Review by Ian Keogh
When first released in both French and American editions The 6 Voyages of Lone Sloane was a game changer, the sheer conceptual brilliance and fantastic wild art influencing a generation of creators. However, the missing piece of the creative jigsaw was the writing. Philippe Druillet was only rarely effective at explaining his ideas in anything other than abstract ways. For Delirius, though, Druillet teamed with Jacques Lob, even in 1971 an experienced writer.
Lob takes Druillet’s ideas and gives them greater form, but beyond that changes very little for what’s an immense improvement. It’s still mind-bogglingly stunning illustration and great accompanying concepts, the large pictures accompanied by blocks of text, but Lob wrestles the ideas into coherence.
A jaw-droppingly detailed introductory spread that you can study for hours to pick up all the detail welcomes readers to Delirius, a planet dedicated to pleasure, yet also home to men Lone Sloane has learned are tracking him. The planet is controlled by the Imperator Shaan, whom Sloane defied in the previous book, and the hook on which the astonishing art is hung is a heist plot. Can Sloane and his allies steal from the impenetrable bank? As with any such plot, it’s not a simple matter, and the complications are cleverly dropped, yet the entire story is constructed to allow Druillet to draw page after page of his signature vistas and incredible craft as Sloane explores the entertainments Delirius offers. There are times when he’s reined in by pages necessary to further the plot, but unlike The 6 Voyages, these make sense, and the detail Druillet fits into such small panels is beyond belief.
It’s the large illustrations that resonate, though, still wonderful after all these years and unconstrained by any idea of consistency. See how the spacecraft morph from panel to panel, and if Druillet feels like drawing a page extrapolating the visual impossibilities of M.C. Escher it can be accommodated. Doing so means there’s never any grave sense of personal danger for Sloane as he’s the straw that stirs the drink, but the spectacle astonishes from start to finish.
Given the look of their early 2000AD work, both Mike McMahon and Kevin O’Neill were greatly influenced by Druillet’s innovative art as serialised in Heavy Metal, and the connection points can be seen in Delirius. The first English edition was issued by Dragon’s Dream and used copies are still available, but even in 1979 the binding was suspect and pages came loose, so infinitely more desirable is Titan’s 2016 reissue. Titan also publish Delirius 2, a follow-up begun in 1987 but only completed in 2011. Druillet’s next Lone Sloane work is Gail, with which this is available as the Lone Sloane Boxed Set.
