Jean Giraud, aka Moebius: 1938-2012

When I was a teen I discovered the evocative and cerebral work of Jean Giraud, whom I initially only knew as Moebius. For a pretentious kid who aspired to the arts, he had me at Moebius. Sometime later I stumbled onto work where he used his real name. His work in the seventies and eighties that appeared in Heavy Metal was staggering. You didn't need an art degree to see that his art stood out from that of his peers. There was genius in his lines and his subject matter was mainlined into the collective unconscious. For a time, his work was readily available in the States, but at some point it dried up. It became hard to find until recent times, which is good because anyone who wants to really and truly know the medium of comics should be familiar with his work. I would speculate few modern comic artists worth their salt would be unfamiliar with his work. He is one of the few visionaries that completely transcends the medium. If this sounds of hyperbole, know that I simply can't find enough superlatives for staggering genius.

Don't believe me? Here is a quote from film auteur Federico Fellini:
"I consider him more important than Dore," said Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini:
He’s a unique talent endowed with an extraordinary visionary imagination that’s constantly renewed and never vulgar. Moebius disturbs and consoles. He has the ability to transport us into unknown worlds where we encounter unsettling characters. My admiration for him is total. I consider him a great artist, as great as Picasso and Matisse."

R.I.P., Jean Giraud