Considered revolutionary in the comic book form at the time,[3] chiefly due to its focus on the science fiction genre, the work found in Humanoïdes inspired many generations of authors and filmmakers.
In December 1974, critic and scriptwriter Jean-Pierre Dionnet, writer-artists Philippe Druillet and Mœbius, along with businessman Bernard Farkas, decided to create Les Humanoïdes Associés in order to publish a quarterly science-fiction magazine.
Humanoïdes' publishing enabled it to gain a considerable financial grounding, which proved to be useful when confronted with a number of management mishaps (exorbitant loan rates, high production costs, non-payment of dues, etc.).
In 1977, Métal hurlant gained worldwide attention when it was translated into English and distributed in North America and the Commonwealth countries under the name Heavy Metal.
[6][7] In 1988, the publishing house and its catalogue (including Métal hurlant) were purchased by 23-year-old Swiss publisher/producer Fabrice Giger, who turned it into an intellectual property development company.
These titles were published in the traditional manga format, but Humanoïdes has also experimented with manga-type publications in a more European style.
A number of successful French works were published, including Bouncer, Metabarons, Technopriests, The White Lama, The Incal, The Nikopol Trilogy, and others.
In 2002, Humanoids began publishing an English-language version of the new Métal Hurlant (not to be confused with the then still running Heavy Metal magazine), which would only last two years.
However, the books were expensive and success was limited, leading DC Comics to announce the end of the agreement in April 2005.
The 1990s saw the widescale development of IT technology being made accessible to the larger public, as well as the arrival of the Internet in the homes of individual users.
[13] The CD-ROM format was then chosen, with Enki Bilal's The Nikopol Trilogy and Manara's Gulliveriana being published as part of the "Digital Comics" collection.
The new media, dubbed "VideoComics", enabled smartphone users to experience comics with added soundtracks, videos, and even voice actors.
This technology led Humanoïdes to systematically digitize the entire contents of their catalogue, in order to provide its comic books on its website.
First created by Jodorowsky and Mœbius specifically for the first Incal graphic novel, the universe was gradually develop in a number of series, such as Metabarons, Megalex, or Technopriests.
Jerry Frissen's creation, Lucha Libre is the second important world published by Les Humanoïdes Associés.
In 2007, the series was re-imagined as Sanctum Redux by writers Stephane Betbeder and Riccardo Crosa, using the same storyline as the original but with manga-style illustrations.