Artists I Like: Philipe Druillet

Philipe Druillet is now 80 years old. That's amazing. I hope I live to see 80.

I did not know of Druillet when I was younger, though having some access to Heavy Metal Magazine means I most likely saw something of his work without actually knowing it. Once I finally actually looked at his work and paid attention, of course I was wowed and blown away.

This French artist was famous before I picked up my first funny book. He was one of the founders behind the French adult comics magazine Métal hurlant (Howling Metal!). The success of that magazine lead directly to the American version we all know and love, Heavy Metal.

It was only very recently (this week) that I actually picked up my first Druillet books. I got the hardback editions of Vuzz and the first three Loan Sloane books from Titan Comics and Statix Press. These are nice books, roughly 9.75" x 12.75" inches... which isn't an American standard and it's not a A size either (A5, A4, etc.). So maybe it's a European thing.

So I sat down and said "Let me read a Druillet for the first time." And I popped open Vuzz... holy fuck.

Vuzz is a single volume about a single character, Vuzz. It opens with a series of 8 pages tales, often silent or nearly wordless. They are all done in exquisite line art... perhaps with a dip pen and/or brush. I'm not sure. The printing is dark blue, not black. Looks great.

Later in the book we get La-Bas, which is a much longer narrative, perhaps 48 pages or something. Then the book ends with a short gallery of covers from the original comic series.

Ok... Vuzz is fucked up.

This is a rather ugly character, both in appearance and attitude. Roughly described, he is a loner warrior/rogue type... a Conan but weirder. He is not smart. He is not eloquent or wise. He seems handy with a sword, but the stories don't describe or depict him as having any greater prowess than other warriors, though he does come to lead a large gang of them in La-Bas, so it is inferred that he's a cut above the rest.

Vuzz is one nasty, amoral motherfucker. The back of the book sums up his character: he needs to fight, eat, and make love. That's it. And by "make love", they mean rape the shit out of women. Because that's what he does... over and over. Eats, rapes, kills. Usually in that order.

He dwells in a savage post-apocalyptic world of magic and weirdness. I would describe the aesthetic as very "Heavy Metal" but... ouroboros and all that. Anyway, Vuzz is the scum of the earth.

SPOILER ALERT...

Vuzz kills a lot of people, many or most of them not necessarily deserving, he rapes a lot, he steals. He's nasty. Then he dies in the end (he chooses death, actually... felt like Druillet said "enough of this guy, I want him dead").

OK, enough about Vuzz. It's a beautiful book, visually, as are the Loan Sloane books that preceded it. Well worth checking out. This guy is a legend. I don't need to sing his praises. His comic pages often look like psychedelic posters.