In the Jodoverse and Beyond

Through this video conversation with the infamous Chilean author, comic book writer, esoteric and filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky, transmediale directs attention to comics as a field of cultural imaginaries that has not gained much attention in discussions about new media (art). Followed by an exclusive double-bill of sci-fi tinged performances that takes you further into and beyond the confines of the Jodoverse.

In 1981, comics writer Alejandro Jodorowsky and the legendary French comic book artist Moebius combined forces to create a new French comic serial called The Incal. Parts of the material came from Jodorowsky’s failed attempt to bring Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel Dune to the silver screen. The Incal is an ambitious space opera revolving around rival alien civilizations’ quest for power over the light and dark Incal, two powerful crystals that rule the fate of the universe. Mixing space mutants, hunchback armies, extraterrestrial sex, mythological and religious themes all set in a (at times) fantastic and dystopian retro-futurism, The Incal was cyberpunk before the term was even invented. These stories open the reader’s mind, eyes and sensibilities to perspectives beyond obvious, practical ones and set the imagination free to discover new perspectives on contemporary man’s technological condition. With their combination of surreal sci-fi narratives and Moebius's stunning visuals, The Incal comics are an overlooked oeuvre on the question of technology. They provide insight into understanding better the increasingly intricate connections between human desires, emotions and dreams, and the rationale of machines.