Jussi Tuomola
Encyclopedia
Jussi Tuomola, pen name Juba (born November 8, 1965 in Lahti
) is a Finnish
cartoonist
.
Tuomola is best known for his ongoing comic strip
Viivi & Wagner
, about the relationship of a woman and a pig. He has also worked on the Punaniska
and Myrkky
comics and the Finnish version of MAD Magazine. He has even drawn a religious comic book album set in biblical times, called Älä pingota, Paavo! Ota viinirypäleitä... ("Take it easy, Paulie! Have some grapes...")
Tuomola first started drawing at pre-school age in Rovaniemi
, copying cover art from Finnish Aku Ankka
comics. At the age of six and seven he started trying his hand at comics of his own. His first completed comic was called Tom Taylor, an American-style detective comic inspired by the Tex Willer
comics and an American TV detective show called Baretta
.
In 1976, Tuomola moved from Rovaniemi to Turku
, and in 1982, he went to the U.S.
as an exchange student, which inspired him to become a professional cartoonist. His first published comic was Vauhti-Ville, published in a local newspaper from 1983 to 1984.
Tuomola's square-shaped signature "JUBA" was inspired by a similar signature by Jean "Moebius" Giraud
.
Lahti
Lahti is a city and municipality in Finland.Lahti is the capital of the Päijänne Tavastia region. It is situated on a bay at the southern end of lake Vesijärvi about north-east of the capital Helsinki...
) is a Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
.
Tuomola is best known for his ongoing comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Viivi & Wagner
Viivi & Wagner
Viivi & Wagner is a somewhat absurdist Finnish newspaper comic strip drawn by Jussi "Juba" Tuomola.The titular main characters are Viivi, a Finnish woman in her twenties, and Wagner, a mature male pig. Wagner is fully anthropomorphic and sentient, yet still considers himself a pig instead of a human...
, about the relationship of a woman and a pig. He has also worked on the Punaniska
Punaniska
Punaniska was a Finnish comic strip drawn by Harri "Wallu" Vaalio and written by Rauli "Rallu" Nordberg in the 1990s....
and Myrkky
Myrkky
Myrkky was a comic book published by the Finnish branch of the Nordic publisher Egmont. The comic dealt mainly with toilet humour, including sexual, toilet, and fart jokes...
comics and the Finnish version of MAD Magazine. He has even drawn a religious comic book album set in biblical times, called Älä pingota, Paavo! Ota viinirypäleitä... ("Take it easy, Paulie! Have some grapes...")
Tuomola first started drawing at pre-school age in Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland. It is situated close to the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the Kemijoki River and its...
, copying cover art from Finnish Aku Ankka
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
comics. At the age of six and seven he started trying his hand at comics of his own. His first completed comic was called Tom Taylor, an American-style detective comic inspired by the Tex Willer
Tex Willer
Tex Willer is the main fictional character of the Italian comics series Tex, created by writer Gian Luigi Bonelli and illustrator Aurelio Galleppini, and first published in Italy on 30 September 1948. It is among the most popular characters of Italian comics, with translations to numerous ...
comics and an American TV detective show called Baretta
Baretta
Baretta is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a milder version of a successful 1973–74 ABC series, Toma, starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police officer David Toma...
.
In 1976, Tuomola moved from Rovaniemi to Turku
Turku
Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...
, and in 1982, he went to the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as an exchange student, which inspired him to become a professional cartoonist. His first published comic was Vauhti-Ville, published in a local newspaper from 1983 to 1984.
Tuomola's square-shaped signature "JUBA" was inspired by a similar signature by Jean "Moebius" Giraud
Jean Giraud
Jean Henri Gaston Giraud is a French comics artist. Giraud has earned worldwide fame, not only under his own name but also under the pseudonym Moebius, and to a lesser extent Gir, the latter appearing mostly in the form of a boxed signature at the bottom of the artist's paintings, for instance the...
.