A Step Back in Time: Moebius poster art for Spike & Mike’s Festival of Animation

By John Freeman on January 12, 2024

Spotted online, here’s the original pencils and art for the poster designed by Moebius for Spike & Mike’s Festival of Animation 1987.

Moebius pencils for his poster for Spike & Mike's Festival of Animation 1987

Moebius art for his poster for Spike & Mike's Festival of Animation 1987

Moebius poster for Spike & Mike's Festival of Animation 1987

Jean Giraud, aka Moebius, was a French artist, cartoonist and writer who worked in the Franco-Belgian bandes dessinées tradition. Giraud garnered worldwide acclaim predominantly under the pseudonym Moebius and, to a lesser extent Gir, which he used for the Blueberry series and his paintings. Moebius also contributed storyboards and concept designs to numerous science fiction and fantasy films, such as Alien, Tron, The Fifth Element, and The Abyss.

Spike and Mike’s Festival of Animation is an annual touring presentation of award-winning animated short films in the United States. The festival premieres annually in the La Jolla (Village) neighbourhood seated in San Diego, California then tours to cinemas, film festivals, and college campuses currently in about a dozen North American cities.

Just last year, in November, Skybound Entertainment, the creator-led multi-platform entertainment company behind The Walking Dead, Invincible founded by Robert Kirkman and David Alpert, announced that it had acquired the festival and has plans to revitalise it.

They are currently running a call out for submissions for short films from creators across the US, Canada, and the UK for the next Festival, the deadline extended to 31st January 2024. Whether you’re an industry professional, a student, or an animation creator in any medium, they want to see your short films.

All the details of how to submit your work are here on the official Skybound website.

Details of the next festival, including partnerships, are still being finalised, but festival awards in the works include project stipends, acquisitions, and development

“Since its inception in the late 1970s, Spike & Mike’s curated festivals, including the renowned ‘Spike & Mike’s Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation,’ have showcased cutting-edge, daring, and often hilarious animated shorts,” say Skybound. “These guerilla style festivals became the theatrical launchpad for many of the animation industry’s most acclaimed figures, including the likes of Pete Doctor (Monsters, Inc., Up), Mike Judge (Beavis & Butt-Head), and Nick Park (Wallace and Gromit).

“And now you have the opportunity to join this lauded class of creators! … We can’t wait to see your work!”

• Submission guidelines for short film makers for the next oSpike & Mike’s Festival of Animation on the Skybound Entertainment website

Print of Moebius poster for Spike & Mike's Festival of Animation 1987 — *Print of Moebius poster for Spike & Mike’s Festival of Animation 1987*

• Follow the Festival at @spikeandmikefest on YouTube and Instagram, and join the Festival discord at https://discord.gg/spikeandmike

• Moebius – official website (in French)

• Jean Giraud albums Bedetheque (in French)

• Moebius albums Bedetheque (in French)

• EuropeanComics.net – Moebius publications in English

• Copies of the original 1986 poster by Moebius are, of course, pretty rare, but The Book Palace does have 12″ x 21″ (310mm x 530mm) prints for sale here, priced at £130. They have plenty of other artworks and prints by this singular talent, too. Check them out here

The Incal Oversized Deluxe Edition (Humanoids, 2022)

• Want more Moebius? Don’t miss The Incal Oversized Deluxe Edition, a treasure both for fans of this best-selling science fiction work and for art collectors, which was released by Humanoids, Inc in 2022, compiled by Alejandro Jodorowsky

With thanks to John Gandour

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.