“Exterminator 17 announces the Blade Runner movie”

It’s a legendary album. A science fiction masterpiece that has profoundly influenced cinema and comics from its first publication in the columns of the magazine Screaming Metal in the 1970s. Published as an album in 1979, this cult comic book by Jean-Pierre Dionnet and Enki Bilal takes advantage of the 50th anniversary of the famous magazine created by the Associated Humanoids to get a new look.

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This exceptional reissue in 30/40 format which has just been published has been colored by José Villarrubia, world-renowned colorist, known for his work on the world of Richard Corben. This publication, which now has a definitive color version, is an opportunity to interview one of its creators, Jean-Pierre Dionnet, who sheds new light on this strangely topical story.

LE FIGARO. – Could you recall the genesis of the project Exterminator 17 ?

JEAN-PIERRE DIONNET. – This all dates back to the years 1972-1974. At the time, with Enki Bilal, we were considering publishing an anticipatory story in a future journal, Snarkcommissioned by Fernand Nathan editions. Number zero, which is 64 pages long, will ultimately not be published, and Nathan will ultimately give up publishing the magazine. However, this draft of Métal Hurlant contained two plates ofExterminator 17. While Enki Bilal works with Pierre Christin on the album The Phalanges of Orderat the same time, he draws Exterminator 17. We meet regularly at the café, between the Saint-Michel and Saint-Germain-des-Prés districts. I tell him the story. And depending on his reactions, I modify the scenario or not.

What does the story tell?

The story features an old inventor who created androids. His invention was hijacked by the military. The army uses these synthetic beings as cannon fodder. These “exterminators” now provide battalions that can be sacrificed on the altar of eternal wars. All this is of course inspired by Robert Heinlein and his novel Stars, watch out! (Starship Troopers). When the governments reach an agreement, the exterminating androids are immediately deactivated, live, on the battlefield, without further ado. This is what happens at the beginning of the story. The old man recognized in a squadron the last model still in service of an Exterminator 17. The 17 is the first specimen made with the stem cells of its inventor. It’s the first android that works after sixteen failures. The creator takes advantage of this deactivation to transmute himself into his body.

What is special about this metamorphosis?

By transferring himself into the android’s body, the old man is reborn. It’s the old myth of eternal youth. However, I never explain the precise circumstances of this substitution. The android and the human have in common a strong desire for revenge. The scientist finds it unbearable that his invention has been distorted for war purposes. For the machine, only one thing matters: freeing the androids from the yoke of humans. The old man also sees the opportunity to repair all the harm he has done…

Why did you want this reissue?

Initially, the story was published in black and white in Screaming Metal. The colors were done by Patricia Bilal. The couple separated during the creation of the album… I was never crazy about the original colors, especially from page 8. Recently, after discovering the brilliant work of José Villarubia, I went to see Casterman and I suggested that they entrust Villarrubia with the complete redesign of the colors based on the original shades. Ultimately the ideal colors of this definitive version are those to which the album was not entitled at the time.

What is the symbolic charge of this album today?

Exterminator 17 tells the story of a mysterious resurrection, as well as that of the liberation of a multitude of oppressed beings. The story of course refers to L’Eve future de Villiers de l’Isle-Adam published in 1886 without forgetting the Metropolis by Fritz Lang. As for the story, it completely prefigures that of Blade Runnerwhich will be released in 1982. Besides, Ridley Scott came to see us at Screaming Metal at the time of making Alienin 1978…

Why did you choose such a title?

The term “exterminator” seemed simple and frightening to me. It was perfect for a taciturn and vengeful hero. As for the number, I remembered that there was The Three Musketeers, The Seven Mercenaries, The Bastard Twelve…but the number 17 was free! (Laughs).

What makes this anticipation album designed in the 70s keep all its modernity in 2024?

When I reread it, I realized that fifty years later, it still held the shock. The character of Exterminator 17 is a sort of Prometheus 2.0. A Prometheus of the future who frees the androids as in the past, in mythology, Prometheus stole fire from the Gods to bring it to men in order to free them from obscurantism. Exterminator 17 has become a timeless classic, reissued dozens of times, and often with different covers. It is an unclassifiable story that remains ahead of its time. A futuristic fable which still retains all its mystery today…

Exterminator 17 New colorized edition by Jean-Pierre Dionnet (screenplay) and Enki Bilal (drawings), new colors by José Villarrubia, 72 p., Casterman. 35€.