While the name Jean Giraud may not be well known outside of the comic book world, it's no exaggeration to say that without him it would be impossible to imagine what modern science fiction would look like.
Jean Giraud, better known under the pseudonym "Mebis", helped found the magazine Métal Hurlant (published in the United States under the name Heavy Metal) and collaborated with filmmaker Alejandro Zodurowski.
After the two collaborated on the landmark comic book The Incal, Zodlowski invited Mebis to serve as a storyboard and concept artist for his 1975 adaptation of the sci-fi epic Dune. Although the film did not succeed, it brought Membis into Hollywood.
Dune storyboard
Attracted by his imagination and sense of design, the producers quickly invited him to participate in the production of more American films.
As a result, many of the classic sci-fi films of the 1970s and 1980s were designed or directly influenced by Mebbis, who spent decades helping to craft the look of beloved sci-fi epics.
Mebbis' most influential work to date is a 16-page comic story called The Long Tomorrow.
Like many of Mebbis' works, while it still looks breathtaking, it combines neon-lit black streets, crowded high-rises, traffic jams in the air, and scruffy figures that seem almost cliché today.
But this is the first time something like this has been drawn, and the first time that science fiction has embraced the visual chaos of a realistic urban environment. This pioneering work is reflected not only in architecture and mechanical design, but also in the fashion and clothing of city dwellers.
Despite the urban fantasy, exaggeration, and surreality in The Long Tomorrow, it comes out of the book because it feels so real, from Tokyo to London, so layered and built, it is the urban paradise and nightmare of every industrial city.
But "The Long Tomorrow" influenced not only science fiction films, but also literature. In 1984, William Gibson published Neuromancer, a far-reaching classic that gave birth to the sub-genre of cyberpunk and introduced the term "cyberspace" to the world.
Gibson himself considers Mebis to be his inspiration, saying: "Years later, I had lunch with Ridley, and when the conversation turned to inspiration, we were all very aware of our influence on the '70s magazine métal hurlant.
The "look" of Neuromancer is heavily influenced by some of the artworks I saw in Heavy Metal. ”
Back in Dune, despite the failure of the project, Mebis and Zodrowsky became close friends, and by the early '80s, the director decided to try writing comics. The result is the duo's epic science fiction novel The Incal, one of Mebbis' most beloved fans.
It combines the crowded, vertical city of The Long Tomorrow with space opera and supernatural elements — something that anyone who has seen Besson's film will immediately feel familiar with.
Möbius was hired as the film's conceptual artist, but he may not realize how much of an impact he would have had. Zodlowski certainly knew.
If generously stated that The Fifth Element was a love letter to Mebbis and his Heavy Metal colleagues, it received far more than its credibility.
The visual style of the film, not only the vehicle and set design, but also the costumes of John Paul Gaultier, looks like it was plucked from the pages of The Incal, and that's not all: the film also employs some plot points and themes.
There is even a chapter in the incal called The Fifth Essence. It was too much of a tribute to Jodulovsky, who after seeing the film tried to sue Besson and the studio for plagiarism. Mebbis failed due to his involvement as a conceptual artist, but the truth was clearly seen every time he watched the film.
As a result, The Fifth Element was a bittersweet experience for Mebis' fans, but the film is still by far the closest live-action film to capture the world in Membis' mind, and as a result, his fans look excited.
Not only will Hollywood and Europe be influenced by Mebbis, but Heavy Metal will also enter Japan in some way.
Anime legend and founder of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki, considered himself a lifelong fan of him, and the two later became good friends and admired each other. In 2004, they held a joint exhibition of works in Paris, and the two were recorded discussing each other's works.
Miyazaki said he was "discovering his friend's work through Arzach, which I think was from 1975." I only saw it in 1980 and it was a huge shock to me.
Not just for me. All the comic book authors were shocked by his work, and even today, I think he has a strong sense of space. I directed Nausicaä of the Wind under the influence of Mebbis. How to explain it, we have found a new way of looking at the world. ”
Not only Miyazaki, but also the influence of Mobis can be seen in the works of many manga artists. Perhaps the most famous are Shiro Masamune, creator of Ghost in the Shell, and Katsuyo Otomo of Akira.
The latter tried to animate Mebis's Airtight Garage in the mid-1990s, but unfortunately did not materialize. But the two became friends again, with Mebis drawing images inspired by Akira, while Otomo reciprocated with images from arzach.
Beyond that, here are four iconic films that Mebis has been involved in designing or directly influencing — from distant galaxies to the digital frontier of the grid:
Star Wars
Mebbis wasn't directly involved in the production of Star Wars: A New Hope, but his work was ubiquitous.
Tim Morn writes on tor.com that from imperial star destroyers erected with metal plates, pipes, and other prominent shapes, to the sparse desert of Tatooine scattered with the bones of giant creatures and huge, rumbling machines, George Lucas borrowed many of the visual language of Star Wars from Mebis's comic book.
The worlds that Mebis designs often give a sense of experience and tenacity, very different from the shiny, chrome aesthetics of previous decades of science fiction films.
Mebbis later collaborated with Lucas in The Empire Strikes Back, using a robot that appeared in the background of his early comics to make the multi-limbed Empire Detector Robot.
Alien
Ridley Scott's monster may have been designed by artist H. R. Gig, but the spaceship that takes place in the film is Mebbys' idea.
The spacesuits worn by Sigourney Weaver, played by Alan Ripley, and her companions were originally designed by Mebbis, who served as a concept artist in the film.
Celiak Lamar wrote in Io9 magazine that Mebius also provided storyboards to help visualize important scenarios, such as the crew's discovery of an alien spacecraft that had been shot down.
Blade Runner
While Mebbis was unable to work with Scott on the follow-up to Alien, the futuristic Los Angeles of DickArd, the robot hunter played by Harrison Ford, was influenced by him.
From the claustrophobic horrors and crowded streets to the empty Great Pyramid where the super-rich live on dirty high-rises, Scott clearly remembers Mebbis, even after the artist declined an invitation to work with him again.
Later, Mebbis wrote that while he regretted not being able to work for Blade Runner, it was one of his favorite films, and he was happy to see them borrow his style to shape the film.
Mebbis, as humbly as ever, downplayed his contribution. His work is clearly the driving force behind the huge impact and groundbreaking visual style of this 1982 film.
Electronic World Battle
Mebbis was hired as a set and costume designer for Disney's 1982 web/fantasy film Electronic World Wars, where he was tasked with how to portray a world made up of computer programs.
He's crazy — from glowing costumes to the iconic light loops in the movies, streamlined neon designs and circuit-inspired aesthetic designs are unprecedented on screen.
Morne writes that it was also the first in a series of films, and the directors hired Mebbis as one of the main conceptual artists, allowing him to lead the style of science fiction films.
There's a lot more that goes on, like Mebis's collaboration with manga artist Jiro Taniguchi, and even his collaboration with Marvel legend Stan Lee on the Silver Shadow Comics.
Finally, Ridley Scott returns to science fiction director's work Prometheus. Fans of Scott's early films and Mebbis' comics waited expectantly to see if this would eventually see the two officially collaborate, but never announced.
Sadly, it now appears that Membis had been suffering from cancer for several years before his unfortunate death, which could mean that any cooperation is impossible. But just by looking at the trailer for Prometheus, scott hasn't forgotten his influence.
Speaking of Membis, these movies are just the tip of the iceberg. He later contributed conceptual art to films such as Slam Dunk in the Air and The Fifth Element, and produced a large number of beautiful comics.
Although Mebbis died in 2012 after a long battle with cancer, the imprint he left on the visual language of science fiction will live on forever.