Fast paced sci-fi graphic novel. Fun read. ( )

Did not finish ( )

I watched the movie of "Valerian" in the summer - it was a messy movie, but I could see a spark in there, and wanted to find out more about where it'd come from. So I ordered this comic compilation.

I enjoyed the comics more than the movie, for sure, although the first couple were weaker than the last one in this volume - which is why I'm giving this a lower rating.

Brimming with ideas and very original - you can see where it's influenced other sci-fi of the time, such as the original Star Wars trilogy, a fact that the authors are well aware of and that is brought up in the introduction. The art style isn't quite like anything I've seen before - to be fair, I'm not a big comics reader, and my main experience with comics has been the Tintin series. Both come from the same Franco-Belgian tradition, so there are some similarities, of course. I think the thing that most confused me when reading is the order of the panels sometimes being different to what I'm used to.

So I recommend this book in general! But perhaps I only recommend the movie if you want some brightly coloured, high octane entertainment. ( )

I saw the movie Valerian and actually didn’t hate it. Sure the two main characters had absolutely zero chemistry, sure the plot was convoluted and trite. And sure, it was a headache-inducing CGI smorgasbord. But I liked it’s style and imagination. I was curious to read the inspiration behind the movie, a French comic series with a ton of similarities to Star Wars (even though it predates it). This was probably a charming and novel series when it debuted in the 1960s, but it’s magic is somewhat lost on me. This is worth your while if you’re a fan of vintage comics or late 60’s-era science fiction. ( )

Les dessins montrent leur âge(surtout les courleurs) et les personnages ne sont pas consistant tout au long du recueil, mais les histoires sont bien. Un bon début et cela a tout de m^me très bien vieilli comme BD. Divertissant! ( )