Did Tove Jansson Hate Moomin? - The History of 'Moomin Comics' Part 3

Recap of the previous installment

Starting with the newspaper serialization that began in 1954, Moomin became famous around the world, and Tove gained a stable income and fame. However, busy with the newspaper serialization and the ballooning Moomin business, Tove began to lose her career as a painter.
Reaching the peak of her desire to end the serialization, in 1957, Tove entrusted the outlines of the comics to her brother, Lars.

This article is a continuation of “The Moomin Boom and Tove’s Anguish: The History of ‘Moomin Comics’ Part 2”.

The End of Tove’s Comics

What was the fate of the Moomin comics?

From 'Moomin and the Wild West' in 1957 to the 21st story in 1959, Tove produced a total of eight comics based on outlines devised by Lars. The collaboration between the siblings was signed 'Jansson' (the last three of the eight were unsigned).

On December 31, 1959, the seven-year contract would expire. By June, half a year prior, she had to inform AN (Associated Newspapers) whether or not she would renew the contract.
In February 1959, Tove sent a letter to Sutton.
“You must have known for a long time that I want to divorce him (Moomintroll),” “I no longer find joy in the work, so I must stop drawing the comics.”—Tove informed AN that she had no intention of renewing the contract.
The problem was who would be the successor.
AN had no intention of ending the highly popular 'Moomin' content. As noted in a previous note, even if Tove stepped down from the serialization, AN had the right to appoint another cartoonist to continue it. Furthermore, the decision of whether or not to continue the Moomin serialization also belonged to AN. Even after Tove’s seven-year contract ended, 'Moomin' would continue to be drawn by the hands of another cartoonist.

From Sister to Brother

Tove wanted her brother, Lars, to take over the serialization of the comics. He had been translating the dialogue since the beginning of the comic’s writing and had begun to cooperate in creating the outlines a few years later, making him the person Tove trusted most. However, unlike his sister who was a painter, Lars had no experience drawing professionally. Lars would have to take over all the comic production work that Tove had been doing until then.
It was their mother, Signe, who encouraged the troubled siblings. She held the belief that 'Moomin should remain within the family.'
With Signe’s word, and Lars’s own talent and effort, the course for 'Moomin' was decided. The London-based AN was satisfied with the manuscripts produced by Lars. As Tove’s successor, Lars was officially recognized as the new author of the 'Moomin' comic strip.

Divorce from Drudgery

In 1959, the last comic Tove worked on, 'Moomin and the Fig Bush,' was published.Toward the end of this story, Moomintroll drinks a certain medicine and his body shrinks rapidly, eventually disappearing completely. In the final scene, the Snork Maiden pours the medicine on the spot where Moomintroll was, hoping for his revival.

In 1959, when she finished writing the final manuscript for the comic, Tove celebrated her liberation from the seven-year 'toothache' with wine, alongside her partner for the latter half of her life, Tuulikki (Tooti), and her family.

And in 1960, the literally 'newborn Moomin' was published.

For about 15 years after that—even after Tove’s novel series was completed—Lars continued to draw Moomin comics. His contribution to the world of Moomin is immeasurable.Could it not be said that he deserves to be called another 'original author'?

Meanwhile, the day Tove would pick up her pen again for a serialized comic never came.

What Moomin Comics Brought

The World of Winter

The 1957 'Moominland Midwinter' can be called an innovative work that draws a line from the Moomin novels that came before it. In this work, the exciting summer adventure stories with family and friends are put to an end, and Moomintroll is depicted being thrown into the unknown world of 'winter'.

Moomintroll wakes up from hibernation alone. He finds himself in a strange landscape, surrounded by unfamiliar creatures. His mother, his usual source of comfort, will not wake up no matter how many times he calls her. Little My, the only familiar face, is busy enjoying the winter and refuses to listen to Moomintroll's stories about summer.
Alone, Moomintroll experiences his first winter while grappling with anxiety, fear, and anger. He encounters the death of living things, faces his distant ancestors, interacts with creatures whose values differ from his own, and eventually comes to accept the winter he once loathed. In "Moominland Midwinter," the series depicts Moomintroll's spiritual growth clearly for the first time.

This change in style was no coincidence.The author intentionally wrote it as a story different from what had come before. In a letter to Tuulikki Pietilä, Tove wrote about her desire to "draw something completely new" and that she had "toned down the usual Moomin flavor," expressing adesire to draw (and write) something different from before.
On the other hand, she was exasperated when a newspaper requested a "children's story" for Christmas. As if reflecting her irritation at the time, the 1956 short story "The Fir Tree" depicts the residents rushing around in preparation for Christmas.
(*Please refer to the article below regarding the 1956 version of "The Fir Tree".)

It is not hard to imagine thather work on the comic strip influenced this state of mind. The comic strip always demanded a lighthearted, easygoing comedy. The comic strip was a blend of the wit and adventure drama often seen in the early novels, with an added essence of slapstick. Tove was constantly plagued by deadlines and the search for new ideas, forced to write "fun and bright slapstick" stories.
Perhaps it was because she was at a point where stress had accumulated due to the newspaper serialization and the expansion of the Moomin business that Tove wished to write (and draw) something completely different, projecting her own state of mind onto Moomintroll, who was irritated and struggling during his first winter.

Tove Jansson and Moomin

Due to the massive success of the comic strip, Tove became famous as the "creator of Moomin" and became involved in numerous Moomin-related businesses. Her time as a painter was taken away, and she gradually began to harbor hatred toward Moomin.
Even after being freed from the comic strip, her reputation and work as the creator of Moomin continued to plague her. While her desire to end Moomin grew stronger, she was also using the Moomin stories to express herself.

Following the comic strip and the accompanying Moomin popularity, the Moomin stories underwent a transformation. In "Moominland Midwinter," the narrative breaks away from the previously depicted structure of "adventures of friends overcoming crises," instead portraying severe developments such as the hardships and psychological growth of Moomintroll, who woke up from hibernation alone, and the death of living things.
In the three subsequent works, the charactersface realistic problems such as personal worries, loss of identity, crises in family bonds, and aging and death. In particular, the author admitted that she wrote the final two books with adult readers clearly in mind.

In the 1970 book "Moominvalley in November," Tove brought the Moomin stories to a close for the time being. The Moominvalley depicted here is not the summer garden of the past, where flowers bloomed and small creatures gathered, but an abandoned place where no one lived, in the absence of the Moomin family.This ending, which feels like a farewell to a happy girlhood, makes one feel the change in the author's feelings toward "Moomin".

—Looking at Tove's own words and the descriptions in "Moominvalley in November," one might think that the happy Moominvalley of the early series was a sham.
However,Tove always projected her own thoughts into the Moomin stories. Her happy memories of girlhood, her form of escapism from the war, and her anxieties about living were not written because someone forced her to, but because she "wanted to write" them.
As the Moomin business grew bloated and Tove was stripped of her freedom in exchange for fame, she sometimes harbored hatred for Moomin. Even so, after the series concluded,she remained involved with Moomin until her later years. As a painter, illustrator, screenwriter, lyricist, and supervisor—
That may not have always been the form she desired. However, it could not have been accomplished without love.

The picture book "The Dangerous Journey," drawn a few years after the series concluded, is reminiscent of the early Moomin series. A world in crisis, familiar faces, and a bustling Moominvalley. It is said that Tove enjoyed drawing this picture book.
Also, there is the Moomin house, over 2.5 meters tall, which she created with friends like Tuulikki. This took three years to build as a "hobby," and she later added a story to it as the photo picture book "Moomin House: The Secret Scent." In it,Stinky, who originated from the Moomin comics, appears as a key person. Nearby, Tuulikki continued to make dolls of Moomin characters (some of which Tove herself finished the expressions for).

It is painful to create something out of necessity or under duress. The comic strip and the overwhelming Moomin business are examples of this. However, she spun the Moomin stories of her own volition. There must have been complex emotions of love and hate, as well as suffering, mixed in there. Even so, Moomin was a part of her and must have been an irreplaceable existence.

Thinking about Moomin merchandise

The ARABIA Moomin mug, sold since 1990 and loved to this day (strictly speaking, the oldest ARABIA Moomin tableware appeared in the 1950s). Tove Slotte, who designed Moomin mugs for many years, presented the first products directly to Tove Jansson and received her approval. Since then, many scenes from the comics have been cited in the designs of Moomin mugs.

The newspaper serialization that plagued and tormented Tove Jansson. The days spent squeezing out ideas while being chased by deadlines.
However, it is said that Tove used ARABIA Moomin mugs with Tuulikki at their Klovharu cottage. Moomin mugs that used illustrations from the comics, which must have been filled with bitter memories.

Tove also stated the following about her experience with the newspaper serialization:
"I have no regrets, andI am grateful for the experience the comic strip gave me—though it could be called a double-edged sword."

Currently, many scenes from the comics are used in the Moomin merchandise seen here and there. The comical and cute comic illustrations have a charm that attracts even those who do not know Moomin in detail.
However, in the background of the creation of these Moomin goods, there was the great struggle of one human being.

In conclusion

From here on, a small wish from the author.
To everyone who has read this note this far. If you happen to see Moomin merchandise in stores in the future, please do not just focus on the superficial cuteness or design, but try to recall the original story of the illustration or think about the background of the story's production. You will surely be able to perceive Moomin merchandise from a different perspective than before.
I would also love to read your thoughts.

References:

• Mayumi Tomihara. The Two Faces of Moomin. Chikuma Shobo, 2011, 240p.

• Tove Jansson, Lars Jansson. Moomin Comics Vol. 14: Moomin's Lonely Life. Translated by Mayumi Tomihara. Chikuma Shobo, 2001, 96p.

• Tove Jansson, Lars Jansson. Moomin Comics with English Translation. Edited by Mayumi Tomihara and Mami Adachi. Chikuma Shobo, 2020, 208p.

• Boel Westin. Tove Jansson: Life, Art, Words. Translated by Maki Hatanaka and Keiko Morishita. Film Art Inc., 2021, 656p.

• Paul Gravett. Moomin and Tove Jansson: The Life and Work of an Artist Who Loved Freedom. Translated by Keiko Morishita and Sachiko Yasue. Kawade Shobo Shinsha, 2022, 112p.

• Christina Björk. Tove Jansson - Much More Than Moomin. Bilda förlag, 2003, 208p.