''Hilda'' (also known as ''Hildafolk'') is a British children's

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

series written and illustrated by

Luke Pearson Luke Pearson (born 12 October 1987) is a British illustrator, cartoonist, and comic book writer best known for the ''Hilda'' series of comics for Nobrow Press, and ''Hilda'', the Netflix series based on the comics. He has also storyboarded epi ...

and published by Nobrow Press. A television series adaptation was released on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

on 21 September 2018. Following the success of the Netflix series, several story book tie-ins were published.

Content

The graphic novels are set in a fantastic world resembling a late 20th century

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

. They draw inspiration from

Scandinavian folklore Nordic folklore is the folklore of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. It has common roots with, and has been mutually influenced by, folklore in England, Germany, the Low Countries, the Baltic countries, Finland and Sapmi. ...

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 Trolberg. Hilda's world is inhabited by regular people as well as fantastical creatures like trolls, giants, elves and spirits. In the fourth book, Hilda joins Trolberg's Sparrow Scouts.

Main characters

* ''Hilda'' - The main heroine, a headstrong, smart, kind and curious girl, keen on exploring the world around her with an open mind. Even though she interacts with her classmates and fellow scouts, she mostly keeps to herself, preferring to explore and make friends with fantastical creatures. * ''Twig'' – Hilda's faithful pet deerfox (half deer, half fox). * ''Johanna'' – Hilda's mother is caring and supportive, but often worries for her daughter. In her youth she was a Sparrow Scout, a fictional Trolberg equivalent to scouting groups.

Publication history

The ''Hilda'' graphic novels were released in locally translated versions in several other countries, including

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. In a 2019 interview, Luke Pearson stated that *Hilda and the Mountain King* would be the last volume in the original series and that he would be working on other graphic novel projects in the future.

Reception and awards

Critical reception

The series was highly praised by critics and fans alike. The New York Times review by Pamela Paul of the volume ''Hilda and the Bird Parade'' draws comparisons between Pearson's fantastic worlds and the creations of Hayao Miyazaki, further stating: "In Hilda’s world, daytime is drawn in burnt orange, maroon and drab olive, and the night is an icy, eerie wash of dark teal and minty blue. Each landscape contains its own tantalizing visions."

Alexandra Lange Alexandra Lange is an architecture and design critic and author based in New York. The author of a series of critically acclaimed books, Lange is the architecture critic for ''Curbed.'' She has bylines published in ''The New Yorker'', ''The New ...

's article about the whole series for The New Yorker also stresses the similarities with Miyazaki's works and talks about the complexity of Pearson's creations and their appeal to kids and adults alike: “Pearson’s aesthetic is sophisticated for the often candy-colored world of children’s animation, and the plots fit neatly into a number of present-day parenting preoccupations.” In July 2013, ''Hilda and the Midnight Giant'' was featured in ''The Best 7 Books for Young Readers'' list released by

Deutschlandfunk Deutschlandfunk (DLF, ''Broadcast Germany'') is a public-broadcasting radio station in Germany, concentrating on news and current affairs. It is one of the four national radio channels produced by Deutschlandradio. History Broadcasting in the ...

, the German public radio. ''Hilda and the Midnight Giant'' was also nominated in ''The Cartoonist Studio Prize for Best Graphic Novel of the Year: 2012 Shortlist'' in

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

's The Cartoonist Studio Prize in 2013. The same year in November ''Hilda and the Bird Parade'' was included in the list of ''Notable Children’s Books of 2013'' by

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

Awards and nominations

TV adaptation

The TV production and licensing company

Silvergate Media Silvergate Media Holdings Limited, doing business as Sony Pictures Television - Kids, is a television production and brand licensing company based in New York City and London. The company was founded in 2011 by Waheed Alli and was acquired by Son ...

launched an animated series based on the graphic novels exclusively on

on 21 September 2018 to widespread acclaim. The series' second season was released on 14 December 2020, and a feature film adaptation of ''Hilda and the Mountain King'' was released on 30 December 2021. The series has also inspired other media including a mobile app and several tie-in novels.

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Hilda series at LibraryThing

The Hilda series at GoodReads

The Hilda series at Luke Pearson’s personal website

The Hilda Series on Nobrow.net
Hilda Book series introduced in 2010 2010 comics debuts 2010s graphic novels British comics British graphic novels Fantasy comics Fantasy graphic novels Comics adapted into television series Comics adapted into animated series British comics adapted into films Comics characters introduced in 2010