After the young shoots, the Humanoïdes Associés, are interested in the large trees of Métal hurlant in this issue six returning to the origins of the magazine.
Back to the Future
Since its return, Métal Hurlant has walked on two feet: one turned towards the present highlighting today's science fiction and the other towards the past by republishing its glorious years. In this sixth issue devoted to ancient stories, the reader must be impressed by the summary: Druillet, Margerin, Dionnet, Caza, Moebius, Schuiten… The fan finds the universe of the artists: Tardi keeps a dark vision of society. In the issue of Métal Hurlant, we also discover authors who have left fewer traces: Alias writes a grandiose space combat and illustrates it magnificently.
However, former subscribers of Métal Hurlant can also rush to this number. The magazine became a thick magazine of more than 270 pages. It is not a facsimile but this compilation is an opportunity to put forward stories. In addition, the publisher offers many unpublished pages. Each comic book story opens with a presentation of the author by Claude Ecken or Christophe Quillien. Through other texts, we go behind the scenes of Métal Hurlant. An article shows the creation and then the competition with the English version. The current editorial team has added an unpublished interview with Serge Clerc with unpublished pages from his newspaper.
Does this past future still speak in the present?
In the issues of the present, the choice is made of a thematic unit. On the contrary, by discovering these short past stories of Métal Hurlant, the reader is impressed by the crazy adventures of the time. Caro tells the story of a scoundrel. Conversely, more classic stories play a very good atmosphere: Serge Clerc takes us to a bar of regulars spending the day drinking and then walks us in a Breton seaside resort in the fall. Tardi is far from spaceships but goes into barbaric times to offer a Fellinian description of social inequality.
These short stories are spaces of experimentation with very different forms: Moebius tries his hand at direct color. Rodolphe et Eberoni offers a very innovative illustrated text. We cross very current themes such as transhumanism. The reader is also captivated by Serge Clerc's timeless pages unifying Tintin and punk rock. Despite these big names, Dionnet wants them to collaborate as in Paradis 9 directed by fourteen authors. Artists also sometimes propose fusions such as Scalpel Rock realized07 à quatre where we can find Lucien, the Closh and Kebra.
Unity also comes from the times. Space combat is reminiscent of the Second World War while many short stories are reminiscent of the hard-boiled thriller à la Chandler. In a very punk approach, the stories often have a lot of humor: the male heroes are sometimes ridiculous. Some stories are marked by wrinkles. The suburban language of the black Kebra jacket smells like the 80s. There are few authors apart from Nicole Claveloux and Chantal Montellier. This inequality is not just a question of numbers, but there is a dated view of women in the drawings and stories.
Published by Les Humanoïdes Associés, the number five of Métal Hurlant is a glorious journey into the past of comics, inside a magazine but also a reminder of stories that are still very current.
Find on the site chronicles of the authors present in this issue with Sorcières, mes soeurs and Arkhé et Laïlah.
