without any previous artistic experience.

Moomin Every Day is accessible to Moomin novices and longtime readers of the Jansson stories alike. Even the most devoted of Jansson fans may not realize that the first incarnation of Snork was as a caricature of Immanuel Kant! With sidebars that outline the histories of individual Moomin characters and a short comics glossary, Moominland shines throughout this historical biography.