The Moomins have been celebrating their 80th anniversary - and I've produced some new prints to contribute to the occasion.
They have been around for a while, but are still a very modern tribe: their sympathy for the world around them and other creatures has a very contemporary feel. The Moomins also have a strong bond with the UK as it was here that their strip stories first appeared.
The Moomins are a family of creatures who are white and round in appearance, and vaguely resemble hippos. They have a large and heterogeneous band of friends. This mixture of characters, I think, helps to give the strip an inclusive feel. The Moomins are comic characters for our time - they're a lovable but complex bunch who reflect the range of human natures, from naive to cynical. Here is a guide to the various dramatis personae: https://www.moomin.com/en/blog/moomin-characters/#409b4fe4
The Moomin strip first appeared in the London Evening News in 1954, not long after they were devised by artist Tove Jansson. This means that they were first published in English - these are not translations, but were rather translated for first publication.
This strip continued until 1974, and it is images from those panels that these screenprints have been taken.
Tove Jansson created the first Moomin story, The Moomins And The Great Flood (published in 1945), during the 1939–1940 Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union. Seeking escape from the "depressing and scary" reality, she wrote a hopeful tale featuring a "happy society" where characters seek safety and belonging amidst floods and disasters.
Jansson was born in Finland 1914 and died in 2001 but her reputation and that of her characters is still growing.
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