Lone Sloane is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

comics character created in 1966 by the French cartoonist

Philippe Druillet Philippe Druillet (; born 28 June 1944) is a French comics artist and creator, and an innovator in visual design. Biography Philippe Druillet was born in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, France, but spent his youth in Spain, returning to France in 1952 ...

Publication history

Lone Sloane first appeared in Druillet's own debut, ''Mystère des Abîmes'', published in 1966. Other stories were published in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''

Pilote Cover of the first ''Pilote'' issue #0 ''Pilote'' () was a French comic magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major French or Belgian comics talents of its day the magazine introduced major series such as ''Astérix'', '' ...

'' from February 1970 to April 1971. The series was subsequently revamped by the author for ''

Metal Hurlant A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

'' magazine.

Plot

Set 800 years after a catastrophic event called the "Great Fear", the stories feature Lone Sloane, who is caught by an entity called "He Who Seeks", after his space ship is destroyed. He is thrown into a different dimension, where he becomes a space rogue and freebooter with strange powers, and finds himself caught in an intergalactic struggle between space pirates, gigantic robots, dark gods, and other-dimensional entities. Very similar to

Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...

and

Galactus Galactus () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Formerly a mortal man, Galactus is a cosmic entity who consumes planets to sustain his life force, and serves a functional role in the upkeep of ...

, or

Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...

and the

Greek Gods The following is a list of gods, goddesses, and many other divine and semi-divine figures from ancient Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion. Immortals The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house the ...

, he is compelled to wander in a universe that is alien to him. It is also known for the quasi-

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style of Druillet's artwork, which features

Lovecraftian Lovecraftian horror, sometimes used interchangeably with "cosmic horror", is a subgenre of horror fiction and weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible more than gore or other elements of shock. It is named a ...

space nightmares mixed with Escherian mathematically inspired worlds.

Publications

*''Le Mystère des Abîmes'' ("The Mystery of the Abyss", 1966) *''Le Trone du Dieu Noir'' ("The Throne of the Black God"; in ''

'' magazine #538, 1970) *''Les Iles du Vent Sauvage'' ("The Isle of the Doom Wind"; in ''Pilote'' #553, 1970) *''Rose'' (in ''Pilote'' N°562, 1970) *''Torquedara Varenkor: Le Pont sur les Etoiles'' ("The Bridge over the Stars"; in ''Pilote'' #569, 1970) *''O Sidarta'' (in ''Pilote'' #578, 1970) *''Terra'' (in ''Pilote'' #598, 1971) *''Delirius'' (written by

Jacques Lob Jacques Lob (19 August 1932 – 24 May 1990) was a French comic book creator, known for several comics creations, including '' Superdupont''. Biography Jacques Lob began his career as an illustrator of humorous cartoons that were published in va ...

; in ''Pilote #651-666, 1972) *''Gail'' (in ''

'' magazine #18-27, 1975-1976) *''Salammbo'' (in ''

'' magazine #48-54, 1980) *''Salammbo 2: Carthago'' (1982) *''Salammbo 3: Matho'' (1986) *''Chaos'' (2000) *''Delirius 2'' (2012, script by Lob, Jacques and Legrand, Benjamin)

Translations

The first eight stories were translated into English by

Jean-Marc Lofficier Jean-Marc Lofficier (; born June 22, 1954) is a French author of books about films and television programs, as well as numerous comics and translations of a number of animation screenplays. He usually collaborates with his wife, Randy Lofficier ( ...

and

Randy Lofficier Jean-Marc Lofficier (; born June 22, 1954) is a French author of books about films and television programs, as well as numerous comics and translations of a number of animation screenplays. He usually collaborates with his wife, Randy Lofficier ( ...

. They were first serialized in black and white in

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...

's '' Cheval Noir'' comics anthology, then published as graphic novels by

NBM Publishing Nantier Beall Minoustchine Publishing Inc. (or NBM Publishing) is an American graphic novel publisher. Founded by Terry Nantier in 1976 as Flying Buttress Publications, NBM is one of the oldest graphic novel publishers in North America. The compa ...

. The rest of the stories have been translated into English by the magazine ''Heavy Metal'', some of them serialized in the magazine (''Gail'' in 1977 and 1978, ''Salammbo'' in 1980 and 1981) and ''Chaos'' published as an album.

References

Loan Sloane
at Bedetheque *

External links

on the Lofficiers' site

at Cool French Comics French comic strips Comics characters introduced in 1966 1966 comics debuts Métal Hurlant titles Pilote titles Post-apocalyptic comics Science fiction comics French comics characters Science fiction characters Male characters in comics {{Sf-stub