One of the few documentaries at Fantastic Fest this year also played Comic-Con earlier this summer -- Moebius Redux: A Life in Pictures. This look at the influential and extraordinary artwork from Jean Giraud, aka Moebius, is engaging even if you know nothing about the artist -- like me before I saw the film.

The movie is at first glance a standard interview-driven biography of Giraud/Moebius, the French artist whose comic book illustrations appeared in Heavy Metal (the U.S. version of a French magazine Giraud helped launch), and who also worked on several movies. Moebius Redux is narrated through a voiceover by Giraud taken from interviews. The film also relies on onscreen input from people who worked on movies with Giraud like Alejandro Jodorowsky and Dan O'Bannon; and fellow comic-book artists such as Philippe Druillet, Jim Lee (X-Men) and Mike Mignola (Hellboy), not to mention H.R. Giger and Stan Lee.

What makes Moebius Redux extraordinary, especially on a big theater screen, is the way in which director Hasko Baumann integrated artwork into the movie. The movie is filled with layers of eye-popping art. During an interview with Giraud, the background slowly fills with an overlay of an illustration from the artist that is significant to what he's telling us. We watch him sketching a scene in his office with what looks like enviable ease, while his voiceover mentions a relevant part of his past. The artwork itself is nothing short of stunning -- those of you who are fans of Moebius already knew that, of course, but for me it was a wonderful introduction to the artist, and I'm now tempted to find some of his work. I loved the way he made the Silver Surfer look when he did a guest stint as illustrator, although hardcore fans of the series might disagree with me. In addition, the soundtrack from Karl Bartos (formerly of Kraftwerk) is perfect for the film -- it helps weld together those visual layers.

I was most interested in the section on an attempt by Jodorowsky to adapt Dune into a movie in the late 1970s, an ambitious project that involved Giraud, O'Bannon, Giger, and a number of other well-known personalities. Baumann mentioned after the screening that he had to cut some of that footage because it drew focus away from Giraud, but that it was fascinating enough to warrant its own documentary. I hope we'll hear that Baumann is working on that next -- although I heard him mention other equally fascinating potential projects during the festival, too.

I also hope Moebius Redux will land some airtime on American TV, or at least a decent DVD release. The film has something to offer for comic-book geeks, sf/fantasy film buffs or fans of well-crafted documentaries ... and it is a visual treat.