“Minimalist” is not an adjective that would naturally occur to me when discussing Francois Schuiten. However, this story is beautifully minimalist. There are whole pages where the background is nothing but untouched white and the aviator above is usually nothing but a collection of outlines that seem to be waiting for the artist to get around to doing the final detail work.

The story is about a failed aviator who is perpetually frustrated, so the unfinished pages work. But they work because the details that are filled in are beautifully rendered – making it obvious that there are serious omissions.

(Heavy Metal issue #56, November 1981 – Page 33 At the Middle of Cymbiola by Schuiten and Renard)