Moebius: R.I.P.

French comic-book artist and designer Jean Giraud, known as Moebius, died last night at the age of 74 after a long illness. Jean Henri Gaston Giraud was one of France's leading cartoonists who also found fame in Japan and the United States.

Born at Nogent-sur-Marne east of Paris on May 8, 1938, he began after art school training as an illustrator for advertisers and the fashion industry before turning to comic strips. He created the Lieutenant Blueberry western character and adopted the pseudonym Moebius for illustrations of science fiction books and magazines. As well as being published in top French magazines, he worked with Japanese manga artists and co-produced an adventure of US comic-book superhero The Silver Surfer with Stan Lee for Marvel Comics.

Giraud also contributed to a number of blockbuster movies. In 2010 France's Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art staged a major retrospective of his work.