Valerian Co-Creator & French Comic Legend Jean-Claude Mézières Dies at 83
Legendary French comic book artist Jean-Claude Mezieres, known internationally as the co-creator of Valerian, has passed away at the age of 83. Throughout a decades-long career in Francophone comics, Mezieres worked almost exclusively on Valerian, allowing him to create a rich body of work that has influenced numerous science fiction comics and film, the Star Wars franchise among them.
The characters of Valerian and Laureline are best known to North American audiences thanks to 2017’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, directed by Luc Besson and starring Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne as Valerian and Laureline respectively. The film, which debuted to a lukewarm critical reception, was only a modest box office hit, but helped draw greater attention to the Valerian franchise, which has a rich history in France. The character first appeared in the November 9, 1967 issue of Pilote, and quickly became a fan favorite. The book, set in th twenty-eighth century, follows Valerian and Laureline’s adventures through the universe as “spatio-temporal agents,” which allows for a series of colorful adventures in a variety of eras. Mezieres co-created Valerian and his universe with longtime friend Pierre Christin, and the two produced 24 collected editions (called “albums”) between 1967 and 2010.
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As reported by The Beat, Mezieres has passed away at the age of 83. Mezieres was born September 23, 1938 and had his first art published when he was only 13. At 15, he enrolled in the prestigious Institute for Applied Arts, where among his classmates was legendary artist Moebius. Mezieres was fascinated by America and its culture and spent time hitchhiking across the
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