You asked, we listened! We have more reprints of Valerian – The Complete Collection coming your way this month – specifically, volumes 4 and 5. For those of you who may not yet know this absolutely fantastic series, Valerian & Laureline first appeared in magazine Pilote in 1967. Originally titled Valerian – Spatio-Temporal Agent, it quickly added the name of its heroine to its official title, a move that was just one of the groundbreaking aspects of the series. At the time, giving a female character who’d started as a sidekick equal billing was … unusual! As time went by, Laureline even became arguably the leader of the pair, though never at the expense of Valerian’s place in the stories. Her personality – more carefree, more rebellious – may have fitted better with the authors’ own opinions … Their scripts were notable for their strong humanism and left-leaning views, and like all good science-fiction always does, held a mirror to the problems and failures of our time. They were also known for their humour and inventiveness, and Christin’s complex stories were perfectly complemented by Mézières’ astonishing art. The artist’s talent for illustrating the wonders of space and the diversity of life encountered by Valerian and Laureline on their travels – not to mention various eras of Human history and the many action sequences that keep the adventures exciting and gripping – can never be overstated. The series received many awards, including the prestigious Grand Prix de la Ville d’Angoulême (think of it as an Oscar for comics …), but the greatest recognition came from its enduring appeal with readers even now, nearly 60 years later, and above all the influence it had on science-fiction as a whole, in comics and beyond – the mark it left on Star Wars is undeniable, for example. The authors had met in a cellar as children, sheltering from air raids during World War Two. They both went to live in the USA for a while, meeting again as they played cowboy and lived their American dreams. Their comic partnership started there and never stopped. Jean-Claude Mézières left us in January 2022. Pierre Christin last month. They were both gentlemen of deep culture and boundless curiosity, kind and friendly. Of the original creative team of Valerian & Laureline, only colourist Evelyne Tranlé, Mézières’ sister, is still with us. But their creation will long outlive them, and it has been our honour to make it available to English-language readers everywhere. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did – and if you haven’t given it a try yet, well, what are you waiting for …? | 
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