{"id":16748,"date":"2017-04-27T07:00:51","date_gmt":"2017-04-27T07:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=16748"},"modified":"2017-09-03T15:16:43","modified_gmt":"2017-09-03T15:16:43","slug":"valerian-and-laureline-volume-14-the-living-weapons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2017\/04\/27\/valerian-and-laureline-volume-14-the-living-weapons\/","title":{"rendered":"Valerian and Laureline volume 14: The Living Weapons"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy M\u00c3\u00a9zi\u00c3\u00a9res<\/strong> &Christin<\/strong>, with colours by Evelyn Tranl\u00c3\u00a9<\/strong>; translated by Jerome Saincantin<\/strong> (Cinebook)
\nISBN: 978-1-84918-319-2<\/p>\n

Val\u00c3\u00a9rian<\/strong> is possibly the most influential science fiction series ever drawn – and yes, I am including both Buck Rogers<\/strong> and Flash Gordon<\/strong> in that undoubtedly contentious statement. Although to a large extent those venerable newspaper strips formed the medium itself, anybody who has seen a Star Wars<\/strong> movie has seen some of Jean-Claude M\u00c3\u00a9zi\u00c3\u00a9res & Pierre Christin’s brilliant imaginings which the filmic phenomenon has shamelessly plundered for decades: everything from the look of the Millennium Falcon<\/strong> to Leia<\/strong>‘s Slave Girl outfit\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Simply put, more carbon-based lifeforms have experienced and marvelled at the uniquely innovative, grungy, lived-in tech realism and light-hearted swashbuckling of M\u00c3\u00a9zi\u00c3\u00a9res & Christin’s creation than any other cartoon spacer ever imagined. Now with a big budget movie of their own in the imminent offing, that surely unjust situation might finally be addressed and rectified\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Val\u00c3\u00a9rian: Spatio-Temporal<\/em> Agent<\/em> debuted in weekly Pilote<\/em><\/strong> #420 (November 9th<\/sup> 1967) and was an instant smash-hit. The feature was soon retitled Val\u00c3\u00a9rian and Laureline<\/em> as his feisty distaff sidekick rapidly developed into an equal partner and scene-stealing star through a string of fabulously fantastical, winningly sly and light-hearted time-travelling, space-warping romps.<\/p>\n

Packed with cunningly satirical humanist action, challenging philosophy and astute political commentary, the mind-bending yarns struck a chord with the public and especially other creators who have been swiping, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153homaging\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and riffing off the series ever since.<\/p>\n

Initially Valerian was an affably capable yet ploddingly by-the-book space cop tasked with protecting the official universal chronology (at least as it affected humankind) by counteracting and correcting paradoxes caused by incautious time-travellers.<\/p>\n

When he travelled to 11th<\/sup> century France in debut tale Les Mauvais R\u00c3\u00aaves<\/em> (Bad Dreams<\/strong>), he was rescued from doom by a tempestuously formidable young woman named Laureline whom he had no choice but to bring back with him to Galaxity<\/em>: the 28th<\/sup> century super-citadel and administrative capital of the vast Terran Empire.<\/p>\n

The indomitable female firebrand crash-trained as a Galaxity operative and accompanied him on subsequent missions – a beguiling succession of breezy, space-warping, social conscience-building epics. This so-sophisticated series always had room to propound a satirical, liberal ideology and agenda (best summed up as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153why can’t we all just get along?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d), constantly launching telling fusillades of commentary-by-example to underpin an astounding cascade of visually appealing, visionary space operas.<\/p>\n

When first conceived every Val\u00c3\u00a9rian adventure started life as a serial in Pilote<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0before being collected in album editions, but with this adventure from 1988, the publishing world shifted gears. This subtly harder-edged saga was debuted as an all-new, complete graphic novel with magazine serialisation relegated to minor and secondary function.<\/p>\n

The switch in dissemination affected all popular characters in French comics and almost spelled the end of periodical publication on the continent\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

One clarifying note: in the canon, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hypsis\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is counted as the twelfth tale, due to the collected albums being numbered from The City of Shifting Waters<\/strong>: the second actual story but the first to be compiled in book form. When Bad Dreams<\/strong> was finally released as a European album in 1983, it was given the number #0.<\/p>\n

In recent episodes, the time-bending immensity of Galaxity was eradicated from reality and our Spatio-Temporal Agents – along with a few trusted allies – were stranded on contemporary (late 20th<\/sup> century) Earth\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Now Les Armes Vivantes<\/em><\/strong> (the 14th<\/sup> Cinebook translation, first released Continentally in 1990) sees Valerian and Laureline forced to use their last assets – a damaged astroship, some leftover alien gadgets and their own training – to eke out a perilous existence as intergalactic, trans-temporal mercenaries.<\/p>\n

Despite the misbehaviour of a few fractious inter-dimensional circuits in the much-travelled ship, tour celestial voyagers are en route to distant and disreputable planet Blopik<\/em> where Valerian has agreed to hand-deliver some livestock-improvement supplies.<\/p>\n

Moralist Laureline is deeply suspicious of the way her man is behaving: it’s as if he’s doing something he knows she will disapprove of\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

After a pretty hairy landing, she explores the burned-out pest-hole on her own and makes the acquaintance of a trio of unique individuals: intergalactic performers stranded in their worst nightmare – a world without theatres and an absentee manager\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Before long they are all travelling together. The showbiz trio – malodorous metamorphic artiste Britibrit<\/em> from Chab, indestructible rock-eater Doum A’goum<\/em> and the indescribable Yfysania<\/em> are looking for a venue to play and an appreciative audience to admire them, whilst taciturn Valerian is simply seeking the proposed purchaser of the wares in his case.<\/p>\n

Laureline is, by now, frankly baffled. The centaurs who inhabit Blopik only understand and appreciate one thing – combat – and the planet’s cindered state is due to them setting fire to everything during the annual war between rival tribes. She can’t imagine what such folk would want with farming gear. For that matter, she also can’t imagine why Valerian keeps arguing with whatever he has in his travel-case\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Eventually, however, the alien Argonauts all reach a grassy plain to be met by a bombastic centaur general. By \u00e2\u20ac\u0153met\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, I actually mean attacked without warning, but the astounding abilities of the performers soon gives pause to the hooved hellions and warlord Rompf<\/em> agrees to parlay. He’s a centaur with a Homeric dream and Shakespearean leanings as well as the proposed purchaser of the bio-weapon in Valerian’s case. The thing has come direct from Katubian<\/em> arms dealers and Laureline is appalled that Val has sunk so low and been devious enough to keep her out of the loop\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Rompf has declared War on War. He wants to unify the tribes of Blopik by beating them all into submission and needs the flame-spitting, foul-mouthed Schniafer<\/em> couriered here by the shamefaced former Spatio-Temporal peacekeeper. However, now that he’s seen what the offworld clowns can do, Rompf wants them too\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

The various vaudevillians are not averse to the idea, but pride demands they put on a show too\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 and they even have ideas how Laureline can be part of the fun.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6And that gives Valerian a chance to redeem himself too\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

This charming caper allowed writer Christin and artist M\u00c3\u00a9zi\u00c3\u00a9res’ to reposition their tumultuous team in a new and rapidly evolving narrative universe and again ends with our heroes stranded on present-day Earth, with no idea what the future – any future – may hold.<\/p>\n

Smart, subtle, complex and hilarious, the antics of Valerian and Laureline<\/strong> mix outrageous satire with blistering action, stirring the mix with wry humour to forge one of the most thrilling sci fi strips ever seen. If you’re not an addict yet, jump aboard now and be ready to impress all your friends with your perspicacity when the film comes out.
\n\u00c2\u00a9 Dargaud Paris, 1988 Christin, M\u00c3\u00a9zi\u00c3\u00a9res & Tranl\u00e1\u00bb\u2021. All rights reserved. English translation \u00c2\u00a9 2016 Cinebook Ltd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By M\u00c3\u00a9zi\u00c3\u00a9res &Christin, with colours by Evelyn Tranl\u00c3\u00a9; translated by Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook) ISBN: 978-1-84918-319-2 Val\u00c3\u00a9rian is possibly the most influential science fiction series ever drawn – and yes, I am including both Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon in that undoubtedly contentious statement. Although to a large extent those venerable newspaper strips formed the medium … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Valerian and Laureline volume 14: The Living Weapons”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[63,132,107,223],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-european-classics","category-older-kids","category-science-fiction","category-valerian"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-4m8","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16748\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}