This little story, featuring such wonderful art, comes from Heavy Metal magazine #6, September 1977. Its artist/writer "Cortman" evidently contributed this and nothing more to the mag, and so far I've been wholly unable to find any other work by them online.

Of course it's possible that it's a much better-known artist working incognito, but altho the lush, imaginative, cross-hatching style reminds me of a few others, I'm not feeling a perfect match with anyone in particular. Anyway, here's the full story:

https://imgur.com/gallery/LTPhUIg

NOTE: HM was a rather eccentric magazine that ran for 46 years, ending just last year. It was one of the biggest gateways in the States to encounter the wild, adult world of BD. I'm currently working on an article about the mag, and plan on posting a few more highlights like these. Anyway, enjoy.

EDIT: I just happened to chance on the blog page below. For some reason I'd never thought about 'Moeby's school of imitation,' but it makes sense, no?

What’s interesting about this page is how the artist seems to be channeling Moebius. To be fair, everyone and their brother went through a Moebius period in the 80s and 90s. It was endemic in European art circles, to the point where someone could probably assemble a nice Master’s thesis on the Moebius school.

https://heavymetalmagazine.tumblr.com/post/151463353111/heavy-metal-software-special-issue-1993-page-8 [NSFW]

This is a sprawling, ~~semi~~ full-on abusively erotic (see EDITs below), sci-fi / post-apoc series which also has philosophical and dreamlike overtones. Like many Italian series, I find it hard to make sense of it all, altho to be fair I've only ever read a couple of the stories in the classic Heavy Metal / Métal hurlant magazines.

Altho I'm not opposed to some eroticism here & there, the two things that make it hard for me to get in to this series (officially called Morbus Gravis) is that every single album is evidently sexual-themed, and that Druuna the character is largely passive... and generally the sexual pawn of others.

In terms of positives, the cross-hatched line & watercolor art is pretty fabulous, and I salute Serpieri's imaginative concepts and plot turns.

I doubt I'll be posting much more Druuna here, but wanted to share at least one.

EDIT: Due to the valid rebuttal below, I'll link to the WP article, which pulls no punches in detailing the more sordid stuff. [HERE]

EDIT2: Interesting article here breaking down the dynamics of Druuna. Frankly, I'm glad I only read the 'light' stuff in Heavy Metal, and not the hardcore material in the books. :S

Linking this brilliant movie by Frank Bakshi is a slight stretch for this community, but it's got a lot of elements that remind me more of Euro rather than American sensibilities. But you be the judge.

Some of the things I love about this film: 1) the amazing rotoscoped animation, 2) the superb voice-work, and 3) the excellent score and soundscape. The plot's a little formulaic, but I don't think that hurts much due to the strength and innovation of everything else going on.

Here's a vigorous and endearing chronicle of adolescence in a working-class town in eastern France, in the middle of the 1960s, told from the inside of a group of childhood friends raised in the long shadow of the local factory. The clash of generations and social classes, girls, music, bars, lack of money but friendship stronger than anything... and then of course in the background, as always with Baru, an acute look and demanding focused on the world, its inequalities and its contradictions. --Amazon FR

I love (and am slightly scared by) the works of "Baru" (Hervé Barulea, France). They're raw, visceral, filled with attitude, and pulse with a certain 'street energy.' Here's an alternate cover for the book above:

Because his communist parents were convinced there was no bread to be earned in drawing, Hervé Baru first became a gym teacher before embarking on a career in comics. In his early thirties, he decided to devote his time to making comics, drawing subject matter from his teenage years in France and his travels in the 1960s. Soon, he proved his parents wrong by becoming a full-time, established comic artist, making his debut in the magazine Pilote in 1982. --Lambiek

And an unrelated poster from a BD festival:

Finally, more info and samples:
https://www.lambiek.net/artists/b/baru.htm

NOTE: To the downvoters, this is not a religious commentary in any way, shape, or form.

Satania is an utterly unique, 124-page graphic novel by writer Fabien Vehlmann and the artist team of Kerascoët. For my money it's a minor masterpiece, part of a slew of great works these folks did independently and sometimes together.

In terms of plot, the book tracks a hastily-organised spelunking expedition which fails to account for an impending flood. A wiser, experienced explorer, Father Monsore, attempts an emergency rescue, but it's too late, and the spelunkers are swept by the flood deeper in to the caverns until they're thoroughly lost. Then they begin to make unbelievable discoveries one after another, encountering ancient cave art, then a small civilisation of humans, and finally an undiscovered world of furry humanoids and bizarre creatures living above an enormous, bubbling sea of... acid?

This is both a fun but intense read, one that creates a relentless tension between the thrill of exploration and adaptation versus the fear of death being ever at hand, largely involving our two main protagonists, Monsore and young Charlotte, who's out to see if her brilliant idiot of a brother has adventured in to the depths below. Yes, these two have to deal with a myriad of unknown settings, situations, and creatures, on top of their colleagues losing their marbles as the adventure goes on. That, and outright dying. In tone, the book is strangely both exhilarating yet gloomy. Great fun to marvel at, but rather weird and uncomfortable to experience.

There are also some interesting meta-themes covered, such as: what is man's natural state? Is reason and 'progress' the better-lived life, or is it more important to live in the moment? Another one: is it possible that the Earth is a super-organism, with the various creatures we view as separate species being more like cells and antibodies as part of an overall 'Gaia' collective?

More on these tremendously-talented creators and their works:
https://www.lambiek.net/artists/k/kerascoet.htm
https://www.lambiek.net/artists/v/vehlmann_fabien.htm

Welp, here in the American Midwest, we're locked in a bit of a battle between winter & spring. Today, Thursday, the highs are in the ~63°F range, while by Monday it's projected to be near-freezing again. A heavy snowfall one day is followed by a glorious day, only a couple days later.

And you?

This art is the front & back cover from Jacques Martin's Lefranc detective series. He's better known as the creator of the ancient Roman Alix series, which continues on with the excellent Alix, Senator series.

Martin's other famous creation was inspired by a 1951 trip to the French Vosges region. Martin and his traveling companion spotted an abandoned railway tunnel in the landscape. It was used by the Germans during World War II to harbor artillery, including a V1 missile, intended to bomb Paris. The experience motivated Martin to create a detective series set between the aftermath of WWII and the start of the Cold War. On 21 May 1952, 'La Grande Menace' ("The Great Threat"), the first episode of 'Lefranc', debuted in Tintin magazine.

The main hero of the series is Guy Lefranc, a brilliant detective, aided by the Boy Scout orphan Jean Le Gall, AKA Jeanjean. During their investigations of international expionage, Lefranc and Jeanjean are confronted by spies, terrorists and dictators. Their nemesis is Axel Borg, a gentleman thief and master of disguise. The 'Lefranc' stories are known for their direct references to real-life events from the second half of the 20th century.

More about Martin, including loads of pages:
https://www.lambiek.net/artists/m/martin_jacq.htm

I'm going with William Windom:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS7cK-mQ0fQ&t=134s

Staving off reality:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmnpz6TheSs

Doing a villain turn by seizing control:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83tW0jhEvZE

Matt's heroic sacrifice:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_mwtoeqneM

Finally, one of the most nail-biting scenes ever:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHmsnQ8WVpw

Personal notes: across all TV and media, I've rarely seen a character go from totally sympathetic, to total heel-turn villain, to total martyr like that.

In terms of ST series, maybe Dukat from DS..?

Runner-ups?

• Mark Lenard as the Romulan commander

• Robert Walker as "Charlie X"

• Roger C. Carmel as "Harry Mudd"

Daggit, I know I'm forgetting some actors, here...

Tralalajahal intersects the worlds of surrealism, zoo animals, androids and architecture. Altho generally the events depicted are merely bizarre, at other times the androids are crushed or beheaded, with the animals undergoing rather violent perils. In addition to the creatures mentioned, there's also a strange little race of cactus people participating, plus other animated objects and various contraptions.

Altho there are connected sequences across the images, these are not part of any particular BD stories. Rather, they're art pieces which Pierre has shared via galleries, books, ceramics and postcards. That said, he indeed has a running, wordless comic series titled Les Souris about a strange world of mice, as published by Mephistopolous.

Note the L & R panels above form a continuous scene.

The middle is an example of subtitled pieces that include witty and/or absurdist commentary along the lines of parking / traffic sign rules & regulations. It says, as I read it: "Attaching cycles to the grids is banned."

1) "Except Sundays and holidays," 2) "Maximum weight authorised," and 3) "Except taxis, coaches, and service vehicles."

1) "To use the buoy-- break the ice and pull the latch," 2) "Unless kept on a leash, on wet sand, at low tide," 3) "Stop reserved for descent."

Notice again the L & R panels show a sequence.

Lots more of Pierre's work here, this time generally in 3D:
http://www.jahal.fr/galeries_accueil.html

And another reviewer's introduction here, with alternate art:
https://cloud-109.blogspot.com/2010/02/tralalajahal-incredible-worlds-of.html

Some times I have to remind myself that this isn’t Reddit and that a lot of times it’s a handful of people bringing interesting content.

I must say, this comment in the Where's Wally? thread made me feel both grand as a king and grateful as a guttersnipe. To be clear-- whilst I often borrow from the work of giants, I always try to add context, some interesting notes, plus any personal spin that helps flesh out the subject matter.

I've been doing that since the founding of the sub last year, and have happily been joined by Nacktmull, Valmond, and a couple freelancers who enjoy posting here from time-to-time, bless 'em!

My point here is that it's all done by hand, with no reposting bots, or anything.

That said, with regard to posts like these, it honestly hurts to get downvoted without the slightest shred of feedback. I mean, for sure I can understand if I did something wrong, but to downvote anonymously is incredibly de-motivating, just in case anyone was wondering how I felt about putting my time & effort in to public work meant for general enjoyment.

But... these things happen, is it not? So let's move on. In case you're interested, I've put together an *updated* 'best of 2023' list here.

Note: the Pisces horoscope art is by Chinese artist "vivsters"
https://www.deviantart.com/vivsters

Free the Uighurs

It's a terrific graphic novel, and Peeters is one of the great geniuses working in comics, for my money.

More on him here:
https://www.lambiek.net/artists/p/peeters_frederik.htm