by Denis Sire
from the October, 1977 issue of Heavy Metal magazine
The French artist Denis Sire (b. 1953) began publishing his work in Metal Hurlant in 1976.
When its American counterpart Heavy Metal launched in early 1977, Sire's strips were translated into English and regularly featured, primarily through the loosely connected episodes of the 'Diabolical Planet / Great Trap' (Menace Diabolique) series, starring the hero Maurice Leblanc (translated into 'Morris White' for American printing).
Sire's comics in the late 70s issues of Heavy Metal, with their striking use of black and white linework, stippling, and shading, and an Art Nouveau / Retro stylistic sensibility, were instantly recognizable. And, needless to say, Sire's incorporation of pinup imagery into his reimagining of the 'Flash Gordon' sf adventure tale also appealed greatly to the magazine's stoner readership and signaled that here was something very new in American comics.
[In the early 80s his color comics series, Willy's Wood, also became a regular Heavy Metal feature, but I found it disappointing, being an obsessive depiction of Betty Page - inspired, softcore porn.]
Here's the standalone story 'Operation Omega', scanned from the original magazine pages at 200 dpi.
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