Moebius 1

Moebius 1 (1988)
Graphitti Designs
22 x 28.5cm, 267 pages

Moebius 1 is the first volume of a limited edition of 1500, signed & numbered hardback collection of beautiful, bound, books published by Graphitti Designs that collects and reprints the acclaimed trade paperbacks that were originally published by Marvel/Epic Comics.

The book jacket of Moebius 1 features an heroic portrait of Major Grubert of the Major Fatal series (with a likeness based on American actor Clint Eastwood), centred and framed on a tasteful pastel pink (originally this cover illustration featured on the pastel cyan cover of Marvel/Epic Comics’ Moebius 3: The Airtight Garage paperback). Once the book jacket is taken off, it reveals underneath an attractive burgundy faux leather hardcover with embossed gold foil stamped “Moebius 1” signature styled title and in the bottom-right hand a unique Starwatcher hand drawn styled circular icon. The impressive attention to detail on the presentation of these books alone is remarkable and feels high quality when held. The deluxe gold foil stamped illustration on the cover is reminiscent of the silver foil stamped illustration gracing the cover of the Silver Surfer: Parable hardback.

Moebius 1, jacket
Moebius 1, book
Moebius 1, signed & numbered page

This volume collects Moebius 1: Upon A Star, Moebius 2: Arzach & Other Fantasy Stories and Moebius 3: The Airtight Garage which contains the following Moebius works:

The Repairmen,
Upon A Star,
Aedena,
Celestial Venice,
Arzach,
The Detour,
The Ballade,
The White Citadel,
Ktulu,
The Legend of Arzach,
Major Fatal,
The Airtight Garage.

Moebius 1, The Repairmen
Moebius 1, Upon A Star
Moebius 1, Aedena
Moebius 1, Celestial Venice
Moebius 1, Arzach
Moebius 1, Harzak
Moebius 1, Arzak
Moebius 1, Harzakc
Moebius 1, Arzach double-page spread
Moebius 1, The Detour
Moebius 1, The Ballade
Moebius 1, The White Citadel
Moebius 1, Ktulu
Moebius 1, The Legend of Arzach
Moebius 1, Major Fatal
Moebius 1, The Airtight Garage

Both the Marvel/Epic Comics paperbacks and the Graphitti Designs hardback books are sadly now long out of print, rare editions that are much sought after today. Amazingly, Graphitti Designs still has copies in stock of Moebius 4-9 (at the time of writing) and is available online through their website here.

La Déviation

La Déviation (1973) / The Detour (1987)
Pilote N° 688


23.5 x 30.5cm, 7 pages



The year is 1973 and French bandes dessinées artist Jean Giraud, also known as “Gir”, has for the last 10 years tirelessly hand-drawn each panel and page on acclaimed Western comics series Blueberry with writer Jean-Michel Charlier for Pilote magazine in France. Inside however Jean Giraud is yearning for a change in artistic direction that the “Gir” pseudonym that which Blueberry is drawn under does not allow room for.

Between 1963-1964 Jean Giraud had dabbled in more fantastical elements under a separate nom de plume “Moebius” first used in French satirical magazine Hara-Kiri (itself a response to American humor magazine Mad) but afterwards disappeared for years.

When a friend and fellow artist at Pilote, Philippe Druillet, pushed Jean Giraud to do a whole comic story in his “Moebius” style, who at first could not find the will to. Then one day between drawing Blueberry stories, Jean Giraud had an epiphany to draw an experimental, new story. The resulting comic was part autobiography (an artist showing themselves in their work was unheard of in comics) and part flight of fancy that follows Jean Giraud & family on a road trip to Île de Ré (Island of Ré) situated on the French west coast, where they suddenly find themselves taking a La Déviation (The Detour)…

Pilote N°688 & GIR
La Déviation
The Detour