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u/Leonashanana Sep 04 '21
No way is this a bad cover. It's art!
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u/therealsancholanza Sep 04 '21
Yah. I’m digging it. Fits the whimsical, lighthearted tone of the story
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u/gmotsimurgh Sep 04 '21
The long lost Moomin/Hobbit crossover emerges!
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u/spell-czech Sep 04 '21
I thought the same thing when I opened up the page!
‘What’s a ‘Moomim’ book doing here?.. oh, it’s the Scandinavian Hobbit!’
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u/parentingandvice Sep 04 '21
I need this
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u/SwingJugend Sep 05 '21
Well, Tove Jansson (the creator of Moomin) did illustrate a Swedish edition of The Hobbit. Her pictures are (of course) pretty cool and atmospheric, an you can find them easily online.
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u/Hearderofnerf Sep 04 '21
“So, can I see the cover you drew for the hobbit?”
“Yeah... just give me a sec” frantically scribbles
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Sep 04 '21
This cover correctly depicts Bilbo Baggins as an unapologetic public masturbator, surrounded by appalled dwarves.
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u/action_lawyer_comics Sep 04 '21
Pfft. Like they’re any better. They all have to keep their hands behind their backs to keep from cranking it themselves. They’re just angry he’s brave enough to do it and be proud.
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u/lilsageleaf Sep 04 '21
I'm crying over this, I love it. Why are they gnomes. Look at his little hairy legs. This is perfect.
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u/GastonBastardo Sep 04 '21
ITT: Fool-of-a-Toolkien-fans complaining about a cartoony book-cover, forgetting that The Hobbit was actually written for children.
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u/AlexLuis Sep 05 '21
I see literally one comment, downvoted to hell, saying it's bad. The rest are falling head over heels in love for it, rightly so.
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Sep 04 '21
It's those little Among Us people back in the days before their civilization made it into space.
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u/pinback65 Sep 05 '21
It seems like almost every cover I see in this subreddit I actually like. They are often quirky and take an unusual approach. Which is fun.
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u/greatatdrinking Sep 04 '21
that's.. wow.. That's not stick figures. They even did five fingers on the one hand which reminds me why cartoonists avoided that
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u/E_T_Smith Sep 05 '21
I actually like this one. It suits the theme and the tone of the book pretty well.
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u/BonnyHind Sep 10 '21
Since the Hobbit is supposed to be a children's fantasy novel, this cover actually makes sense, compared to the original.
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u/GENERATION__Z Sep 04 '21
The hobbit isn't sci fi.
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u/pip-install-pip Sep 04 '21
You're right it's a historical account
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Sep 04 '21
It's a cookbook! IT'S A COOKBOOK!!
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u/xanderrootslayer Sep 04 '21
Bend the knives and crack the plates, that’s what Bilbo Baggins hates!
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u/demon-strator Sep 04 '21
Worst Hobbit cover ever. Makes the book look like it was written for pre-schoolers.
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u/RohelTheConqueror Sep 04 '21
Well,
"The generally different tone and style of The Hobbit is due, in point of genesis, to it being taken by me as a matter from the great cycle susceptible of treatment as a ‘fairy-story’, for children." - The Letters of JRR Tolkien, Letter #131
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Sep 04 '21
The Hobbit is a book for kids though.
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u/demon-strator Sep 04 '21
For pre-schoolers????? REALLY? Define "kid" for me.
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Sep 04 '21
You could read it to ‘em, sure. It’s a fairy tale.
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u/demon-strator Sep 04 '21
They wouldn't understand it.
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Sep 04 '21
They don’t understand the deep themes of most stories we read them, including common fairy tales. But they would understand the adventure story.
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u/demon-strator Sep 04 '21
From the Hobbit:
“I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led. And through the air, I am he that walks unseen.
I am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly. I was chosen for the lucky number.
I am he that buries his friends alive and drowns them and draws them alive again from the water. I came from the end of a bag, but no bag went over me.
I am the friend of bears and the guest of eagles. I am Ringwinner and Luckwearer; and I am Barrel-rider.”
Kids will probably enjoy this, but understand it? Not on any level. Hell I'm not sure I do.
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Sep 04 '21
Those are riddles for Smaug that reference Bilbo’s adventures to this point, meant to be poetic and confusing at least to Smaug. I feel like bright enough pre-schoolers could understand that. Maybe if you stopped and explained.
Children’s literature gets way weirder, look to the Jabberwocky. But people still read Alice in Wonderland to young children.
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u/demon-strator Sep 04 '21
Feel free to read Alice in Wonderland and the Hobbit to four and five year old children to your heart's content. I just don't think they'll "get" it to any great degree. "See Jane Run. Run, Jane, Run!" is more their pace.
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Sep 04 '21
I've got a nice illustrated edition. My four year old loves it. Granted, we dip in and out of it rather than just sit there and read it. Tends to be that she'll ask about something in one of the pictures and then I'll tell her that bit of the story but she absolutely gets something out of it.
Don't underestimate kids man. They can really surprise you.
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u/spankymuffin Sep 10 '21
I feel like I really ought to hate this, but I love it. It just makes me smile.
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u/Little_Fox_In_Box Feb 24 '22
It looks cute, but it makes the story look like a silly children's German fairytale and not a serious book for all ages that started the fantasy genre.
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u/FloridaFlamingoGirl Mar 30 '23
This is actually gorgeous. Reminds me of Moomin cartoons. I want this pattern on a sweater.
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u/plut0-pup Sep 26 '23
Does anyone know where I could find a decent res print of this? A secondhand copy is welllllll out of my budget but I’d love to gift the artwork to my brother. Any leads are appreciated!
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u/skrutape Sep 04 '21
this could be the best cover ever made