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A review by jgkeely
The Collected Fantasies, Vol. 1: Upon a Star by Mœbius
3.0
This book collects early examples of Moebius' science fiction work, and is typical for showing his exploration of different artistic styles. Several of the works were commissioned by big business interests who wanted to inspire their employees and readers.
The commercial aspects of these stories are a bit silly, as is Moebius' attempt to inject his humanitarian spiritual philosophies. Each story has a foreword and afterword, and in these Moebius talks briefly about his experiences with various spiritual movements and gurus.
The story published in a French finance magazine is particularly saccharine, with long expository passages about mankind's propensity for war, destructive nature, failure to live 'in balance', and the failure of its religions to move towards 'cosmic unity'. Like many romanticized sci fi allegories before and since, Moebius' aliens are stand-ins for angels, and all the philosophies of peace, love, and progress they espouse are about as profound as you'd expect.
There are some interesting moments in the comics, which seem original and thought-provoking, but Moebius often ends up trying to explain them to us, immediately transforming them from mysterious to didactic allegory.
Still there is some originality, depth of character, sense of humor, and lovely art which lift the works up.
The commercial aspects of these stories are a bit silly, as is Moebius' attempt to inject his humanitarian spiritual philosophies. Each story has a foreword and afterword, and in these Moebius talks briefly about his experiences with various spiritual movements and gurus.
The story published in a French finance magazine is particularly saccharine, with long expository passages about mankind's propensity for war, destructive nature, failure to live 'in balance', and the failure of its religions to move towards 'cosmic unity'. Like many romanticized sci fi allegories before and since, Moebius' aliens are stand-ins for angels, and all the philosophies of peace, love, and progress they espouse are about as profound as you'd expect.
There are some interesting moments in the comics, which seem original and thought-provoking, but Moebius often ends up trying to explain them to us, immediately transforming them from mysterious to didactic allegory.
Still there is some originality, depth of character, sense of humor, and lovely art which lift the works up.