When Gollum became a Giant

By John Freeman on September 9, 2024 • ( 1 )

Gollum and Bilbo, by Tove Jansson, from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit published by Rabén & Sjögren in 1962 - “Bilbo – En Hobbits Äventyr”

The Swedish language edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit published by Rabén & Sjögren in 1962 – “Bilbo – En Hobbits Äventyr” – was illustrated by famed Moomins creator Tove Jansson, and edited by noted children’s author Astrid Lindgren.

The size of Gollum in Jansson’s take on the character may surprise you, but it turns out that, in Tolkien’s original published version of the story, Gollum’s appearance had never included any description of his size, so Tove produced an image with a surprisingly large version of the character.

Tolkien went on to amend the text, adding a description of Gollum as “a small, slimy creature”.

Graeme McMillan posted an item about this curiosity here on Popverse last year, after the image was included in the British Library’s Fantasy: Realms of Imagination exhibition.

Original editions of Bilbo – En Hobbits Äventyr are currently on sale on Abe Books for a trifling £980 to an eye watering £1500. Jansson provided 10 full-page drawings, with numerous smaller drawings throughout text.

Bilbo – En Hobbits Äventyr - 2023 Edition — *Images of the 2023 edition of Bilbo – En Hobbits Äventyr*

It’s been reprinted by Rabén & Sjögren more than once, most recently in 2023, and copies of that edition are available here for £44 from The Official Moomin Shop.

About the Author
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John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.

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