Jean Giraud (1938 - )
Illustration by Jean Giraud
Biography
Jean Giraud (born May 8, 1938) is a French comics artist. He is known under his own name, but also under the pseudonyms of Gir and Mœbius.
Jean Giraud is, with Jean-Michel Charlier, the creator of the western serial Blueberry, for which he's best known.
Giraud was born in Paris. At age 16, he began his only technical training at the Arts Appliqués. At 18, he was drawing his own comic strip, "Frank et Jeremie" for the magazine Far West.
In 1962 Giraud and writer Jean-Michel Charlier started the comic strip "Fort Navajo" for Pilote. It was a great hit and continued uninterrupted until 1974.
The Moebius pseudonym was born in 1963. In a satire magazine called Hara Kiri, Moebius did 21 strips between 1963 and 1964 and then disappeared for almost a decade. In 1975 Métal Hurlant (a magazine which he co-created) brought it back and in 1981 he started his famous L'Incal series in collaboration with Alejandro Jodorowski. Moebius' famous serial The Airtight Garage also began in Métal Hurlant.
He has many times worked on design for science fiction films such as Tron, Alien, The Abyss and The Fifth Element. He also worked on US comics such as The Silver Surfer with Stan Lee. He cooperated with director René Laloux to create the science fiction feature-length animated movie Les Maîtres du temps (The Time Masters, 1982) based on a novel by Stefan Wul.
Giraud's prestige in France — where, generally speaking, comics are held in higher artistic regard than in the United States, where they are dismissed as children's entertainment — is enormous; there have even been postage stamps issued to commemorate him.
He is also known to have inspired many of Hayao Miyazakis works, including, but not limited to, Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. The two of them recently opened an exhibition in Paris, which showcases both artists' works. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Giraud [Jan 2005]
IMDb Profile
http://amazon.imdb.com/Name?Giraud,+JeanProfile
With Jean Giraud you have a lot of options. Currently he's best known as "Moebius", a nom de plume he adopted in the Sixties. But I'm getting ahead of myself. He was born in Paris in 1938 and discovered the escapist world of science fiction and fantasy art early in life. He grew up with comic books and was creating his own all through his adolescence. He had some formal training at the Institute of Applied Art, but his real school was the French comic medium. -- http://www.bpib.com/illustrat/giraud.htm
Books
- Moebius H.P.'s Rock City - Moebius [Amazon US]
Visit a city in which life is lived before the unblinking stare of surveillance cameras, but where dreams cannot yet be fettered. Take a stroll through streets where racists rule the night and the very air crackles with fear and paranoia. You've entered the mind of Moebius, France's master graphic-novel storyteller. H.P.'s Rock City is the newest collection of Moebius art and stories, including solo works and collaborations with other writers. The tales touch on such varied themes as hunting, feminism, rock-and-roll culture, nuclear war, and even Christmas! Moebius's collaborators include Dan O'Bannon (screenwriter of Alien) who wrote the sci-fi noir tale titled "The Long Tomorrow," and Philippe Druillet, who wrote the metaphysical science-fiction story "Approaching Centauri." This volume also includes story notes by Moebius, a must for any fan!
Movies
- Time Masters (1982) - René Laloux [Amazon US]
This incredible melding of two great animation geniuses, graphic artist Jean "Moebius" Giraud (Alien, The 5th Element) and director Rene Laloux, has produced one of the most magnificent-looking science fiction films ever made. When Jaffar's friend Claude is devoured by giant insects on the evil planet Perdide, Jaffar attempts to rescue Claude's son Piel from the horrors of Perdide. Jaffar finds himself catapulted into many deadly situations attempting to save Piel, including: facing the dangers of The Thing, which reduces anyone it comes into contact with into a Xul; a faceless angel; and a deep lake filled with deadly "cute little fishies". Helped by two extraterrestrial clowns, Jaffar's biggest challenge comes when he must confront the realization of The Time Masters. This is a modern masterpiece not to be missed. Rene Laloux will also be presenting the short, How Wong Fu was Saved, adapted from the paintings of artist Philippe CAZA (Light Years).Time Masters (Les Maitres du Temps) is a dazzling animated space epic from the director of the cult classic "Fantastic Planet" and the celebrated graphic artist Moebius, best known for his work on Heavy Metal magazine. Jaffar, a hero for hire, finds himself on the adventure of a lifetime as he races across the galaxy to save a young boy from a menacing evil. Can he stop the heartless Masters of Time from turning back the clock and stealing his home planet?
- Alien (1979) - Ridley Scott [1 DVD, Amazon US]
A landmark of science fiction and horror, Alien arrived in 1979 between Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back as a stylishly malevolent alternative to George Lucas's space fantasy. Partially inspired by 1958's It! The Terror from Beyond Space, this instant classic set a tone of its own, offering richly detailed sets, ominous atmosphere, relentless suspense, and a flawless ensemble cast as the crew of the space freighter Nostromo, who fall prey to a vicious creature (designed by Swiss artist H.R. Giger) that had gestated inside one of the ill-fated crew members. In a star-making role, Sigourney Weaver excels as sole survivor Ripley, becoming the screen's most popular heroine in a lucrative movie franchise. To measure the film's success, one need only recall the many images that have been burned into our collective psyche, including the "facehugger," the "chestburster," and Ripley's climactic encounter with the full-grown monster. Impeccably directed by Ridley Scott, Alien is one of the cinema's most unforgettable nightmares. --Jeff Shannon for amazon.com [The DVD showcases the artwork of Jean "Moebius" Giraud]your Amazon recommendations
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