Euro Comics: The Unexpected New Adventures Of Valerian And Laureline

The first epic space adventure for Valerian and Laureline since the passing of co-creator Jean-Claude Mézières, Where Stories Are Born is a low-key yet loving return to these wonderful worlds…

What seems like a long long time ago I used to regularly feature some of the best Euro comics to be translated into English. And for so many reasons <life> I stopped. Bad me. Well, not anymore, the Euro comics are going to be back, with previews, advance looks, and reviews every month. Because, if you didn’t already know, the European comics scene is as fresh, vibrant, varied, and inventive as ever.

 

The Ninth Art is what they call comics in Europe and they’ve been aware of the huge potential of this medium we love for a lot longer than we have either in the USA or in little Britain.

Okay then, we’ll start with a little catch up of what’s recently come out from Cinebook, beginning with the very first of a new series of Valerian and Laureline, one of the giants of Euro comics, as created by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières. The original series was inspired sci-fi in so many ways (and certainly inspired a certain Mr George Lucas and a little film you may have heard of), an epic space fantasy that swiftly veered away from a simple concept of good versus evil and transformed into an exploration of humanism, with the stories more often resolved through negotiation and cooperation than violence.

Over the 24 volumes of Christin and Mézières’ Valerian and Laurelin (well, 21 volumes plus a zero volume of the very first adventure and volumes 22 and 23 of short stories and miscellaneous bits) we were introduced to Valerian and Laureline, two spatio-temporal agents of Galaxity, capital of Earth in the 28th Century and heart of the Terran Galactic Empire. The pair help protect the Empire, explore new worlds, and keep the worlds safe from temporal paradoxes. Whereas Valerian is the hot head, orders following archetypal square-jawed hero type, it’s soon obvious that the heart, soul, and brain of the series is the smarter and far more questioning Laureline.

Simply put, if you haven’t read any Valerian and Laurelin yet, you’re in for a fine, fine treat. Cinebook have collected the entire series in several formats over the years. Do yourself a favour and seek them out. They may start just a little flat and slow but within a few volumes the invention of Christin’s scripts, full of complex plots and his humanist liberal viewpoint, and the sheer beauty of Mézières’ incredibly detailed and imaginative artwork marks Valerian and Laurelin as a masterpiece.

Christin and Mézières concluded the series with their last album The Time Opener, in 2010. And that was that, the ending was a proper ending, intended by both to prevent any more adventures. And sadly, we lost Mézières in 2022.

Yet here we are, Pierre Christin once more writing V&L. So what gives? And why do Valerian and Laureline look like this?

Well, here’s Christin from the intro to Where Stories Are Born with the explanation…

“Jean-Claude Mézières left us on 23 January 2022. But I know he still keeps a kindly yet demanding eye on our great saga and its future. Neither of us was ever in favour of endless sequels, revivals, and reboots of successful series, but we were always glad to welcome the work of authors and artists who wanted to make a Valerian volume for the fun of it. Virginie Augustin is the first woman to brave the twists and turns of space-time, and there is no doubt that she absolutely does justice to the values of this long-running story.

Thank you, Jean-Claude, for starting it all, and thank you, Virginie, for continuing it so well.”

Yes, a new irregular series it seems, with new artists adding to the characters in much the same way as with the special Lucky Luke volumes we’ve seen by the likes of Matthieu Bonhomme (see here for a look at one of those), Mawil, and Ralf König. The difference being that these Valerian and Laureline By… volumes have the benefit of Christin at the helm, meaning the tone is just as it always was, a familiar style in a somewhat unfamiliar setting here in this first volume.

In The Time Opener, the last volume of the series back in 2010, Valerian and Laureline ended their long quest for their missing Earth with one last jump to the past – to our time. That final jump turned them into children and erased their memories.

And it’s there we begin, with V&L in school, a few pages to set the scene and re-introduce us to the pair, where we’ve soon realised that they may be different, younger, but the essence of what made them V&L is still there.

 

In Where Stories Are Born, we’re introduced, in the 28th Century, to an artificial species called the Delphs, the most sought-after storytellers in the Galaxy. Their creativity, their very lives, the future of their species relies on one particularly rare material. And that material is running out on their planet. Where can they get any more? Well, it’s not really that big a surprise to find out it’s been discovered in the past, on 21st Century Earth.

With Delph storytelling drying up, Galaxity has found that there’s an inspiration crisis, peoples’ imaginations unused and unstimulated, so they’re keen to get hold of what the Delph need. But back in the 21st Century, their best agents on station are still in school. And they’re not the only ones with an interest in what the Delphs want.

That’s the set-up, a chance to reintroduce the characters, a quest to find the material before the others do, conflict and struggle in getting it for Galaxity. Well, yes and no. Remember, this is Valerian and Laurelin and Christin’s writing always (well, nearly always) transcended the simple sci-fi spaghetti western model full of laser fights and battles.

No, just as with the majority of V&L, this is one full of moments, events, drama. The action, where it comes, is short and perfectly done. Christin was never one to go overboard on conflict, and that’s one of the great aspects of the series.

So, when the Delphs put the word out that they’re in need of help to find what they depend on, Galaxity are on the case. But they’re not the only ones involved. Which is why Valerian and Laureline, together with ‘Uncle’ Albert, their guardian and Galaxity’s long-term representative on 21st Century Earth head for a small and rather beautiful town somewhere between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. It’s also why they’re not alone, Galaxity have another player in the game and there’s also an old enemy of Valerian and Laurelin along… Mistress Na Zultra and her Homunculus, dispatched by Colonel Tlocq.

Cue something uniquely Valerian and Laurelin, something that just works as an example of the way this is far from what you’d expect from sci-fi space opera. And something just wonderfully fun and enjoyable.

 

I don’t know yet whether Christin will do these regularly or not, nor do I know whether all of these Valerian and Laurelin by… volumes will feature the characters as children. But I do know that this first volume was a rather unexpected delight. Sure, with Christin at the helm I was at least hopeful, but I simply couldn’t imagine him being able to make this part of the bigger Valerian and Laurelin epic cycle. I shouldn’t have worried at all.

And of course, the art of Mézières just cannot be replaced, which is why Virginie Augustin sensibly chooses to gently reflect some of his style, particularly in the space and city scenes, getting in all of Mézières’ sense of detail and beauty in the everyday of space and the future. But with the majority of Where Stories Are Born taking place here on modern-day Earth and with these younger versions of V&L, it doesn’t feel an insult to a master’s memory, more a celebration of both the artist and his creations.

 

By the end of the volume, I was absolutely won over. It may not be pure V&L, that’s been done and done so very well. No, this is extra V&L, a bonus, beautifully crafted, written and drawn with love.

Valerian and Laureline By… Where Stories Are Born

Written by Pierre Christin, art by Virginie Augustin.

Originally published by Dargard (2022), first English language publication by Cinebook (March 2023)

Now, how about a little taster of the first few pages… oh yes, you’re going to enjoy these…