Before diving into Issue 32, one must understand the container. Ls Land (short for "Little Stories, Large Landscapes") began as a passion project for a collective of Scandinavian and Japanese illustrators in the late 2010s. The concept is simple yet profound: each issue takes a fairy tale or folk legend and re-contextualizes it within a hyper-detailed, dioramic landscape. The "Ls" stands for both "Little Stories" and the metric unit of measurement—emphasizing scale.
Issues 1 through 31 focused on Grimm brothers’ tales and Norse mythology. It wasn't until Issue 32 that the team pivoted to a softer, more botanical narrative: Thumbelina.
Given the surge in popularity following a 2023 feature in Juxtapoz Magazine and a shoutout from acclaimed director Guillermo del Toro (who owns a Moss-Core copy), finding Issue 32 requires strategy.
Release Date: Q3 of the series' third year (2021)
Format: Hardcover folio with translucent vellum overlays
Page Count: 64 pages (expanded from the standard 48)
Color Palette: Pantone-matched moss greens, honey yellows, and midnight blues
Unlike the traditional Andersen tale where Thumbelina is simply a small girl seeking light, Ls Land’s interpretation introduces a darker ecological undertone. Here, "Thumbelina" is not just a name but a species—the last of the "Ls Folk," a race of thumb-sized nymphs who maintain the balance between decay and regrowth in the marshlands.
The art in Issue 32 unfolds like a silent film. The first dozen pages show Thumbelina waking inside a cracked acorn, the morning dew acting as a mirror. But the peace shatters when the "Toad King" (reimagined not as a comic villain, but as an industrial metallurgist) drains the lily pads for their silver veins.
Parents purchasing Issue 32 for a child expecting a singing swallow and a flower prince may be surprised. The Ls Land universe does not shy away from existential dread.
The Absence of the Mole: Andersen’s original features the boring, oppressive mole who wishes to marry the heroine. In Issue 32, the mole is replaced by a "Root King"—a blind, subterranean oligarch made of knotted brambles. He does not wish to marry Thumbelina; he wishes to harvest her voice to pollinate his silent, sterile domain.
The Field Mouse as Capitalist: The field mouse, traditionally a helpful but greedy figure, is depicted here as a terrifyingly polite landlord. In a series of wordless panels, Thumbelina is shown weaving spider-silk fabrics for 18 hours a day just to afford a thimble full of poppy milk.
This shift has provoked discussion among literary critics. By transforming the tale from a simple "find your place" story into a commentary on labor, habitat destruction, and bio-diversity loss, Ls Land Issue 32 transcends the "art book" label and enters the realm of sociopolitical graphic literature.
Example snippets that might appear in Issue 32:
Issue 32 may expand on the tale’s themes, such as: