Paranoid Gardens Artist Chris Weston Talks Being Starstruck by Moebius - Creator Owned Art

Chris Weston is an English comic artist known for his work on Dredd from 2000 AD with the likes of Alan Grant, John Wagner, Garth Ennis, and Rob Williams, The Filth from Vertigo with Grant Morrison, and The Twelve from Marvel Comics with J. Michael Straczynski. Most recently, he teamed up with Gerard Way for Paranoid Gardens from Dark Horse Comics!

I spoke with Weston about one of his favorite pieces of art from his collection as part of my Creator Owned Art series, where I talk with creatives about art from their collection that’s meaningful to them. Here’s what he said:

This little doodle of a man riding a strange bird-like creature may not seem too impressive, but I would run into a burning building to rescue it. It's a lovely reminder that I was a witness to a meeting between two of my all-time artistic heroes.  Jean "Moebius" Giraud had come over to visit Britain's premiere comic convention, UKCAC back in 1988 to promote the Titan editions of the Incal books. I was at this convention accompanying my mentor and artist of "The Trigan Empire", Don Lawrence. 

As a child , Don Lawrence was my all-time favourite comic book artist. Somehow, I had the good fortune to become his apprentice in the late 1980s. During my time as his student, Don introduced me to the work of Jean "Moebius" Giraud. I was instantly gobsmacked by the quality of his art and his imagination. I think it's very difficult to rank artists, as the perception of their quality is so subjective. All I can say is, I now had TWO favourite artists: Don and Moebius. Imagine my delight when I found out they knew each other from the European Comic Convention circuit. Don made sure to say hello to Moebius while he was at UKCAC'88 and so I was given a front-row seat to a meeting between my two comic-book idols.

I was amazed at how familiar they were with each other and Don mock-chided Moebius for working on a "Silver Surfer" book. Don hated superhero books and thought this was beneath Moebius' talents. Don could be quite blunt when he wanted, but at least this admonishment was laced with humour. Moebius definitely saw the funny side of it, and he was giggling away at Don, promising him he would never do it again! The topic kept recurring in a humourous way throughout their conversation.

Eventually, I was introduced to Moebius; I troubled him for a signature in my copy of The Incal. Even better than that, he drew in a little "Arzach" for me. I wanted to make some kind of conversation with him, but I was so starstruck the only thing I could think of saying was: "Are you having a nice time in England?" He replied "Very nice, thank you." And that was it; my audience with the Gods was over.

I'm often struck at how much good luck I've had over my career. It's hard to believe these things can happen, sometimes. This little doodle is a constant reminder that this wonderful moment where I got to hang out with my idols actually happened. I'm truly blessed.