Metal Hurlant Vol.3: The Monster Within

Metal Hurlant

by Mœbius, Jean-Pierre Dionnet, Enki Bilal

Go ahead. Let out your inner monster. We’re all friends here.

What makes a monster? Is it a strange and horrific physiology? A cruel and vicious disposition? A malevolent and otherworldly air? Perhaps the answers lie under your bed. In the deep, dark woods. Behind your eyes. Monsters lurk everywhere, and you will find them aplenty—from the deceptively adorable to the mind-breakingly incomprehensible, from the fantastical to the all-too-real—within this installment of Humanoids’ celebrated genre anthology, Metal Hurlant.

Inside this 272-page monster of a tome: an interview with writer/director/producer Brian Yuzna (Society, Bride of Re-Animator, Return of the Living Dead 3), a study of Noël Carroll’s taxonomy of monsters, a brief walk through the enduring legacy of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and 25 tales of magnificent monstrosity from these terrifyingly talented creators of comics past, present, and future.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fantasy

272 pages, Paperback

Published December 16, 2025

About the author

Jean Henri Gaston Giraud (pen-name: Mœbius) was a French artist, cartoonist, and writer, who worked in the Franco-Belgian bandes dessinées tradition.
Also published as Jean Giraud.

Reviews

[Luke John · Rating 5 out of 5]

The three Metal Hurlant releases of 2025 have (in my mind, at least) been the very best reads I have had in the area of comics all year. They are absolutely beautiful books, full of widely varied works (both in style and art) that are just a pleasure to consume. Yes, you could say that as with any anthology work there is mixed quality, but I suspect that is more subjective than anything else. My one recommendation for comics readers currently is that they pick up all three of these books (and keep an eye out for any future releases).

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

The re-launched Metal Hurlant continues to impress, and this third issue maintains the mix of new contributions alongside reprints from the original run in the 1970's and 1980's. And that mix continues to work perfectly, as classic pieces like Enki Bilal's "Exterminator 17" are grouped thematically with newer contributions, some of which are practically mind-blowing (Salvador Sanz, Elie Huault, Elene Usdin, Jorg de Vos, Jurek Malottke, and Brouette Hurlante deserve shouts outs for their incredible work in this issue).

But I'm especially glad to see Nicole Claveloux's "No Family!" (from 1979) included among the reprints. Claveloux has not had much work published in English, which is a shame since she is a wonderfully original graphic artist with a completely unique take on the macabre. Here's hoping that future issues of Metal Hurlant will contain more work from Claveloux!

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another incredible curation by the team at Humanoids. Crowned by the second half of Dionnet and Bilal's "Exterminator 17" in its original colours, this issue contains a few of the best original Metal Hurlant stories together with tens of worthy new stories by a range of artists. Let's hope Humanoids can by some miracle get around this bankruptcy trouble because this stuff is awesome.

[Davide Pappalardo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This third installment in the Metal Hurlant anthology series is dedicated, in a loose way, to horror. We have body horror, sci-fi horror, the horror of war, and some humorous takes on the genre too. Of the essays, the one I enjoyed the most is the interview with Brian Yuzna. About the stories, I always enjoyed the art, not always the stories behind it.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of the stories in this volume are more horror focused. There's one that drove me nuts using cursive in the lettering. The rest were pretty good. Even with that really dumb looking cover by Peach Momoko. It looks like a bunch of random things thrown together.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recent Reads: Metal Hurlant - The Monster Within. Issue 3 of the anthology series shifts focus to horror, and to what makes a monster. Old and new illustrated fiction in the Franco-Belgian mode, a mix of long and short pieces. Moebius and Bilal offer the strongest stories, but nothing disappoints.

[Bertazzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half is amazing - some really good stories and artwork. But the last stories are boring as hell.

[Mee Too · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading Anthologies is like thrifting you could find a few treasures, something you didn’t know you needed or it could be a total bust.


3.3✨

[Alex Wolfgang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm biased as a horror guy, but this was the best one yet.