Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Jean Giraud

 
Wikipedia: Jean Giraud
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
This article is about the French comic book artist. For the French mathematician, see Jean Giraud (mathematician).
Jean Giraud

Jean Giraud at the International Festival of Comics in Łódź, October 4, 2008.
Born Jean Henri Gaston Giraud
8 May 1938 (1938-05-08) (age 71)[1]
Nogent-sur-Marne, Val-de-Marne
Nationality French
Area(s) penciller, inker, writer
Pseudonym(s) Moebius, Gir
Notable works Blueberry
Arzach
The Incal
Awards Full list
Official website

Jean Henri Gaston Giraud (born May 8, 1938[1]) is a French comics artist. Giraud has earned worldwide fame, not only under his own name but also under the pseudonym Moebius, and to a lesser extent Gir, the latter appearing mostly in the form of a boxed signature at the bottom of the artist's paintings, for instance the volumes' covers.

Contents

Biography

Blueberry is one of Moebius' most famous creations.

Jean Giraud was born in Nogent-sur-Marne, in the suburbs of Paris, in 1938.[2] At age 16, he began his only technical training at the Arts Appliqués.[3] At 18, he was drawing his own comic strip, "Frank et Jeremie" for the magazine Far West. In 1961, Giraud became an apprentice of Jijé, one of the leading comic artists in Europe of the time, and collaborated on an album of Jerry Spring.[3] 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 Lieutenant Blueberry character, created by Giraud and Charlier for Fort Navajo, quickly became its most popular character, and his adventures as told in the spin-off Western serial Blueberry, are possibly Giraud's best known work in his native France. Giraud's prestige in France – where comics are held in high artistic regard – is enormous; In 1988 Moebius was chosen, among 11 other winners of the prestigious Grand Prix of the Angoulême Festival, to illustrate a postage stamp set issued on the theme of communication.[4] Under the names Giraud and Gir, he also wrote numerous comics for other comic artists like Auclair and Tardi.

One of the Starwatcher series of paintings.

The Moebius pseudonym, which Giraud came to use for his science fiction and fantasy work, was born in 1963.[3] In a satire magazine called Hara-Kiri, Moebius did 21 strips in 1963–64 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 Jodorowsky. Moebius' famous serial The Airtight Garage and his groundbreaking Arzach also began in Métal Hurlant.

Moebius has contributed storyboards and concept designs to numerous science fiction films. In 1982 he collaborated with director René Laloux to create the science fiction feature-length animated movie Les Maîtres du temps (released in English as Time Masters) based on a novel by Stefan Wul. In 1988 Moebius worked on the American comic character The Silver Surfer with Stan Lee for a special two-part limited series. Moebius' take on the character was unfavourably alluded to in the film Crimson Tide by Lt. Commander Ron Hunter (played by Denzel Washington) in deference to that of Silver Surfer co-creator Jack Kirby (in a scene written by an uncredited Quentin Tarantino). Moebius/Giraud is also known to be a friend of filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. From December 2004 to March 2005, the two of them shared an exhibition at La Monnaie in Paris which showcased work by both artists.[citation needed] He even named his daughter Nausicaä from Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.[5][6]

Jean Giraud drew the first of the two-part last volume of the XIII series titled La Version Irlandaise (The Irish Version) from a script by Jean Van Hamme, to accompany the second part by the regular team Jean Van Hamme-William Vance, Le dernier round (The Last Round). Both parts were published on the same date (13 November 2007).[7]

Style

His graphic style can change dramatically and adapt to the style and the tone of the series. It ranges from the extreme realism of the beginning of his career as in the Aventures du lieutenant Blueberry, started in 1963, to dream-like nature in more recent works. He has drawn etchings, white and black illustrations, work in colour of the ligne claire genre, water colours.[8]

Most of his own series are related to fantastical science fiction. Several contain poetic elements, and some are also related to metaphysics. Censorship was quite strong in the 1960s, including in Pilote, which was a magazine for children, and Moebius could really express himself thanks to his own series published in Métal Hurlant, for example. He was one of the most influential artists in France who contributed to the emergence of comics for an adult public.

The artist's working methods were also various and adaptable. Giraud's solo Blueberry works were sometimes criticized by the fans of the series, because the artist had dramatically changed the tone of the series as well as the graphic style.[9] However, Blueberry's early success was also due to Giraud's genius, as he did not content himself with following earlier styles, an important aspect of development as an artist.[10]

Moebius used to draw a lot on notebooks, several of which were displayed at the occasion of exhibitions. Besides the jewels of the notebooks, numerous original drawings, and comic strips have been also on display. Moebius draws very quickly, and is known as one of the fastest artists. [11] His narrative techniques, his work for films and responses to his work in the world of architecture make him an important and unique artist.

Works

Comics

Cover for Silver Surfer: Parable.

Jean Giraud has been active in the comics scene since the 1960s. Those works for which English translations have been published are noted as such; their respective pages describe this further.

As Jean Giraud

  • Blueberry (29 volumes, English translation, 1965 - ), artist (all vol), writer vol 25-29
  • Jim Cutlass (7 volumes, 1979 - 1999), artist vol. 1, writer vol 2-7
  • XIII (volume 18, La Version irlandaise in 2007), artist
  • Marshall Blueberry (3 volumes, 2000), writer
  • Le Cristal Majeur (3 volumes, 1986 - 1990), writer (artist: Bati), Paris: Dargaud

As Moebius

  • Le Bandard fou (English translation, 1975), writer & artist
  • Arzach (English translation, 1976), writer & artist
  • L'Homme est-il bon? (English translation, 1977), writer & artist
  • Le Garage Hermétique (The Airtight Garage, English translation, 1976-1980), writer & artist
  • Les Yeux du Chat (1978), artist
  • Tueur de monde (1979), writer & artist
  • l'Incal (The Incal, 6 volumes, English translation, 1981-1988), artist
  • Les Maîtres du temps (1982), artist
  • Venise céleste (1984), writer & artist
  • Le Monde d'Edena (1985-2001), writer & artist
  • Altor (7 volumes, 1986 - ), writer
  • Silver Surfer: Parable (Originally in English, 1988-1989), artist
  • Escale sur Pharagonescia (1989), writer & artist
  • The Long Tomorrow (Originally in English, 1989), artist
  • Les Vacances du Major (1992), writer & artist
  • Le Coeur couronné (The Crowned Heart, English translation, 1992), artist
  • Les Histoires de Monsieur Mouche (1994), artist
  • Griffes d'Ange (1994), artist
  • Little Nemo (1994), writer
  • Ballades (1 volume, 1995), artist
  • Après l'Incal (2000 - ), artist
  • Icare (2005), writer
  • Halo Graphic Novel (Originally in English, 2006), artist

Collected editions

  • The Collected Fantasies of Jean Giraud (1987-1994):
  • Moebius 0 - The Horny Goof & Other Underground Stories (Dark Horse, 1990)
  • Moebius ½ - The Early Moebius & Other Humorous Stories (Graphitti Designs, 1992)
  • Moebius 1 - Upon A Star (Marvel/Epic, 1987)
  • Moebius 2 – Arzach & Other Fantasy Stories (Marvel/Epic, 1987)
  • Moebius 3 - The Airtight Garage (Marvel/Epic, 1987)
  • Moebius 4 - The Long Tomorrow & Other Science Fiction Stories (Marvel/Epic, 1987)
  • Moebius 5 - The Gardens of Aedena (Marvel/Epic, 1988)
  • Moebius 6 - Pharagonesia & Other Strange Stories (Marvel/Epic, 1988)
  • Moebius 7 - The Goddess (Marvel/Epic, 1990)
  • Moebius 8 - Mississippi River (Marvel/Epic, 1991)
  • Moebius 9 - Stel (Marvel/Epic, 1994)
  • Moebius One - Limited-Signed Edition, Hardcover (Graphitti Designs, 1988)

Film

  • Fellini: I'm a Born Liar (2002) Giraud conceived the poster for the documentary's 2003 North American release and appears in the DVD bonus extras of the French version.
  • Blueberry (2004) - On the DVD extras Giraud talks about the comic, the film etc, dressed in period costume, apparently having done a cameo role in the film. In IMDB, Giraud is credited as a writer and uncredited actor in the film.
  • Giraud represented the jury of the Paris Storyboard Contest 2005 (Concours SOPADIN - Société Parisienne des Images Nouvelles) and awarded the two young artists and filmmakers "K-Michel Parandi" (Kay Parandi) & "Jean François Guillon" for their work on the futuristic and experimental film "Minuit 14". Jean Giraud was assisted on this by the notorious French director "Gerard Krawczyk" (Taxi, Fanfan la tulipe).

Video games

  • Fade to Black cover art (1995)
  • Panzer Dragoon (1995)
  • Pilgrim: Faith as a Weapon (1998)
  • An arcade and bar based on Giraud's work, called The Airtight Garage, was one of the original main attractions at the Metreon in San Francisco when the complex opened in 1999. It included three original games: Quaternia, a first-person shooter networked between terminals and based on the concept of "junctors" from Major Fatal and The Airtight Garage; a virtual reality bumper cars game about mining asteroids; and Hyperbowl, an obstacle course bowling game incorporating very little overtly Moebius imagery. The arcade was closed and reopened as "Portal One", retaining much of the Moebius-based decor and Hyperbowl but eliminating the other originals in favor of more common arcade games.

Awards

FrancoBelgianballoon.svg Bande dessinée portal

Further reading

Notes

  1. ^ a b Comics Buyer's Guide #1485; May 3, 2002; Page 29
  2. ^ De Weyer, Geert (2008) (in Dutch). 100 stripklassiekers die niet in je boekenkast mogen ontbreken. Amsterdam / Antwerp: Atlas. p. 215. ISBN 9789045009964. 
  3. ^ a b c "Jean Giraud". Comiclopedia. Lambiek. http://lambiek.net/artists/g/giraud.htm. 
  4. ^ Hachereau, Dominique (in French), BD - Bande Dessinee et Philatelie, http://dominique.hochereau.free.fr/bd/lacom.htm, retrieved 2009-07-18 
  5. ^ Bordenave, Julie, Miyazaki Moebius : coup d'envoi, AnimeLand.com, http://www.animeland.com/index.php?rub=articles&id=618, retrieved 2008-05-18 
  6. ^ Ghibli Museum, ed. (in Japanese), Ghibli Museumdiary 2002-08-01, Tokuma Memorial Cultural Foundation for Animation, http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/diary/004624.html, retrieved 2008-05-18 
  7. ^ Libiot, Eric (4 January 2007). "Giraud s'aventure dans XIII". L'Express. http://www.lexpress.fr/mag/arts/dossier/bd/dossier.asp?ida=454736. (French)
  8. ^ "Expo GIR et MOEBIUS"bdparadisio.com
  9. ^ "Blueberry au bord du Nervous break-down..." bdparadisio
  10. ^ "Jean Giraud sur un scénario de Jean-Michel Charlier"bdparadisio.com (French)
  11. ^ "Moebius - Jean Giraud - Video del Maestro all' opera"youtube.com
  12. ^ immaginecentrostudi.org. "11° SALONE INTERNAZIONALE DEL COMICS, DEL FILM DI ANIMAZIONE E DELL'ILLUSTRAZIONE". http://www.immaginecentrostudi.org/saloni/salone11.asp. (Italian)
  13. ^ immaginecentrostudi.org. "14° SALONE INTERNAZIONALE DEL COMICS, DEL FILM DI ANIMAZIONE E DELL'ILLUSTRAZIONE". http://www.immaginecentrostudi.org/saloni/salone14.asp. (Italian)
  14. ^ noosfere.org. "List of the winners of the Grand Prix de la SF Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire". http://www.noosfere.org/gpi/palmares.asp List of the winners of the Grand Prix de la SF. (French)

References

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Jean Giraud".  Read more