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Arzach
A collection of the dream-like science-fiction images and visual storytelling techniques of Jean Giraud ("Moebius"), including his wordless "pantomime" work and the character Arzach.
64 pages, Board book
First published June 1, 1976
About the author
Mœbius
588 books985 followersJean 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.
Also published as Jean Giraud.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
December 23, 2021
Arzach is a warrior that rides a pteradactyl across an alien landscape in four wordless tales. The stories are done in a darker, grittier version of Moebius' clean line style, hearkening back to his work on Blueberry. I found the stories easy to follow despite the complete lack of text. Also, Moebius doesn't shy away from drawing breasts as well as penises and testicles on his nude figures.
August 20, 2015
Recuerdo que este volumen tiene historias cortas sobre Arzach. Recuerdo también a su maquina-dinosaurio-pájaro voladora. Y recuerdo que me pareció genial.
No hay texto en todo el cómic, -eso me chocó un poco-, pero con solo sus ilustraciones te enteras perfectamente de todo.
Moebius, genio de genios. Siempre recordaré sus perspectivas imposibles.
No hay texto en todo el cómic, -eso me chocó un poco-, pero con solo sus ilustraciones te enteras perfectamente de todo.
Moebius, genio de genios. Siempre recordaré sus perspectivas imposibles.
October 17, 2021
Was it visually pleasing and with a rich sense of worldbuilding? Absolutely.
Did I understand anything that was going on? Not at all.
Did I understand anything that was going on? Not at all.
September 4, 2017
Artwise, Arzach is a strong silent novel.
Each panel looks like a snapshot from an animation sequence.
Other than that, it's nothing but voyeurism scenes of women undressing, monster fighting and close ups of penises :(
Each panel looks like a snapshot from an animation sequence.
Other than that, it's nothing but voyeurism scenes of women undressing, monster fighting and close ups of penises :(
February 1, 2022
I think Arzach is best understood as a series of short trips into Mœbius's dreamscapes. The fantastical setting and its denizens are evocative and enigmatic, but in terms of narrative, there isn't much going on: each strip just consists of a few simple, largely inconsequential events. This wouldn't be a particularly appealing premise, but for the fact that Mœbius is one of the undisputed masters of comics, his art gorgeous and his panel-to-panel storytelling second to none. Indeed, I think this work is actually more interesting than the artist's supposed magnum opus, The Incal, as here his artwork and his imagination are given free reign. I can't say this is really a must-read, but I certainly like it a lot.
April 25, 2019
A comic book with no dialogue in the typical Moebius style, which is always beautiful in a strange way but the story/stories didn't really impress me.
October 2, 2016
Fantastic art work! Not much text but the artwork is really amazing and 5 stars!
June 17, 2017
Tenký sešitek přečteny za pár minut. Ovšem velká kapitola komixu. Jsem rád, že jsem konečně potkal Saudkova velkého Inspirátora. Musím se podívat i na jeho další díla.
January 21, 2020
Worth a look for the art and fantastic sci-fi designs, but the stories are really basic and don't add much of anything to the images.
March 10, 2021
Phew. I mean the art, of course, is awesome. Moebius ain't slipping there. The stories in Arzach are just so bad, there's nothing but nudity and monsters and pointless happenings. Downright hilarious at points, other points offer a concerning glimpse into Moebius's darker, weirder depths. His style, his random dive into this imaginationworld, his ability to put it on the page, and largely without words, the barrier language erects between our thoughts and our expression—it is a purer form of expression. There's just nothing there. Offensive really. But honest, in some sort of fantasy-serving way.
I'm not sure what I think, but all said I was disappointed. Still jokes to pull out and show a comic or two to a buddy. But most of it just isn't to my taste. Oh well. Moebius is a genius, after all.
I bought Arzach thinking the entire edition was wordless, but turns out there is some dialogue. My girlfriend read me the French parts. I focused on what I could easily understand, where Moebius's twisted dream-sequence plays out as near as Moebius could muster. I mean the drawings, the colour. The silent pterodactyl rider just besting monsters and looking for a girl. Any girl. But, no, just men . . . men and monsters . . .
I'm not sure what I think, but all said I was disappointed. Still jokes to pull out and show a comic or two to a buddy. But most of it just isn't to my taste. Oh well. Moebius is a genius, after all.
I bought Arzach thinking the entire edition was wordless, but turns out there is some dialogue. My girlfriend read me the French parts. I focused on what I could easily understand, where Moebius's twisted dream-sequence plays out as near as Moebius could muster. I mean the drawings, the colour. The silent pterodactyl rider just besting monsters and looking for a girl. Any girl. But, no, just men . . . men and monsters . . .
May 27, 2013
Like alot of people, I sought this out due to HeavyMetal. A friend of mine lent it to me and I'm really glad I didn't have to pay for this book.
The art is great. As an art book (which it arguably is), it's very good. Story wise there isn't much going on, not to mention the length. The book is about 50pages, the a big part of it isn't even Arzach.
I had expectations of an epic like in the movie and got about 25 pages of nothing happening. I probably would of been happier if the art was completely disconnected from any kind of narrative. At least that way my brain wouldn't be focusing on the lack of story and would be able to appreciate the art on it's own.
Anyways, don't buy this unless you've read/look at it and know you really want it. The price is pretty steep in stores around here..
The art is great. As an art book (which it arguably is), it's very good. Story wise there isn't much going on, not to mention the length. The book is about 50pages, the a big part of it isn't even Arzach.
I had expectations of an epic like in the movie and got about 25 pages of nothing happening. I probably would of been happier if the art was completely disconnected from any kind of narrative. At least that way my brain wouldn't be focusing on the lack of story and would be able to appreciate the art on it's own.
Anyways, don't buy this unless you've read/look at it and know you really want it. The price is pretty steep in stores around here..
November 17, 2015
Arzach is an interesting experiment with the comic book form. There is no dialogue, only images. It works, to a degree, because the stories are short and relatively simple. The lack of dialogue is doubly limiting, because you can't have the complex interactions that are facilitated by conversation, but also because some dialogue is usually necessary to give context to the images; the illustrations themselves are limited by their word-free context. They're beautiful, of course, because it's Moebius and indulging in otherworldly landscapes and eccentric characters is his element. Several of the stories have a bit of a Mad Max feel, as Arzach is a lone, taciturn warrior in the wilderness who sometimes saves the day but mostly keeps to himself. Overall, a very quick 'read' and enjoyable, but not particularly engaging.
November 5, 2011
Sous cette couverture au mdoernisme élégant se cache un recueil des histoires d'Arzach, étrange cavalier volant à la monture ptérosauresque. D'après l'avant-propos de l'auteur (écrit en 1991), ces récits furent les premiers dans lesquels il laissa son imagination prendre le pouvoir et l'emmener sur des terres inexplorées. Du coup, forcément, les scénarios de ces courtes histoires sont plutôt décousus, au contraire des dessins qui sont de véritables oeuvres d'art.
A réserver donc aux amateurs éclairés.
A réserver donc aux amateurs éclairés.
January 5, 2019
Krásná kresba černobílá i v barvách. Ještě krásnější než jsem si představovala. A taky hodně penisů.
June 30, 2019
I made a video about this one :)
https://youtu.be/i0cU6QLYV8o
https://youtu.be/i0cU6QLYV8o
Read
August 29, 2025It’s simply so Fench that the most popular bande dessinées were experimental stories about a silent, horny asshole
March 21, 2022
Sinceramente, no tengo muy claro que he leído, pero desde luego, no ha cumplido las expectativas altísimas que tenía. Que entiendo por qué fue tan influyente en su momento, por qué resulta tan mítico y no dudo del talento enorme que tenía Moebius, pero... meh, sinceramente. La primera historia ("La desviación") es una cosa curiosa enlazada luego al universo de Arzach en un ejercicio de retconning que rompe bastante la cuarta pared (bueno, ya la rompía en su momento) y con ciertos tintes realistas, y personalmente no me encaja ese enlace... pero al fin y al cabo esto son los sueños de Giraud. O eso parece. Sueños raros, algo turbios, sin mucho sentido, ambigüos, y con una obsesión por lo sexual y los desnudos un poquito demasiado gratuita para mi gusto (sobre todo cuando en el caso de ellos es un "mira, se ve un pene", sin más, y en el de ellas es un "mira, un señoro está espiándola por la ventana mientras se desnuda").
El arte de Giraud es impresionante, y tiene un estilo muy característico. Y, sinceramente, el mundo de Arzach parece bastante atractivo. Pero como historias se me quedan bastante cojas (y no por la falta de diálogo, que me parece un acierto muy envolvente). Solo espero que en la revisita a este mundo que supuso "Arzak: el vigilante" la narrativa esté a la altura del arte, porque por ahora, lo que más me ha gustado ha sido ver la influencia que tuvo el cómic en el juego "Sable".
El arte de Giraud es impresionante, y tiene un estilo muy característico. Y, sinceramente, el mundo de Arzach parece bastante atractivo. Pero como historias se me quedan bastante cojas (y no por la falta de diálogo, que me parece un acierto muy envolvente). Solo espero que en la revisita a este mundo que supuso "Arzak: el vigilante" la narrativa esté a la altura del arte, porque por ahora, lo que más me ha gustado ha sido ver la influencia que tuvo el cómic en el juego "Sable".
July 13, 2022
Am I glad to have found this collection on Kindle Unlimited in the original French! I have read these stories - well, viewed them - many times before in different editions in print, so a four star review is a foregone conclusion.
It’s difficult to express just what a revolution these stories represent. The cartoon magazine Pilote was representative of mainstream cartoons such as its flagship Asterix until the editors gave complete freedom to their stable of artists in the early 1970s, including Jean Giraud, author of the very serious Blueberry western series. And Moebius was born. Anything goes from this point.
Rude, crude, philosophical, political, exuberant, exasperating, and utterly brilliant, these stories are a mixed bag of influences from classical art through all forms of popular culture. And they influenced so much of Franco-Belgian cartoons thereafter, as well as Hollywood movies. Moebius gave sci-fi a whole new visual vocabulary whilst refusing to take himself - or anything - seriously.
On reading these stories again, there’s a lot to nitpick between the sexism and the violence, as well as the slapdash nature of some work alongside images of intense art, but despite hindsight these stories stand on their own as monuments of modern culture, unparalleled, often imitated but never bettered.
It’s difficult to express just what a revolution these stories represent. The cartoon magazine Pilote was representative of mainstream cartoons such as its flagship Asterix until the editors gave complete freedom to their stable of artists in the early 1970s, including Jean Giraud, author of the very serious Blueberry western series. And Moebius was born. Anything goes from this point.
Rude, crude, philosophical, political, exuberant, exasperating, and utterly brilliant, these stories are a mixed bag of influences from classical art through all forms of popular culture. And they influenced so much of Franco-Belgian cartoons thereafter, as well as Hollywood movies. Moebius gave sci-fi a whole new visual vocabulary whilst refusing to take himself - or anything - seriously.
On reading these stories again, there’s a lot to nitpick between the sexism and the violence, as well as the slapdash nature of some work alongside images of intense art, but despite hindsight these stories stand on their own as monuments of modern culture, unparalleled, often imitated but never bettered.
July 18, 2025
Libertà creativa e visionaria
Poche pagine in cui Moebius si libera completamente dei lacci di trama, narrazione, verosimiglianza per lasciare totalmente spazio alle proprie visioni e ai propri istinti creativi.
Ne risulta un capolavoro grafico ed immaginifico, su cui a poco valgono le parole - solo immagini di criptica potenza espressiva, che ognuno può interpretare e percepire a proprio modo, ben sapendo che (finalmente!) non ci sono "messaggi", "lezioni" o "storie" ad ostacolare il nostro viaggio dentro le visioni di Moebius.
E se ci si perde, senza capire bene cosa si è visto o percepito, ci si ricordi sempre che "perdersi è meraviglioso".
Poche pagine in cui Moebius si libera completamente dei lacci di trama, narrazione, verosimiglianza per lasciare totalmente spazio alle proprie visioni e ai propri istinti creativi.
Ne risulta un capolavoro grafico ed immaginifico, su cui a poco valgono le parole - solo immagini di criptica potenza espressiva, che ognuno può interpretare e percepire a proprio modo, ben sapendo che (finalmente!) non ci sono "messaggi", "lezioni" o "storie" ad ostacolare il nostro viaggio dentro le visioni di Moebius.
E se ci si perde, senza capire bene cosa si è visto o percepito, ci si ricordi sempre che "perdersi è meraviglioso".
January 10, 2026
Le storie mute di Arzak, qualunque grafemi si usino per rappresentare il suono di questa parola, le ho trovate spesso elogiate come opere. A me non piacciono. Lo dico chiaramente: Moebius può essere stato un ottimo disegnatore, ed il suo uso del colore in queste storielle brevi è magistrale, ma continua a non piacermi per nulla come sceneggiatore.
L'albo è un nonsense che può piacere a chi ammira solo i disegni ed i virtuosismi grafici, di certo lui si è divertito con queste storie. Ma non mi piacciono, non mi suscitano interesse, non mi invogliano a leggere altro di Harsak o del suo mondo.
1 stella e mezza.
L'albo è un nonsense che può piacere a chi ammira solo i disegni ed i virtuosismi grafici, di certo lui si è divertito con queste storie. Ma non mi piacciono, non mi suscitano interesse, non mi invogliano a leggere altro di Harsak o del suo mondo.
1 stella e mezza.
October 27, 2022
Depois de muito pensar no que eu poderia dizer sobre uma história abstrata como Arzach, e todas as pequenas narrativas contemplativas que compõem o volume completo, horas se passaram e eu percebi que não consigo articular nada. Talvez o certo seja isso mesmo, como a proposta dessa temática: observar, absorver, indagar o não-natural (de uma perspectiva que pode ser somente externa, dada a indiferença interna dos personagens que passeiam por esse universo) e seguir em frente, não importa como ou porquê.
November 12, 2022
moebius roteirista e ilustrador num quadrinho sem nenhum diálogo. um marco do modernismo na nona arte. ele e os amigos dele surfavam na crista da onda do avant-garde nessa época das bds franceses. imagética de arzach tem muito da experiência do moebius no méxico.
miyazaki se disse fortemente influenciado por essa hq quando criou nausicaa. aqui, um guerreiro voa por um mundo fantástico montado em seu pterodáctilo branco; lá, a nausicaa explorava um mundo igualmente bizarro em seu planador branco.
miyazaki se disse fortemente influenciado por essa hq quando criou nausicaa. aqui, um guerreiro voa por um mundo fantástico montado em seu pterodáctilo branco; lá, a nausicaa explorava um mundo igualmente bizarro em seu planador branco.
March 22, 2022
4,5/5. El genio Moebius nos trae por aquí unas historias cortitas sin texto pero con una fuerza tremenda. Un mundo perfectamente mostrado con cuatro pinceladas y una sociedad de la que deja ligeros retazos devastadores. Una especie de mundo que parece postapocalíptico a veces y otras asemeja estar enmarcado en una particular fantasía. Todo un poco loco, igual que me ha dejado la última historia. El pterodáctilo lo mola todo
August 22, 2022
5/5
Marededeusinyor quin tros de còmic! I això que sense adonar-me l'he agafat de la biblio en neerlandès; però tant li fa, només hi havia una historieta amb text en tot el llibre. La potencia visual de les històries és abassegadora, i el detall de les il·lustracions convida a admirar-les un cop i un altre i un altre. Combina aventura, ciència-ficció, erotisme i animalades bizarres en poquíssimes pàgines. De lluny el que més he gaudit de Moebius fins ara.
Marededeusinyor quin tros de còmic! I això que sense adonar-me l'he agafat de la biblio en neerlandès; però tant li fa, només hi havia una historieta amb text en tot el llibre. La potencia visual de les històries és abassegadora, i el detall de les il·lustracions convida a admirar-les un cop i un altre i un altre. Combina aventura, ciència-ficció, erotisme i animalades bizarres en poquíssimes pàgines. De lluny el que més he gaudit de Moebius fins ara.
October 2, 2022
This book, originally from 1976, has two connected parts. First a very wordy story about the artist and his family going on a weird road trip, with art as detailed as Gustave Dore's. Then the rest of the book is a series of mostly silent short stories and poster pages in the classic Moebius art style (as seen on the cover) about a chap who flies around on a giant robot bird. I enjoyed it more than Le Bandard Fou, but understood it even less!
November 24, 2023
Arzach représente en quelque sorte la mort de Giraud et la naissance de Mœbius. Le changement du style et de ton de l'artiste. Et, important, le passage de Pilote à Métal Hurlant.
Ce sont des BD muettes et très détaillées. Un guerrier futuriste y chevauche un ptérodactyle dans des quêtes silencieuses et oniriques. On n'y comprend pas grand chose, comme il se doit.
Oh et Arzach n'est jamais écrit deux fois de la même façon, ajoutant au côté "quête d'identité".
Ce sont des BD muettes et très détaillées. Un guerrier futuriste y chevauche un ptérodactyle dans des quêtes silencieuses et oniriques. On n'y comprend pas grand chose, comme il se doit.
Oh et Arzach n'est jamais écrit deux fois de la même façon, ajoutant au côté "quête d'identité".
December 26, 2024
Tra lo steampunk e Oltre la sfera del tuono?
Ma qual è la storia?
Espressioni che rendono l'idea del lbro:
"Plook
plook
Bingaloo
Bingaa-
loo!..."
(52)
"Non vedo l'ora
di lasciarmi alle
spalle questo
assurdo
universo."
(79)
Oppure: non vedo l'ora di lasciarmi alle spalle questo libro e Moebius.
"Che
casino!..."
(97)
Giacché nulla è chiaro.
"Ci siamo!
L'avevo
detto! La
sola vera
realtà ha
tagliato
la corda!..."
(108)
Ma qual è la storia?
Espressioni che rendono l'idea del lbro:
"Plook
plook
Bingaloo
Bingaa-
loo!..."
(52)
"Non vedo l'ora
di lasciarmi alle
spalle questo
assurdo
universo."
(79)
Oppure: non vedo l'ora di lasciarmi alle spalle questo libro e Moebius.
"Che
casino!..."
(97)
Giacché nulla è chiaro.
"Ci siamo!
L'avevo
detto! La
sola vera
realtà ha
tagliato
la corda!..."
(108)
January 6, 2025
Every bit of this is beautifully drawn and clearly very carefully crafted to tell the stories Moebius was looking to tell. Some are definitely much easier to follow than others for me, though that doesn't take away from Moebius' incredible talent he showcases here in the Arzach series.
8/10, I think. Very high chance I completely missed something that makes it suck, but at least it looks gorgeous.
8/10, I think. Very high chance I completely missed something that makes it suck, but at least it looks gorgeous.
April 6, 2024
Je to zvláštny komiks. Vizuálne zaujímavý, ale obsahovo ťažko uchopiteľný. Nie je to nič štandardné a bežné, a verím, že mnoho čitateľov si tam nájde niečo, čo mne aj po dvoch prečítaniach uniklo. Treba to ale skúsiť, keďže Arzach prináša úplne iný prístup k rozprávaniu príbehu a vizuálne spracovanie stojí naozaj za to. Je to krátka jednohubka a stojí za experiment.
February 18, 2021
The material is great and comfortably surreal. This edition is also great and collects some additional material. But... it's kinda short. I really wish it was a bit longer. I barely got into this weird world when I was already finished with the comic. I guess I need to grab more Moebius after all.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews