Metal Hurlant, the French Anthology comic strip from the 1970s and 80s credited with having reshaped the contemporary and inspiring science fiction aesthetics such as “Alien”, “Tron”, “Blade Runner”, “Akira” and “The Fifth Element”, returns to its 50th anniversary.
A new quarterly edition of the English Language of Metal howling – announced for the first time last year – strikes this week from the publishers of Humanoids, which launched the original in France in 1975. Variety Can exclusively reveal several extracts from new stories from anthology alongside the support of one of the greatest filmmakers who work today.
Extract from the “respect” of Matthew Allison
Metal Hurlant was created for the first time by comic artists Jean Giraud (better known as Mœbius) and Philippe Druillet, with journalist Jean-Pierre Dionnet and finance director Bernand Farkas. Collectively, the four were known as “The associated humanoids (United Humanoids), which has become the name of their publishing house, launched for the first time in Paris but now based in Los Angeles.
Which means “screaming with metal”, screaming it with metal, with its innovative writing and daring visuals, would prove to be extremely influential. Among the generations of artists, this would inspire Guillermo del Toro, George Lucas, Hayao Miyazaki, Ridley Scott, Jemaine Clement and Nicolas Winding Refn, as well as musicians including Air, Daft Punk and Hans Zimmer. Denis Villeneuve went so far as to claim: “I am a child of a metal screaming.”
The revive edition Anthology – described as “its most ambitious iteration to date” – presents 272 pages of “literary experiences of another world”, including illustrations by artists and tests and interviews and interviews with lights through the arts, such as writers Ted Chiang and Alan Moore.
“The icons of Metal Metal, such as Mœbius and Druillet, were some of my first visual inspirations as a filmmaker,” said Villenneue in a declaration to Variety. “I am grateful that an anthology of their work is finally available for English -speaking readers, so that they can also enjoy the extraordinary worlds created by this extraordinary community of artists and writers.”
Extract from “Catching the Wave” by the writer Yann Becu and the artist Masha Moran
Each volume organized by theme will be anchored by new content of emerging creators and graphic storytellers from around the world, supplemented by a selection of archive documents of the original French race, including stories never published before in English or out of printing for decades. Among the artists to provide cover illustrations are Mœbius, Peach Momoko and Enki Bilal.
Among the most famous graphic novels published by Metal Hurlant was “The Incal”, written by filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky and originally illustrated by Mœbius. The Opéra Epic Space Opera mixed the intergalactic journey, politics, conspiracy, messianism, debauchery, romance and satire – and even included concepts and illustrations of an early attempt abandoned to bring Frank Herbert’s “dune” to the screen, which Jodorowsky was staged. Praised as one of the biggest comics ever made, “The Incal” would have directly inspired “The Fifth Element” by Luc Besson (insofar as a trial has been filed).
“I created” The Incal “with Mœbius in Metal howling 45 years ago, and he has since become one of the most read science fiction comics in the world,” said Jodorowsky Variety. “Metal howling was the ideal place for that, as it was – and is always – a cultural movement defending artistic freedom and the daring creative risks that it was only a simple anthology of comics. The world is desperately needing such a movement right now, so I’m happy to see it extend its scope.”
Extract from “retrograde” by the writer Karla Pacheco and the sagar artist
As part of the announcement last year, a Kickstarter campaign was launched which collected more than $ 750,000 of 5,000 donors.
“For fifty years, humanoids have defended the visionary narration which has pushed the limits of the graphic narrative. From our origins in France to our global presence today, we have built an heritage of artistic innovation and the cultural impact that transcends borders and generations, “said the CEO of humanoid, Fabrice Giger. “Bring Metal howling to English -language readers in its authentic quarterly anthology format represents a perfect celebration of our birthday – honoring our roots while kissing our future. It is not simply a translation but a cultural bridge, offering readers of today the same feeling of discovery and artistic revolution that defined the original publication.”
