1989 – Moebius Odyssey

Mockba (1990)
Stardom 
11.5 x 15cm, 85 black & white and colour pages

Mockba (pronounced Moskvá and how the Russians write the name of their capital city Moscow in Cyrillic), is a small signed and numbered limited edition of 1500 and the first publication under Moebius’ Stardom imprint released in 1990. Mockba’s little red book presentation is a clear nod to Chairman Mao’s “Little Red Book” of the People’s Republic of China. The author and title text on the front cover are in large, gold lettering and set to the likeness of Moebius’ own handwriting whereas underneath the subtitle “Carnet de bords” (which means “record book” or “log-book” in English) is in smaller, uppercase lettering.

As you open this tome you discover a short 2 page introduction in French by Moebius that in English roughly translates:

“Carnet de bords

There is a tradition of the travel diary, which seems to be threatened by all the modern processes of film-making, all of them more and more practical, more and more efficient.

However, a simple notebook and some pencils can alone open all the doors of imagination and dreams.

Thus, over the years, I have filled many notebooks, some dragging in the back of my pockets for many months, filling up slowly, random waiting, dirty airport seats or even subway platforms … Others, more rarely, closing in one go, like this one, by example, realised in a short week and almost exclusively in the sinister and disproportionate hall of a big hotel in Moscow.

Sometimes, drawings and texts correspond well to the idea that one is commonly made of a travel note, but most of the time, one will search in vain for any relation with a place or a precise event. We can even estimate that the artist will have done as well, if not better, staying at home in the comfort of his studio.

However, these devotional drawings, even and especially the abstract ones, are transcriptions of states that could only be provoked by the journey and its tribulations, sketches on the spot, not of what happens in front of the eyes of the traveler, but from what is happening behind, where the magic mirror of the secret reality of the world unfolds to infinity.”

Beneath Moebius’ introduction is a drawing of a figure seated on a bench, writing into a small book (not unlike the one the reader is currently holding in their hands) and beside them a suitcase covered in stamps likely of places that they have visited.

Once you explore more inside Mockba, the more the pages resemble a sort of personal sketchbook and flows like a visual diary kept by Moebius in 1989 which for historical context was the same year that the Berlin Wall fell in Germany that once separated East and West Berlin and that would lead to the Reunification of Germany, followed years later by the collapse of the Soviet Union in Russia.

The Art of Moebius (1989)
Byron Preiss/Berkley Books/Epic Comics
21 x 27cm, 96 pages

Bearing the familiar image of Starwatcher II that first featured on the cover of Moebius: Starwatcher released a few years earlier but this time however on the cover of The Art of Moebius the image is instead framed in a pastel lavender.

The Art of Moebius trade paperback opens with an introduction by filmmaker George Lucas who is best known for his original Star Wars trilogy:

“In all his drawings, Moebius, demonstrates a command of many disciplines in art. He is a master draftsman, a superb artist, and more: his vision is original and strong. Since first seeing the Moebius illustrations in “Heavy Metal” years ago, I have been impressed and affected by his keen and unusual sense of design, and the distinctive way in which he depicts the fantastic. Perhaps what strikes me most of all about his work is it’s sheer beauty – a beauty that has always given me great pleasure.”

The Art of Moebius, introduction by George Lucas

Some of the work featured in The Art of Moebius appeared previously in his art book Moebius: Starwatcher but not featured are the preparatory sketches and line work behind some of Moebius’ wide ranging work including for his aforementioned Starwatcher series of serigraphs. Also of interest is work by Moebius done for film projects such as Little Nemo in Slumberland (1989) based on Winsor McCay’s groundbreaking comic strip of the same name.

The Art of Moebius, Crystal Major/Cristal Star (early designs)

The Art of Moebius, The Golden Triangle (early designs)

The Art of Moebius, Starwatcher III (early design)

The Art of Moebius, Starwatcher I (early design)

The Art of Moebius, City of Fire: The Street (with Geof Darrow)

Worthy of mention and found within the final pages of The Art of Moebius is the inclusion of work from Moebius’ rare notebook Roma-Amor or Viamor (1988).

Moebius on how Roma-Amor /Viamor came to be:

“I went to Italy for a month, to Naples and Rome, and one day, I was walking through the streets, when I saw an artisan making little notebooks, with nice paper and nice covers. So I bought one. At the time, I thought I would give it to somebody as a present, but I should have known better. I can never resist a notebook.   So I began filling it with drawings. I drew in every kind of situation: in the train, in the plane, waiting for friends, waiting for a car, in coffee shops, in the street, in bed, at the hotel. Everywhere. I tried to do these drawings without any kind of preconceived ideas, just following my inspiration. I emptied my mind and let the drawing emerge. If there is a repetition of characters and themes, which there is, it is because it is like a psychic map of my spiritual landscape at the time.  ”