Hilda (also known as Hildafolk) is an award-winning British children's graphic novel series that features the titular protagonist Hilda, written and illustrated by Luke Pearson and published by Nobrow Press. The first graphic novel of Hilda was released in 2010.
Summary[]
The graphic novels are set in a fantasy world resembling a late 20th century Scandinavia place and are drawing inspiration mainly from Scandinavian folklore and folk tales and The Moomins. The titular character is a small girl, who in the first two books lives with her mother in a cottage on a plain surrounded by mountains and forests, but later moves to the city of Trolberg. Hilda’s world is inhabited by regular people and fantastical creatures like trolls, giants, elves, and spirits. In the fourth book, Hilda joins Trolberg's Sparrow Scouts.
Source: Wikipedia
History[]
The character of Hilda originated in a series of sketches Luke Pearson made in his sketchbook, though the first drawings of the character that would eventually become Hilda look notably different from her final design. In one of these sketches he drew Hilda sitting in front of a Scandinavian-looking town on the waterfront with mountains in the background and giants and other weird creatures hanging around. This formed the first real starting point for the graphic novel series, and it was with this drawing that Pearon approached Nobrow when he was asked for an idea for a comic for their 17x23 series.[1]. The goal from the start was to create a story that would not be violent, but more eerie and strange, with lots of elements from Scandinavian Folklore.[2] Only after Pearson agreed to make a comic did the character Hilda truly start to take form.[1]
Inspiration for the world of Hilda came largely from the works of Tove Jansson. Hilda herself is modeled on the character Little My.[2] Another source of inspiration was the book Scandinavian Folk-Lore: Illustrations of the Traditional Beliefs of the Northern Peoples by William A Craigie.[1] This book, which contains translations of short stories, inspired Luke to have Hilda and the other human characters already be familiar with the fantastical elements in their world, and accept them without any explanation or justification. A lot of the creatures seen in the series were also inspired by the stories in this book. Pearson tried to restore the creatures like Elves and Trolls to their original interpretations from the old folk tales, rather than what the general public imagined them to be like.[1]
For Hilda herself: Luke Pearson wanted to make a character who was "very positive and who would get caught up in adventures as a result of her own curiosity, empathy or sense of responsibility".[1] Someone who would have an adventure because she actually wants to have one, not because she is forced into one.
The idea to have Hilda live in a city named Trolberg was there from the start, but for the first story Luke Pearson scaled down the world of Hilda to just a few elements, namely Hilda herself, her mother, and their house in the wilderness. The town did not appear until the third story, and by then looked different than Luke Pearson originally imagined it would. Another reason to have Hilda relocate to a city is because Pearson, in hindsight, realized the first Hilda stories had too much of Tove Jansson's influence. He also realized the wilderness setting was good for a single standalone story, but would be problematic to keep if Hilda was going to be a series. Having the character move to the city meant readers could likely closer relate to Hilda than if she were still living in the wilderness. It also offered Luke Pearson the chance to have Hilda, who in the first story is clearly already familiar with the Wilderness, be put in an environment new to her.[1]
For the stories Luke Pearson also set for himself the goal to avoid violence and antagonists. Most of the creatures Hilda encounters either only look menacing but turn out to be harmless, and in the rare case where they are a genuine treat, the story still does not end with Hilda using violence against these creatures.[1]
Another goal that Luke Pearson aimed for was for each book to be enough of a standalone story that new readers would not necessarily have to buy the whole series in order to understand the latest book, as he personally found this frustrating about the comic book series he wanted to read as a child.[3]
Novels[]
| Year | Original Title | Writer and illustrator | Publisher | ISBN | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Hildafolk | Luke Pearson | Nobrow Press (London) | ISBN 978-1907704048 | re-released as Hilda and the Troll in 2013 by Flying Eye Books (London), ISBN 978-1909263147 |
| 2012 | Hilda and the Midnight Giant | Luke Pearson | Nobrow Press (London) | ISBN 978-1907704253 | |
| 2012 | Hilda and the Bird Parade | Luke Pearson | Nobrow Press (London) | ISBN 978-1909263062 | |
| 2014 | Hilda and the Black Hound | Luke Pearson | Flying Eye Books (London) | ISBN 978-1909263185 | |
| 2016 | Hilda and the Stone Forest | Luke Pearson | Flying Eye Books (London) | ISBN 978-1909263741 | |
| 2019 | Hilda and the Mountain King | Luke Pearson | Flying Eye Books (London) | ISBN 978-1-911171-17-1 |
Translations[]
The graphic novels have been released in locally translated versions in several other countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway and Czech Republic.
Spin-off[]
In november 2024, Luke Pearson released a spin-off graphic novel "Hilda and Twig: Hide from the Rain", which is the first of three planned graphic novels for younger readers.[4]