Lone Sloane: The 6 Voyages of Lone Sloane Hardcover – August 18, 2015

Never heard of this author and his work, but it's brilliant. Very unique!

Let me tell you about what I consider one of the prettiest works of speculative fiction ever. Druillet cannot help himself; every page is more beautiful than the last. Lone Sloane, a pulp archetype character filled to the brim with qualities of both hero and anti-hero, moves around in a space opera universe that is equal parts far future and darkest black magic. This galaxy seems familiar at the surface for readers of old science fiction. In fact, it is highly original, teeming with ancient inhuman gods, weird vistas, and things that feel alien to us, beyond time, space and daylight. This is the unexplainable stuff of dreams and nightmares, so impossible yet so real. Druillet enjoys playing with the scale made possible in this future: Bronze statues dwarfing planets, stone ramparts you can walk across entire solar systems, fallen empires whose smallest cobblestone dwarfs the proudest achievements of human architecture. And Druillet seems to know a thing or two about aesthetics: The page layouts are jaw-droppingly gorgeous! Nowhere is a simple frame on a white background followed by a frame of the same size. Every page is a masterclass of letting my eyes flow from one part of the illustration into another. Each frame plays with the others and makes the pages complete.Highly recommended. Buy now.P.s. Other reviewers have written very well on Philippe Druillet's place in Franco-Belgian comic culture and his impact (perhaps lack of) on the art form. I encourage you to read their reviews in addition to mine.

Me agrado la prontitud de la entrega y la calidad del producto.

The following comments are specific to this latest 2015 re-print of the Lone Sloane. I gave this re-print two stars, because it fails to do Druillet drawings justice: -1) When compared to the original 1973 printing, ALL the lines and edges in ALL of the pictures are blurry soft, and lacking in sharpness, as if made from slightly out-of-focus low-resolution scans. -2) Even more disturbingly, the colors are lifeless and dull, less saturated and not as vibrant as they ought to be. The hue is frequently off, as with the page 32, for example, where you get a muddy purple-grey instead of deep dark blue found in the original printing...These are serious issues for a comic meant to be admired primarily on it's graphic strength. It is like trying to listen to a well-regarded musical performance through a grainy low-resolution MP3 file: the enjoyment is just not there, and the whole point of re-issuing this book becomes questionable, as something essential- the intensely psychedelic atmosphere that was the prime attraction of this otherwise peculiar and strange graphic story has been lost!The motive for this re-issue is plain and clear, as one cannot help but notice the rather obvious attempt to milk consumers for what it's worth: this new book contains only half of the original book, which is now split and will be published as two separate volumes.Finally, and rather mysteriously, the font in all of the original text bubbles was changed- Gone is the harder to read but very characterful writing. Instead, you got a generic comics font. Unfortunately, even the famed double-spreads weren't spared. I thought their strange gothic font was an integral part of those pictures - But alas! It is an unfortunate change that is hard to rationalize- go figure what was the motive behind it?Have I mentioned that the glossy paper is less appropriate than the original semi-gloss, as it produces veiling reflections that complicate viewing the already de-saturated pictures even further.Overall, the new book is not what I was hoping for, and a very poor monetary value to boot, so I returned it.Instead of this reprint, and for the similar princely sum of $20, I managed to get the original 1973 printing which is both more complete (twice as thick) and graphically superior in each and every way: better quality print, better paper, better colors, better fonts.PS - A word about the original Druillet story: a true classic head-trip a-la Barbarella, but very different in visual style: the story is a bit crazed, but inventive, and extremely unusual in it's structure, even by the standard of the 1970's drug-induced visions like Barbarella:"Lone Sloan" flips the conventional story-telling on it's head by starting off as fantasy, and becoming hard sci-fi. This is in opposition to almost every conventional storyline of the genre, exemplified by Jodorowski and Moebius Incal, and plethora of modern Marvel stories that start off sci-fi and become more fantasy, as powers, enlightenment and magic gets introduced.Every visually-inclined person would do well to at least flip through Druillet drawings once.For a comic-book connoisseur, this is a classic on par with the famed "Incal" and "Blueberry", and, thus, indispensable.But do avoid this 2015 reissue! Hope this helps.

Isle of the Doom winds...Lots of individual stories which are on the surface science fiction but also surreal fantasy. This is the start of his "Lone Sloane" hero - a spaceman cursed by ancient cosmic gods who then becomes a radical ready to overthrow a galactic empire. The real character as always is Druillet's crazed art style. He's been overshadowed by the pile of excellent to incredible artists published in Heavy Metal, such as Moebius, Macedo, Corben...to name but a few - but his works have had a subtle influence over the years and quite a few devoted fans.So, at risk of becoming one, I highly reccomend buying his works while they are published very affordably and good quality and in English. That way if you are a fan you don't have to buy ancient Heavy Metals or French printings at high price...

Lone Sloane was first published in the 1966 French magazine Mystère des Abîmes and continued onto the Belgium comic Pilote (which also gave us the smurfs) Along with its French contemporaries, the author was incredibly influential especially in the field of science fiction comic artistry, eventually bleeding over into American art in the 1970s. Honestly, I am kicking myself that I haven’t read this author before. He is truly a master of his craft. Each panel is intense and precise. It is a crime more of his work hasn’t been translated into English.

The art style and stories of this series can only be seen. Trying to explain it?.........I couldn't do it. What I can say is, personally, it was well worth it.

Shame the top review for this wonderful book is so negative, for I can't see any of these imperfections. Perhaps there was a reprinting? The colors are vibrant, the lettering crisp, and the entire presentation is absolutely splendid. Please, do some research before you write this edition off, because if anything this seems a much more faithful reproduction than the domestic release the top author is referencing.And in regards to the substance of the book: This is incredible stuff, absolutely beautiful. It's a short read, but I found myself with each page pausing in awe, gazing from corner to corner at the marvelous detail and inventiveness of it all. Highly recommended.

not seen original so can't compare, but I'm unlikely to, so basing this on the fact that I love this one!

Amazing art printed at a size that is true to its original French publication and fantastic visuals combine to create a compelling (and deranged!) vision of the future. I cannot wait for volume 2!

Druillet bringt in seinen Zeichnungen ein Kraft rüber, die man am ehesten mit Giger oder Kirby vergleichen könnte. Jede Seite ist ein Blitzschlag ins Gesicht des Lesers. Das flasht. Bei einigen der sechs Geschichten scheint die etwas dünne Story nur Transportmittel für die visuellen Orgien des Zeichners zu sein. Wen juckt's, wenn dabei solch überwältigende Bilder heraus kommen. Diese Stories sind fast 50 Jahre alt und haben sich in der Comic-Szene (zurecht) als zeitlos erwiesen. Unnachahmlich ist Druillets Gespür für Licht und Schatten, Reflexion und perspektivische Tiefe. Ein echtes Meisterwerk, das nur durch seine folgenden Arbeiten Delirius, Yragael und Rum getoppt werden kann. Für Freunde surrealer Science ein Muss.

Light on character, especially Sloane himself, but enough to keep things interesting - and the settings and villains and layout are just nuts. I got kind of an early-dungeons-&-dragons, demon-statues-and-alien-wizards feel from it if that makes any sense.

Sloane's 6 Reisen die in diesem Buch beschrieben sind können von der Story eher weniger überzeugen.Überzeugend ist dagegen die zeichnerische Umsetzung.