Luke’s a British cartoonist born in 1987 who did storyboarding for animated Adventure Time episodes. What I find remarkable is that he took that “AT” sensibility and turned it in to something far more interesting to my mind, i.e. the Hilda series.

Now, the series occurs in a sort of Scandinavian-fairytale setting, populated by certain mythological races; also one in which humans live in villages with paradoxically modern conveniences, such as electricity, plumbing and manufactured goods. This serves to create an amusing, fertile juxtaposition in which all kinds of interesting story ideas can be mined, not unlike as in sci-fi.

(HERE are some art & panel samples)

Yes, there’s plenty of adventure, but instead of going for ‘pure cartoony fun,’ Hilda tends to focus more on quandaries based on understandings & misunderstandings between minds, often unravelling light mysteries along the way.

Like some of the best literature, the stories can be enjoyed by all ages, but there’s unexpected depth and even angst in Hilda that I greatly appreciated as an older reader. Indeed-- Pearson never panders, nor falls in to the trap of trying to make moralistic points, either subtly or unsubtly. Rather, there’s a sort of ‘naturalism’ going on in these stories, and Luke manages to keep things on a remarkably even keel, letting the stories speak for themselves, as if he himself is just an observer.

What I’ve linked in the title are some art samples & panels to give a general impression. The albums are published in English by Nobrow Press, and there’s even a well-received adaptation on Netflix. Samples of that here.