Comic artist Jean "Moebius" Giraud provided the unique character styles for "TRON," Walt Disney Productions' spectacular adventure about a fantasy world where computer programs come to life.
Fascinated by the visual energy of America — the images of jazz, rock, cinema, science-fiction and the West — artist Jean (“Moebius”) Giraud has sketched some of the world’s finest comic art. His designs — along with those of Syd Mead and Peter Lloyd — have inspired the style of Walt Disney Productions’ futuristic adventure, “TRON.”
Moebius was born in Paris in 1938. An enthusiasm for art was channeled by an artist/mentor known as “Jige” into the comic strips. After finishing art school, Moebius created the strip, “Lt. Blueberry,” a stylishly drawn saga of a U.S. Cavalry officer as seen by a French lad who had never been to America. “Blueberry” made him a favorite among comics collectors, a position solidified in 1974, when, with two friends, he founded the Metal Hurlant review, precursor of Heavy Metal.
Moebius’ work, free in Metal Hurlant from the bounds of censorship, set new definitions for comic art. Drawing two pages a month for four years, in addition to his “Metal Hurlant” pieces, he composed a 160-page album called “Major Fatal.”
One anthology of his work, “Les yeux du chat” was published in 1977, a second, “Tueur de mondes,” in 1978.
The artist has collaborated on two previous film projects: the adaptations of “Dune” and “Alien.” On “TRON,” he suggested styles for the characters found in the film’s electronic world, and is the major influence on costume style of those characters. He also storyboarded many of the film’s important scenes.
A confirmed vegetarian, Moebius lives with his wife and two children in a windmill hidden in the Pyrenees Mountains of France.
In color by Technicolor, “TRON” stars Jeff Bridges, David Warner, Bruce Boxleitner, Cindy Morgan and Barnard Hughes. The film was written and directed by Steven Lisberger for producer Donald Kushner and executive producer Ron Miller. Buena Vista releases. Filmed in Super Panavision® 70.
From the original 1982 Tron press materials.
