Hilda and the Troll (originally titled Hildafolk) is the first installment in Luke Pearson's Hilda series. First released on November 14, 2010 as part of Nobrow Press' 17x23 series of graphic novels, it was later re-released in 2013 and 2015 under its current name. Alongside its first sequel, it was also reissued as part of the Hilda: The Wilderness Stories collection in 2021.
While exploring the wilderness, a young blue-haired girl named Hilda and her pet deer-fox Twig come across a still troll, much to the former's excitement, as she sits down to sketch the beast. However, she slowly nods off to sleep, causing her to miss the troll before completing her sketch. On their way home, however, Hilda and Twig end up getting stuck in a snowstorm, sending the two on an adventure that causes the young explorer to befriend a strange wooden man known as Wood Man.
The book would be followed up by Hilda and the Midnight Giant in 2011. Parts of the story (particularly the encounter with the troll) would be adapted alongside The Midnight Giant into the first two episodes of Netflix's Hilda series, released in 2018.
Hildafolk/Hilda and the Troll contains examples of:
- All Trolls Are Different: Around here, trolls look like giant rocks.
- Bait-and-Switch: Just as it seems that the troll is going to eat Hilda, it turns out that it wanted to give her back her notebook.
- Book Ends: The book begins and ends with Hilda at peace in her tent during a rainy night.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: In the original release of Hildafolk, Twig had blue fur. This was recolored to white in the paperback rerelease. The Wood Man’s house also looks different in this story, being a wooden building standing in a clearing rather than an Arboreal Abode.
- Follow Your Nose: Hilda and Twig find the Wood Man’s house by following the smell of the smoke from his fireplace.
- Interface Spoiler: The inside cover contains a map of the area around Hilda's home with several locations specifically labeled. However, they never show up in the actual story.
- Ironic Echo Cut: A variation of this occurs when Hilda and Twig encounter a Giant walking by.Hilda: A giant! I bet he knows where he's going.(cut to the giant's POV which shows him reading a map)Giant: Damn it! (looks behind him) Everything looks the same from up here...
- Orwellian Retcon: When it was first published, Twig was drawn with blue fur and a white underbelly, which was kept in the hardcover release of Hilda and the Troll. However, in the later paperback editions of Hilda and the Troll, Twig was recolored as white with little black spots on his back to retain consistency with the other books.
- Pun-Based Title: The original title seems to be a play on Huldufólk - 'hidden people' in Icelandic.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Hilda herself when it turns out that the ringing of the bell that she put on the troll is actually considered the worst kind of torture to trolls.
