I worked shortly, a long time ago, with an inspiring artist named Jean ‘Moebius’ Giraud. An internationally renowned comics artist and film designer he was a visionary of the planet Earth, from a suburbs of Paris, France. I have a lovely print of his, which I look at everyday and immediately I am transported to a time that validates how far I have journeyed since. I want to honor here his transition from this world into what ever is next. Jean Giraud, known widely as Moebius, died in Paris on the morning of 10 March 2012, at the age of 73. Please go to his personal website for stunning insights into his legacy as an artist who shifted world, and universal views. Giraud began using the Moebius pseudonym in 1963 specifically for his fantasy and science fiction work which includes the L’Incal, The Airtight Garage, and Arzach series as well as storyboards for films such as Les Maîtres du temps, released in English as Time Masters. Moebius has since become the name by which he is best known in the US, where he’s contributed production design for films such as Blade Runner, Heavy Metal, Tron, Alien, Willow, The Abyss, Little Nemo and The Fifth Element.
IMDB (International Movie Data Base) page
Science Fiction Hall of Fame biography
Wikipedia biography
Cover art for the album "Nez Cassé" showing Giraud's use of oil paint in addition to the more common line drawings. Giraud changed the artistic style of the series dramatically several times.
Many artists from around the world have cited Giraud as an influence on their work. The following quote's credits are cited here. Longtime friends with manga author and anime filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, Giraud named his daughter Nausicaä after the character in Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
Asked by Giraud in an interview how he first discovered his work, the animation master from Japan Hayao Miyazaki replied.
"Through Arzach, which dates from 1975, I believe. I only read it in 1980, and it was a big shock. Not only for me. All manga authors were shaken by this work. Unfortunately, when I discovered it, I already had a consolidated style so I couldn't use its influence to enrich my drawing. Even today, I think it has an awesome sense of space. I directed Nausicaa under Moebius's influence."
Pioneering cyberpunk author William Gibson said of Giraud's work in The Long Tomorrow.
"So it's entirely fair to say, and I've said it before, that the way Neuromancer-the-novel "looks" was influenced in large part by some of the artwork I saw in Heavy Metal. I assume that this must also be true of John Carpenter's Escape from New York, Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and all other artefacts of the style sometimes dubbed 'cyberpunk'. Those French guys, they got their end in early."
Italian filmmaker Frederico Fellini said.
"I consider him more important than Doré. He’s a unique talent endowed with an extraordinary visionary imagination that’s constantly renewed and never vulgar. Moebius disturbs and consoles. He has the ability to transport us into unknown worlds where we encounter unsettling characters. My admiration for him is total. I consider him a great artist, as great as Picasso and Matisse."
IMDB (International Movie Data Base) page
Science Fiction Hall of Fame biography
Wikipedia biography
Many artists from around the world have cited Giraud as an influence on their work. The following quote's credits are cited here. Longtime friends with manga author and anime filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, Giraud named his daughter Nausicaä after the character in Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
Asked by Giraud in an interview how he first discovered his work, the animation master from Japan Hayao Miyazaki replied.
"Through Arzach, which dates from 1975, I believe. I only read it in 1980, and it was a big shock. Not only for me. All manga authors were shaken by this work. Unfortunately, when I discovered it, I already had a consolidated style so I couldn't use its influence to enrich my drawing. Even today, I think it has an awesome sense of space. I directed Nausicaa under Moebius's influence."
Pioneering cyberpunk author William Gibson said of Giraud's work in The Long Tomorrow.
"So it's entirely fair to say, and I've said it before, that the way Neuromancer-the-novel "looks" was influenced in large part by some of the artwork I saw in Heavy Metal. I assume that this must also be true of John Carpenter's Escape from New York, Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and all other artefacts of the style sometimes dubbed 'cyberpunk'. Those French guys, they got their end in early."
Italian filmmaker Frederico Fellini said.
"I consider him more important than Doré. He’s a unique talent endowed with an extraordinary visionary imagination that’s constantly renewed and never vulgar. Moebius disturbs and consoles. He has the ability to transport us into unknown worlds where we encounter unsettling characters. My admiration for him is total. I consider him a great artist, as great as Picasso and Matisse."
