Hälge [julalbum] #9

A moose tangled up with a very enthusiastic dog and a hapless hunter in the snowy woods — Lars Mortimer's "Varning för hunden!" (Watch Out for the Dog!) promises exactly the kind of warmhearted Nordic slapstick that has made Hälge a beloved Swedish comics tradition. This 2000 julalbum from Egmont captures Mortimer's loose, expressive linework at its most playful, with the cover setting up a collision of chaos between species that looks gloriously unavoidable. A fine holiday read for fans of Scandinavian humor with a little bark — and probably a lot of bite.