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Nov 13, 2015 Web Exclusive By Ryan E.C. Hamm

The Book of Hope is a compilation of Finnish cartoonist Tommi Musturi’s ongoing series of the same name. Written over 10 years, the book tells the story of a retired couple living in Finland, figuring out how to spend their days. That summation makes it sound much more concrete and boring than the book actually is—it’s filled with weird jokes, funny cartoon gags, and surprisingly poignant observations on aging, death, and—yes—hope.

Sometimes the “insights” verge on saccharine—it seems like readers really only need a few examples of suicidal impulses, and sometimes the initial ruminations sound like something you might have heard in your college freshman dorm. Fart jokes that were probably funny over the course of single issues can grate when that many of them are bundled over the course of 200+ pages.

Fortunately, the book more than outweighs its drawbacks. Whether it’s a dream sequence or a scene of the protagonist and his wife enjoying a sauna, the books’ portrayal of the little scenes that make up life and lend it its meaning are uniformly lovely. The illustrations are beautiful, and without trying to spoil anything, the later chapters more than live up to the name of the book. It’s a nice, off-kilter story about what happens when you let hope into the darkness that life can seem to hold. (www.fantagraphics.com)

Author rating: 7/10