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Valerian and Laureline

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Valerian and Laureline was a French comic series created by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières in 1967 and follows the story of two Spatio-Temporal agents as they go about their adventures through time and space.

As some of you may know, several elements and ideas within the Star Wars saga are quite similar to those originating in this series. While nothing has ever been confirmed or denied by George Lucas, many say that this comic provided a fair amount of inspiration for Star Wars.

So, has anyone here ever read the Valerian and Laureline comics and what did you think of them? Did you enjoy them? Would you recommend them for Star Wars fans? Are the apparent similarities just surface level ideas or seem like more than just a coincidence?

Move along, move along.

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I only know about the comic series from the movie Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, which I very much enjoyed.

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Been meaning to check the comics out at some point, but there are loads of other unread comics which have greater priority, so who knows if I’ll ever get around to doing so.

“The Anarchists are right in everything; in the negation of the existing order and in the assertion that, without Authority there could not be worse violence than that of Authority under existing conditions. They are mistaken only in thinking that anarchy can be instituted by a violent revolution… There can be only one permanent revolution — a moral one: the regeneration of the inner man. How is this revolution to take place? Nobody knows how it will take place in humanity, but every man feels it clearly in himself. And yet in our world everybody thinks of changing humanity, and nobody thinks of changing himself.”

― Leo Tolstoy

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of_Kaiburr_and_Whills said:

As some of you may know, several elements and ideas within the Star Wars saga are quite similar to those originating in this series.

Are the apparent similarities just surface level ideas or seem like more than just a coincidence?

The official site of Jean-Claude Mézières has some comparisons. I’m not convinced, they’re very superficial to me.

Han: Hey Lando! You kept your promise, right? Not a scratch?
Lando: Well, what’s left of her isn’t scratched. All the scratched parts got knocked off along the way.
Han (exasperated): Knocked off?!

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fmalover said:

I only know about the comic series from the movie Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, which I very much enjoyed.

I’ve yet to see the film but I do love how colorful it looks.

Move along, move along.

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Superweapon VII said:

Been meaning to check the comics out at some point, but there are loads of other unread comics which have greater priority, so who knows if I’ll ever get around to doing so.

Same boat.

Move along, move along.

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Z6PO said:

The official site of Jean-Claude Mézières has some comparisons. I’m not convinced, they’re very superficial to me.

I’m thinking the same thing, especially since so many of the core ideas are very different.

Move along, move along.

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On Kitbashed - The Origins of Star Wars there’s a comprehensive essay about Valérian & Laureline.

Han: Hey Lando! You kept your promise, right? Not a scratch?
Lando: Well, what’s left of her isn’t scratched. All the scratched parts got knocked off along the way.
Han (exasperated): Knocked off?!