EPIC4 GRAPHIC HOVEL • $995 • $13 95 CAN

UPON A STAR
JEAN MOEBIUS' GIRAUD
story & art

JEAN-MARC LOFFICIER
RANDY LOFFICIER
translators • editors Starwatcher Graphics

ARCHIE GOODWIN
MARGARET CLARK
STEVE BUCCELLATO
editors Epic Comics

ROBBIN BROSTERMAN
designer

CLAUDINE GIRAUD
DAVID SCROGGY
consulting editors

JIM SHOOTER

MOEBIUS 1

editor in chief

THE REPAIRMEN

M О E В I U

colors

S

PHIL F E L I

X

letterer

M О E В I U

S

C L A U

D

N E

G I R A U

colors

D

W

J О

H

N

О R К M A

N

letterer

A E D E N A

J E A N - P A U L

P

P E

L- G U E R

У

PAU

L

A

S A L О M О
co-writers

N

M О

E В I

U

S

MARC

В A

T I

colors

P H

L

F E L

I X

letterer

LAURENT

G

R A U

L

colors

P H

L

F E L

I X

letterer

with special thanks to Jean Annestey


MOEBIUS 1

OTHER MOEBIUS GRAPHIC NOVELS

MOEBIUS 2

New York, NY 10016
ISBN # 0-87135-278-8

EpicJ Graphic Novel: Moebius Г’’ Upon A Stac'Art and
Story Copyright © 1983 Moebius. Translations & Text
Copyright t 1987 Starwatcher Graphics. All rights
reserved. No part of this book may be printed or
reproduced in any manner whatsoever, whether
mechanical or electronic without the written
permission of the author and publisher. AH prominent
characters appearing in this book and their distinct
likenesses are a trademark of Moebius.

must begin with a s ng e step, says the Ch nese preverb.

This is the first step on a new journey. And it seems particularly appropriate for it to begin in 1987,
whicn is the ten year ann iversary of Moebius* first introduction to the American public, in the pages of
Heavy Metal.

In your hands, you hold the first volume in a series of completely retranslated and reedited
republications of Moebius' stones Eacn story is accompanied by fomwords or afterwords, written
especially for this edition, and designed to provide useful background informat on and unique
insights into the mind of Lne artist Moebius has beer involved every steo of the way, making this the
definitive collection of his works.

Later volumes wi I also beast the first appearance—even before they see publication in France
of the "colorized' versions of stones that previously were printed in black-and-white, sjehasThe
Airtight Garage, Major Fatal, etc Again, Moebius supervised eve<y step of the coloring, often
choosing each color used on the entire cage

As to this volume, Upon a Star and its short preque, The Repairmen, it is the first chapter of a
new cosmic saga entitled The Aedena Cycle. The second chapter The Gardens of Aedena, will
be Volume 5 in this series The Aedena Cycle will eventually linkup with otner Moebius works,
nduding The Airtight Garage, to form the basis of a coherent Moebius Universe.

*

As we said, this is the first step in a new journey Please, travel along with us.
IRE REMIRMEN	moebius.

^TgL?.' 0F COLJf&t.
HI5 HEART 16-

PURE ! WHAT A
d?U65Ttc?N '

----------1/--------


AT MF. FL?P EXAMPLE.

WHEN I WAS A K(C7, J WAS (S'XEM
A BEAUTIFUL рег АМЕР WHITE

SUBMARINE. AMP THEN

IT BPC>KE ...
I N T R О D U С T I О N T О ‘ U PON AST A R " b у M О E В I (J S

everai years ago, I was contacted
by one of the persons in charge of advertising at C troen, the French car maker f Ie wanted to launch
a promotion aimed at their sales force, and he asked me if I could do a comic stoy for them.
Apparently he was $ great fan of my work, which he had read when he was a student. At the time, he
was about 35, and he obviously was in a position of power, which enabled him to do pretty much
what he wanted

At first, I was a bit re uctant. Then, I thought about it fora while and I began to realize that Citroen
was not like the other car makers. They are a i itt e like the poets of oopular automobiles They made
the 2 CV, the £>S I became convinced that it was a great opportunity to create something fun and
different—m particular, about tire "Traction," the car that you see in the story which has always
fascinated me. It's such a mythical car...

So, I agreed to do the,ob, and I started to ook for an idea. Then, something strange happened.
Citroen had wanted me to draw a seven-page story and I had managed to get tne assignment cut
down to three or four pages, just ir case I didn’t fee nspired .. And, strangely enough, the story just
came Page followed page, as it g'ew and grew. That's how Upon A Star was bom

Originally, I had wanted to have that story drawn by two artist friends of mine I was going to do
the rough pencils, and they would have inked it. One day, I met them at their studio and, there and
then, I started to draw the story very fast, dcngjjst layouts. That's when it started to grew-ten,
twenty thirty forty pages! When I was finished, I realized they were locking at me in shock One of
them asked me, "That's your four-oage story?"

In the space of he f an hour, I had d-awn the entire story as it is now, almost in a creative trance It
came al! at once, which is fairly rare. Then, I liked it so much that I changed my mind and decided to
draw it myself. I did it fainy quick у by adopting a relatively simple, yet very polished, style.

The Citroe-' people were delighted. They immediatefy changed their plan ard printed it as a
deluxe, limited edition, harccover book. I a ways thought that part of tne real motivation of the
person who had ordered the story was that he was a co ector There, he was in the posit on of
creating a unique collector's item, and totally in control of its distribution!

The limited edit on was then cistributed exclusively to Citroen top sales people, thereby
frustrating all the traditional French comics co lectors. Sometimes, when I do a signing, someone wi
come to me, wa king very carefully as if he was earning something extremely precious, and present
me a Citroen book to sign. When I ask tnem now they got it, they become very pale and they don't
answer!..
(А С|ТЮ£\| СШ5&)

PCHZ'.

FOOFI CALLING
5Cf?APF6R'. FOOFl
CAILN& бСРАРРек/


ме( I'M	about the la^c7'

ING PAP. 6ОРД HOPE (T ОРЕМб/
—
№<5iC?e, 6TEL
/W АТАМ

METHODICALLY

EY.PL.OPE
the маму
PASSAGEWAYS’
that момеу-
COMB :T.

COPPECTIOM1: WE ГАМ'Т
SEE AN №007 HE^eZ

❖

yoo HOO'
ДМУ6ОРУ
THER'e.-.T

blOPE' NO
оме N
he^e /

-STOP <SMOUT(HC>/

CAM‘T you SEE

THE PF'S NO5OPY
HERE?

“TH^^^L^JsteROIP
СОЬГПНиеб W(LC>
PIPE APOUNP THE
MASS NE WOPLP <T
ОК0ГГ5.


ллис.н later

»ицц

vjewe got
то accept
THE EViOEMCE
THEY'VE ALL

VAM(5MeoZ

(F THERE
ARE CLUE'S,
tHAT'<S
UJHEPE WE'LL
FlHC? THEM/

AMO ’AT CAM LOOK
lM COMFORTL
IMOICATOR^ ALL
FLA^M GREEK!.«5AF6
TO REMOVE
OUR ^RACE-
<5U(T£.

VEAH t
evlERl'-
TMlklG GOE5
THROUGH
THAT COM-
PUTER.

WHATb? ТН^^ТЕк"?
THE MAIM CONTROL

PAMEL?_____
LET'S SEE ...REMIMPS
ЛАЕ OF THE

ELECTRICAL [NTER-
гекемсе before
A0OARP THE "ATOM'S"

••THAT STATIC FROM ,
THE GIANT... RIGHT2
^UT THERE'S MORE

C?ATA HERE...

I MOI OATES A
PATTERN' IT'S A
«5/GMAL

SROAD^A^T

FROM 0ELOMV/
ORIGIN/- THREE
DEGREES EAST

OF THE
NORTH POLE..J
|NCREE?I0LE-/

уели... РРеттт pgiMrnvie
<976"ГЕМ OF f?£TF?O-POCKETS
But it could co the job

лл AV В e. •______

/ЛАЧ86Т/

<EE, I
tolc? sod
4UE «SHOULD
HAVE
TA<EK1 THE
ANO
-SPLIT.

eiGHTEEM...

SEVENTEEN-.
|Х




with the mattes? goux/epter, we cam la-st
FOR CEMTuPlE?.' LUCK-fd, MJE’CL »E PEAO OF

SoPEDOM LONG BEFORE THAT'



OUT IT OUT, ^TEL'
TOU'Re THE ffE^T PILOT
Z'ME EMER KMOWM...THE
зе'зт (M the
(GALAXY/ THE
BE«TOF ALL
TIME...

6UMSET OM A
UAMELE'SS
WRLD...' MAKE'?

VOU ТЦ1МК...
Stel... i
ox/es'
here?

-<ou TAKe CA₽E OF IT...
j'M aowe to cook us
sove spaghett?.

THAT'S IT?
I'M GOING
SACK IMS (PE?
I'M STARVING
ANO H'S SET-
TING COLO/

WE'LL
FINO
OUT.

1OU BET?
ANP Fl NOING
WHAT at

LEAST
GIVES US
SOMETHING
TO poy

SOME-
THING

FUNNY'S
GOING
ON ON
TM(S ,
BABY?

BUT NOT WITH THE "ATORiS"? IT'S
WORSE THAN I THOUGHT.., COMPLETEC/
TOTALS О/ MAYBE ONE OF THE PEMO
MACHINES FROM YOUI? SHOW SURVlVEO
THIS PISASTER...

THAT LIGHT
WAS BL (VICING.

MAYBE
THERE'S $oME
INTELLIGENCE
Вен imp it?

TROLLOPEN'S
ASTERO STATION
IS REGISTERS P,

ISN’T IT? SO
EVENTUALLY, THEY'LL
START WORRY-
ING ABOUT (T
... IN ABOUT TEN
years


ОКАТ, СЖАУ; if TOu REALLT
WANT TO KNOW. VK.THERE’^
ONE...THE MO6T geAUT(FUt
Piece im toup collection.am
ARTIFACT OF TERRAKJ OR.'OIH
...woMipeeFut macmuue/
wi?e root, ano— 1

Аб LOM6 Аб
if МЮМЕб/
TOMORROW
/HORN :м<ь
we Hif
тне
?ОАР/



--AMP RIGHT А\д/АУ, I &ET TMl-5 FEEL-
ING... AKI INTUITION, 1 <bUE<6. THEN-
WHAM ' 1 КМО1Л/ WHAT MA^e^ IT
WORN! I'Ve 0EEN TOLP П'6 A K'MP
OF MUTATION.

ЖИЗД5Й 15

WHY HOTT 5OVE PEOfLe ICOA’ MAN HAS
зеленее? the stage where ant further
APVANCE UP THE EVOLUTIONARY LAPPER
MUST 56 CMROUGH MIS МАг> KES AMP ROBOTS’
coulp ее... but .t	’не feepfack

EFFECT/
a=T=R =MPtes< hour-; of okming through the same psakrem lanc>-
ксдре the l ghtgrows о,** m.ght s failing.

SOME TUNG TO
OK IN KT J'VE THOUGHT
A8OUT WHAT IME'VE
SEEM. ITS STRAKGe
 THAT LlGHTALWATS
COMES FROM the
-SAME POSitioM.

MEIKO!

REALLY

40 LUCK TO IT.
I Ops 'T WAN"r
TO ALARM VOU,
3UT OUR FALL
WAS ,'UFLUEHCec?

3TSOME
OITTSIPS FORTE

- SOMETH IMG>
MM PILOT/klG
COULOM'T
AFFECT.

HEM!TAE
PERTOfR-
MAMCE IS
START IMG
AGAIM...

JUST
LIKE
LAST t
мюнт/
SOME-
TIME

LAIER...

ой, ^tel'. it was еием
MORE POWERFUL THAN
LAST NiGHT... ' MORe
COMPLEX ... MORE
precise...' ju^r

Maonificemt.'

ARE YOU OKAY"? YOU
LOOK. PALE WE CAM
60 SACK TO THE
a^te<?o if
YOU WANT.

I... I UlKT НЕЕС»
•SOME 5LE6P! AT OAWM,
WC'LL MIT THE ROAP.
I ?EE SOMETHiMG IM THE PIT-
TANCE... i \М£'РЕ ТНБК6./ АТАМ....'

(.ATE THE
нетт
AF-ret?
MOOtf ...

STOP f?EAOIU(b! LOOK'.

hmmm...? ом...» i see it. too.,
something smiMimg? iwow' it
lOO< иъ TINO PAYS — THlpTT-
EI(3HT HOUI? ONES AT ThAT-

JUST TO OET Hef?E'

IT... IT'S A	lO... I AMO

the size or it . • uusei.ievAtfi.E'

PEM IMPS me of the

P4PAMIOS OF QUIPOFOM

ALOE ЗАРА AM AMP —

THAT'S A ClTV AT ITS
SASE

MICE SPEECH, АТАМ

ns ни; p₽ouuU'
fl AT l OM THAT

couFiHSep me.

FOLLOW ME... AMP you MILL r'
PEPF6IME ALL МНЕ. EFPLAMA-
TIOMF WAT TOU tTEFIPe.

AT LEAFT...
ALMOFT
ALL VME
gPPLA MAT-ONE

WELCOME TO FTAepA-FE/ IM МНЕ POPMU
TOMGUE, FTAEOA'FE FlMPLM MEAMF:
мне ptramip upom мне ?FHef?e.

WELL- AH - we SAW...g(&
LI&MT... AMP we ...WELL, WE.

Ef?...yOUK eKeETIMG^S UONOfJuS
AMP • UH ...you'PE THE PPOMOTeP'
АТАМ! IMPPE'SS HIM'
follow
Me' you
бг^естео
vecow'

STEL, SOME-
ТН'МСэ WRONG
SOU <£EP
^TARING.

л>ал к.4 л
‘W

l-I’M O><AS...buT
ii"5 almost as
te the темРТА-
ТЮМ‘5 PULLING

Me/

° Л . А*л

(Л ла
хЛ.А>
л-'*ЛААЛМ^Л> лд fi.


ObR CASE, ;T HA$
ses'j three ’hOusa’-o
t ato h umpired piptV’
SIGHT TEARS.. AMO TH'S
//OPLO .'5 A TOTAL
PESr^T' A«, if ’ 'WASN'T
W	2 Аь О

•-ч >fA'-rtP’ col'/e^ters. •

MH SPAC ES t<- THE OLDEST REPRESENTED.
HES. UDE.eP, GjEMTLEMC-M / T,	Fy

LAMD6D OM STAEC2A-FE Е.КАСТСУ SEtfEM
HUMORED THOUSANC?

yeARS AGO IN LOCAL

TIME/ QUITE SO/

ЧУНАТ?/ 3UT MO

RACE IN THE
&ALAX7 CAM
LIME THAT LONG/

г(>
7не ptram<o emits some form of rapiAtion which
APPARENTLY HALTS ТНБ AGING PROCESS IT HAS PRAWN TO
|T A SAMPLING OF EACH AMP EVERY TH INK'MG GALACTIC
SPECIES AMP NAS GRANTEO THEM
ETERNAL LIFE / 5UT FOR WHAT
PURPOSE...?

IT REMAINS A
TOTAL ANO COfA-
&LETE M'/STERV/

*i»w ooes емейуомЕ
ASSEMBLE ATOUMP THE
P^AAW LIKE THIS?

0UT OUE MUST
AC7MI7 THAT IT HAS
земд^Ес?

STRANGE LT THE LAST
TWO EVEMIMGlS...

X HAVEN'T SEEM
AHTTHlNGSiM ILAS’lli
ЛЛ7 SEVEN HUNpffEO
T HOuSANO 'lEAfK'

VES! ALL THOSE
lUC’SEPieLe LIGHTS/
AMAZ.IM6 SCXJNO5.-L

4Ol*e CONS IOER IT ASA KINO
OF GOO/ ATAM. CULTS AMP* f?E*
LIGIOnS ARE BO(?M/THEH OIE.
THE РУ^АЛЛЮ IS UUMOVEO

SO THIS HAS epOUGMT
AH UPSUP&E IM PAITH .
aaaong the-- нет/
LOOK ! SOMETH ING
even лид(?е ,
ETTRAOR Of UARV A


exhausted вт all that's happened, atansleeps...

when suddenly..

just

дерекА

дерена/

THE VERT
SAMeZ

6^EL/
i thought
TOU WERE A
prsoNeR

OF THE —

WELL, THIS PVRAMIP rS A
living STARSHIP- Her
mission is to gather
A COMPLETE SELECTION
OF THE INTELLIGENT
creatures in our
GALAXY.

THE LEGENDARY
PARADISE PLANET... •
the perfect world

HIPPEN At THE
CENTER OF THE

UN IVERSE Г '

TO TAKE US ALL TO
AeOENAI

THIS IS lUPEEP ONE
OF THE THEORIES
WE HAP FORMED'

BUT- GATHER US
FOR WHAT PURPOSE'’

SHE...'?'
BETTER
acquainted

EVERYONE MUST 0g READY FOR
gOARPING TOMORROW MORNING/

THE PXRAMIP NOT AT
ALL/SHE JUST WAMTEP TO
GET BETTER ACQUAINTED
WITH Me.

SURE I SMES SEEK WAITING FOR ME
MOST OF AN ETERNITY...SAV5 IT'S
PRETTT RARE THAT	_____

A "PILOT" ARRIVES ( f )

JUST IN TIME'







Star is the result of something quite deliberate. At that time, I had decided to force myseh to adopt a
more disciplined sty e, so that the visua treatment o* my stories could become simple and clear I
was trying to fight one of my problems, which was to compensate for any imprecisions in my
linework, or for any limpness in style, by a sheer accumulation of details.

By fore ng myself to draw Upon A Star in a style as pure and simole as possible, I could no
longer find refoge in ar excess of details. I was obi ged to work very hard on my lines, and make each
one count, because every true representation of anatomy matter and shape could only be expressed
through simple lines.

This prevented me from overaccumulating the kind of end'ess and neurotic details, which often
help turn a 'datively mediocre panel into something interesting. It is otherw se a fairty traditional and
classical method

This approach enabled me to work relatively fast, and yet forced me to perfect my linework.
From that standpoint, except for certain panels which I think are on у just average, I am rather oleased
about Upon A Star, which I consider a success
fit-' Upon A Star came out. i
startec to forget about it, until my partner and puolishe', Jean Arnestay, asked me to do a shorter
prequel to it, The Repairmen, for its re-publcatfon in a general pub:ic hardcover

Then, I reread it and I began noticing that it al ended on a big question, a very open end mg. It
was a little ike the traditional 'And they ived happily ever after .‘Уон knew that, in real ife, that’s
wnen the problems begin1

So, I started to tnink aboiz all this and, quite suddenly the same thing that I had experienced
when I had sat down to do Upon A Star nappened to me again In a flash, I saw the entire Aedena
Cycle! At the time, there were many persona things that I was experiencing in my life, such as
discovering a new nutritional system, a new way of dealing with social conditioning, etcetera, which
helped me figure out the answers to the basic questions that had unwittingly asked at the end of the
first story These, of course, are. What is the Pyramid? Who bu t it? What was it doing on this planet’
Where is Aedena? What is Aedenas purpose? etcetera...

I began to realize If rat all tnese questions were in fact lead ng uo to a series of extraord nary and
fascinating answers, which fully warranted a sequel to Upon A Star.

AT. first, I tnought I could answer all these questions in a second volume, and I started to wr te a
script with that purpose in mind But wnen it was over, I realized that it wasn’t possibe. There were
too many things. There was enough mater al for at least three or four books1 So, that’s what I decided
to do.

I have now f nished drawing the second volume of tne Cycle, which is called The Gardens of
Aedena, and I’ve started plotting its sequel, which will be entitled The Goddess. There will very
like у be a fourth and fifth volume, but I haven't found their titles yet.

r
INTOLERABLE !

1'Л1 HAVING MV

I55UE A
PROTEST 1
tMMEW-ELY !

WHAT.. WHAT HAPPENEP ?'
ONE MOVENT Out! PLANED
CAUGHT IN THf ^РАМГАРРУ
OF ALL fTOeMZ, THEN ...

NOTHIN^ .'

cant gee anvthin<s...n<9
SEH5E of MOVEMEHT.

I VOTE WE GET OUT ANP
L.OOK AKOUt^O

OF COUftS-E.' W£
R’EP’R'eSENT THE
'ЛОРиС?’> MAJof^
NA-lONS. IF WE'PE
HQ-r AT ТЮ&
5UMM ~ MEETINjJ-

УБ5' THE

VE₽V FUTURE

OF THE

WC>₽LP 1$

IN тне
BALANCE/
UI

HA.1 LOOK.' COME YOUK
HIGHLY APVAUCep BEINGS !

NOT UNLESS
Humans fly'

Я —ANP ITS SEVEN
Я CRYSTAL C TIES.
/ YOU >V'LL SMOP ’uY

HAVE THE

<OPPOR—UNITV TO
VISIT ONE OF тцелл .

YOU WILL BE THE
FIRST OF YOUR KINP
, ALLOVYGU CONTACT

WITH OUR CIVILE

\\ ZATION. WE KNOW
you all have

. 'J IMPOR-rAWT

I " RESPONSIBILITIES

I U WE CAN HELP YOU

I n Solve voutr

I PROBLEMS

THEY PONT
APPEAR TO
PE. HUMAN .

THE STORM WAS CAUSING YOU Я
VEHICLE'S ENGINES TO PAIL
THOUGH NOT ViS'BlE. OUR SHIP
WAS CLOSE ENOUGH TO RESCUE
YOU- GUI? LfcAP£RS EELT THE '
OCCASION was RIGHT eop Л
YOU TO BECOME OUK	ff

GUESTS	Ш

•HPL-VSH \	<

these \ \Я

5CPEENG, % \SF
YOU CAN % if
VIEW OUP X.

PLANET.

OBSERVE ITS
LARES, GARDENS,
CANALS. VAST
FORESTS--

’HERE 5 NO OTHER EXPLANATION.
WHATEVER SE NGS HAVE GONE
TO THE trouble OF BRINGING
US HERE /MUST BE p—л -------

HIGHLY ACAANCEP.' I I \l

WELCOME
ABOARP
THE
/LKTO^'
MY name
IS^ZZCW.
NCrEPIBLE 1
WHAT Я9 those
SLACK SQUARES
REPRESENT ?

BYTES OF NEW
PATA.

THOSE
HU<SE

BIRRS...
PEOPLE

RIPIN6

THEM... I

el os/
WHAT
THE
RE VIL
ARE WE
<5C»N5 T<2
PV IN
THIS
PLACE?

~V~

EVERY SECTOR OF
THE UNIVERSE IS
COVEWfP EACH
ЛАУ, OUR COM-
PUTERS ENCOPS
ANP SYNTHESIZE

THE PARK ZONES ARE THOSE
RlSCONNECTEP FROM THE
CENTRAL SYSTEM. yOUR
WORL.P, FOR ЕХАЛАPlE,

SOME 2CX2OOO У₽АР5
A<3O, A PtANE-AR-y
KEBSLUION TOOK PLACE
THERE. SINCE THEN.’jOUE
EVOLUTION CEASEP TO
parallel Ours YOU
PIZO6RES5EP’ IN SCIENCE
AnP TecHNOLOSy.. BUT
LOST CONTROL ОГ TOUR
PE-S’RUCTIVE URSES.'
THAT’S WHV WARS ANP>
CRISES HAVE RAVA CEP
/OU R WOPLP. THAT'S
WhV те PRESENT STATE
IS PI SA ST KOUS /

first you mus* change yourself,
PROFESSOR EVANS ALL Or YCAl
MUST. SUCH IS THE LAW COfSE .'

I j -юнсЯа-
4 THE SEPARATION FAMPRW (NPIVIPUAL EULPlL
MENT. NOW. SEE THE SHIN’NG PVRA.MIP...V
WE STOP THERE NEXT IT'S ONE OF OUP
PEYTENeRATive units

ENeRSY CHARGE

SYSTEV.S. ELIOS.

'ЛТтСРЕРГ..! 1 .



THIS WAY. MY
FPIENPS '
АЕРЕЧА
JUST (SAVE
:OU HEALTH»
BEAUTY ANP
OUTH BUT
ANOTHER

AWA'TS !

I HAP TO APJU5T
THE FfcAENeRATlVE

ESPECIALLY FOR

THEIR SEVERELY

PfcPLETfcP ЗЮ-

L





WHAT A -T?A^SPPRTArr pj
SYSTEM ' THESE S' RPS ARE
WONPERHJL, INCPeP'HLE. . '
they SeeM almost
intelligent.

they are they rf oafry/ns us
Ю THF SECONP C IRCLE, WHERE
AN ARTIST-MAGICIAN HAS
СГАРТЕР SOME V'ERY SPECIAL
HOLO-PORTRA TS...

iNPEELT FOR THIS OCCASION
WE SHALL TAKE OuR THIRO
MEANS OF TZAVEl

YES THE PORT RAI'S

A' AGE ’MPee
AEPENAS /MAGIC
LETS J5 PEViVE
THE SOUL OF THE
LTMILP W.'THiN YOU.

Л6 Al L FEEi. CLOSER
TO THE TIME WHEN
WE SHALL ENTER
THE THIRL? ClfKLt.
A'f,

PKWORPlAL

SOURCE

4<rie4TiFi<: an:

Social сонаи&г..

LlJTtOH

АГР/ГОАСМ,
EAKTHAfZM.

FLV'NG? MY

OLPE5T pre am

те i A r&r,
rue? AO^e iyto
TUA CfTYSTAl.
l/oer££ AT WE
TOP OF THE
THfRP C/PCl-E

THIS IS THE
ARCHANGEL ANP
THE TWELVE
WISE ONES OF

AEPENA

>ОЫ? REcGiONS HAVE BECOME
BASTARPIZEP FOtr»A&, TwlSTEP
-RANSCRlPTIONG OF THE
ULTIMATE RRiNCIPLE. RATHER
THAT BE LINKEP FALSELY TO-
GETHER THROUGH SHAKY
ptTJTRiNAL JONNECPONS. LET
yOUR SPRITS JOIN WiTH THE

ЛЛЛТ ANCIENT WALS STIMULATEP
COURAGE ANP PiSCiPUNb. IN
TH£iR TRAVELS, THESE GOlPERS
PDGSESSEP BY THEGOPOFV.AR
ERAPiCATfP OBSOLETE CUL-
TURES WHILE fXRAWPlNG THE
REACH OF .MORE MATURE CIVIL-
IZATIONS. TUB*/, THE LIMITLESS
PESTRUctiVE WL? OF «XiR
MOPEKN WLAWN5 STIMULATES
NOTHING >7 .MERELY TrIREA’ENS
TO PE&TROV Au. THE TRUE FIGHT
MUST BE A PEACEFUL INPUSTRIAL.

YOUR TECHNOLOGY POLLUTES
both you к people ano
their environment, oe-
GTKOYING THEM PHVSiCALty
ANP PSYCHICALLY. SERVE
EVOLUTION. NOT PROFITS.
MAN'S FUTURE PROGRESS
WILL COME FROM A. VtA$SiV£
MEL PING OF «ОЯНС6-. PH' LOS -

ОРНУ, .ART, A-NP
I -T I	RELIGION, ALL

V.-ЧД -А	ATTUNEO ~o

	THE ORIGINAL

.	COSMIC

.W7;V4 1	ORVER.

you? FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
REFLECT VOUR L-IMITEP VISIONS.

CAPitALI5iM A.np COM.MuNt*M
BEG FOR A NEW SYNTHESIS
which wile rebalance the
wealth Without wiping it
AWAY. THIS NEW FOoT'CS
MUST INTEGRATE THE COSMIC

PIMENSiON OF
existence
г<1 «Г •> Ai ANP the
_ Jfc? concept
ЛС.r i r->r~ г,/-.

•Юи* 6PUCATONAL SYSTEM IS
AXIN TO A MENTAL ATTACK
ON YOUR CHILPREN. IT PRE
VEN’S THEM FROM PIS COVER
INS THEM TRUE COSMIC IPENTITY.
XXI FLL THERMiNCS WITH TOO
MUCH USELESS information
ANP LEAVE NO ROOM FOR
THOSE BITS OF
XN0WIEP5E ANP
JM^4№ revelation that
will enable them
\Гт®| TO UN PEPS TA NP
ТНП IT PLACE in the
'OtJ GREAT ORPFR
R OF CREA-iON.

YES ANZ
ALL OF
MAMKINPS
AG WELL '

IIT.V you? EVOLUTION WILL
/-' Y s UБ ON„Y r rlRCUGH YCL R

->лм EFFORTS,’неоивн
THE HELP Y-plJ HR NG rO

YOUR PLANET T IS A
PROPIGIOUS TASK. E'NCE
T'lE GREAT piSCONNECTiON,
VAat NUMBERS OF YOUR

FELLOW MEN MOVEON
A INVERTED. MiS-
\	GUI PEP COURSE-

WHY SP6NP ALL THAT .MONEY
C?N WEAPONGS’ WHY ALL THESE
ECONOMIC ANP ENERGY
CRISES F YOUR WCRLP L'VcS
FOK GAIN ... INSTEAP OF
BEAUTY, TRUTH, ANP cSOOP.
PUT MONEY A' THE SERVICE
OF THESE VALUES ANP YtPU
WilL FINP -HE TRUE
HAPPINESS
THAT IG	vrL*V-w

INNER PEACE.	 >L

.-ahsfoitmation
HERE HAG BEEN I^YcHO-
pocogical. we have
Kfc. UVENATeP HOUR
VERY CELLS, CLEANSE?
YOUR SOULG, ANP KE
AWAK&NEP УОие
SENSE PF COSMIC
AWARENESS WO^-
YOU SHALL
RETURN TO

VOLIK
HOME

WH'LE ON voutr JOURNEY
OF RETURN, THIS ENERGY
EGG WilL ENABLE YOU

-TO CCWPLE ТЕ YAIR TKANSFOBMATON АЮ TO REFLECT UP-
ON ’HIS New PEWPECTIVE FORvOUie PLANET'S EXPANSION.
Л ILL THgy VA»-r rr LIVE ANEW СЫ A PLANET 5A.LE2..^«7//?

CFfcFATuTN "EXPAXglCW1
15 UNPftrWAV!

S'fK'Wi bJrvb/OK 79&Э
ITt-*5'l?-IN6 THE VE55='-^fc?5
A₽g APF'KC’ACHfNG тне«е
final C*?siT.

ENCASED ’«-'’ТЕСТЕР, 4 X tte<N0S PRX?P IS^M* T“fc STAPy -Mfci<?
VISS'ON l£ BEGIMKING. THEY	A V’5«t»J FFOV -he W6>₽lP

A-f THE centerC* THE UNIVERSE. A Pl ANt* CAi-LEP AEPe^a.
edena started a$ a job l had to

do for the twentieth annversary issue of the French magazine (.’Expansion, which is very similar to the
American Fortune. Tney had as<ed me to draw a story for tneri, and I bad thougl it t  at it wou d be
amusing to do sorretning thatwou'dbe read by business people instead of my usual public.

। t ad six pages, and Иг total freedom to create enytni-g I wamec When I started to talk about it
with Jean-Pau Appe.l-Gue-y who, at the time, was a little like my spiritual advisor, we qu ckly arrived
at rhe conclusion that, instead of doing a stra ght science 'ictionor ‘antasysto'y, we werego ng to
present them with a tract, a manifesto, something like the comics the Chinese used to do under ллао,
even if itwasabit of a simplistic and naive approach.

Of course, the story would be centered around a message that was dear to us, that s, fui1 of a
sense o1 cosmic wonder, with angels, superior dimensions, etc it was a I Herculean task, if not ir terns
□‘quantity then of quality I must adrr t now tnat I fee tnat I have only achieved perhaps 90 percent
or 30 percent of what we were really trying to do.

Aedena was received with total stupefaction by my usual pub ic, who just couldn’t understand
howl could do someth ng so bizarre On the other hand, it was very popular with the readers of
(.’Expansion, because, ever f they didn't believe ir its message, they nevertheless recognizee n t a
language with which they were already familiar. It probably had more impact than if I had done an
ordinary science fiction story!

To me, Aedena is a ttle like a prototype for The Adenea Cycle that I am currently working on
Althou^i it is not the same planet, and I don’t have f ve characters wk о are going to be trans-
mogrif ed, am nevertheless fo lowing the same master plan, but ma<mg it much denser and richer. I
am taking sonrett rig that was, in many respects, quite primitive, ever elemental; and turning it into
something extraordinary while attempting to remain faithful to our original intention.
“CAPTURING THE С О S M IC ESSENCE" b у МОЕ В I U S

he mf uenceof Appd-Guery’sspintua
teachings on rryw< is really hard to evaluate, because it was an intrinsic part of a continuing

process that everyone goes through in one way O'- another It is both trying to mprove oneself, as we I
as, nnd '-g answers to the questions of I fe

I was very consciously attempting to fine a non-egoistic sty le in re sense that I was trying to
transcribe a universe of non-human shapes in the literal sense of the word—witnout using my bag
of tricks or my personal obsessions, but by oLgging mysc 'direct у into archetypes

On mat level, I consider that I have failed But wnat is important is rat1 have t ied And by trying,
I have drtfwri □ certain number of essons, ano gamed an insight wnich has been very valuable to me.
Perhaps, it w I someday enab e me to succeed in doing whut I haven’t so far been able to do.
		Sf			za "HCW THEM i5 .T R2S515LE FOje А CITY TO Fi.y IMT-9 SPATE ? IT-MU^T pl PAT pg Д /eMice. ЪОУЕТ'пЛьь A V£WC£ 41UST LAW? <9N A PtANgT. 511’ IFNQ’ ENPL?WEt? WITH A MEV. A£7UL. <T 1$ Pi^>t1gC? TO	peep^p amp  PEC-PE-R’... UMTO -HE PLAWET'S i/ЕРУ COTE. "
1 =	— —				- CH^O.VfCl.£4 CF TH£ P'/ZVtf	


IN PEEP

УЕТ IT
REMAINS
beautiful

WITH THE SOUL CRYSTAL
the GREAT CELESTIALS
WILL COME BACK ANP

GAVE NEW LIFE TO

4__ THE СПУ. ______s'

NOT
60 FAST*
\MA>T FOR
. Л4Е/

/ PRAY

THE C>REAM
CAME IN TIME
TAIS VENICE
SINKS WITH
ALARMINO

X^^PEEC? У

MANY

Bill L Ri NOS
APE ALPHA RY
. IN RUIN. >




те ТЕ/ИР1Е
OF ₽LME
. &OLP<

THIS PC?/NT,
we /must
'N
ABSOLUTE
< SILENCE '

THE $C?UL CKTSTAL
S'N65 With JOY,
TP । PION ! ITS FWEF’
WILL KE STOKE THE
O/RCtliTS, ANP PETUPN

VOL? TO the
<	FAT HEP.	>

NIC

Л1АТТЕИ WPPP^
AREN'T NEEPEP THE

5l?UL CPV^TAL

ч. 6LIIPES /VIE . У

Y ТНЕРЕ/ THE PALACE OP THE
6Р5Л11С AV2THEP. THE RE5CN-

ATiN<5 $TAT(JE 5TILL LIVES, ₽UT
rENTUPlES C?F РЕСАУ HAVE

. TAKEN A TG>LL C>N IT£J

X. CCNTA^T CIPCUITpy. У




THERE ARE AT TH/$ Ti/HE 7Z7 ACT/YE VEN/CEE. EA/ER 5СЮО HAYE ALREADY EUNK. 34 ARE EN(7AN<jERE(?
WRITTEN ANC7 C7RAWN IN VENICE, EAL/FC>RN>A 70 R0C. 7Э83. nN.
THE ! TIMES

OF JEAN "MOEBIUS" G

nave n common? They are both the creations of Moeb us.

Fat Co a tw sted loop of paper and ar Airtight Garage

The Moebius of the Airtight Garage is French artist Jean Giraud. His rom-de-p ume, "Moebius , is
only borrowed from that of a very real German mathematician of the same name who created the
famous, twisted loop of paper, better <ncwn as the "Moebius Strip." Let's put aside mathematics,
however, and talk about art.

Our Moebius was bom in a suburb of Pans or May 8,1938. He spent a great deal of his
childhood with his grandparents, and it was on their bookshelves that he discovered the works of
famous '9th century illustrators, such as Gustave Dore. He was fascinated rot on у by classic
г lustration, but by comic strips as well, esoecially TARZAN, TINTIN, FLASH GORDON, SPIROU,
MANDRAKE, and THE PHANTOM. In fact, ne was so impressed by THE PHANTOM, that he later oaid
hornmage to it in his graphic novel, THE AIRTIGHT GARAGE.

When he was sixteen, Giraud began artistic stud es at the Arts Appl ques, a profass onal school
in Pans. It was around this same time that, through tne French edition of F & SF, he disccverec the
fascinating concepts which were being exploded in science fiction

Not long after, his first professional ilustrations were published. Then, when he was seventeen,
he spent eight months in Mexico. For young Moebius, this period was the first turning point in his life.
His many discoveries in M.ex co, such as Jazz, "real' art, tne marvels of the desert, as well as the spirit
of the Mexican people, proved to be an mcrec idle inspiration for his own work.

At the same time, he had also sold h s first comic strip, a western ca led, FRANK & JEREMIE. Tne
strip was so successfu that Giraud began to draw more western stories He met Joseph Gi' lain (Jije),
a very famous comic artist who was one of the founders of the comic magazine, SPIROU. Jije was the
creator of the famous western strip, JERRY SPRING, of wnich Giraud was a big fan

After Giraud's mandatory two-year stint in the army, Jije invted him to become his assistant on
JERRY SPRING. But, after a year he left for S*udio Hacnette, where lie worked as an illustrator Ъ' an
encyclopedia-type work, THE HISTORY OF CIVILIZATIONS. Hachette was mportar: to Graud for
another, more personal reason. It was there that tie met his wife-to-be, Claudine.

But, standard commercia comics were not enough for Giraud There was another side of his
artistic nature that craved an outlet. So, simultaneously taking insoiration from Will E derand tne other
MAD artists, he began drawing black-humored vigner.es in an ат style completely different from the
realistic one for which he had become known. These were oublished in the French satirica, quasi-
unde'ground magazine HARA-KIRI.

Wanting another signature for th s other sty e of work, Giraud chose MOEBIUS, a pun-like
pseudonym that eventually would become more famous than his rea name!
History was made in 1962 wner Giraud met writer Jean-Michel Chadier. Together they created a
character who raoidly deve opec a life beyond anything they imagined. He was LIEUTENANT
BLUEBERRY, originally meant asonlyoneof tne denizens of their strip, FORT NAVAJO. BLUEBERRY s
adventures have lasted for twenty-five years, n stones that celebrate the myth and panorama of our
American West. It also solidified Giraud's reputation as one of the foremost artists in the genre.

Between 1964 and 1969, BLUEBERRY took up all o* Giraud’s time, and it wasn't until he began a
series of i1 lustrations for the French translations o‘ works by SF luminaries such as Poul Anderson, Reger
Zelazny Robert Heinlein and others, that Moebius was once more launched upon the scene The
intervening five years had once again changed the artist’s stye, wh ch now reflected the influence of
American artists from the pages of GALAXY, such as Ernsct

Then, m 1973, the first true Moebius comic story ironically called THE DETOUR, was published in
PILOTE, heralding yet another direction in the artists varied career BLUEBERRY was now destined to
hold a less important place in Moebius’ life

In 1974, rather than wor<ing on another western adventure, the artist concentrated on developing
this new style. Bes des creating stones such as WHITE NIGHTMARE and IS MAN GOOD?, in THE
HUNT FOR THE VACATIONING FRENCHMAN, he gave bidh to another character who would go on
to bigger things, MajorGrubert!

As is often the case in “creative- times, Giraud was not alone in discovering a new outlet for his
artistic desires. In 1975, he, aong with artist Philippe Dru; I let, writer Jean-Pierre Dionnet, and fellow-
traveler Bernard Farkas, banded together to launch a new month'y comic magazine, METAL
HURLANT. Once again, comic book History was in thema<ing.

From the beginning, readers knew that METAL HURLANT was special. Tne radically diffe-ent
approach to story-te irg within its cages changed tne face o' European com es. The seminal,
breakthrough SF; fantasy stories such as Moebius ARZACH arc THE AIRTIGHT GARAGE, have
influenced an entire generation of new artists and writers. Cehainly, such works can be credited with
opening a window on come art to a population outside of the traditional comic audience.

This window served to introduce Moebius to artists in a variety of other fields. One of triese
artists, filmmaker A ejandro Jodorowsky (EL TOPO), was to foment yet another change in his ire

in 1975, Jodorowsky, along with Dan O’Bannon, I- R. Giger, Gins Foss anc several other artists,
was working on a f m version of Frank Herbert’s classic SF novel, DUNE. Moebius joined the team
and, through 1976, worked or the designs of costumes, storyboards, etc. Unfortunate'у adequate
financing fex the oroject was never secured. But, while the film may not have been comoletec, the
time Moebius spent with Jodorowsky opened his eyes to a new way of life.

Jodorowsky had introduced Moebius to the metaphysical cutloo<cf authors sucn as Carlos
Casteneda. The artist realized that art might not necessarily be ar end to itself, and began to turn
towards more spintual pursuits

After the DUNE oroject fo ded, Dan O'Bannon asked Moeb us to worn with him or another SF
film, ALIEN, for which he designed a number of spacesuits and costumes

Around this same time, Moeoius met Jean-Paul Aopel-Guery the leader of a French Zen
commune His ohilosophy forced the artist, wno had already become more spiritually aware, to
furthe' question his life style, and active у rechannel his energies toweros an ideal of purity

Wlule the artist was cnanging his life, the Americans were just starting to be turned on to this new
wave in European comic ah, with thecreat on of the American counterpart of METAL HURLANT,
HEAVY METAL MAGAZINE.
Spiritual development bad not s owed down art stic output and, in 1978, Moebius stcryboarded
and designed THE TIME MASTERS, a feature-lengm animated fi m by Rene Lai oux [FANTASTIC
PLANET), based on a popj ar French SF novel by author Stefan Wul. Mearwnile, Moeoius haa
renewed his collaboration with Jodorowsky, this time on a nightmarish comic book story; THE EYES
OF THE CAT.

1979 was a year filed with creative energy for Moebius. He produced his first BLUEBERRY story
since 1974, and, also with Charlier; created anotner new western character, JIM CUTLASS. Then, after
bringing the ncredible saga of THE AIRTIGHT GARAGE to a dose, he created THE WORLD KILLER, a
spin tua space opera for wnich George Lucas wrote a foreword

The following year saw him working once more with his fiend, Jodorowsky This time, the two
created a vast, mystical, galactic saga, which centerec on the adventures of a futuristic private eye
named JOHN DIFOOL. The first two vo umes, THE DARK INCALand THE BRIGHT INCAL, appeared
in 1981, while, simultaneously Moebius produced two more BLUEBERRY adventures It was at this
same time that American director Steven Lisberger asked the artist to work on the designs and
storyboards of the first film to use large amounts of comouter animation, TRON.

The time he spent in America did not sway the artist from his new spiritual path, and to reflect its
influence upon him, Moebius started to use the signature of Jean Gr As Jean Git; he strived to achieve
a purer artistic style, one more concerned with simplicity and beauty. Amongst the projects that
demonstrated this new look was AEDENA, which was based on Appel-Guery s pt । osophical
concepts Still in the pre-production phase is another project started during the same oenod,
INTERNAL TRANSFER. This feature-length an mated feature will be directed by Amie Wong, whom
the artist met whie working on TRON.	\

in 1983, whie both a third JOHN DI FOOL adventure, THAT WHICH IS BELOW, and a rew
BLUEBERRY album appeared, Moebius end I is fami у followed Appei-Guery to Tahiti. The Jean Gir
stye, too, was much seen that year, with publication of MEMORY OF THE FUTURE (later revised as
STARWATCHERj, a co lection of exouisite i lustrations, and UPON A STAR, a 39-page comic story
commissioned by the French car manufacturer, Citroen, as a gift for their too car salesmen.

The stay in Tahiti was a short one, and the fo lowing year, Moebius moved to Los Angeles to
continue his work or INTERNAL TRANSFER. Fhen, the Japanese studio, Tokyo Mov e Shinsha,
requested that the artist contribute designs to their animated f m, NEMO, based on Winsor McCays
celebrated comic-strip. While working or NEmO n Japan, Moebius began plotting THE GARDENS
OF AEDENA, the sequel to UPON A STAR. THE GARDEN OF AEDENA s tne hera.d of a new cosmic
saga which wi I eventua у link upw th other, ea-iier works, to form the basis of a Moebius Un verse.

In 1985, Moebius finished the rourth JOHN DIFOOL volume, THAT WHICH IS ABOVE, and began
to work on the twenty-fifth BLUEBERRY adventure. Then, in collaboration with a young American
artist, Geof Darrow, he produced the remar<able illustration portfc o, CITY OF FIRE.

Last year; besides completing THE GARDENS OF AEDENA, Moebius found time to contribute
designs to the live-action feature, MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, where he redesigned several "He-
Man" concepts for Production Designer, William Stout, as well as to work on WILLOW, a live-action
fantasy picture to be produced by George Lucas and directed by Ron Howard.

On Moebius’ agenda for the current year are the fi£th installment of the JOHN DIFOOL saga, THE
FIFTH ESSENCE, which w I contain 100 pages, and THE GODDESS, the tn rd volume ir what could
be dubbed the AEDENA CYCLE.

Moebius continues to walk the spiritua path he has chosen, endeavoring to bring beauty and
enlightenment to those wno view his work. What changes the future will bring remain a mystery;
which only time will be able to solve