Sci-Fi/Fantasy Artist Jean 'Moebius' Giraud Dies At 73

Dr Herbert West writes: "According to io9, 'Today is an incredibly sad day for fans of comic books, concept art, and downright anything science fiction. Artist Jean 'Moebius' Giraud, who provided some of the most stunning scifi and fantasy art ever to grace a page, has succumbed to illness at the age of 73.' It's pretty hard to overstate the impact he had on film, comic books, and illustration in general. You can name most any fantasy or science fiction related piece of culture from the last 30 or 40 years, and chances are he provided concept art for it or was involved in some way. Alien, Dune, Heavy Metal, Tron (original AND the new one), The Abyss, Masters of the Universe, The Fifth Element, Willow... the list goes on. With the recent passing of Ralph McQuarrie, it's been a tough week for scifi and fantasy artists."

"Sur l'etoile", a poetic sci-fi masterpiece

[DrEasy]

"Sur l'etoile" was a sci-fi comic book he wrote for Citroen in 1983, but more than just a branding operation and a little gift meant for Citroen employees, it was a very beautiful and poetic piece of work.

Wasn't there also supposed to be a Dune movie with his participation and Jodorowsky's?

He was also famous for Lieutenant Blueberry, his western series he signed under his real name, Jean Giraud.

farewell Mobious

[marxz]

Ever since the late 70's when I first saw a copy of "Metal Hurlant" SciFi comic book art has been one of my passions and the name "Moebious" was one of the first I learnt and whose fabulously expressive work I obsessed over. The incredible number of artists he inspired across the world is amazing, from comic/manga artists like Shir Masamune to film makers such as Ridley Scott to authors such as William Gibson. Some years ago I looked across my book cases, upper shelves crammed with works of modern science fiction spanning various genres, lower shelves stacked with western and asian comic art books, and even a couple of shelves of DVDs and I realised a great many of these works are either directly, or with only one degree of separation, influenced by Moebious's work.

Airtight Garage

[Animats]

His "Airtight Garage" was the basis for the fantastic architecture of the San Francisco Sony Metreon's original game arcade. (Unfortunately, after years of deterioration and changes in ownership, the Metreon has been torn out and replaced with a Target store.)

Not dead. Off hunting with the Major ;-)

[ScottZ]

Jean Giraud was a major reason I stayed with science fiction through my teen years, instead of sacrificing it to peer pressure. The french scifi artists (Moebius, Forrest, Druillet et al) raised so many more posibilities - an alternative view of science fiction. It kept me going when all I was finding was mundane empowerment fare (let's face it - Heinlein was recreating Lot's lot at the time with Lazarus Long).
Then the elder brother of a mate showed me this magazine called 'Heavy Metal'... Oh dear... Through Arzarch and The Incal and the Gardens of Aedena, falling off a horse with Lieutenant Blueberry and of course travelling on a train with Jerry Cornelius, he has delighted me with his simplified style. I applaud him and express gratitude at his effort! Merci beaucoup monsieur Gir. I expect this to be a Bakelite trick.

Re:Not dead. Off hunting with the Major ;-)

[tverbeek]

Tragically, very little of his comics work is in print in the US and/or in English. But that hasn't stopped people here (especially artists) from learning of his brilliance.