Editing Jean Giraud (section)

====''Métal Hurlant'' (1974–1982)====
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| footer = Mœbius cover art for the first ''Métal Hurlant'' issue and the second ''Heavy Metal'' issue (l), and the opening panel of ''Arzach'' (r).}}
Later that year, after ''Dune'' was permanently canceled with him definitively returning to France, Giraud became one of the founding members of the comics art group and publishing house "[[Les Humanoïdes Associés]]", together with fellow comic artists [[Jean-Pierre Dionnet]], [[Philippe Druillet]] (likewise ''Pilote'' colleagues) and (outsider) financial director Bernard Farkas. In imitation of the example set by the ''L'Écho des savanes'' founding editors, it was therefore as such also an indirect result of the revolt these artists had previously staged at ''Pilote'', and whose employ they had left for the undertaking.<ref name="Humano">[http://www.humano.com/blog/le-blog-des-humanos/id/3318 Le Blog des Humanoïdes Associés: Adieu Mœbius, merci Mœbius]</ref> Together they started the monthly magazine ''Métal hurlant'' ("Screaming metal") in December 1974,<ref name="DAK64"/> and for which he had temporarily abandoned his ''Blueberry'' series. The translated version was known in the English-speaking world as ''[[Heavy Metal (magazine)|Heavy Metal]]'', and started its release in April 1977, actually introducing Giraud's work to North-American readership.<ref name="taboo4">[[#Various|''Taboo 4'', 1990, p. 32]]</ref> Mœbius' famous serial "[[Airtight Garage|The Airtight Garage]]" and his groundbreaking "[[Arzach]]" both began in ''Métal hurlant''.<ref>[https://archive.today/20130101004435/http://ocs.library.dal.ca/ojs/index.php/YAHS/article/viewFile/413/398 "Breasts and Beasts: Some Prominent Figures in the History of Fantasy Art."] 2006. [[Dalhousie University]]</ref> Unlike ''Hara-Kiri'' and ''L'Écho des savanes'' though, whose appeal has always remained somewhat limited to the socially engaged satire and [[underground comic]] scenes, it was ''Métal hurlant'' in particular that revolutionized the world of Franco-Belgian ''bandes dessinées'',<ref name="morales"/> whereas its American cousin left an indelible impression on a generation of not only American comic artists, but on film makers as well, as evidenced [[#Influence and legacy|below]].

Starting its publication in the first issue of ''Métal hurlant'', "Arzach" is a wordless 1974–1975 comic, executed directly in color and created as a conscious attempt to breathe new life into the comic genre which at the time was dominated by American [[superhero comics]] in the United States, and by the traditional, adolescent oriented ''bandes dessinée'' in Europe.<ref name="arzach">[https://www.stripinfo.be/reeks/index/2578_Arzach ''Arzach''], stripINFO.be {{in lang|nl}}; includes other language editions.</ref> It tracks the journey of the title character flying on the back of his [[pterodactyl]] through a fantastic world mixing medieval fantasy with [[futurism]]. Unlike most science fiction comics, it is, save for the artfully executed story titles, entirely devoid of captions, speech balloons and written sound effects. It has been argued that the wordlessness provides the strip with a sense of timelessness, setting up Arzach's journey as a quest for eternal, universal truths.<ref name="Screech"/> The short stories "L'Homme est-il bon?" ("Is Man Good?", in issue 10, 1976, after the first publication in ''Pilote'', issue 744, 1974, which however woke Giraud up to the "unbearable realization" that he was "enriching" the publisher with his Mœbius work, thereby expediting his departure.<ref>[[#Sources|de Bree, 1982, p. 20]]; Giraud mellowed somewhat at a later point in time, and some Mœbius work from his Tahiti period did appear in ''Pilote'' issues m120, 1984 and m133, 1985.</ref>), "Ballade" ("The Ballade", 1977 and inspired by the poem "Fleur" by French poet [[Arthur Rimbaud]]<ref name="fleur">[[#Marvel/Epic|"Arzach & Other Fantasy Stories"]], 1987, story notes</ref>), "Ktulu" (issue 33bis, 1978, an [[H. P. Lovecraft]]-inspired story) and "Citadelle aveugle" ("The White Castle", in issue 51, 1980 and oddly enough signed as "Gir") were examples of additional stories Giraud created directly in color, shortly after "Arzach". 1976 saw the ''Métal hurlant'', issues 7–8, publication of "[[The Long Tomorrow (comics)|The Long Tomorrow]]", written by [[Dan O'Bannon]] in 1974 during lulls in the pre-production of Jodorowsky's ''Dune''.<ref>[[#Sources|Sadoul, 1991, p. 100]]</ref>

His series ''The Airtight Garage'', starting its magazine run in issue 6, 1976, is particularly notable for its non-linear plot, where movement and temporality can be traced in multiple directions depending on the readers' own interpretation even within a single ''planche'' (page or picture). The series tells of Major Grubert, who is constructing his own multi-level universe on an asteroid named ''Fleur'' (from the "Bandard fou" universe incidentally, and the first known instance of the artist's attempts of tying all his "Mœbius" creations into one coherent ''Airtight Garage'' universe), where he encounters a wealth of fantastic characters including [[Michael Moorcock]]'s creation [[Jerry Cornelius]].<ref>Grove, Laurence. 2010. Comics in French: the European bande dessinée in context Berghahn Books p. 46</ref>

1978 marked the publication of the 54-page "Les yeux du chat" ("Eyes of the Cat"). The dark, disturbing and [[surrealism|surreal]] tale dealt with a blind boy in a non-descript empty cityscape, who has his pet eagle scout for eyes, which it finds by taking these from a street cat and offering them to his awaiting companion who, while grateful, expresses his preference for the eyes of a child. The story premise originated from a brainstorming session Alejandro Jodorowsky had with his fellows of the [[Panic Movement|Académie Panique]], a group concentrated on chaotic and surreal [[performance art]], as a response to surrealism becoming mainstream.<ref>[[#Sources|de Bree, 1982, p. 87]]</ref> Jodorowsky worked out the story premise as a therapy to alleviate the depression he was in after the failure of his ''Dune'' project and presented the script to Giraud in 1977 during a visit to Paris. Deeming the story too short for a regular, traditional comic, it was Giraud who suggested the story to be told on the format he had already introduced in "Le bandard fou", to wit, as single panel pages. On recommendation of Jodorowsky, he refined the format by relating the eagle's quest on the right-hand pages, while depicting the awaiting boy in smaller single panel left-hand pages from a contra point-of-view. Giraud furthermore greatly increased his already high level of detail by making extensive use of [[zipatone]] for the first time.<ref>[[#Various|''Taboo 4'', 1990, pp. 86-87]]</ref> Considered a key and seminal work, both for its art and storytelling, setting Jodorowsky off on his career as comic writer,<ref name="taboo">[[#Various|''Taboo 4'', 1990, pp. 84]]</ref> the art evoked memories of the wood engravings from the 19th century, including those of [[Gustave Doré]], that Giraud discovered and admired in the books of his grandparents when he was living there in his childhood. However, it—like "La déviation"—has remained somewhat of a one-shot in Giraud's body of work in its utilization of such a high level of detail.<ref>[[#Sources|de Bree, 1982, pp. 9, 88]]</ref> The story, printed on yellow paper to accentuate the black & white art, was originally published directly as a, to 5000 copies limited book edition, gift item for relations of the publisher.<ref>[http://www.bedetheque.com/BD-Yeux-du-chat-20693.html#reed "Les yeux du chat"] (54 pages, Paris:Les Humanoïdes Associés, March 1978, {{ISBN|2902123531}}), Bedetheque.com {{in lang|fr}}</ref> It was only after expensive pirate editions started to appear that the publisher decided to make the work available commercially on a wider scale, starting in 1981.<ref>[[#Sources|de Bree, 1982, p. 88]]</ref><ref name="yeux">[https://www.stripinfo.be/reeks/strip/3494_De_verzamelde_werken_van_Moebius_8_De_ogen_van_de_kat/showall "Les yeux du chat"], stripINFO.be {{in lang|nl}}, includes other language editions.</ref> Jodorowsky had intended the work to be the first of a trilogy, but that never came to fruition.<ref>[[#Various|''Taboo 4'', 1990, pp. 88]]</ref>

In a certain way "Les yeux du chat" concluded a phase that had started with "La Déviation",<ref name="taboo"/> and this viewpoint was adhered to by the publisher who had coined the era "Les années Métal Hurlant" on one of its latter-day anthologies.<ref>[http://www.bedetheque.com/BD-AUT-Giraud-Moebius-Tome-22-Les-annees-Metal-Hurlant-Moebius-oeuvres-119592.html "Les années Métal Hurlant"] (420 pages, Paris:Les Humanoïdes Associés, October 2010, {{ISBN|9782731623055}}), Bedetheque.com {{in lang|fr}}</ref> The very first "Mœbius" anthology collection the publisher released as such, was the 1980–1985 ''Moebius œuvres complètes'' six-volume collection of which two, volumes 4, "La Complainte de l'Homme Programme"<ref name="complaint">"[https://www.bedetheque.com/BD-Moebius-oeuvres-completes-Tome-4-La-Complainte-de-l-Homme-Programme-6558.html ''Moebius œuvres complètes'', Tome 4: La Complainte de l'Homme Programme]" (102 pages, Paris:Les Humanoïdes Associés, April 1982, {{ISBN|2731601558}}), Bedetheque.com {{in lang|fr}}</ref> and 5, "Le Désintégré Réintégré"<ref name="desintegre">"[https://www.bedetheque.com/BD-Moebius-oeuvres-completes-Tome-5-Le-Desintegre-Reintegre-6559.html ''Moebius œuvres complètes'', Tome 5: Le Désintégré Réintégré]" (106 pages, Paris:Les Humanoïdes Associés, January 1984, {{ISBN|2731602740}}), Bedetheque.com {{in lang|fr}}</ref> (the two of them in essence comprising an expanded version of the 1980 original<ref name="moebius1980"/>), were Mœbius art books.<ref>[http://www.bedetheque.com/serie-1524-BD-Moebius-oeuvres-completes.html ''Moebius œuvres complètes''], Bedetheque.com {{in lang|fr}}</ref> It also concluded a phase in which Giraud was preoccupied in a "characteristic period in his life" in which he was "very somber and pessimistic about my life", resulting in several of his "Mœbius" stories of that period ending in death and destruction.<ref>[[#Sources|de Bree, 1982, pp. 21-22]]</ref> These included the poetic "Ballade", in which Giraud killed off the two protagonists, something he came to regret a decade later in this particular case.<ref name="fleur"/>

[[File:The Incal 2014 hardcover trade collection.jpg|thumb|upright|Mœbius cover art for [[Humanoids Publishing]]'s 2014 US hardcover trade collection of ''The Incal''.]]
In the magazine's issue 58 of 1980 Giraud started his famous ''[[L'Incal]]'' series in his third collaboration with Jodorowsky.<ref name="difool">[https://www.stripinfo.be/reeks/index/678_John_Difool ''De avonturen van John Difool''], stripINFO.be {{in lang|nl}}; includes other language editions.</ref> However, by this time Giraud felt that his break-out success as "Mœbius" had come at a cost. He had left ''Pilote'' to escape the pressure and stifling conditions he was forced to work under, seeking complete creative freedom, but now it was increasingly becoming "as stifling as it had been before with ''Blueberry''", as he conceded in 1982, adding philosophically, "The more you free yourself, the more powerless you become!".<ref>[[#Sources|de Bree, 1982, p. 19]]</ref> How deeply ingrained this sentiment was, was evidenced in a short interview in ''Métal Hurlant'', issue 82, later that year, where an overworked Giraud stated, "I will finish the ''Blueberry'' series, I will finish the ''John Difool'' [''Incal''] series and then I'm done. Then I will quit comics!" At the time he had just finished working as storyboard, and production design artist on the Movie ''Tron'', something he had enjoyed immensely. Fortunately for his fans, Giraud did not act upon his impulse as history has shown, though he did take action to escape the hectic Parisian comic scene in 1980 by moving himself and his family as far away from Paris as possible in France, and relocated to the small city of [[Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Pau]] at the foothills of the [[Pyrenees]].<ref name="burns"/> It was while he was residing in Pau that Giraud started to take an interest in the teachings of Jean-Paul Appel-Guéry, becoming an active member of his group and partaking in their gatherings.<ref>[[#Sources|Sadoul, 1991, pp. 52-59]]</ref>