Famed Artist Jean Giraud (Moebius) Passes Away At 73

Last week I had to bring you the news of Star Wars conceptual artist Ralph McQuarrie’s passing. Today, another huge blow for art lovers. Jean Giraud, known in the art world as Moebius, has died at the age of 73. Moebius was a French artist best known for his comic book work but also his work on films like Tron and Alien. Hit the jump for a look at his work. 

Moebius’ most famous comic work was his own creation, Blueberry, with writer Jean-Michel Charlier. He was also famous for illustrating Stan Lee’s Silver Surfer: Parable mini-series in the 80s. Those who aren’t familiar with his comic work have certainly felt his influence in sci-fi and fantasy films. Moebius was a storyboard artist or conceptual designer on Tron, Alien, The Abyss, Willow (although a lot of his designs weren’t used), Masters of the Universe, and The Fifth Element was inspired by his sci-fi comic The Incal (although Moebius went on to sue director Luc Besson for that).

Creators jumped on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to express their dismay at the artists’ passing as well as share memories about how he’d inspired them. “I met Jean Giraud on a couple of occasions. He was sweet and gentle and really… I don’t know,” wrote Gaiman on his Tumblr, who said he didn’t understand Moebius’ work when he was 14. “Spiritual is not a word I use much, mostly because it feels so very misused these days, but I’d go with it for him.”

(via Metro UK)

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Jill Pantozzi

Jill Pantozzi is a pop-culture journalist and host who writes about all things nerdy and beyond! She’s Editor in Chief of the geek girl culture site The Mary Sue (Abrams Media Network), and hosts her own blog “Has Boobs, Reads Comics” (TheNerdyBird.com). She co-hosts the Crazy Sexy Geeks podcast along with superhero historian Alan Kistler, contributed to a book of essays titled “Chicks Read Comics,” (Mad Norwegian Press) and had her first comic book story in the IDW anthology, “Womanthology.” In 2012, she was featured on National Geographic’s "Comic Store Heroes," a documentary on the lives of comic book fans and the following year she was one of many Batman fans profiled in the documentary, "Legends of the Knight."

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