Tove Jansson: The Illustrators

Gravett (Posy Simmonds: The Illustrators), codirector of Comica, the London International Comics Festival, examines the work of Finnish novelist and artist Tove Jansson (1914–2001) in this appreciative study. Best known as the creator of the hippo-like Moomins characters, Jansson was raised in Helsinki and sold her illustrated short stories to magazines and newspapers while attending art school in the 1930s. In the ’40s she published her first book in the Moomins series, The Great Flood, which garnered “a single mixed review,” but the third novel, The Hobgoblin’s Hat, was the first to be widely translated and sold well. In the 1950s, the Moomins debuted as a comic strip in London’s Evening News, and eventually went into foreign syndication. Eager to “have a go at the classics,” Jansson illustrated books by Lewis Carroll and J.R.R. Tolkein in her later years. Gravett briefly discusses Jansson’s personal life; until homosexuality was legalized in Finland in 1971, Jansson, who was a lesbian, “maintained discretion” and referred to her sexuality only in “coded terms.” Among the evocative art that’s included are the earliest-known sketch of a Moomin and drafts of comic strips. Jansson fans will appreciate this solid overview of the influential artist. (Dec.)