Cheerful comics

Cartoon favourites

The cartoon favourites Viivi and Wagner will soon charm also in stamps. Six non-denominated first class stamps, issued on 15 January in Finland, depict the hilarious friendship between a pig and a woman. The stamps, issued for St. Valentine's day's greetings, were designed by the comic artist, Mr Jussi "Juba" Tuomola. The artist drew the pictures especially for this booklet. In accordance with the theme, With friendship, the stamps depict Viivi's and Wagner's life together, its cheerful and sweet moments. In the stamps they have fun and enjoy each other's company, and, when in separation, they write and receive love letters.

Jussi "Juba" Tuomola

Mr Jussi "Juba" Tuomola (born in 1965) started drawing the Viivi ja Wagner cartoon about five years ago. The characters, originally targeted at children, have become favourites of the adult population. Readers of about twenty Finnish newspapers can now follow their life that is tinged with mutual love. Five comic books and a great deal of post cards have been published on Viivi and Wagner. Last January a Wagner exhibition was organised at the Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art in Turku, and this autumn the cartoon characters performed on stage at the Turku City Theatre. Bright, cultivated Viivi and self-centred, anarchist Wagner have totally won the hearts of the Finns, and now their charm is little by little recognised outside the Finnish borders as well. The cartoon has been issued, for example, in Sweden, and last winter the Parisians could meet this curious couple in an exhibition organised at the Finnish Institute.

Young Artist Award

In 1998 Mr Jussi "Juba" Tuomola was granted the Year's Young Artist Award by Varsinais-Suomen taiteilijaseura (an artists' association), in 1999 the Lempi Grand Prix at the Arctic Comics Festival in Kemi and in 2000 the greatly appreciated Puupääihattu Prize of the Finnish Comics Society.
Issue: Finland, 15 January 2003