Moebius Library: The Art of Edena

Moebius Library #2

by Mœbius

A companion volume to the critically acclaimed and New York Times best-selling World of Edena graphic novel, Moebius The Art of Edena collects four fantastic Edena-related short stories and a motherlode of Moebius illustrations. A celebration of the imagery and creative enthusiasm Moebius held for his Edena universe and his characters Stel and Atan, the short stories "Seeing Naples," "Another Planet," "The Repairmen," and "Dying to See Naples" are collected here, as Moebius explores his imagination with two of his favorite characters. Working closely with Moebius Production in France, Dark Horse presents the second volume in the Moebius Library series

Out-of-print stories and hard to find images--collected in an affordable hardcover!

Timeless science fiction stories and illustrations from a celebrated master!

The second volume in Dark Horse's Moebius Library series!

The perfect companion volume to Moebius's World of Edena graphic novel.


"I consider [Moebius] more important than Doré." --Federico Fellini

Genres: Comics, Art, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

201 pages, Hardcover

First published April 24, 2018

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

[mark monday · Rating 3 out of 5]

a follow-up to Mœbius' excellent The World of Edena. a few thin stories that don't add much; a shoehorning in of Mœbius avatar Major Grubert from The Airtight Garage. because the stories are uninteresting, one is left to contemplate the art. which is of course amazing. the use of primary colors and pastels, the linework, the vistas both simple and intricate, the whimsy, the beauty, the eeriness - so much to enjoy! so many doors to walk through.




one can also contemplate the greater story behind those images. The World of Edena is about the clash between two forces, two visions: ...they each share the same goal: the quest for perfection. Tension springs from the fight for survival on Edena- a secret planet at the center of the universe, also called the "Perfect World." Both factions deploy their forces on every possible plane: reality, dream, and waking dream.

in this addendum to that strange, visionary "narrative" I learned that World of Edena began as a commission in 1983 for a Citroën car advertising campaign. of all things!

I really need one of these vehicles to make my travels through the space-time continuum more comfortable:

[Nate D · Rating 4 out of 5]

More or less the liner notes and bonus tracks to Moebius' decades-spanning narrative Worlds of Edena. The fact that the hundreds of additional pages of material can't really allay any of what feels like the fundamental incompleteness of the original -- that story falling deeper and deeper into multiplying dream-possibilities, never to reconverge -- also underscores how the continuing fascination a work holds sometimes lies in its nagging incompleteness, the flaws and never quite satisfied hopes that make it linger and haunt long after a more 'perfect', completely resolved (likely because less ambitious and daring) work is forgotten. Moebius' art is just gorgeous here here of course, but that goes without saying.

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

A companion piece to World of Edena. Mostly artwork and commentary on the main piece. But also includes some later day Moebius comics which were really nice to see.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a companion volume to the The World of Edena, expanding on that epic graphic novel by presenting related material in the form of short comics, movie stills, and standalone images that all relate to the central chronicle in the parent volume.

While the contents of this companion might only appeal to diehard Mœbius fans, there are a couple of key items in these pages that I regard as being among the author's very best. These are the short comics stories "Seeing Naples" and "Dying to See Naples". Both of these are loosely derived from the main storyline of The World of Edena, but are fully standalone pieces that do not depend on the reader's knowledge of the larger narrative. These two pieces are distillations of the core idea that animates The World of Edena: the ability of each human individual to transcend self-constructed barriers and blinders.

Beyond those two wonderful short stories, the primary appeal of The Art of Edena is the breathtaking beauty of Mœbius' images. Many comics artists (particularly those from Western Europe) have adopted the ligne claire style associated with Hergé, but Mœbius took the possibilities of that approach to another level, and the evidence of his mastery shines out from every page of this gorgeous book.

[Ademption · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coffe table book of supplements to "The World of Edena."

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable book to look through, easily in a day, with one standout short story, “The Planet Once More”, and a number of very cool works of art. Not a particularly focused volume but gives a good sense of the world of Edena.

[David Tuttle · Rating 4 out of 5]

makes me want to read the whole story! love Moebius' style

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

The bonus content is such a treat for the eyes! I would have liked more interviews or descriptions of his work. I wanted to learn his process and techniques in creating the story but instead it was mostly a collections of random works pertaining to Edena. I also realize upon analyzing his art is how much more I prefer his traditional coloring, the digital coloring just doesn't do his art justice but that's just my opinion.

[Kamakana · Rating 3 out of 5]

251118: well moebius art as always is beautiful, so three, but there is no story here, these images are like outtakes that did not make it into ‘edena’ so just look at that one again...

[Lew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Light on content but a great collection of Moebius's illustrative art work. Kudos to Dark Horse Books for their continued excellence in reproducing Moebius's art for their Moebius Library series.

[Hannah Staff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great inspiration for world building and illustration

[David Brennan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This really shouldn’t count as a ‘Book Read’--not least because it’s a graphic novel, but it’s also in French and my French, these days, is un peu merde-y. I skipped most of that.
I love his artwork. It really does evoke a sense of timelessness for me. Very dream-like. I want to say Land Before Time-like, but several eons forward.
There were a few mini-stories here that I didn’t recognize from World of Edena. I was under the impression that collection included everything, but there are some stragglers out there it seems.
One of the most poignant stories was the Snuffler that took a trip to Naples, but could not appreciate the joy and beauty of the city until he took his masks off (literally and figuratively). It makes me think of how hard it can be to enjoy something in the moment. Especially when you travel to famous places, landmarks. There’s a lot of pressure to be in awe and to get the most out of it. For me at least. So I was a bit sympathetic to that Snuffler’s plight. Also, it can be hard to get out of one’s comfort zone in new places, but I think it’s worth trying even if it doesn’t move you at first.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of artwork, stories and commentary related to Moebius's World of Edena offers some great insight into the stories in the original collection. In addition to pieces of art from the original series, the book presents behind the scenes looks at Moebius's layouts and notes (unfortunately, in French), art pieces related to the Edena cycle from portfolios and other sources, and four short comics related to the Edena cycle. Now that I've read this, I want to go back and read the Edena stories all over again!

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am Moebius obsessed, and this book stokes the fire.

An awesome companion to Moebius' World of Edena, The Art of Edena contains numerous full page drawings that didn't make it into the principal narrative, but which suck the viewer back to Moebius's dream world. Various no dialogue sequences as well as the drawings from Moebius' “Les Voyages d’Hermès” project seal the deal.

Now let's get to republishing in English the rest of Moebius's works! Or maybe I should just work on my French. . . .

[zoraiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice art, like so nice i want to rip pages out of this book and hang them on my walls it’s so good. Not many words so if you’re expecting a graphic novel it is not that at all, it feels like a silent film in book form but I liked it a lot even though I didn’t know what was going on it made me feel like I was there.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

While The World of Edena provides text and subtext, this companion piece provides just the right amount of context to really get your feet under you in this marvelous multiverse. The short stories here are whimsical and gorgeous, leaning much more maximalist than the original Edena story art. Not essential, but highly recommended.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Art of Edena accompanies the classic graphic series by Moebius. It includes some very impressive full page illustrations devoid of lettering for maximum effect. While there is some text describing the art, the volume consists mostly of these full page visuals.

[Jake Nap · Rating 4 out of 5]

A museum like overview on the creation of The Edena cycle by Moebius. Offers some great insight into the creation of the series with some awesome blown up panels, pages and sketches. Also some short stories in here that are well worth the price of admission

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful supplement to the World of Edena and a must have for fans of Moebius. My only complaint is that most of the french language in this book isn't translated for english.

[RND · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's Moebius, so of course the art is lovely. The Montrouge sequence especially is wonderful.

[Heather Culley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Moebius and I like Winsor McCay.

[Clayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anything that has nice reproductions of Moebius' artwork is worth checking out. But this isn't an essential volume by any means, more of a supplement to the other Edena volume.

[Raven Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed Moebius's work, layered stories, beautiful artwork, you really can't lose.

[Eric Orchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible collection of art and sketches from the Edena comic.

[Pearse Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moebius is a French Miyazaki. He's fucking stellar. This art book feels partially complete but kicks complete ass.

[Patrick Haga · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to live in a Moebius world. I love the amount of detail that goes into these works. I sit and try to imagine the insane amount of time each must take.

[Seven Pesos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of pretty pictures + bonus stories. I really liked it.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moebius' art is wonderful. As a volume, i thought it left something to be desired -- a couple of images were blown up too far, could have been arranged more thoughtfully, etc. A Taschen this is not.

[Mark Ames · Rating 4 out of 5]

Precisely what is stated in the description and a must read for Moebius fans.

[Nicholas De · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 e mezzo