Comics from Turku

What happens to you in hell if your last name really is Bastard? Can’t a fox girl living in the human world catch a break? Do you really have to slow down in your eighties? These and many more important, hilarious, and twisted life questions we’ve all been wondering about are tackled by the comic artists of Turku, Finland.

I recently translated and/or edited several comics samples for the Burning Bridge Literary Agency in Turku. There is some seriously funny stuff here.

View the whole brochure (PDF 4.5 mb)

Mika Lietzén: Yesterday, Tomorrow (Eilen, huomenna), a graphic novel
Ave Koskela: Mr. Bastard’s Flower Book (Armaksen kukkakirja), a comic strip album
Anni Nykänen: Granny (Mummo), a comic strip
Tuuli Hypén: Nelly (Nanna), a comic strip
Jupu: Barbutterfly (Baarien nainen), a comic strip
Joonas Lehtimäki: Anonymous Animals (Anonyymit eläimet)

 

 

Tatu and Patu as Superheroes! / Tatu ja Patu Supersankareina

Otava, 2010.
By Aino Havukainen and Sami Toivonen

From Otava.fi:

Super fast, super fun, super weird! Super oddballs Tatu and Patu kick off their new, fantastic Incredible Adventures series!

Tatu thinks superheroes are awesome. “Just think how great it would be to run faster than a tall building or leap speeding bullets in a single bound. Or wait, was it….”

Tatu and Patu’s dream comes true: with the help of a televisioactive laser beam they transform from ordinary Oddsvillians into superheroes, who set out to battle super scoundrels and struggle against misrepresentation! They become Active Boy, protector of the weak and hurried, and Measure Man, defender of all that is good and precise in the world.

Soon enough, Hypercyberman needs their super skills to find out where all of the beautiful, old buildings of Ridiculopolis have disappeared to and who left a giant box labelled Ultramodern Administrative Centre of Excellence in the place where city hall used to be.

The unprecedented, breakneck pace and insane action will keep Oddsville fans of all ages riveted. Catchy slogans and super moves included at no extra charge!

Aino Havukainen and Sami Toivonen have been honoured with many awards, including the Finlandia Junior Prize. Their super-popular boys from Oddsville have made astounding breakthroughs in the real world, too: the rights to Tatu and Patu books have been sold to thirteen different countries and have already been published in translation by such publishing houses as Clavis, Édition Glénat, Kaisei-sha, Rabén & Sjögren, and Thienemann.

Also see Tatu and Patu’s This is Finland the Oddball Bedtime Book and my article in Books from Finland.

(A full English sample is available upon request)

Local News / Paikallisuutiset

Miles Conway

Local news is a Finnish comic strip written by Vesa Ilmaranta and illustrated by Timo Kähkönen which has appeared in over 40 outlets. In addition to Finland, it has appeared in Norway and will soon be seen elsewhere. The basic storyline is that a young dot-com bubble victim named Miles Conway has moved back to his hometown to work in the local paper. He was burned out on the big city, but small-town life isn’t a piece of cake either.

See more strips at Localnews.fi.

The Sands of Sarasvati / Sarasvatin hiekkaa

The Sands of Sarasvati by Risto Isomaki
Risto Isomäki

Tammi Publishers. 2008. 72 pages.

Collaborative translation with Lola Rogers. I handled the final translation and editing.

The original is a graphic novel based on the novel of the same name by Risto Isomäki (2005).

Review at forbiddenplanet, with images.

Another review.

Suomalainen.com bookstore listing

The Sands of Sarasvati by Risto Isomäki (graphic novel)
The Sands of Sarasvati by Risto Isomäki (graphic novel)
The Sands of Sarasvati by Risto Isomäki (graphic novel)


Also by this author:

The Sands of Sarasvati (novel version)