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"The History of my Double", by GIR, Jean Giraud, aka Moebius.
"Without the drawing, I could have fallen rather easily in bad situations, without the drawing I would not have acquired the means of mastering my destiny. Without the drawing, I would not have become who I am.
But there was the drawing..." (p77).
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Anyone passing any time in the magic world of the Incal, with John Difool, in the Hermetic Garage with the mysterious Major Grubert, or through the World Of Edéna, that of Arzach, there is a little bit of Lieutenant Blueberry's adventures in each of us.
Here we meet Jean Giraud and his moëbusian double. Undeniable Master of the 9th Art, aka, the comic strip, Gir offers us "the History of my Double", a superb and enigmatic book. Written with familiarity and honesty. Gir shares aspects of his personal life, as if we were confortably sitting at a bar, a drink in hand, hanging with a pal, or around a table enjoying a good meal. from his own youth in the Paris suburbs, between an adventurous mam and a absent and player father, a suicidal brother and strict grand parents, the women and his 4 children, Giraud unveils himself.
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As background for this wild biography, is pieces of the history of the French comic strips (bandes déssinée) since the Sixties, a note on the world comics with the kaos and at the time ground breaking Mad, the genius of Robert Crumb, as well as Jean more personal voyages.
Interior as well as exterior trips, "internels", the eternal internal, as would say Jean Pierre Abelguerit, one of the spiritual Masters that Jean followed during a few years. He tells of the weekly evenings laughing parties and well doused with the team of the mythical Pilote, passing by Spirou, legendary Heavy Metal, Hara-kiri, and the creation of Blueberry.
Through it all, Gir remains a type of solitary and anarchistic cowboy, hanging out with Moebius and Co.
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This double personality is inhabited by a man whom in the end, is a bit timid and very sensitive. A man respectful of the ancient traditions of Art as a form of healing through self discovery, all the while remaining extremely modern and being a true visionary.
In the company of the best of the beginnings of the French comics writers, with René Goscinny, Jean-Michel Charlier, Gotlib, Philippe Druillet, Jean tells us where his creative inspirations come from.
Meeting Nikita Mandryka, known as Mandryka, the Zen creator of the masked cucumber, introduced Jean to a new form of search. His new quest would from now on not only be of an artistic nature but it would also be of a spiritual nature. This new quest would evenually guide him to his meeting with Alejandro Jorodowski, meeting which will push Jean to the end of his initiatory road.
From Indian mythology, to Hebrew, Jean sails the symbology of charts from the Tarot to the cabalistic tree. It drives us to Mexico and his discoveries of the woman, smoking grass, and having magic visions, to Tahiti passing by the United States, to the insane Paris evenings, and May 68.
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Flickrs
pics
Others:
Alfie Ilkins
Olive |
Lecture:
Alan Watts
Futurehi
Raw
Philip K Dick
WSBurroughs
Luis
Borges
M McLuhan
Erowid
Levity
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When Gir is not occupied drawing, Moebius works for the cinema. With works on Tron, the legendary film for fans of science fiction and others nerds and geeks, Tron was one of very first film bringing us to the very heart of the machine, as well as a technical premiere with early uses of cgi. We find Gir's work in Dune, Blueberry, the 5th Element of J-L Besson, The Abyss, The Masters of Time, Alien. Moebius and Jean merge in an artist impossible to circumvent.
"In any case , I had climbed the Magic Mountain, had passed the tests to reach a top. There, I discovered that the top is only one means of taking the way which goes down again softlyt inclined to the other side of the mountain. I went my way... " (p209)
This biography reflects it's author perfectly, like a second skin, not too linear, poetic and attaching. Jean likes to play, and thus makes us desire to playing also. As if his double gave him room to keep his inner child and to travel to other worlds. A made world of symbols and secrets, only revealed to those which want to read through them. His internel search gives us a desire to climb our own mountain, to then also have the pleasure of going down again. As if takes us on his search with him, engraved in the tradition of the Masters before him, holding our hand for one minute through this magic course which is the discovery of oneself.
A book not to be missed by any comic fans, and other amateurs of extraordinary stories. For the large ones, the small ones and the medium ones, the infinite creativity of Moebius makes us dream and we ask for more...
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Plants
and Houses:
Geodesic
Greenhouse
Maya
Spiritgarden
Plant Planet
Yage
Sage Wisdom
Peyote
Overgrow
Garden
Helper
Garden Web
Buckminster Fuller |
