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Moomin
Moomin Adventures: Book Two by Tove Jansson and Lars Jansson, published by Drawn and Quarterly, continues the softcover series that began last year with Book One. This new collection showcases some of Moomin’s most hilarious adventures, expanding the world of Moomin Valley and showcasing the simply complex lives of the people who dwell there. At the center, of course, is Moomin himself, a hippo-shaped hero who does his best to do right, even if it gets him into trouble sometimes.
Moomin Adventures: Book Two begins with the “Family Life” story that introduces, or reintroduces depending on when readers started, Moominmama and Moominpapa. Either way works well, since it is perfectly in character for Moomin and his parents to have woefully forgotten one another only to be reunited later by the memory of a floral mug. Their lives together are action-packed with mysterious footprints prompting them to fortify the house, moving to a farming estate only to find it packed with ghosts, and watching the new-fangled television. No matter the task, Moomin and Moominpapa are quick to act, quicker even than they can think. Whenever they leap too far in their conclusions, the well-grounded Moominmama always has home ready and comfortable for them.
Many of the stories in Moomin Adventures: Book Two begin with the classic “stranger comes to town” motif. Whoever they are, any new introduction to the neighborhood radically changes the dynamics. Sometimes the changes are slight, such as prim and proper Mrs. Fillyjonk moving in next door, who notes that Moominmama simply must get a maid, leading to a housekeeper whose morose outlook drags down everyone’s genial spirits. Other times the changes can be widespread, like when a new prophet begins spreading wisdom that prompts everyone to be passive and seek his own brand of happiness.
Moominpapa fears they must change everything in this new morality, which Moominmama comments, “That would be very awkward, dear.” Even modernization comes to Moomin Valley when railroad workers arrive to lay tracks for a new rail service. The citizens are divided with Moomin not wanting to lose his peaceful community and his frienemy Sniff gleefully planning to make piles of money. Things work out well in the end, as they always do, when the workers become so distracted with Moomin’s toy train that he and wise Snufkin reroute the railroad into a rollercoaster. Even Sniff is happy selling tickets to the popular ride.
The art in Moomin Adventures: Book Two continues the Janssons’ style of pastoral surreal. The characters are endearing with their smooth shapes and wide range of appearances from the rotund Moomin family to the deceptively doll-like Little My to the festering hairy ball that is the aptly named Stinky. The clean linework that make the Moomins stand out pairs well with complex hatching and dark inks. Together they create a suitable combination of simplicity and depth, even to the complex designs on the tablecloth, that echoes the fun that is Moomin.
