Les Humanoïdes Associés
Encyclopedia
Les Humanoïdes Associés is a French
publishing house specialising in comics
and graphic novels. Founded in December 1974 by Mœbius
, Jean-Pierre Dionnet, Philippe Druillet
and Bernard Farkas in order to publish Métal Hurlant
, it quickly expanded to include a variety of science fiction
work. Considered revolutionary in the comic book
artform at the time, chiefly due to its focus on the sci-fi genre, it inspired many generations of authors and filmmakers, such as Ridley Scott
for his film Blade Runner
.
and Mœbius
, along with businessman Bernard Farkas decided to found "Les Humanoïdes Associés" in order to publish a quarterly science fiction magazine, re-launch Le Bandard fou and to "prepare many other things". The first issue was published in January 1975, with Jean-Pierre Dionnet as editor.
The magazine was mainly welcome science fiction and fantasy
works, but Dionnet prized diversity and published works by Chantal Montellier as well as those by Philippe Druillet. Dionnet also endeavoured to publish foreign authors: the first issue showcased the American Richard Corben
, the second issued featured fellow American Vaughn Bodé
, along with Brazilian Sergio Macedo, the Swiss Daniel Ceppi, the Dutch Joost Swarte
, etc. In 1977 the magazine takes on Paul Gillon's
the Naufragés du temps, and, in February 1979, Jean Giraud
and Jean-Michel Charlier's
Blueberry (the Nez Cassé issue). The same year Métal hurlant published the first episode of Hermann Huppen
's Jeremiah, the Nuit des rapaces.
As soon as 1975, two books were published: Jason Muller, by Claude Auclair, and Rolf, by Richard Corben
. As the years go by, and increasing number of comic books were published (ten in 1976, fifteen in 1977, seventeen in 1978, 28 in 1979, 38 in 1980, etc.). Mostly works were by authors featuring in the magazine, such as Druillet, Mœbius (Arzach
was published in 1976), Jean-Claude Gal, Jacques Tardi
, Réné Pétillion, Chantal Montellier, Frank Margerin
, Serge Clerc
, Alain Vos, Denis Sire, Ted Benoît
, Dominique Hé, Nicole Clavelous and François Schuiten
, etc. Nevertheless, "Les Humanoïdes" also published other authors, such as Italians Guido Buzzelli
and Hugo Pratt
, Argentinians such as Alberto Breccia
, as well as American classics Conan the Barbarian
, Spirit and Nick Fury
or British classic Dan Dare
. It was also responsible for publishing a handful of risqué works, such as John Willie
's erotic Gwendoline
(a very helpful financial success) or Jim's La Baronne Steel. Georges Pichard
and Jacques Lob
's Blance Épiphanie brought an added dimension to the publication. In 1977 Les Humanoïdes Associés published their first compendium of images with H. R. Giger
's Necronomicon
.
Les Humanoïdes Associé's publishing enabled it to gain a considerable financial grounding, which proved to be useful when confronted with a number of management mishaps (extortionate loan rates, high production costs, non-payment of dues to the NMPP, etc.). It also led to a number of landmark collections being begun, such as "Xanadu", which featured large-scale American comics (nine volumes between 1983-1985), or "Autodafé", which published comics in novel form. "Autodafé" (six volumes between 1982-1983) published the first manga
to be distributed in French bookshops (Barefoot Gen
by Keiji Nakazawa
) but didn't have any success as it disturbed the public and booksellers.
From 1976 to 1978, Les Humanoïdes Associés published a second magazine, Ah! Nana, with a female focus. Its editors (Janic Guillerez, with early input from Anne Delobel) and principal contributors were almost all women. This innovative project, especially given the male-influenced milieu in which it took place, was nevertheless hampered by chronically poor sales and its ratings as adult-only material. In May 1977 Ciné Fantastic was published (with Jean-Paul Nail and Jean-Pierre Bouyxou
), yet had only one issue. Several years later Dionnet noticed an increase in the number of titles available in bookshops, and sought to increase the presence of Les Humanoïdes Associés. Métal (hurlant) Aventure, with an adventure focus, and Rigolo!, with a humoristic focus, were both launched in 1983, but were only published until 1984 and 1985, respectively.
In 1977, Métal Hurlant gained world-wide attention when it was translated into English and distributed in North America and the Commonwealth countries under the name Heavy Metal
. Heavy Metal featured mainly European authors near the beginning of its publication, but increasingly relied on American authors as time went on. Nevertheless, it introduced European comics to the North American market, where authors such as Mœbius began to have an impact on local art. By the end of the 1980s Heavy Metal became completely independent from Les Humanos Associés. As of 2011 it is still being published, though its sales have decreased over the past decade.
This mix of financial successes and failures led to a difficult situation for the publishing house. In April 1980 the company's ownership was divided between a Spanish printing company (a major creditor) and a number of private shareholders, principally people who had been associated with the beginnings of the company (such as Druillet, Mœbius, Margerin or Gillon).
In 1988, the publishing house and its catalogue (including Métal Hurlant) were purchased by Swiss publisher/producer Fabrice Giger
, at the age of 23, who turned it into an intellectual property development company. Since then, in less than two decades, the company has developed one of the most respected graphic novel/comic book
catalogues in the world, featuring authors such as Moebius, Alexandro Jodorowsky, Enki Bilal
, Milo Manara
and Juan Gimenez
, and books from multiple genres.
in order to showcase French cult classics as well as recruit American talent. A number of successfull French works were published, including Bouncer, Les Terres creuses, Metabarons
, The Nikopol Trilogy
, Technopriests
, Le Lama blanc, along with works by Pierre Christin
and Enki Bilal
, XXe ciel.com, The Incal
, Olivier Varèse, Exterminator 17
, Yves Chaland
, etc.). In 2002 Humanoids began publishing an English-language version of the new Métal Hurlant
, which would only last two years.
In January 2004, Humanoids signed an agreement with DC Comics
aimed at integrating the Humanoids publications into the DC Comics catalog. This agreement enabled Humanoids to gain a greater visibility in the market, while DC Comics obtained the distribution rights for the English-language versions of Humanoids works. Certain works published since 1998 were reprinted, while new titles were also translated in English (El Niño, Victor Levallois, Megalex, Basil et Victoria, etc.). However, the books were expensive and success was limited, leading DC Comics to announce the end of the agreement in April 2005.
In 2007 and agreement is signed with Image Comics
to publish Lucha Libre
in North America. In July 2008 Humanoids began a partnership with Devil's Due
to publish new translations of French works. The graphic novels were now published in the classic comic book format in order to not put off American readers. New series were translated, such as The Zombies That Ate The World
or I Am Legion
.
In 2010 Les Humanoïdes Associés cancelled the agreement with Devil's Due and began their own translated works publishing campaign in North America. Following its standard practice, the company chose to publish old translations as well as new European (Le Manoir des murmures, Le Cœur couronné, Le Jour des magiciens, etc.) and American (Flywires, Aftermath
, etc.) series.
format was then chosen, with Enki Bilal's The Nikopol Trilogy
and Manara's Gulliveriana being published as part of the "Digital Comics" collection. Sales were disappointing, however, and comic book publishers returned the traditional paper format.
By the late 2000s smartphones were proliferating, which presented Les Humanoïdes Associés with an opportunity to make new inroads into the digitization of comics. The new media, dubbed "VideoComics", enabled smartphone users to experience their comics with added soundtracks, videos and even voice actors. A number of IT and web companies expressed interest in this new form of comics distribution, and Les Humanoïdes Associés gave two of them the rights to digitally distribute their works.
The latest development in digital distribution of comics has been the widespread use of the iPad
. This technology has led Les Humanoïdes Associés to systematically digitize the entire contents of its catalog, in order to provide its comic books on its website. New publications should be available online even before being released in bookshops, thanks to an online application that will provide access to content via streaming. In 2010 Les Humanoïdes announced the arrival of an app
on the Apple store.
The publisher has also tried its hand at European manga
, such as Omega or B.B. Project. These two titles were published in the traditional manga format, but Les Humanoïdes has also experimented with manga-type publications in a more European style. The Ecube series is an example of this mixed genre, written by Iovinelli and illustrated by Dall Oglio. Crusades, another exampled of a blended style, has European authors but a Chinese illustrator.
, Megalex, or Technopriests
.
The universe has developped to such a degree that the publishers have created a specific blog dedicated to linking the various storylines together. The Incal world currently has 35 published volumes, and Les Humanoïdes continues its development in the Castaka and Final Incal.
's creation, Lucha Libre is the second important world published by Les Humanoïdes Associés. The series showcases retired, failed Mexican catchers in their urban peregrinations. First published in France in small volumes labelled "anthologies", they were later re-published in a more traditional, hardcover form.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
publishing house specialising in comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
and graphic novels. Founded in December 1974 by Mœbius
Jean Giraud
Jean Henri Gaston Giraud is a French comics artist. Giraud has earned worldwide fame, not only under his own name but also under the pseudonym Moebius, and to a lesser extent Gir, the latter appearing mostly in the form of a boxed signature at the bottom of the artist's paintings, for instance the...
, Jean-Pierre Dionnet, Philippe Druillet
Philippe Druillet
Philippe Druillet is a French comics artist and creator, and an innovator in visual design.-Biography:Druillet was born in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, France but spent his youth in Spain, returning to France in 1952 after the death of his father...
and Bernard Farkas in order to publish Métal Hurlant
Métal Hurlant
Métal Hurlant is a French comics anthology of science fiction and horror comics stories, created in December 1974 by comics artists Jean Giraud and Philippe Druillet together with journalist-writer Jean-Pierre Dionnet and financial director Bernard Farkas.The four were collectively known as "Les...
, it quickly expanded to include a variety of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
work. Considered revolutionary in the comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
artform at the time, chiefly due to its focus on the sci-fi genre, it inspired many generations of authors and filmmakers, such as Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
for his film Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
.
Métal hurlant and early work
In Dece mber 1974 critic and scriptwriter Jean-Pierre Dionnet, writers Philippe DruilletPhilippe Druillet
Philippe Druillet is a French comics artist and creator, and an innovator in visual design.-Biography:Druillet was born in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, France but spent his youth in Spain, returning to France in 1952 after the death of his father...
and Mœbius
Jean Giraud
Jean Henri Gaston Giraud is a French comics artist. Giraud has earned worldwide fame, not only under his own name but also under the pseudonym Moebius, and to a lesser extent Gir, the latter appearing mostly in the form of a boxed signature at the bottom of the artist's paintings, for instance the...
, along with businessman Bernard Farkas decided to found "Les Humanoïdes Associés" in order to publish a quarterly science fiction magazine, re-launch Le Bandard fou and to "prepare many other things". The first issue was published in January 1975, with Jean-Pierre Dionnet as editor.
The magazine was mainly welcome science fiction and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
works, but Dionnet prized diversity and published works by Chantal Montellier as well as those by Philippe Druillet. Dionnet also endeavoured to publish foreign authors: the first issue showcased the American Richard Corben
Richard Corben
Richard Corben is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in Heavy Metal magazine...
, the second issued featured fellow American Vaughn Bodé
Vaughn Bodé
Vaughn Bodē was an artist involved in underground comics, graphic design and graffiti. He is perhaps best known for his comic strip character Cheech Wizard and artwork depicting voluptuous women. His works are noted for their psychedelic look and feel...
, along with Brazilian Sergio Macedo, the Swiss Daniel Ceppi, the Dutch Joost Swarte
Joost Swarte
Joost Swarte is a Dutch comic artist and graphic designer. He is best known for his ligne claire or clear line style of drawing, and in fact coined the term....
, etc. In 1977 the magazine takes on Paul Gillon's
Paul Gillon
Paul Gillon was a French comics artist. He won the 1982 Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême.Born in Paris, he considered fashion, theater and cinema, and only by accident made a career as a comics author. In the magazine Vaillant, he continued the older series Lynx Blanc, and created Fils de Chine...
the Naufragés du temps, and, in February 1979, Jean Giraud
Jean Giraud
Jean Henri Gaston Giraud is a French comics artist. Giraud has earned worldwide fame, not only under his own name but also under the pseudonym Moebius, and to a lesser extent Gir, the latter appearing mostly in the form of a boxed signature at the bottom of the artist's paintings, for instance the...
and Jean-Michel Charlier's
Jean-Michel Charlier
Jean-Michel Charlier was a Belgian script writer best known as a writer of realistic European comics. He was a co-founder of the famed European comics magazine Pilote.-Biography:...
Blueberry (the Nez Cassé issue). The same year Métal hurlant published the first episode of Hermann Huppen
Hermann Huppen
Hermann Huppen is a Belgian comic book artist. He is better known under his pen-name Hermann. He is most famous for his post-apocalyptic comic Jeremiah which was made into a television series.-Biography:...
's Jeremiah, the Nuit des rapaces.
As soon as 1975, two books were published: Jason Muller, by Claude Auclair, and Rolf, by Richard Corben
Richard Corben
Richard Corben is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in Heavy Metal magazine...
. As the years go by, and increasing number of comic books were published (ten in 1976, fifteen in 1977, seventeen in 1978, 28 in 1979, 38 in 1980, etc.). Mostly works were by authors featuring in the magazine, such as Druillet, Mœbius (Arzach
Arzach
Arzach is a comic book collection of four wordless short stories by artist/author Jean 'Moebius' Giraud, which were originally published in the French sci-fi/fantasy comics magazine Métal Hurlant. The stories follow Arzach, a silent warrior who rides a pterodactyl-like creature through a strange,...
was published in 1976), Jean-Claude Gal, Jacques Tardi
Jacques Tardi
Jacques Tardi is a French comics artist, born 30 August 1946 in Valence, Drôme. He is often credited solely as Tardi.-Biography:After graduating from the École nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon and the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris, he started writing comics in 1969, at the...
, Réné Pétillion, Chantal Montellier, Frank Margerin
Frank Margerin
Frank Margerin is a French author and illustrator of comics.- Biography :After high school, Frank Margerin went to a school of applied art, where he mets Denis Sire. He joined Denis's band, Los Crados, as a drummer...
, Serge Clerc
Serge Clerc
Serge Clerc is a French comic book artist and illustrator.Serge Clerc began his professional career in 1975 in the monthly magazine Métal Hurlant, after having created his own fanzine, Absolutely Live...
, Alain Vos, Denis Sire, Ted Benoît
Ted Benoît
Ted Benoît is a prominent figure in the stylish Franco-Belgian ligne claire comics scene in the 1980s. Among his works are Bingo Bongo et son Combo Congolais, a series about aspiring novelist Bingo B. Bongo and his travails, and Ray Banana, a film noir pastiche...
, Dominique Hé, Nicole Clavelous and François Schuiten
François Schuiten
Baron François Schuiten is a Belgian comic book artist. He is best known for drawing the series Les Cités Obscures.-Biography:François Schuiten was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1956....
, etc. Nevertheless, "Les Humanoïdes" also published other authors, such as Italians Guido Buzzelli
Guido Buzzelli
Guido Buzzelli was an Italian comic book artist, writer, illustrator and painter.-Biography:Buzzelli was born in Rome into a family in which his grandfather had been a decorator, his father a painter and his mother a model. He frequented the Academy of St. Luke and initially decided to follow his...
and Hugo Pratt
Hugo Pratt
Hugo Eugenio Pratt was an Italian comic book creator who was known for combining strong storytelling with extensive historical research on works such as Corto Maltese...
, Argentinians such as Alberto Breccia
Alberto Breccia
Alberto Breccia was an Uruguay-born Argentine comics artist and writer.-Biography:Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Breccia moved with his parents to Buenos Aires, Argentina when he was three years old...
, as well as American classics Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...
, Spirit and Nick Fury
Nick Fury
Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury is a fictional World War II army hero and present-day super-spy in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, Fury first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 , a World War II combat series that portrayed the...
or British classic Dan Dare
Dan Dare
Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories, that is, the Venus and Red Moon stories, and a complete storyline for Operation Saturn...
. It was also responsible for publishing a handful of risqué works, such as John Willie
John Willie
John Alexander Scott Coutts , better known as John Willie, was a pioneering fetish photographer, illustrator, and bondage artist.- Life and work :...
's erotic Gwendoline
Sweet Gwendoline
Sweet Gwendoline is the main female character in the works of bondage artist John Willie, published largely in the 1950s and 60s, and possibly the most famous bondage icon after Bettie Page...
(a very helpful financial success) or Jim's La Baronne Steel. Georges Pichard
Georges Pichard
Georges Pichard was a French comics artist, known for numerous BD magazine covers, serial publications and albums, stereotypically featuring partially exposed voluptuous women.-Biography:...
and Jacques Lob
Jacques Lob
Jacques Lob was a French comic book creator, known for several Franco-Belgian comics creations, but most famously Superdupont.-Biography:...
's Blance Épiphanie brought an added dimension to the publication. In 1977 Les Humanoïdes Associés published their first compendium of images with H. R. Giger
H. R. Giger
Hans Rudolf "Ruedi" Giger is a Swiss surrealist painter, sculptor, and set designer. He won an Academy Award for Best Achievement for Visual Effects for his design work on the film Alien.-Early life:...
's Necronomicon
Necronomicon (H. R. Giger)
Necronomicon was the first major published compendium of images by Swiss artist H. R. Giger. Originally published in 1977, the book was given to director Ridley Scott during the pre-production of the film Alien, who then hired Giger to produce artwork and conceptual designs for the film.The book...
.
Les Humanoïdes Associé's publishing enabled it to gain a considerable financial grounding, which proved to be useful when confronted with a number of management mishaps (extortionate loan rates, high production costs, non-payment of dues to the NMPP, etc.). It also led to a number of landmark collections being begun, such as "Xanadu", which featured large-scale American comics (nine volumes between 1983-1985), or "Autodafé", which published comics in novel form. "Autodafé" (six volumes between 1982-1983) published the first manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
to be distributed in French bookshops (Barefoot Gen
Barefoot Gen
is a Japanese manga series by Keiji Nakazawa. Loosely based on Nakazawa's own experiences as a Hiroshima survivor, the series begins in 1945 in and around Hiroshima, Japan, where the six-year-old boy Gen lives with his family...
by Keiji Nakazawa
Keiji Nakazawa
is a Japanese manga artist and writer.He was born in Hiroshima and was in the city when it was destroyed by an atomic bomb in 1945. All of his family members who had not been evacuated died in the bombing except for his mother, and an infant sister who died several weeks after the bombing...
) but didn't have any success as it disturbed the public and booksellers.
From 1976 to 1978, Les Humanoïdes Associés published a second magazine, Ah! Nana, with a female focus. Its editors (Janic Guillerez, with early input from Anne Delobel) and principal contributors were almost all women. This innovative project, especially given the male-influenced milieu in which it took place, was nevertheless hampered by chronically poor sales and its ratings as adult-only material. In May 1977 Ciné Fantastic was published (with Jean-Paul Nail and Jean-Pierre Bouyxou
Jean-Pierre Bouyxou
Jean-Pierre Bouyxou is a French film critic, author, filmmaker and actor.-Career:He started his career as a writer in 1964 when his article was published in fanzines...
), yet had only one issue. Several years later Dionnet noticed an increase in the number of titles available in bookshops, and sought to increase the presence of Les Humanoïdes Associés. Métal (hurlant) Aventure, with an adventure focus, and Rigolo!, with a humoristic focus, were both launched in 1983, but were only published until 1984 and 1985, respectively.
In 1977, Métal Hurlant gained world-wide attention when it was translated into English and distributed in North America and the Commonwealth countries under the name Heavy Metal
Heavy Metal (magazine)
Heavy Metal is an American science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, known primarily for its blend of dark fantasy/science fiction and erotica. In the mid-1970s, while publisher Leonard Mogel was in Paris to jump-start the French edition of National Lampoon, he discovered the French...
. Heavy Metal featured mainly European authors near the beginning of its publication, but increasingly relied on American authors as time went on. Nevertheless, it introduced European comics to the North American market, where authors such as Mœbius began to have an impact on local art. By the end of the 1980s Heavy Metal became completely independent from Les Humanos Associés. As of 2011 it is still being published, though its sales have decreased over the past decade.
This mix of financial successes and failures led to a difficult situation for the publishing house. In April 1980 the company's ownership was divided between a Spanish printing company (a major creditor) and a number of private shareholders, principally people who had been associated with the beginnings of the company (such as Druillet, Mœbius, Margerin or Gillon).
In 1988, the publishing house and its catalogue (including Métal Hurlant) were purchased by Swiss publisher/producer Fabrice Giger
Fabrice Giger
Fabrice A Giger is a publisher, film producer, and the son of Swiss painter José Giger. He is well known for publishing hundreds of comic books / graphic novels from such acclaimed authors as Alexandro Jodorowsky, Mœbius and Enki Bilal, and producing animation series; he was co-producer of one ...
, at the age of 23, who turned it into an intellectual property development company. Since then, in less than two decades, the company has developed one of the most respected graphic novel/comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
catalogues in the world, featuring authors such as Moebius, Alexandro Jodorowsky, Enki Bilal
Enki Bilal
Enes Bilal is a French comic book creator, comics artist and film director.-Biography:Born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to a Slovak mother and a Bosnian father who had been Josip Broz Tito's tailor, he moved to Paris at the age of 9. At age 14, he met René Goscinny and with his encouragement applied...
, Milo Manara
Milo Manara
Maurilio Manara – known professionally as Milo Manara – is an Italian comic book writer and artist, best known for his erotic approach to the medium.-Career:...
and Juan Gimenez
Juan Gimenez
Juan Antonio Giménez López is an Argentine comic book artist.-Biography:Giménez López was born in Mendoza, Argentina...
, and books from multiple genres.
The North American market
"Humanoids Publishing" was founded in the United States in 1999 by Fabrice GigerFabrice Giger
Fabrice A Giger is a publisher, film producer, and the son of Swiss painter José Giger. He is well known for publishing hundreds of comic books / graphic novels from such acclaimed authors as Alexandro Jodorowsky, Mœbius and Enki Bilal, and producing animation series; he was co-producer of one ...
in order to showcase French cult classics as well as recruit American talent. A number of successfull French works were published, including Bouncer, Les Terres creuses, Metabarons
Metabarons
The Metabarons or The Saga of The Meta-Barons is a science fantasy comic series relating the history of a dynasty of perfect warriors known as the Metabarons. The Metabarons series was written by creator Alejandro Jodorowsky and illustrated by Argentinian artist Juan Gimenez...
, The Nikopol Trilogy
The Nikopol Trilogy
The Nikopol Trilogy comprises three science fiction graphic novels written in French by Bosnian born Enki Bilal between 1980 and 1993. The original French titles of the series are La Foire aux immortels, La Femme piège and Froid Équateur which were later translated in English and published by...
, Technopriests
Technopriests
The Technopriests is an eight-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alejandro Jodorowsky, artist Zoran Janjetov, and colorist Fred Beltran.- Story :...
, Le Lama blanc, along with works by Pierre Christin
Pierre Christin
- Biography :Christin was born at Saint-Mandé in 1938.After graduating from the Sorbonne, Christin pursued graduate studies in political science at SciencesPo and became a professor of French literature at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City. His first comics story, Le Rhum du Punch, illustrated...
and Enki Bilal
Enki Bilal
Enes Bilal is a French comic book creator, comics artist and film director.-Biography:Born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to a Slovak mother and a Bosnian father who had been Josip Broz Tito's tailor, he moved to Paris at the age of 9. At age 14, he met René Goscinny and with his encouragement applied...
, XXe ciel.com, The Incal
The Incal
The Incal is a set of science fiction comic book series written in French by Alejandro Jodorowsky and illustrated by Moebius and others. The Incal takes place in, and introduced Jodorowsky's "Jodoverse", a fictional universe in which his science fiction comics take place.-List of main characters:*...
, Olivier Varèse, Exterminator 17
Exterminator 17
Exterminateur 17 is a French comic written by Jean-Pierre Dionnet, drawn by Enki Bilal, colorized by Patricia Bilal, and later by Dan Brown.-External links: English translation on Humanoids Publishing...
, Yves Chaland
Yves Chaland
Yves Chaland was a French cartoonist.During the 1980s, together with Ted Benoît, Serge Clerc and Floc'h, he relaunched the Ligne claire style in French comics.-Biography:Chaland published his first strips in the fanzine Biblipop when he...
, etc.). In 2002 Humanoids began publishing an English-language version of the new Métal Hurlant
Métal Hurlant
Métal Hurlant is a French comics anthology of science fiction and horror comics stories, created in December 1974 by comics artists Jean Giraud and Philippe Druillet together with journalist-writer Jean-Pierre Dionnet and financial director Bernard Farkas.The four were collectively known as "Les...
, which would only last two years.
In January 2004, Humanoids signed an agreement with DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
aimed at integrating the Humanoids publications into the DC Comics catalog. This agreement enabled Humanoids to gain a greater visibility in the market, while DC Comics obtained the distribution rights for the English-language versions of Humanoids works. Certain works published since 1998 were reprinted, while new titles were also translated in English (El Niño, Victor Levallois, Megalex, Basil et Victoria, etc.). However, the books were expensive and success was limited, leading DC Comics to announce the end of the agreement in April 2005.
In 2007 and agreement is signed with Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
to publish Lucha Libre
Lucha Libre (comics)
Lucha Libre is an anthology comic book series written by Jerry Frissen. It is published in France by Les Humanoïdes Associés and reprinted in North America by Image Comics. It is also published in Spain, Italy and Korea...
in North America. In July 2008 Humanoids began a partnership with Devil's Due
Devil's Due Publishing
Devil's Due Publishing is an independent comic book publishers in the United States. Based in Chicago, Illinois, DDP is best known for its wide selection of genres, including licensed and original creator-owned properties that populate its monthly comic book series and graphic novels.Though...
to publish new translations of French works. The graphic novels were now published in the classic comic book format in order to not put off American readers. New series were translated, such as The Zombies That Ate The World
The Zombies That Ate The World
The Zombies That Ate The World is an ongoing comic book series written by Jerry Frissen and illustrated by Guy Davis. It is published in France by Les Humanoïdes Associés and reprinted in North America by Humanoids Publishing/Devil's Due...
or I Am Legion
I Am Legion
I Am Legion is French comic book series written by Fabien Nury, drawn by John Cassaday and published by Les Humanoïdes Associés, then in English by Humanoids Publishing/DC Comics and later by Humanoids/Devil's Due Productions.-Publication history:The series was originally published by Les...
.
In 2010 Les Humanoïdes Associés cancelled the agreement with Devil's Due and began their own translated works publishing campaign in North America. Following its standard practice, the company chose to publish old translations as well as new European (Le Manoir des murmures, Le Cœur couronné, Le Jour des magiciens, etc.) and American (Flywires, Aftermath
Aftermath (comics)
Aftermath was a super hero comic book imprint published by Devil's Due Publishing. A brainchild of Josh Blaylock, the new imprint aimed to establish a new, accessible, continuity-free universe that could lated be expanded into a series of multi-media franchises...
, etc.) series.
Graphic novels in digital format
The 1990s saw the widescale development of information technology accessible to the larger public, as well as the arrival of the Internet in the homes of individual users. Les Humnoïdes Associés began investigating the feasibility of digitizing its collection, however, screen resolutions and bandwidth were too low to permit satisfactory usage. The CD-romCD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
format was then chosen, with Enki Bilal's The Nikopol Trilogy
The Nikopol Trilogy
The Nikopol Trilogy comprises three science fiction graphic novels written in French by Bosnian born Enki Bilal between 1980 and 1993. The original French titles of the series are La Foire aux immortels, La Femme piège and Froid Équateur which were later translated in English and published by...
and Manara's Gulliveriana being published as part of the "Digital Comics" collection. Sales were disappointing, however, and comic book publishers returned the traditional paper format.
By the late 2000s smartphones were proliferating, which presented Les Humanoïdes Associés with an opportunity to make new inroads into the digitization of comics. The new media, dubbed "VideoComics", enabled smartphone users to experience their comics with added soundtracks, videos and even voice actors. A number of IT and web companies expressed interest in this new form of comics distribution, and Les Humanoïdes Associés gave two of them the rights to digitally distribute their works.
The latest development in digital distribution of comics has been the widespread use of the iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
. This technology has led Les Humanoïdes Associés to systematically digitize the entire contents of its catalog, in order to provide its comic books on its website. New publications should be available online even before being released in bookshops, thanks to an online application that will provide access to content via streaming. In 2010 Les Humanoïdes announced the arrival of an app
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
on the Apple store.
Renewal
A number of crises led Les Humanoïdes Associés to be put into administration, which it exited late 2009 after a period of 18 months. Since then the company has had a renewed success, with a number of new series, such as Crusades, La Légende des nuées écarlates, Les Épées de verre, Carthago and Le Manoir des murmures.The publisher has also tried its hand at European manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
, such as Omega or B.B. Project. These two titles were published in the traditional manga format, but Les Humanoïdes has also experimented with manga-type publications in a more European style. The Ecube series is an example of this mixed genre, written by Iovinelli and illustrated by Dall Oglio. Crusades, another exampled of a blended style, has European authors but a Chinese illustrator.
Selected list
- The Adventures of Freddy LombardThe Adventures of Freddy LombardThe Adventures of Freddy Lombard is a comic book series created by Yves Chaland. Five albums were released, all during the 1980s, before Chaland's untimely death. They were originally written in French, though have since received publication into English...
- Airtight GarageAirtight GarageThe Airtight Garage of Jerry Cornelius is a lengthy comic strip work by the artist and writer Moebius...
- ArzachArzachArzach is a comic book collection of four wordless short stories by artist/author Jean 'Moebius' Giraud, which were originally published in the French sci-fi/fantasy comics magazine Métal Hurlant. The stories follow Arzach, a silent warrior who rides a pterodactyl-like creature through a strange,...
- The Black Order BrigadeThe Black Order BrigadeThe Black Order Brigade is a translation of Les Phalanges de l'Ordre Noir a political thriller graphic novel written by Pierre Christin and illustrated by Enki Bilal and translated by Frank Wynne.-Plot outline:A fascist organization with roots in the Spanish Civil War, The Black Order Brigade,...
- Domu: A Child's Dream
- Exterminator 17Exterminator 17Exterminateur 17 is a French comic written by Jean-Pierre Dionnet, drawn by Enki Bilal, colorized by Patricia Bilal, and later by Dan Brown.-External links: English translation on Humanoids Publishing...
- The Hunting Party
- The IncalThe IncalThe Incal is a set of science fiction comic book series written in French by Alejandro Jodorowsky and illustrated by Moebius and others. The Incal takes place in, and introduced Jodorowsky's "Jodoverse", a fictional universe in which his science fiction comics take place.-List of main characters:*...
- Lucha LibreLucha Libre (comics)Lucha Libre is an anthology comic book series written by Jerry Frissen. It is published in France by Les Humanoïdes Associés and reprinted in North America by Image Comics. It is also published in Spain, Italy and Korea...
- MetabaronsMetabaronsThe Metabarons or The Saga of The Meta-Barons is a science fantasy comic series relating the history of a dynasty of perfect warriors known as the Metabarons. The Metabarons series was written by creator Alejandro Jodorowsky and illustrated by Argentinian artist Juan Gimenez...
- TechnopriestsTechnopriestsThe Technopriests is an eight-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alejandro Jodorowsky, artist Zoran Janjetov, and colorist Fred Beltran.- Story :...
- The Zombies That Ate The WorldThe Zombies That Ate The WorldThe Zombies That Ate The World is an ongoing comic book series written by Jerry Frissen and illustrated by Guy Davis. It is published in France by Les Humanoïdes Associés and reprinted in North America by Humanoids Publishing/Devil's Due...
The Incal universe
First created by Jodorowsky and Mœbius specifically for the first Incal graphic novel, the universe was gradually develop in a number of series, such as MetabaronsMetabarons
The Metabarons or The Saga of The Meta-Barons is a science fantasy comic series relating the history of a dynasty of perfect warriors known as the Metabarons. The Metabarons series was written by creator Alejandro Jodorowsky and illustrated by Argentinian artist Juan Gimenez...
, Megalex, or Technopriests
Technopriests
The Technopriests is an eight-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alejandro Jodorowsky, artist Zoran Janjetov, and colorist Fred Beltran.- Story :...
.
The universe has developped to such a degree that the publishers have created a specific blog dedicated to linking the various storylines together. The Incal world currently has 35 published volumes, and Les Humanoïdes continues its development in the Castaka and Final Incal.
Lucha Libre
Jerry FrissenJerry Frissen
Jerry Frissen is an American comic book writer and a toy designer from Los Angeles, California...
's creation, Lucha Libre is the second important world published by Les Humanoïdes Associés. The series showcases retired, failed Mexican catchers in their urban peregrinations. First published in France in small volumes labelled "anthologies", they were later re-published in a more traditional, hardcover form.
Sanctuaire
Sanctuaire (published as Sanctum in English), began with a first volume published in 2001, with Xavier Dorison as writer and Christophe Bec as illustrator. It has since become a star of the Humanoïdes collection. In 2007 the series was re-edited as Sanctuaire Redux. This latter production used the same storyline as the original, but with a manga style illustration. Its authors were Stephane Betbeder and Riccardo Crosa. Sanctuaire differs from The Incal, Lucha Libre and Carthago in that rather than narrating different stories taking place within a same universe, it retells the same story in a different manner.Future publications
Among several new stories sharing the same contextual world, Carthago which is slated to be redevelopped in a new series entitled Carthago Adventure. Other titles are also in preparation.Published Periodicals
- Métal hurlantMétal HurlantMétal Hurlant is a French comics anthology of science fiction and horror comics stories, created in December 1974 by comics artists Jean Giraud and Philippe Druillet together with journalist-writer Jean-Pierre Dionnet and financial director Bernard Farkas.The four were collectively known as "Les...
(1975-1987, 2002-2004) - Ah ! Nana (1976-1978)
- Casablanca (1982)
- Métal hurlant Aventure (1983-1985)
- Rigolo ! (1983-1984)
- Shogun Mag (2006-2007)