This was the first time me or my friends had seen any foreign ( ie. european ) comics, AND the first time we'd ever experienced the mind-blowing art of french visionary Philippe Druillet. If this is the first time you've seen any, you may want to strap yourselves in.
Lone Sloane, the title character of this book, is a kind of astronaut/mercenary who travels the galaxies, having what must be the weirdest adventures any comic book sci-fi hero ever had.
Unlike a lot of space opera, this strip really does take you to strange new worlds, with artwork that's beautiful, repellent & compelling, all at the same time. As somebody once said: Druillet's isn't a universe gone mad, it's a universe born mad. The closest comparison is H. P. Lovecraft, and we all know how barking he was.
Both Druillet and Lone Sloane turned up regularly in the pages of Heavy Metal of course, but this was my first 'experience'. Here's Sloane's first adventure:
