Moebius “Fauna of Mars” prints offered by the Illustration Art Gallery

By John Freeman on December 17, 2018

The Illustration Art Gallery is offering nine newly-available “Fauna of Mars” prints by the legendary French artist Moebius, a small selection of the hundreds of imaginary creatures Moebius designed for his book La Faune de Mars which is getting a re-release from Moebius Productions.

First published in 2011, La Faune de Mars features Jean Giraud’s take on the life of an imaginary Martian world – a field guide, if you will, of the bizarre aliens there.

Long time fans will be pleased to know that Major Grubert appears in most of the images.

“Everyone knows now that Mars is barren,” noted artist Jean Giraud of the work on its original release. “Robots, equipped with small remote-controlled shovels, are being sent there at great expense, and they are stubbornly digging the ground in hopes of discovering fossils curled up with ancient bacteria.

“I found it simpler and less expensive in terms of technology investment to grab a blank notebook and let the pen run on paper, a dreamy and random stroke.”

All the prints are offered mounted and have a Certificate of Authenticity on the reverse and are professionally matted ready for framing.

• Visit the Illustration Art Gallery to see all the prints on offer

• Visit Moebius Productions for details of Jean Giraud’s life and works

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John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.