Latest news with #Moebius
Forbes
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Seminal Sci-Fi Classic ‘Metal Hurlant' Comes Screaming Back To Life With New English Edition
Art by Jean "Moebius" Giraud graces the cover of the relaunched English edition of Metal Hurlant, ... More June 17, 2025. If you've experienced any cutting edge science fiction/fantasy of the last 50 years, from Alien and Blade Runner to Love, Death and Robots, you probably know Metal Hurlant, the legendary illustrated magazine that came roaring out of France in the mid-70s, even if you've never heard its name. Now, following a successful crowdfunding campaign, the magazine's original publisher Humanoids is reviving an English-language edition for the first time in decades, kicking off with a special 50th anniversary issue hitting the streets June 17, 2025. 'Three guys – Jean-Pierre Dionnett, Philippe Druillet and Jean Giraud (aka Moebius) created this magazine to express themselves, to do things they couldn't do anywhere else,' says Fabrice Giger, publisher of Humanoids, in a phone interview earlier this month. 'It inspired many, many creators not only in comics and literature, but in movies, entertainment, media and technology.' The founders of Metal Hurlant, from left to right: Jean-Pierre Dionnet, Jean Giraud aka Moebius, and ... More Philippe Druillet in Paris, 1975. Each of MH's founding creators was already a giant in the French comics industry, which was years ahead of its American counterpart both creatively and commercially, giving MH a running start in its efforts to blow minds and pry open wallets. The work produced in those early years became as instantly iconic and revered in the world of comics as that of Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Stan Lee in Marvel's 1960s Silver Age. Stories like Moebius and Dan O'Bannon's 'The Long Tomorrow' provided a template for Blade Runner. Ridley Scott's original 1979's Alien, with a screenplay co-written by O'Bannon, drew heavily from the magazine's dark imagery. Cyberpunk and its offshoots, which became popular shortly afterwards, owes much of its visual and thematic style to work that appeared in the pages of MH. Soon, MH attracted the attention of the American publication National Lampoon, which licensed, translated and packaged MH originals along with domestic MH-inspired work in Heavy Metal starting in 1977, where most English-speaking readers first encountered it. Heavy Metal remains its own freestanding brand, which also just relaunched for the umpteenth time, tapping to same vein of affection for the original material and its legacy. Humanoids publisher Fabrice Giger 'Both publications point to the same origins, but actually, we are the origin, we control the material' says Giger. 'The market is large enough to provide more experiences for readers and more opportunities to express themselves. So we are compatible. They are successful in what they are doing and we are successful in what we are doing.' Over its 50 year history, MH inspired a who's-who of creators including Guillermo DelToro, George Lucas, Hayao Miyazaki, Ridley Scott, Jemaine Clement, and Nicolas Winding Refn, as well as musicians including Air, Daft Punk and Hans Zimmer. Visionary filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has gone so far as to claim, 'I am a child of Metal Hurlant.' Despite its storied legacy, MH has a spotty publication history, even in France. The periodical ceased publication in 1988 following changes in the market. Humanoids attempted to bring it back occasionally in an English periodical edition, but anthologies generally don't do well in the comic book direct market. Finally, after several years of a successful revival in France, Humanoids opted to go the crowdfunding route to get a new, more deluxe periodical off the ground. The campaign attracted nearly 5,100 supporters who pledged over $759,000 to bring the project to life. The fruit of that bounty is obvious in the resulting edition. The first issue combines the best of its classic era with work from international creators, including many Americans, that brings the same combination of edgy ideas and gorgeous artwork. The first issue features material by international contemporary figures like Matt Fraction, Afif Khaled, Derf Backderf, Peter Snejbjerg, Yang Weilin and Matthew Allison alongside classics from Druillet, Dionnett, Gal, Schuitten, Jodorowsky, Caza, and of course Moebius. It runs 272 pages, square bound in full color on quality paper, distributed to bookstores and comic book shops. Giger says that relaunching with over 5000 committed subscribers is a huge boost at a time when uncertainties swirl around the comics distribution system. 'The market is difficult, and it is evolving,' says Giger. 'That's why I believe the most important thing we can do today as a publisher is give readers unique experiences.' Unique is a strong word, because Metal Hurlant has so thoroughly marked its territory that fans of this kind of storytelling can find it everywhere: notably these days in the Love, Death and Robots, the thematically challenging, visually compelling Netflix animated anthology by David Fincher and Tim Miller. But to paraphrase the oft-quoted quip about champagne, genuine Metal Hurlant only comes from the Humanoids region of France. Everything else is just sparkling dystopian illustrated sci-fi. Excerpt from _Blind Box_ by Chinese creator Yang Weilin, published in Metal Hurlant Issue 1 - June ... More 2025
The Citizen
06-06-2025
- Health
- The Citizen
Smile Foundation give little Caroline a reason to smile
Caroline underwent a 14-hour life-changing surgery to help her smile at the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital during Smile Week. Children enjoy a special puppet performance during Smile Week at the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital in Joburg yesterday. Picture: Supplied Born with Moebius syndrome – a rare condition affecting facial nerves – which made her unable to express emotion – little Caroline, is looking forward to smiling. She was among 23 children who underwent life-changing surgery yesterday, thanks to the Smile Foundation. In marking Smile Week, the foundation, the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital and several sponsors, forged a partnership geared at making life better for kids who had been unable to share a smile. Complex 14-hour surgery Complex facial reanimation surgery on Caroline was performed by top reconstructive surgeons Dr Dimitri Liakos and Prof Tim Christofides. The long procedure, which took up to 14 hours, was not only life-changing for Caroline, but also 'a key skills-sharing moment for young doctors observing the operation'. 'Smile Week is about more than just surgery, it's about restoring hope, dignity and opportunity for these children; and their families,' said Smile Foundation CEO Tarri Parfitt. ALSO READ: Born with a cleft palate: A guide to recovery from psychosomatic scars 'Deeply grateful' 'We are deeply grateful to Dr Julian Collis for the extraordinary legacy of care he built throughout his career and to the incredible medical teams who are giving so generously of their time and skill to make these miracles possible.' Parfitt said the Smile Foundation extended 'heartfelt thanks to the surgeons, nurses, anaesthetists, hospital staff, donors and supporters whose collaboration makes Smile Week a beacon of hope for South African children'. According to global statistics, children are born every three minutes with a cleft lip or palate and face life-threatening health problems, bullying and isolation. Their difficulties include: Being unable to feed properly, leading to malnutrition and risk of death nine times higher; Speech difficulties; Struggling to be understood; Teeth growing at an angle – making chewing difficult; and Being shunned, mocked and teased. The Smile Foundation project, hosted by the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital in Parktown, ends today. NOW READ: Mzansi meets Hollywood: Kris Jenner and Khanyi Mbau facelift secrets revealed
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'My daughter can't close her eyes because of a rare condition'
A mother whose daughter was born looking like 'a doll' due to facial paralysis says she can 'sense' her happiness even though she can't smile. Victoria LaBrie, 30, first noticed something unique about her daughter Hazel during pregnancy – her eyes appeared to be open during 3D ultrasound scans, which she thought was 'very cute'. But when Hazel was born in December 2024 with her eyes 'wide open like a little owl', Victoria and her partner, Bobby, 37, who is Hazel's father, 'immediately" sensed something was not right'. Just two weeks later, Hazel was diagnosed with Moebius syndrome – an extremely rare and incurable neurological disorder that causes complete facial paralysis and an inability to blink. Since then, she has learnt to read Hazel's emotions through eye contact and subtle cues, while a TikTok post raising awareness of the condition went viral, gaining more than 24 million views. READ MORE: Dad's wake up call after collapsing in a supermarket next to his daughter READ MORE: The secret code that alerts midwives to very special 'rainbow babies' Victoria also co-parents children from her previous marriage with her ex-husband Tony, including twins Harley and Harper, six, Colton, four, and their adopted daughter, Veronica, 14 – all of whom have a disability. Victoria, who has to manually close Hazel's eyes to give them a rest, said: "Hazel has the most perfect facial features and it's crazy, because she was diagnosed with some asymmetry in her face, but you would not be able to tell. She's just got this beautiful fair skin and these great big eyeballs, and she just looks like a little doll. "No-one has mistaken her for a doll yet but people always say she looks like one. I can read her emotions looking at her eyes and the way she moves – I can sense her happiness. "She should be able to talk in the future and she's making some noises now." When Victoria was pregnant with Hazel, 3D ultrasound scans showed her baby's eyes were open – at the time, Victoria thought this was 'very cute' and 'ultrasound technicians agreed'. When Hazel was born in December 2024, her eyes were wide open and Victoria and Bobby sensed that something was not right. Within two weeks, after undergoing MRI brain scans, Hazel was diagnosed with Moebius syndrome. According to Facial Palsy UK, it is an extremely rare neurological disorder which is present at birth and is characterised by weakening or paralysis of the muscles in the face which control expression and lateral eye movements. The condition affects between two and 20 babies per million births, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Hazel has some mobility in the lower left side of her lip, but the rest of her face is completely paralysed – she is unable to blink and can move her eyes up and down, but not side to side. "Getting the diagnosis was devastating at first, thinking she won't really be able to smile," Victoria recalled. "I hadn't heard of it before so I felt kind of lost but once I processed it I knew I had to do everything I can to make Hazel's life the best it can be." Victoria has to manually close Hazel's eyes to rest them and apply eye ointment every one to two hours each day to improve lubrication and prevent corneal damage. She added: "She's actually the best sleeper out of all my kids, she sleeps great. If I try to close her eyes for her when she's sleeping they'll open by themselves after a few seconds." Victoria sometimes finds it difficult as babies typically connect with others through their smiles and facial expressions, but she has learnt to read her emotions through her eyes and the way she moves. "She is a really pleasant baby to have around and she screams, just without moving her mouth," Victoria explained. "When she locks eyes with someone, she will just sit and stare at you. "It seems like she might be starting to giggle a little bit, and it's hard to tell, obviously, because she can't show that on her face. You can just tell that she is comfortable and she's happy. "Some of my other children are autistic so they struggle with communicating their emotions so I'm kind of used to it." Victoria said she has not set expectations for the future in terms of Hazel's ability to express emotions. "With disabled kids you plan to keep them happy right now and so I don't want to say that I'm worried about her future – I know that if anything gets thrown towards us, we're just going to take one day at a time," she added. To raise awareness of Hazel's condition, Victoria posted on TikTok under the handle @torlab, sharing images and a brief description of her story. The post has since received more than 24 million views. "I didn't think I was sharing with millions of people, I thought I was sharing with a very small facial paralysis community," Victoria said. "So for it to blow up like that, I was like, holy smokes – I didn't think I would go viral off of my baby not being able to blink but I'm glad I can raise awareness." In addition to Hazel, Victoria's twin daughters and her son have autism, and Veronica has ADHD. She has joint custody over these children with Tony, her ex-husband, who is the biological father of the twins and Colton, and said he is an 'incredibly supportive' co-parent. She explained: "When I got the first autism diagnosis, it hit me extremely hard. I had my moment of sadness, and then I picked right up and said, 'What can I do for my kids?' "And then immediately started looking for therapies and things that would get them on the right track." Victoria and her children currently live in the house she purchased with Tony, but she is looking for a new home that can suit her children's needs better. She said: "The market is crazy at the moment and my kids have a lot more needs than just finding a house – we have to stay away from water, have to be fenced in, watch out for busy streets. We'd love a sensory room too with lights and bubbles and crash pads all in one room – they don't all take interest in toys or traditional learning materials." Victoria's mother launched a fundraiser to help cover the costs of a new home and renovations. To find out more, click here.
