Friday, March 16, 2012

Entry 141: Tribute to Jean "MOEBIUS" Giraud

My entire body of work might as well be in tribute to Moebius. His influence on me is obvious, I think. And my other influences, well they were influenced by Moebius. I was born into a world already affected by the genius of this man. I lived and partook in a Moebius world and I didn't even know it. I was already affected by his work before I had ever picked up one of his comics. And when I did pick up one of his books, it was like a big piece of the puzzle clicked into place. And through his work I could see the roots of so many things that I loved and it gave me a better understanding of those things.

The first Moebius book I picked up was H.P.'s Rock City published by Dark Horse, which, among other short stories, contained "The Long Tomorrow." All of the stories were great, but "The Long Tomorrow" astounds me. With a mere 16 pages Moebius creates a rich, textured sci-fi world full of fantastic, iconic visuals. He creates a genre.

How many graphic novels, movies, books, t.v. shows can be traced back to these 16 pages. A lot, I'm sure.

When I heard that Moebius had died, I was shocked. Not at his death, but at the fact that up until the day before he died, he was a living person. In my mind he's always been some kind of god. Sure, I knew on an intellectual level that he was a person and that he was alive, but it hadn't occurred to me that we lived in the same realm of existence, or that he would ever die.

I don't believe in an afterlife, but with Moebius, it somehow makes sense. Wherever he is, my voice joins in with the chorus of countless others singing out our thanks to him.

This panel cheers me up and reminds me that his work lives on.

4 comments:

  1. I was wondering when we might hear from you about this.
    I think it's amazing that his passing has sparked the same feeling of sadness in so many of us.
    Lovers of art, lovers of comics, basically anyone who treasures...the ability to create.
    It's a hell of a testament to who this man was & the horizons he opened.
    I agree with you 100% about his influence & work living on. My most recent reminder was the latest trailer for the film Prometheus.
    When you see it, you'll zero in on it, too.
    He's really not going away from any of us.
    Very nice tribute drawing, btw.

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    1. I was reluctant to say anything about Moebius's death. I just kept thinking, "who am I to say anything about Moebius." But I couldn't stop thinking about it and feeling like I needed to say something.
      I guess I just take for granted that everyone knows about Moebius and his importance, I guess it's the circles I run in. But really most people aren't familiar with him. They are like I was, living in a Moebius world and not knowing it. This has become even more apparent in how many people on line are only just now becoming aware of him because of his death and the fact that their favorite creators are expressing their sadness over it.
      I really hope we can get publications of his works that haven't been translated and published here in the U.S. Also some new publications of the stuff that has been published.

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  2. I'm glad you shared your thoughts on his passing. It's just my two cents, but anyone who follows your work can not only see the Moebius influence, but can understand that it's coming from a heartfelt place. That is to say it's not stilted or a rip-off of any kind.
    True inspiration is a rare commodity. People who can take that inspiration and progress with it are rarer still, so I think your thoughts on Mssr. Giraud are extremely valuable.
    Speaking of not being able to stop thinking about it:
    I dropped by WonderCon this past weekend, was wandering around Artists Alley, and while at one table, the conversation of course turned to - what else - Moebius.
    The artist at this table told me an anecdote about a European con he attended in the early 1990s where he was among a group that was lucky enough to have an audience with him. He told me that Moebius gave a lengthy Tai Chi demonstration, talked about traveling & different places he had seen in the world, spoke to each of the artists individually about their lives & family....and THEN...almost as an afterthought...he talked a bit about art, because of course the assembled group of artists had a million questions they wanted to ask him.
    In trying to describe to me what Moebius was like on this visit, the guy telling me this story was really groping for words at this point, saying,
    "It was like art, was only...was...was..."
    I wanted to help out a little, so I responded,
    "Part of the palette, not the whole thing."
    And he answered, "YEAH!!"
    And that story reinforced a lot of things I had been told before from people who were fortunate enough to have met him. Words fail, really.
    As far as I know, Dark Horse felt they were really close to acquiring publishing rights as recently as 2 years ago, but then the negotiations fell apart, as has happened with all of the attempts to get his untranslated works published here.
    (I heard that some of the rights are tied up with his first wife & it gets pretty ugly.)
    I know it's a jaded way to look at it, but now that he's passed I have to think that a deal will be struck with a U.S. publisher sometime in the next few years, since so much attention has - rightfully - been paid to his passing and his body of work has the potential to be a perennial source of revenue.
    (I felt shitty even typing that. But that's the business world.)
    I agree - There is SO MUCH fantastic, unpublished-in-the-U.S. material still out there. I would gladly destroy my budget with a silly grin on my face if it all became available.
    I'll end on a high note: Don't know if you've seen it yet, but this is a cool photo gallery:
    http://conversazionisulfumetto.wordpress.com/2012/03/11/un-moebius-fra-gli-altri/

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    1. Hey, Frank- Sorry I haven't responded to this till now. I really appreciated the link to the photos. The one of Moebius and Tezuka all most made me cry. I have love for those guys.
      I've had experiences were I'm talking to other artists or comic industry people and I'm just not interested in retreading all the shop talk and I end up steering the conversation into their kids or the jobs they did before they broke into the industry or anything but comics. I actually just get sick of hearing myself go on like a know it all. Not to compare myself to Moebius. I'm not sure why he did it.

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