Thursday, 21 December 2017

Cinebook The 9th Art: Valerian 19- At the Edge of the Great Void


Authors: Mézières & Christin
Age: 12 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
Paperback
Publication: August 2017
ISBN: 9781849183345Price: £6.99 inc. VAT

Somewhere at the edge of known space is the Great Void. That inscrutable, shapeless, ever-changing place is where the expanding universe springs forth, where new planets and new life forms are created. It’s also, according to the gods of Hypsis, the place where Galaxity’s Earth was sent and is being kept prisoner.

Valerian and Laureline begin a discreet investigation, but it doesn’t take long before they start finding obstacles in their path, placed by the rulers of Rubanis – and their mysterious master...

The movie may be banned from any reference on CBO but not the comic albums!  We've been getting these volumes fairly quickly and I hope Valerian and Laureline have gained a few more fans in the UK and elsewhere from these.

It's quite clear that a certain Star Wars series of films "borrowed" from this series and I have noticed that certain American sci fi films made long after these strips were first in print have some comparisons.  Probably coincidence.

The art is great and the characters and the designs of both landscapes and aliens is something that brings a little joy to an old man's heart....or that might just be gastric reflux? The story is what you would expect from this series and even after all these years seems fresh -which probably says more about the state of comics in 2017.

Seriously, if you have never read the series get volume 1 and see what you think but bear in mind that volume 1 is just the start of an incredible series of stories.

There are collected books from Cinebook but I have never seen those so cannot comment but if the printing quality is the same they are probably worth whatever the company is charging.  Everyone should have at least one V & L book in their collection!

2 comments:

  1. Hi Terry,
    I have a stupid question? Are these translated into English, or they in the original French? I can puzzle out French with the aid of a dictionary, but it's a struggle.
    Thanks!

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  2. Hi. Cinebooks are translated from French to English.

    ReplyDelete