Ling Ma loves the Moomins

By Ling Ma
Published: January 2nd, 2008 | 12:00am

Little known in the U.S., the Moomins are an vintage cast of characters for a children's book series first created in 1945 by Finnish writer-illustrator Tove Jansson. Since then, they've become especially popular in Finland and Japan — spawning an animated TV series, comic strips, a theme park, and countless merchandising.

Round-bottomed and hippo-like, the Moomins are gentle and contemplative in nature, embracing all obstacles with a bit of naviete and a bit of caprice. Their adventures have included misfired vacations to Hollywood, pearl-fishing excursions, and several uprootings caused by natural disasters.

Catch these impossibly adorable creatures in the re-issuing of their comic strips in book form, which are gradually being released in separate volumes from Drawn & Quarterly. You can also explore the Moomin world at Moomin.com.

Ling Ma is Venus Zine's Reads Editor.