Arzach

A collection of the dream-like science-fiction images and visual storytelling techniques of Jean Giraud ("Moebius"), including his wordless "pantomime" work and the character Arzach.

The epic fantasy novel featuring the classic hero created by the internationally acclaimed artist Moebius is now available in mass market paperback.

"Known as France's Ninth Art, the bande dessinee has a status far surpassing that of the equivalent English-language comic strip. This publication, one of the first predominantly in English on the subject, provides a thorough introduction to questions of BD history, context and bibliography. This book supplies an introduction to the BD that will be of use to students and researchers at all levels. In addition, the format of the individual case studies provides in-depth analysis allowing the reader to grasp specific examples in terms both of their place vis-a-vis the evolution of the BD and, more generally, of the wider role they play within French and Francophone cultural studies."--BOOK JACKET.

Working closely with Moebius Productions in France, Dark Horse is putting the work of a master storyteller back in print--with some material in English for the first time! Stel and Atan are interstellar investigators trying to find a lost space station and its crew. When they discover the mythical paradise planet Edena, their lives are changed forever. The long out-of-print Edena Cycle from Moebius gets a deluxe hardcover treatment! Moebius's World of Edena story arc is comprised of five chapters--Upon a Star, Gardens of Edena, The Goddess, Stel, and Sra--which are all collected here. A storyboard artist and designer (Alien, Tron, The Fifth Element, among many others) as well as comic book master, Moebius's work has influenced creators in countless fields. “Moebius is a master draftsman, a superb artist, and more—his vision is original and strong.” —George Lucas

In English-speaking countries, Francophone comic strips like Hergés's Les Aventures de Tin Tin and Goscinny and Uderzo's Les Aventures d'Asterix are viewed—and marketed—as children's literature. But in Belgium and France, their respective countries of origin, such strips—known as bandes dessinées—are considered a genuine art form, or, more specifically, "the ninth art." But what accounts for the drastic difference in the way such comics are received? In Masters of the Ninth Art, Matthew Screech explores that difference in the reception and reputation of bandes dessinées. Along with in-depth looks at Tin Tin and Asterix, Screech considers other major comics artists such as Jacque Tardi, Jean Giraud, and Moebius, assessing in the process their role in Francophone literary and artistic culture. Illustrated with images from the artists discussed, Masters of the Ninth Art will appeal to students of European popular culture, literature, and graphic art.

Never before have comics seemed so popular or diversified, proliferating across a broad spectrum of genres, experimenting with a variety of techniques, and gaining recognition as a legitimate, rich form of art. Maaheen Ahmed examines this trend by taking up philosopher Umberto Eco's notion of the open work of art, whereby the reader--or listener or viewer, as the case may be--is offered several possibilities of interpretation in a cohesive narrative and aesthetic structure. Ahmed delineates the visual, literary, and other medium-specific features used by comics to form open rather than closed works, methods by which comics generate or limit meaning as well as increase and structure the scope of reading into a work. Ahmed analyzes a diverse group of British, American, and European (Franco-Belgian, German, Finnish) comics. She treats examples from the key genre categories of fictionalized memoirs and biographies, adventure and superhero, noir, black comedy and crime, science fiction and fantasy. Her analyses demonstrate the ways in which comics generate openness by concentrating on the gaps essential to the very medium of comics, the range of meaning ensconced within words and images as well as their interaction with each other. The analyzed comics, extending from famous to lesser known works, include Will Eisner's The Contract with God Trilogy, Jacques Tardi's It Was the War of the Trenches, Hugo Pratt's The Ballad of the Salty Sea, Edmond Baudoin's The Voyage, Grant Morrison and Dave McKean's Arkham Asylum, Neil Gaiman's Sandman series, Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's From Hell, Moebius's Arzach, Yslaire's Cloud 99 series, and Jarmo Mäkilä's Taxi Ride to Van Gogh's Ear.

Working closely with publisher Casterman and Moebius Production, Dark Horse now brings you Numa Sadoul's landmark interviews with Jean "Moebius" Giraud. The master reflects on his many lives as an artist and man, from his Heavy Metal breakthrough era to a year before his untimely passing. Numa Sadoul--whose exclusive fourteen-hour interview with Hergé in 1971 was the basis of the 2003 documentary Tintin and I--is known for his book-length conversations with such major comics figures as Jacques Tardi, André Franquin (Spirou), and Albert Uderzo (co-creator of Astérix). Edward Gauvin, translator of over three hundred graphic novels, brings us Sadoul's English-language debut, as he explores the mind of the maestro Mœbius.