Archived news

Terry Dodson Signs On For Coraline

Monday, July 29, 2002

Humanoids Publishing is privileged to announce that artist Terry Dodson has signed on for their new graphic album, Coraline.

"I have always been an admirer of European comics, Humanoids books especially, so it's great to have the opportunity to work on them myself," said Dodson. "The project I am working on, Coraline, is part Victorian drama, part steampunk, part fantasy, plus pirates (!), and unlike anything I have worked on before. It's a great opportunity to try new things, stretch my artistic wings, so to speak. I have also been given the freedom and time to do the best work possible on the story."

Scheduled for release some time in the 2003, Coraline is set in the nineteenth century and tells the story of a young woman who answers an ad in a newspaper for a job as a nanny. She soon finds herself working on an estate full of incredible inventions and gadgets far beyond anything else from that time period. Coraline's job is to keep the young master of the estate distracted from all the inventions, a task that proves much more difficult than she originally planned.

"This is a perfect book for Terry, and we're elated to have him on board for it," said Ian Sattler, Marketing Manager for Humanoids. "The story offers a lot of mild eroticism that's very suited to the way he draws female characters. These scenes are interplayed with all the cool gadgets on the estate, and we get to see the full range of how good Terry's art is. It's going to be a wonderful project."

Coraline is written by Denis-Pierre Filippi.

Crime Writer Ed Brubaker Writes Introduction For MISS

Wednesday, May 22, 2002

Los Angeles - May 21st, 2002 - Humanoids Publishing is extremely pleased to announce that Batman and Catwoman writer, Ed Brubaker has written an introduction to its new crime genre trade paperback, Miss: Better Living Through Crime. His participation was added at the last minute, and therefore not mentioned in the solicitations for the book.

"Ed is a great writer, and we're really big fans of his," said Ian Sattler, Marketing Manager for Humanoids. "We asked him to take a look at Miss because its subject matter is right up his alley. Thankfully he liked it enough to write the intro. Miss is a fantastic book, and I hope that fans will take note of what Ed has to say about it and check it out when it comes out in July. You still have time to pre-order a copy at your friendly neighborhood comic store," Sattler said.

Here now for your reading entertainment is Ed Brubaker's complete introduction to Miss: Better Living Through Crime.

Working in the U.S. comics market, it's hard not to look at European comics with a sort of jealousy. The freedom that writers and artists have to explore so many different genres, in such nice packages, is certainly alluring when viewed from a place that is so dominated by one particular genre and style. One of my favorite genres, of course, which has thrived in European comics, and is finally starting to gain a hold in the American scene, is crime stories, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a more compelling example of a great crime story than in MISS.

In fact, in European comics, aside from Munoz and Sampayo's Sinner books, I can't recall any work in the form that has such lovingly rendered and sympathetic characters, who also happen to do completely despicable things to survive. Enola and Slim kill a lot of people. Some for money, some for survival, and some for revenge. And yet, you can't help but fall in love with them over the course of their adventures and want to know what happens next.

Another thing you'll find in this book that is sadly missing from most American comics is a sense of breadth, of time passing, one story ending and another beginning. Just like life, but a whole hell of a lot meaner than the life you're used to. It's a world where violence is so commonplace that it's treated casually, and that impressed me to no end. These aren't characters who weep every time they have to kill someone, but when they bleed, you want them to keep on living just the same.

What more can I say about MISS, other than that I would give my left arm to work with such amazing artists as Marc Rioux and Mark Vigouroux. These two created a sense of character and place unlike any comic I've read in a long while, and I'll follow them to anything they do. You should too, and you should read MISS and put it on the shelf where it belongs, next to Dashiell Hammett and Jim Thompson. And like me, you should anxiously await your chance to revisit this world.

Ed Brubaker is a Harvey, Eisner and Ignatz nominated cartoonist and writer whose work includes A Complete Lowlife, Scene of the Crime, the Fall, Batman, and Catwoman. His work in the crime genre has been translated into nine languages all over Europe.

Here is the original solicitation text for Miss: "Welcome to the world of Miss, a bold new journey into crime graphic novels from Humanoids Publishing. Set during the early 1900s in New York, Miss tells the tale of two unlikely partners in crime, Enola and Slim. Enola is a poor white girl who has learned to survive by hook or by crook since being expelled from the orphanage. Slim is a black pimp with an uncertain past, trying to keep one foot out of the grave. When their paths cross, and their options run out, Enola and Slim forge a partnership as murderers for hire. This is their story ... what it takes to survive when all you have is a gun. Miss is a masterpiece of crime fiction that is sure to entertain fans of Torso and Sin City. "

Miss: Better Living Through Crime is written by Philippe Thirault, with art by Marc Riou and Mark Vigouroux. On sale in July, it is a 192 page softcover trade in grayscale retailing for $24.95.

Pin-Up Girls From Around The World Coming This Summer

Monday, May 13, 2002

Los Angeles - April 30th, 2002 - Humanoids Publishing enthusiastically announces a new graphic album from TechnoPriests creator, Fred Beltran, due this July. Metal Hurlant Proudly Presents: Pin-Up Girls From Around The World is a collection of pin-up artwork from one of the mediums most unique and talented creators. Presented in the high quality albums that Humanoids is known for, Pin-Up Girls From Around The World is being released to coincide with Beltran's current "Megalex" serial and pin-up work in Metal Hurlant.

Pin-Up Girls From Around The World is a tongue-and-cheek presentation, meant to showcase Beltran's art within the context of pop culture. Pages display influences from many different areas including pin-up magazines from the 50's, television, movies, music, and comic books.

"It's a very layered book", says Ian Sattler, Marketing Manager for Humanoids who is also credited as writer and co-creative director on the book. "First and foremost, people are going to notice Beltran's art. There is nothing else like it in the world, and it's going to win over a lot of new fans. Past that, it was important that Pin-Up Girls From Around The World was different than other art books out there. There is something to notice on every page, whether it be something Beltran hid in the art, where captions are taken from, or what an image is parodying. I know that people won't catch everything right away. There is no filler in this book; it's full of detail. And the girls don't seem to be wearing much clothing, so that's always a plus."

Fred Beltran is an international superstar artist, his work in Europe sells hundreds of thousands of copies. In the past he has let his art speak for itself. Pin Up Girls From Around The World will feature an exclusive interview with Beltran, in which he will discuss the process behind his creations and several other exciting topics.

His bio for this album reads as follows: "Fred Beltran is not an easy man to find. The multi-millionaire playboy has a history of never staying in one place for too long, as can be witnessed by his recent two-year hot air balloon trip around the world. Beltran has had many careers over his lifetime: race car driver, the 5th best selling musician of all time, shark hunter, mercenary, president of a lucrative winery, head of the "Beltran 4 Kids" charity, male model, and Olympic water polo champion are just a few of the astonishing accomplishments Beltran has to his name. But now, at long last, he has returned to his true passion: Pin-Up Girls. Metal Hurlant Presents: Pin-Up Girls From Around The World is a collection of Beltran's work that was inspired from the many different locals he visited during his globe-spanning balloon trip. Hot on the heels of Beltran's other acclaimed work for Humanoids Publishing, "Megalex" and The TechnoPriests, this collection is everything the fans have hoped for and much, much more. Here now is a rare look into the mind of the world's most famous and adored international playboy of art and excitement."

Metal Hurlant Proudly Presents: Pin-Up Girls From Around The World, a 64-page hardcover album retailing for $15.95, is scheduled to go on sale in July 2002.

# # #

Influential Series Metal Hurlant Returns

Monday, April 1, 2002

This June Humanoids Publishing proudly reintroduces the comic book that influenced and inspired Heavy Metal Magazine and a generation of fans and comic professionals. Metal Hurlant is the realization of Humanoids vision to bring together the best storytellers from around the world to create a universal comic experience.

This bi-monthly anthology will feature stories that will become instant classics, all produced with the same care and quality for which Humanoids is known. Every issue of Metal Hurlant will be an event, and things get started with a bang as Avengers writer, Kurt Busiek, teams with artist extraordinaire, Gerald Parel on the new story, “Hunter's Moon.” The cover feature is the beginning of the serialized “Megalex” story by the TechnoPriests team of Jodorowsky and Fred Beltran. Readers can expect several surprises as well.

“Metal Hurlant is really a labor of love for us. We want to do everything right and give the fans a comic that will really be something different, something that lives up to the legacy this title has.” said Ian Sattler, Marketing Manager for Humanoids. “Metal Hurlant is more than just a comic, it's a way of thinking. The stories push the creative limits; and out of the stories in Metal Hurlant we are generating projects like the Pin-Up Girls From Around The World book from Fred Beltran, and the Miss trade paperback from Marc Riou and Mark Vigouroux who drew a Jodorowsky story in the first issue. Metal Hurlant is a graphic depiction of the Humanoids philosophy. I can't wait for people to see what we have going on.”

Metal Hurlant #1 is 48 pages (32 color / 16 black and white), comic book size and retails for $3.95. Humanoids will support this issue with an in-store poster, and ordering incentives for retailers. Humanoids plans to simultaneously release Metal Hurlant #1 in several countries besides the U.S., including France, as part of a comprehensive and aggressive publishing plan.

The Metabarons lands 2002 Eagle Award

Tuesday, March 19, 2002

According to a report on the Silver Bullet Comic Books website (http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com), Humanoids Publishing's The Metabarons has been given a 2002 Eagle Award for comic books published in 2001.

The Eagle Awards are an international program sponsored and administered by England-based fan magazine Comics International. This helps to explain the variant spelling of the word "favorite" in the names of the award categories.

Established in 1976, the Eagle Award is one of the comics industry's earliest established and most coveted international prizes. Such diverse titles as X-Men, Swamp Thing, 2000 AD and MAD have all proudly featured the Eagle Award emblem on their covers over the last 25 years.

Based on votes from over 30 countries, the complete list of award winners follows.
FAVOURITE EUROPEAN COMIC: The Metabarons
FAVOURITE COLOUR COMICBOOK: JSA
FAVOURITE BLACK & WHITE COMICBOOK: Liberty Meadows
FAVOURITE NEW COMICBOOK OF 2000: Ultimate Spider-Man
FAVOURITE COMICS WRITER: Alan Moore
FAVOURITE COMICS WRITER/ARTIST: Frank Miller
FAVOURITE COMICS ARTIST (PENCILS): Frank Quitely
FAVOURITE COMICS ARTIST (INKS): Mark Farmer
FAVOURITE COMICS ARTIST (fully painted artwork): Alex Ross
FAVOURITE COLOURIST: Laura DePuy
FAVOURITE COMICS EDITOR: Andy Diggle (Mighty Tharg: 2000 AD)
FAVOURITE MANGA COMIC: Lone Wolf and Cub
FAVOURITE COMICS CHARACTER: Batman
FAVOURITE COMICS STORY WHICH APPEARED, BEGAN OR ENDED DURING 2000: The Authority - The Nativity
CHARACTER MOST WORTHY OF OWN ONGOING TITLE: Elijah Snow (Planetary)
FAVOURITE SUPPORTING CHARACTER IN COMICS: Commissioner James Gordon (Batman)
FAVOURITE COMICS COVER PUBLISHED DURING 2000: Ultimate Spider-Man #1 (Joe Quesada)
FAVOURITE COMICS VILLAIN: Lex Luthor (Superman)
FAVOURITE GRAPHIC NOVEL: Safe Area Gorazade (Joe Sacco)
FAVOURITE REPRINT COMPILATION: The Authority - Under New Management
FAVOURITE NEWSPAPER STRIP: Liberty Meadows
FAVOURITE MAGAZINE ABOUT COMICS: Wizard
FAVOURITE COMICS-RELATED BOOK: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (Michael Chabon)
FAVOURITE BRITISH COMIC: 2000 AD
FAVOURITE COMIC STRIP TO APPEAR IN A UK COMIC OR MAGAZINE: Nikolai Dante
FAVOURITE BRITISH SMALL PRESS TITLE: Jack Staff
FAVOURITE COMICS RELATED WEBSITE: www.comicbookresources.com
FAVOURITE COMICS E-ZINE: Comic Book Electronic Magazine
FAVOURITE WEB-BASED COMIC: Sluggy Freelance
ROLL OF HONOUR: Joe Quesada

The Eagle Awards were created in 1976 by CI's Mike Conroy.

New Metabarons RPG Guidebook Delivers Story Background

Wednesday, March 6, 2002

Los Angeles - March 6, 2002 - The legend of the Metabarons as seen in the first The Metabarons trade paperback is explored and explained in gaming terms for the new book from D6Legend, The Metabarons Roleplaying Game Guidebook #1: Path of the Warrior. This Guidebook provides details on weapons, equipment, places, and characters featured in the first five issues of the comic book series which are collected into a trade paperback called The Metabarons: Path of the Warrior.

The Metabarons comic books revolve around the exploits of a supremely powerful warrior clan in a series that Planetary creator Warren Ellis calls "astonishingly beautiful and completely mad." Fans and newcomers can now get more background information with this third book in the Roleplaying Game Series.

Those who enjoy the Metabarons Roleplaying Game will not be disappointed. Inside Guidebook #1, they can find more templates, game stats, and plot hooks for the game. This 96-page, two-color supplement gives game fans everything they need to add more flavor to their Metabaronic journeys. The book will reach store shelves the third week in March, 2002.

Also available for the Metabarons Roleplaying Game is the Gamemaster's Screen. This supplement provides Metabarons gamemasters with a four-part screen filled with useful charts and an 80-page, two-color companion book. The companion book features a chapter on gamemastering the Honor System, including guidelines for integrating your own honor code into the game and a companion adventure designed to illustrate the use and misuse of Honor Code in play. Also included are sections on advantages and disadvantages, patrons, adventure hooks, a quick space ship creation system, additional spaceships, more non-player characters, new character templates, and other useful material.

The Metabarons Roleplaying Game, which uses the player-friendly and highly popular D6 System, also has a hardcover Rule Book available. Over half a million people have played the easy-to-learn game system that was featured in West End Games' Star Wars Roleplaying Game.

The Metabarons Roleplaying Game is being sold by D6Legend, Inc., an affiliate of Humanoids Publishing. Humanoids and the original West End founder created D6Legend in 1999. Best known for its award-winning roleplaying games and board games, West End Games is a 25-year-old trademark, now owned by D6Legend.

Game products from D6Legend are available at traditional hobby game retailers worldwide as well as many direct-market comic book retail outlets. The Metabarons Roleplaying Game Guidebook #1: Path of the Warrior (product number WEG 60005) has a suggested retail price of US$18.00. The Metabarons Roleplaying Game Gamemaster's Screen (product number WEG 60002) carries a suggested retail price of US$12.00. The Metabarons Roleplaying Game Rule Book is also still available. The hardcover book, featuring Travis Charest cover art, has a suggested retail prices of US$30.00 (product number WEG 60000).

The Metabarons is an original comic book series by writer Alexandro Jodorowsky, and artist Juan Gimenez, based on the universe created by Jodorowsky and Moebius.

West End Games is a brand name owned by D6Legend, Inc. Humanoids Publishing and D6Legend are divisions of The Humanoids Group, with offices in Paris, Brussels, Saigon, Geneva and Los Angeles. The Humanoids Group features subsidiaries that include an internationally renowned graphic novel/comic book publishing house, a 3-D animation and visual effects studio, an animation software development company and an interactive, roleplaying computer game developer.

http://www.westendgames.com

Jodorowsky Interview in BORDERLINE #8

Saturday, March 2, 2002

On-line British comic mag BORDERLINE released its 8th issue on March 1, 2002 and it featured a multi-page feature on Alexandro Jodorowsky, author of The Metabarons, The Incal, The White Lama, Son of the Gun and many other Humanoids publications.

Download your very own copy of this terrific publication at http://borderline.mediahall.co.uk/.

The Jodorowsky feature can be found on pages 21 through page 25. A great review of The Metabarons Trade Paperbacks, both the first one, Path of the Warrior and the second one, Blood and Steel can be found on page 54.

Here is what BORDERLINE had to say about the first two Metabarons trade paperbacks:

"Literally, the turn of every page throws up something new and surprising."

"Everything you've ever wanted to know about space opera but were afraid to ask. Unmissable."

"Just get your ass down to your local comic shop and buy them. Hell, buy two and then some for your friends."

You will need Adobe Acrobat or a compatible viewer to read the downloaded BORDERLINE file.

Francois Schuiten Awarded Grand Prize at Angouleme

Friday, February 1, 2002

Francois Schuiten, artist on three different Humanoids Publishing graphic albums, was awarded the Grand Prize at this year's comics fair in Angouleme, France. This prize is considered the pinnacle of recognition for French-language comics artists.

Selected and given by a jury of previous Grand Prize winners, the award is considered a "lifetime achievement" award for comics artists. Schuiten, as a result of winning, will serve as next year's President of the Fair in Angouleme.

Francois Schuiten, along with brother Luc, created three wonderful albums in the Humanoids Publishing catalog, all part of what is considered the "Hollow Grounds" series: Carapaces, Nogegon and Zara. Francois has a background in architecture and it shows in his intricate and awe-inspiring art where he creates whole imaginary city landscapes.

Schuiten has been on demand to design existing subway stations in Paris and Brussels, as well as Opera sets for major Opera houses. One of the traditional outcomes of being elected Grand Prize winner is the elaboration of a major exhibit of his work at the next Fair, in January 2003, which, if anything like the touring ones of the past, could prove breath-taking.

Dionnet/Bilal Exterminator 17 Re-colored for New Album

Thursday, January 31, 2002

Los Angeles - January 31st, 2002 - Humanoids Publishing is pleased to announce the scheduled April release of the newly colored graphic album, Exterminator 17. This album boasts an extremely strong creative team, pairing Nikopol Trilogy artist, Enki Bilal, with Les Humanoides Associes founder, writer, and French television personality, Jean-Pierre Dionnet. This is the first Dionnet album offered by Humanoids in English. Rounding out the project is a new master re-coloring by comics veteran Dan Brown, whose work has been featured in the ongoing Incal series from Humanoids. This version will be used for a French-language edition as well.

Exterminator 17 will mark the first time that Humanoids plans to follow up one of their graphic albums with a comic series. Currently a work-in-progress, the sequel to Exterminator 17 is being written by Dionnet, and will feature artwork from Igor Baranko (Pifitos: A Newly Found Unknown Poem of Homer). Further details about this series will be announced as they become available.

"This is a really exciting project for us", said Ian Sattler, Marketing Manager for Humanoids. "An album that features the incredible talents of Enki Bilal is one thing. But when it's on a book that signals the return of Dionnet, who was one of the founders of the original Metal Hurlant; that just makes for something really special. I think that everybody will also be blown away by Dan Brown's colors; they are like the icing on the cake. We can't wait to get Exterminator 17 into the stores."

Exterminator 17 takes place in a universe where fierce android warriors called, "Exterminators," wage war for their human masters. The man who created these killers is about to die. As his soul leaves his body, it is transferred into the shell of one of the Exterminator androids. Now living as Exterminator 17, this killing machine with a human essence sets about freeing his creations from the humans that control them.

Exterminator 17 is a full color, 66-page, graphic album. It ships with a suggested retail price of $15.95.

# # #

Newsarama Interview With Jodorowsky

Monday, November 26, 2001

In late November of 2001, I arranged for Matt Brady at Newsarama (www.comicon.com/newsarama) to interview Alexandro Jodorowsky in conjunction with the upcoming release of the Son Of The Gun series. It seemed like a simple premise: Matt does his usual bang-up job doing the interview, tons of people read Newsarama, and thus Jodorowsky and all his projects at Humanoids get some wider recognition. Right. I knew something was up when I received Jodorowsky's answers to Matt's questions (the interview had been conducted via e-mail) and attached was this message to Matt and I: Before you read my answers, have a glass of whisky, relax, and remember it's all just a game. I love you. As I read through the transcript of the interview I got uncomfortable at the antagonistic nature of the responses. Then I laughed at some of them. Then I thought long and hard about some of the questions the answers raised. When I was done with the interview, I realized that I was holding something special. Whether the confusion came from the electronic nature of the questions, a cultural difference, or if somebody had just gotten up on the wrong side of the bed, Matt's interview had ended up proving a turbulent journey into Jodorowsky's world. The Newsarama interview was unique and engaging. A lot of comics fans had never seen anything like it. Reading it now, I feel that it stands as an exceptional example of what happens when cultures clash. I'd like to thank Matt Brady and Newsarama not only for being good sports and brave enough to tackle this assignment, but for their continued excellent work every day on Newsarama. I'd also like to thank Jodorowsky for doing the interview, and for being so damn cool.

-Ian Sattler
Marketing Manager
Humanoids Publishing

In the world of art and entertainment, "genius" is a term probably tossed about a little too casually, but there are few who would argue that it genuinely applies to Alexandro Jodorowsky. And his genius is not merely limited to one medium. Born in 1929 in Chile, Jodo's extraordinary life would bring him into contact with Marcel Marceau, have him directing musical extravaganzas, spending time with '50s surrealists in Paris, and founding the counter-cultural Panic movement with Topor and Arrabal in 1962.

His films El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and Santa Sangre were controversial sensations that have since become cult classics for their experimental storytelling, and candid depiction of violence and sexuality. Jodo began work to adapt Frank Herbert's Dune for the screen in 1975, a mad vision with design work and storyboards by the likes of H.R. Giger and Christopher Foss. In Jodo's Dune, the Emperor was to be played by Salvador Dali. Herbert and Jodo had a falling out, the film was never shot, but as a result, Jodo teamed with one of his storyboard artists with a likewise unparalleled artistic vision, Moebius. Together, Jodo and Moebius left film behind, focusing their energies on comics instead. Their first collaboration was the fable The Eyes of the Cat, a warm-up for their epic (which would also give birth to the Jodoverse), The Incal in 1980. Since then, Jodo has become a movement unto himself in comics in Europe and around the world.

Along with thousands who are first experiencing his work via the American reprints from Humanoids, Jodo counts the likes of Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, Rene Harlin, and Marilyn Manson among his fans.

Newsarama recently got a chance to ask a few questions of Jodorowsky about this new work and his overall view of comics as an artistic medium. As readers will see in moment, sometimes communication between two people who come from completely different backgrounds and cultures has its glitches. The following is the full transcript from the e-mail, written interview between Newsarama's Matt Brady and Alexandro Jodorowsky, graciously facilitated by Humanoids' Ian Sattler.

As a preface to the interview, Jodorowsky attached this note:

Dear friend,

Your questions give me a mental rash. We speak two different languages. A cop and a thief cannot understand each other. A cartesian mind can't make contact with a surrealistic mind, only conflict. The language of the mind isn't the language of the dreams. You want me to explain rationally the process of creation, which is absolutely irrational. On whose behalf are you asking these questions? Your own? I am, then, perplexed by your lack of artistic vision. On behalf of a stupid mainstream audience? Do you think you are the spokesman of the people's idiocy? Maybe you're wrong. Maybe they're not such idiots. Maybe without the use of the rational lancet, they can open up their hearts and directly comprehend a work of art. Are you a journalist or a judge? I'll answer anyway. Let's see if you understand.

NRAMA: To much of the avant garde audience of fifteen to twenty years ago, you were seen as a filmmaker. Now, there is a growing audience that sees and knows you only as a comic book writer. Why the shift between media? What do comics offer you that films do not?

AJ: An apple is as precious as a pear.

NRAMA: With your films, you are seen by some as nearly mad in your vision and direction, yet your comics are somewhat more restrained. While still dealing with fantastic concepts, they often are reined in somewhat in terms of violence and sex - some is implied, rather than seen. Why the
difference between the two media?

AJ: In some landscapes cypresses grow, in some others, nothing but roses. Roses are not equal to cypresses. They have different fragrances. The nose itself is guilty for not understanding this.

NRAMA: Here you are, 70-plus years old, and still a vibrant force in comics in Europe. Meanwhile, comic book writers over 35 in America are often considered "over the hill." Why do you think there is such a disparity between American and European comic book cultures?

AJ: Because Americans have a very stupid way of looking at the process of ageing. To be young has nothing to do with being intelligent. To be older is not necessarily to be wiser. Young morons make old morons.

NRAMA: Given the cultural disparity, what do you think could be done in the US to change the perception that comics are for the young, and therefore, are best created, by the young?

AJ: There's nothing to do. Just live.

NRAMA: Again speaking of the differences between cultures, in moving both Metabarons and The Incal to the US, certain scenes were altered slightly. Do you worry about this, and are you concerned that your complete vision is being diluted somewhat?

AJ: Higel the Wise said: "Amongst the naked, go naked. Amongst those who are dressed, go dressed."

NRAMA: When you began envisioning Metabarons, given that it was an offspring of The Incal, did the story come to you whole cloth from beginning to end, or was it an organic process, growing, morphing and twisting as you wrote it?

AJ: When you throw two dices, the minor number you get is two. So is the art: you are outside, and suddenly, without any beginning, you're inside.

NRAMA: Can the same be said of your other Jodoverse books? Was it the same for TechnoPriests, again, did it come to you as a full story, or as a germ that grew as you wrote and explored?

AJ: It was the same for me.

NRAMA: Given that you have both respect and clout as a filmmaker with many of today's power players in Hollywood and elsewhere, have you ever been tempted to return to films and pushing one of your comics into film?

AJ: It depends on who will write, direct and produce it.

NRAMA: Moving back to comics, what do you look for in an illustrator? In terms of your creative process, do you form the idea before seeking an illustrator, or do you take the germ of an idea to an illustrator to allow for a more collaborative process?

AJ: Generally illustrators seek me. We talk, study each other and find a mutual agreement. It's a very pleasant creative game.

NRAMA: Moving to your most recent Humanoids is work to see publication, while the two of you worked extremely well together with The White Lama, what made Bess your choice for an artist on Son of the Gun?

AJ: Because he's a great artist. A great artist can do several different things.

NRAMA: You've been quoted as saying that you virtually go into a trance before creating a story. While one can assume that the benefits of a trance-like state could be easily seen in your more fantastic works, such as Metabarons and The Incal, did you employ the same method with Son of the Gun, given its very realistic setting?

AJ: Trance is not a method. It's a way of being. Your question does not work.

NRAMA: With Son of the Gun, you've traded your science fiction backdrop, which American your audiences are most familiar with when it comes to your work, for the dust, dirt, and corruption of South America. Why is this setting necessary for the story you're telling?

AJ: I haven't traded anything. Each story has the background it needs. There is no such thing as an American audience. There is a human audience.

NRAMA: Son of the Gun's man-on-man violence, because it is on a smaller scale than Metabarons, seems much more intense than many of your other works. Was that an intent of yours when approaching this work?

AJ: Your question is more violent than my violence. You cannot get to know a flower by tearing its petals. It's a sad analytic point of view. You get to know a flower by enjoying it.

NRAMA: At the beginning of Son of the Gun, we're shown the apparent end of Juan, seeking the ultimate redemption for his sins. Redemption has also played a role in various arcs of Metabarons as well, and is the metaphoric setting of The Incal, with DiFool's cohorts trying to claw their way to "heaven." What is it about the theme of redemption that makes it appear time and again in your work? Is it the "only" story to tell?

AJ: It's a hope. Our civilization - America plus the rest of the world - has done so much harm to the planet and the humanity; it has behaved like a criminal. I hope that someday, our civilization becomes aware. That will mean redemption for the world.

NRAMA: While in Metabarons and The Incal, your protagonists are changing as they advance towards a higher goal; Juan is headed in the opposite direction in Son of the Gun, sinking towards a lower goal. While ascension's reward is well known in literature and myth, what is the reward, or endpoint of a descent such as Juan's, or is there a turnabout in his descent?

AJ: You are mistaken. Juan makes his descent an ascension. In the beginning, he's essentially an egoist. In the end, he is able to give his life to save the others. He ends up experiencing love and sanctity

NRAMA: Throughout Son of the Gun, we see Juan sink deeper and deeper into his own hell (whether he knows it or not), virtually becoming inhuman. Could a man, such as Juan sink so low to become literally irredeemable, or is
redemption always possible, with the severity of the sin dictating the severity of the sacrifice needed in order to be redeemed?

AJ: Your angle of vision is definitely wrong. Juan, as he sinks deeper into suffering, becomes more and more human. It's a process of awareness that I‚m describing.

NRAMA: Violence plays a large role in Son of the Gun, as well as in Juan‚s development, but did it have to? Was Juan predestined to the role he came to fill, or did he have a choice?

AJ: I really sigh deeply in front of your question. It's nothing but blah blah-medieval-metaphysics. Violence does not play any role because it is not a character. It's an abstraction. I suspect that you are a very violent person. The idea of destiny used to tickle the Greeks a few centuries ago, in their tragedies. Today we have evolved way past this concept. Still, I understand you. You, as an American, live with a president who dares say there is such a thing as a war between Good and Evil. It looks like he's studied his philosophy in the Wild West movies.

NRAMA: In simplest terms, how would you best describe Son of the Gun to someone who knew nothing of the story?

AJ: A man's journey from animality to sanctity.

NRAMA: The imagery of Christ on the cross is peppered throughout Son of the Gun, from the opening scene to the bedroom of Laura's, the wife of Juan's boss, again, bringing to mind redemption at the cost of sacrifice. Is the cost of all redemption sacrifice?

AJ: You don't get anywhere if you don't do the main sacrifice: this of the unquestioned ego-trip.

NRAMA: We've seen in your fiction that many, if not all, men are in need of redemption. Is this the universal story all people must play out in their lives?

AJ: After answering all these questions, I think it is your case.

Humanoids Sells Movie Rights to The Nikopol Trilogy

Tuesday, March 27, 2001

March 27, 2001 - Los Angeles - Fabrice Giger, Chairman of Humanoids Group, announced that Humanoids Publishing has sold the film rights of its international best-selling graphic albums, The Carnival of The Immortals and The Woman Trap by Enki Bilal. The stories were sold for an undisclosed six figures to Telema, the company responsible for this year's best foreign film nomination "The Taste of Others." Telema is headed by Charles Gassot and the French TV Channel TF1. Writer/creator Bilal is being considered to helm the picture.

The Carnival of The Immortals and The Woman Trap by Bilal are available in the United States as part of a book called The Nikopol Trilogy. These are two of the titles from the internationally renowned Humanoids catalog, with artists and writers such as Alexandro Jodorowsky & Moebius (The Metabarons) and Filipi & Boiscommun (The Book of Jack).

The deal was supervised out of the Humanoids offices in Los Angeles and handled by former CAA agent, Justin Connolly.

The Metabarons Universe Expands To New Roleplaying Game

Monday, February 26, 2001

Cover art by fan favorite Travis Charest

Los Angeles - February 26, 2001 - The Metabarons Roleplaying Game is coming to retail shelves nationwide beginning in March 2001. Based on the Humanoids Publishing comic book series, this new interactive adventure line of products begins with a 288-page, full color rule book using the D6 game system made popular by the original Star Wars Roleplaying Game. The Metabarons Roleplaying Game will be marketed under the West End Games brand name. Expected on-sale for the rule book is March 21.

The cover art for the rule book is fully rendered by comic book fan-favorite Travis Charest. Interior art in the book is a mixture of Juan Gimenez paintings from the comic book series and original done specifically for the game.

Focused on a clan of supremely powerful warriors, the story of the Metabarons, is a galaxy-spanning space opera teeming with wild concepts, alien worlds, powerful weapons and fantastic interplanetary vehicles. The comic book series of The Metabarons was named one of the "Best Comics You Don't Read" by Warren Ellis in his column, "Come In Alone," for on-line service Comic Book Resources.

[i]The Metabarons Roleplaying Game[/i will be the first space opera game to use the player friendly and highly popular D6 System since the end of the Star Wars line in 1998. Over half a million people have played the easy-to-learn game system.

"The D6 System provided millions of hours of enjoyment to fans who were dedicated to the original Star Wars roleplaying game," D6Legend Director of Publishing, Dave Olbrich, said. "Combine that fact with the growing popularity of The Metabarons comic book series and we have a combination that is going to delight both veteran and novice game players."

The rule book for The Metabarons Roleplaying Game[/i will be followed by a game master's screen with companion book, a weapons and technology manual, and a guidebook to [i]The Metabarons: Path of the Warrior trade paperback collection of the comic series.

The game is being sold by D6Legend, Inc., an affiliate of Humanoids Publishing. D6Legend was created by Humanoids and the original West End founder in 1999, keeping the core of the original West End design team involved. One of the goals of the new company is to carry forward West End's long tradition for design excellence in combination with Humanoids' many unique French genre universes. [i]The Metabarons Roleplaying Game[/i is the first such collaboration.

Best known for its award winning roleplaying games and board games, West End Games is a 25-year-old trademark, now owned by D6Legend. West End Games was previously the publisher of the Star Wars Roleplaying Game. In addition to The Metabarons Roleplaying Game, D6Legend produced the DC Universe Roleplaying Game, also under their West End Games brand.

The Metabarons is an original comic book series by writer Alexandro Jodorowsky, and artist Juan Gimenez, based on the universe created by Jodorowsky and Moebius.

Game products from D6Legend are available at traditional hobby game retailers worldwide as well as many direct-market comic book retail outlets. [i]The Metabarons Roleplaying Game[/i rule book is a beautiful full color, hard cover book with fantastic cover art by Travis Charest. It carries a suggested retail price of $30.

West End Games is a brand name owned by D6Legend, Inc. Humanoids Publishing and D6Legend are divisions of The Humanoids Group, with offices in Paris, Brussels, Saigon, Geneva and Los Angeles. The Humanoids Group features subsidiaries that include an internationally renowned graphic novel/comic book publishing house, a 3-D animation and visual effects studio, an animation software development company and an interactive, roleplaying computer game developer.

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