Moebius

Jean Giraud (1938-2012) started drawing comics in the late 1950s for a variety of French comics magazines. Under his real name he found success in 1963 with the western series <i>Blueberry</i> written by Jean-Michel Charlier and published in <i>Pilote</i> magazine. In the 1970s he started producing science fiction works under the name of Moebius which brought him international success and which included works such as <i>Arzach</i>. He died in 2012 as a global celebrity in the comics world and a major influence across visual media. <p/> This first book-length English-language study of Moebius finally brings international attention to an artist whose influence on the medium was profound and immediate making him a role model for aspiring comics creators throughout his career. He was widely imitated while at <i>Métal Hurlant</i> in the 1970s was prominent among the spiritual fathers of the comic book rebels in the 1990s and again an example for the independent artists identified as the new bande dessinée in France in the early 2000s. Featuring close readings of key texts including <i>Blueberry</i> <i>The Airtight Garage of Jerry Cornelius</i> and The Long Tomorrow this volume examines Moebius's style and aesthetic achievement. Notably the volume explores the tension between Giraud and Moebius--one name for westerns the other for science fiction; one name for the domestic market another as a global brand; one name for the brush another for the pen; one for the mainstream and the other for the underground. Nicolas Labarre challenges those dichotomies especially in the later phases of Moebius's career unveiling the complex evolution of this understudied but influential artist.