Hans Zimmer Praises Humanoids' Arkadi and the Lost Titan Ahead of Kickstarter Launch

"I never took drugs. I could just lose myself in the hypnotic and psychedelic works of Caza," the Dark Knight composer said.

By Russ Burlingame - June 21, 2024 06:26 pm EDT

Humanoids, the publisher that began in 1970s Paris and houses the works of creators such as Mœbius, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Juan Giménez, will kick off the company's 50th anniversary celebration with the first-ever English publication of Arkadi and the Lost Titan by the legendary comic book artist and illustrator Caza. Crafted by Philippe Cazaumayou (Caza) over the course of 20 years, Arkadi and the Lost Titan is widely regarded as a masterpiece that sits beside classic sci-fi comics sagas The Incal and The Metabarons as a colossal achievement in the form. The genre-defying work will be published by Humanoids through their first Kickstarter, timed to both the internationally renowned publisher's 50th anniversary and the 35th anniversary of the release of Arkadi: Book 1 in France.

Humanoids has provided ComicBook with an exclusive look inside Arkadi and the Lost Titan, as well as a comment from award-winning film composer Hans Zimmer, who had some pretty great things to say about the works of Caza.

"I never took drugs. I could just lose myself in the hypnotic and psychedelic works of Caza," Zimmer is quoted as saying on the crowdfunding campaign. "For me Caza was one of the artists that elevated comics to true Art. And his work spoke to the soul of my generation. So much of my early music was just an expression of being high and inspired on Caza. And what a beautiful mysterious muse he was for me in those days! Now we get to truly rediscover and delight at the precious gift he has given us. Looking at his art makes me slip back in time, and quickly I realize it's not backwards in time, but like all great art—a timeless relevance greets us…"

"My comics rarely express a grand dream of cosmic escape, but rather deal with very earthly social, political, or ecological themes," Caza said. "What I've tried to do with Arkadi and the Lost Titan is first and foremost create a grand sci-fi adventure saga in a re-imagined world, fueled primarily by the personal issues of my heroes, but with a philosophical, socio-, and ecological slant. Our boat is sinking, and—while I don't believe for a moment that I'm going to change the entire world with my pickets—I want to talk about it. When I describe the city of Dis—a city closed in on itself where people no longer know how to dream for themselves and are plugged into a dream box—it's clear that I'm telling a fable about television and these viewers who no longer leave their homes, a trend that's gotten worse with the advent of the Internet, online games, online shopping… I feel we're creating a society of mentally and physically incapacitated peoples. But as I don't hate paradoxes, I'm a computer and web user even though I live in the countryside. Because fundamentally I'm a man of nature, I can't live in the city and I always like to lie down in the grass to contemplate the stars..."

Below, you can see the official synopsis for the book, followed by a number of preview pages from the American translation.

In Arkadi and the Lost Titan, it is Earth year 10,000 of the Mass era and the Earth has stopped rotating. Half of the world is plunged into frigid night, the other is scorched by eternal daylight, and humanity ekes out survival along the border. Arkadi, the son of a warrior and a sorceress, sets out on his Trial of Purification—a series of grueling challenges aimed at weeding out the weak—but soon, a journey to find a missing Titan cyborg necessary for the planet's survival leads to the discovery of a wider world more grand, deadly, strange, and alluring than he could have ever imagined.

The Kickstarter campaign will include both standard and deluxe editions of the 8.6" x 11.4", 528-page prestige book, as well as an all-new slipcover, exclusive Caza prints, and a collector's edition featuring a signed print by Caza. The book will be translated into English for the first time by the award-winning Montana Kane. This publication marks the first time Arkadi and the Lost Titan will be released in its entirety, as an omnibus edition in.