The Natural Comedy by Ulla Donner and Endless Winter by Miila Westin have been nominated for the Finlandia Comics Award. This is the second award nomination for both titles, also running for the Most Beautiful Book of the Year Award.
The Natural Comedy by Ulla Donner and Endless Winter by Miila Westin have been nominated for the Finlandia Comics Award. The award committee have motivated their selection as follows:
“The Natural Comedy takes a birch leaf and a mixed mushroom on an adventure through a forest and what is left of it, through hell and purgatory. But is it possible to find a way to heaven in the middle of an environmental catastrophe? Even though there is only a limited palette of colours, the images are rich in content and bring new insights upon a closer look”
“[in Endless Winter] Elves, forest folk, goblins, goblins and other mythical characters of the Baltic Finns abound in this comic novel by Miila Westin. With colourful and clear illustrations, this album is suitable for adventurers of all ages.”
The winner of the Finlandia Comics award will be announced on March 22nd.
The Natural Comedy is the third graphic novel by Ulla Donner and it rethinks Dante’s Divine Comedy by making a birch leaf and a mushroom the protagonists and sending them on a roadtrip through the forest, resulting in a devastatingly funny and beautiful work that sharply criticises mankind’s exploitation of nature and contemporary society.
Endless Winter by Miila Westin is the first of a series of graphic novels for children with Baltic and Finnish mythological elements, and it follows 11-year-old Eevi as she realizes that something has gone awry and winter will last forever unless she finds a way to awaken spring.
Both The Natural Comedy and Endless Winter are also running for the Most Beautiful Book of the Year Award.
Congratulations to the nominees, and fingers crossed!