Valerian and Laureline: Exploring the French Comics - Comic Tropes (Episode 61)

[@m1k3droid]

I took three years of french in high school and did terrible. If the teacher got us into french comics I'd probably be fluent.

[@mborok]

Our French teacher in 7th grade had a whole bunch of Asterix comics for us to peruse. It definitely didn’t hurt.

[@Cinetiste]

Il n'est jamais trop tard pour bien faire ! 😏

[@badfaithnomination]

RIP Jean-Claude Mézières 🖤

[@thatonkgau5221]

Valerian had a lot of potential to be an amazing film franchise, an intergalactic time traveling spy that sounds like an awesome story. I think it would've been an awesome TV show.

[@ThePreciseClimber]

Valerian & Laureline did get an animated TV series.

[@thatonkgau5221]

@@ThePreciseClimberYeah I know I think valerian and Laurelin should make a come back maybe in a live action series on showmax or HPO

[@ramidarwish7171]

There was a 2017 production called Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

[@lunarmodule6419]

The great thing about being a French Canadian is the access to Canadian and American culture as well as the culture from all french speaking countries. Valérien was well known and liked. Fifth Element (french director) was also greatly influenced by Valérian, flying cars, a deep layered city. Merci.

[@palmereldritch7777]

One of the best French 70's comics - and they had a lot.......The French pronunciation could use a little work but kudo's for the video. The NON-heroic denouements of the Valerian comics (includ. the ultimately NON-heroic male hero and independent thinking female lead) were way ahead of the American style in those days. It's not about winning.....it's about knowing your place.

[@johnnyskinwalker4095]

Still the character of Valerian was infinitely more...manly than what we got on the screen. lol In the film it was like two vapid teenager annoyingly arguing.

[@computer_toucher]

Haven't started the video yet but does he say "bahn-DAY DESSI-nay" again lol

[@havareriksen1004]

Having a brash, hot headed male hero that created the problems they later had to solve wasn't something new. It was very common among both scfi-fi and horror, especially during the 50's and 60's. But probably more in cinema than in comics.

[@palmereldritch7777]

@@havareriksen1004 …. Examples? For sure in the fifties and early sixties, women were helpless victims 2 aliens and monsters. Especially when portrayed as sexually wanting, they wouldn’t make the final reel. Only Tess Trueheart would but she would still need male hero last minute saving. Barbarella was maybe the first space heroine with agency and pluck, but count the times she has to be rescued from fate worse than death/parakeets and killer dolls- by men- ineffectual men but still. Last scene she’s rescued by an asexual male angel-is-love. James Bond? All the hammer babes? The virginal heroines- no agency. One had to wait for Halloween- Alien Ripley and Terminator Linda for the first female action heroes- self rescuing final girls. And that was mostly a late 70’s / 80’s slow revolution.

[@DavidGonzalez-tv2lf]

I've been reading the comic and I'm totally in love with Laureline. Frequently I like her more than Valerian itself. The best moment until now is when she travel to NY stoling the presidential plane to the brazillian president.

[@MumrikDK]

She is definitely meant to be the most likeable of the two.

[@razor1uk610]

stoling?? stole or stolen (not the German fruit cake Stollen,) is normally a past tense of steal (not steel, but sounds the same), in the act of, doing it, or during it, 'stole' is stealing. The '..ing' part of the word suffex (in both past, present and future tenses, differing in contextual grammar to differ the time implications). You intend to mean she stole the plane, that could also be said and written as.. Stealing the Brazilian Presidential plane for her to go to NY in. or She had to travel to NY by stealing the Presidential plane from the Brazilian President. or To travel to NY, the Brazilian Presidential plane was stolen by her. Sorry, I do not wish to offend you. 'English' can have many similar ways of saying things, and many words that can say similar things in a different way with subtle differences in meanings, intent and implications. Also, American English can be slightly more difficult than British, Canadian or Austrailian/New Zealand English as it has some older bits of English from 1500s to 1700s within it still. Plus the many more 'loan words' and 'concepts', ideas' & 'idioms' from other nations peoples that moved to America for a new start over there also added into its American (US) language.

[@LuisAldamiz]

Laureline was the real star, Valerian was the secondary character even if he gave the name to the story.

[@demgutts]

Never knew Lucas was inspired by this comic. thanks for the info

[@projectfear22]

Was it proven tho? also it wouldn't be a surprise. Just look how imaginative french comics are huh

[@spidervenom14]

Lucas has always been a hack fraud.

[@petesargent8850]

spidervenom14 watch Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress. Recognizing all the scenes through Star Wars memory is a bummer. Wish I could have seen Hidden Fortress first.

[@BonusEggs4Sale]

"Lucas has always been a hack fraud." You're so edgy

[@lunarmodule6419]

I bet you did not know that he said to have been influenced by Canadian movies too. Canada has a tradition of state funded movies that allowed a huge bunch of directors to be very very creative.

[@SilvinoGonzalezMorales]

I've loved the comics for a while, I do love French comics I was raised reading many of them. Great channel my friend. I've found it some days ago and I'm looking to all your content.

[@magnesivertsen8974]

Hi! Love your channel! Very happy that you finally look at some comics in the european tradition - which was my starting point in comics, and remains my favourite.

[@ComicTropes]

Merci. In episode 11 I looked at the UK's Judge Dredd. There are many European comics and creators I love and hope to discuss.

[@Jesse__H]

I had no idea Laureline was a name created by the comic's authors! That is super interesting. Another similar thing happened with the name Wendy from Peter Pan. Sometimes Wendy was used as a diminutive form of Gwendoline, but it was never a name in its own right until J M Barrie wrote Peter Pan. 😊👍

[@OrbusS]

The name Laurelin (without an e at the end) was created by Tolkien. Its the name of the golden tree of Valinor in the Silmarillion.

[@LuisAldamiz]

@@OrbusS - Laurel is a tree and herb (its leaves) and is associated to glory by Roman tradition (laurel crown), it is also a men's name. Laureline seems a somewhat natural female version (in French) of it (much more plausible than Tolkien's tree name as inspiration).

[@siddiqsmouse5004]

Wait, this comic became so popular that it literally created a name for itself i.e. Laureline??!!

[@christiankost4505]

Best and most well-researched review I have seen on the Valerian comics. Thank you very much for this!

[@Pellefication]

'Valerian and Laureline' was one of my absolute favorite comics during my teens in Sweden in the seventies. I think that one of the biggest mistakes in Bessons filmadaption of the comic was Dane DeHaan as Valerian....he's to young for starters...almost a teenager?! That and his terrible acting ennoys me big time. But....other than that i actually think that the film was ok.

[@lakrids-pibe]

The casting isn't great, but Luc Besson's writing is a far bigger problem, in my opinion. Besson's Valerian is a wannabe Don Juan, and he comes of as an extremely creepy horndog. That's all Besson. The comic book Valerian doesn't "seduce" his coworker, they're just a great team. Laureline is the one who rescues Valerian, but in Besson's version the gender roles are reversed to the more traditional. Some of the changes in the movie are improvements though. The god-like aliens who look like noble savages and brainwashes people? Yeah that's a bit much.

[@thomasfink2385]

@@lakrids-pibe I agree. The size difference of the comic that gives this tension between a physically smaller but more responsible and sage Laureline and the Big Valerian is not present in the film. How could Luc do that.

[@LuisAldamiz]

Yeah, I saw the pic and he doesn't look at all like Valerian, the actress doesn't resemble Laureline either but he's totally different.

[@WilliamRWarrenJr]

I wasn't familiar with the comic background of the film which (despite some plot holes and CGI cringe-worthy moments) I really enjoyed and still find visually and imaginatively stunning! But admit it: This film adaptation of a French or Belgian comic still beats the merde out of "Barbarella", n'est-ce pas? (Google "Les Blondes" or Goscinny&Uderzo / "Asterix and Obelix" for some additional wonderful art and humor, if not entirely on the science-fiction/fantasy topic.)

[@AudeKhatru]

Great comments by the others replying to you. I feel there are three problems with the the movie. The opening scene in the market that you can only see with the glasses has a few problems. It is extremely confusing, because there is no setup. We don't know what they are doing when they go in, and we barely understand it when it is over. It is disconnected from the main plot, and because it is not connected tightly, it is way too long. All of those together make up #1. Second is the casting of DeHaan and Delavigne is bad. Neither really fits the part as seen in the comic books, and they have zero chemistry on screen. DeHaan's flirty playboy is weak and Delavigne cannot pull off Laureline's pragmatism and competence. It is really weird, because I think the casting of the supporting cast is strong, but the leads are weak.Though, I agree with Lakrids Pibe that Besson's interpretation of the character is off. The third major problem, IMO, is that the story is disjointed. A plot like this should be a teaser at the opening, and then building to a denoument where it all makes sense. Unfortunately, that last part never quite works, and we are left with a montage of scenes that are each pretty good, but don't work together. If you think about, much of the same thing happens in The Fifth Element, but that movie is lifted above the problems by the performances of the actors, and here DeHaan and Delavigne cannot bring this up to that level.

[@marcvolgers8352]

French (& Belgian!) comics rule!

[@philippenachtergal6077]

Uh ? Suske en Wiske ? De Rode Ridder ? Lol.

[@lunarmodule6419]

And Québécois comics! Ok not really 😃 But we have stuff...

[@hingeslevers]

The scene is called Franco-Belgian for a reason.

[@roelantverhoeven371]

@@philippenachtergal6077 tintin was first of them all in Europe ;)

[@philippenachtergal6077]

​@@roelantverhoeven371 Actually not. Bécassine was there before.

[@LordZero666]

This is a tremendous influence for the Mass Effect Series too. It's very obvious that the big space station with a misterious race that only concerns with maintaining it was lifted straight from here.

[@christopherg2347]

Wow. I doubt I would have thought of it. But yes, the Keepers are similar to the Zul.

[@LambdaJM]

I love this comic book series until today! Also your videos are fantastic!

[@sharonoddlyenough]

I've been vaguely aware of French comics for a while, but now I have to find some. Thank you for the great intro!

[@Independentfellow]

The artwork for these comics is amazing!

[@Quiro26]

Wow! What a coincidence, My only french comic book is the same one you're reviewing. This is a good one.

[@projectfear22]

lol must be a good feeling

[@lunarmodule6419]

Its very well known - so no surprise there :-)

[@Rometiklan]

Thank you so much for introducing me to this aspect of comicdom. I like the art, and see a lot of similarities in John Byrne's art. I suspect he was influenced by this comic. Keep up the great work, Chris!

[@NelsonStJames]

Too bad this movie didn't do better at the box-office. I think the casting hurt it considerably. Hope you do an episode on Enki Bilal and his work one day.

[@skymarshallmarz5573]

The casting was terrible. Valerian himself was the worst choice they could have made.

[@realcourte]

No, the story did!

[@Z1gguratVert1go]

@@realcourte "Noble super-genius savages" was kind of a dumb story, I agree. The idea that everyone who has technology is bad and everyone who lives in their underwear on a beach is good is just this asinine Hollywood obsession (Avatar, anyone?) that we can't seem to escape. That's modern cinema's influence more than the source material I believe. The casting sucked too though. The child playing Valerian was too young and the actress playing Laureline was the record-holder of most sucked lemons until Bree Larson took it from her.

[@breckwarren6142]

So many things I learned from this video. I saw the movie and loved It, but now I know where to start reading. Thanks for the video!

[@Prince_Luci]

I think the comparison between the ambassadors face and Grand Moff Tarkin’s face is a bit of a stretch. Peter Cushing had that face way before this comic book was drawn.

[@peace8381]

Lol 😂😂😂

[@RighteousBrother]

My man! Was gonna say the same thing, maybe the comic artist based the character on Peter Cushing!

[@macdeath69]

Please do more Frenco-Belgian comics !!!

[@CruderQuotient1]

Can't wait for the Moebius episode!

[@tohe0000]

I had forgotten about them until I stumbled on the movie, it took me back to my youth, I have restarted reading ....

[@cinebookltd697]

Book 0: Bad Dreams is included in the first volume of the Complete Collection (available now in English): www.cinebook.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=4288

[@ComicTropes]

Cinebook Ltd Thanks, I didn't know about that.

[@osvaldogreco]

as an old Valerian fan from Argentina I can say you did a great work, thanks! I'm suscribed ;)

[@Quimper111]

In Sweden the comic is named "Linda and Valentin" and for those born in the 70s it was a wonderful comic that's given plenty of good memories. :)

[@thomasfink2385]

That scene where they shoot the jelly. Have you noticed that the guns are BALANCED? They would have to but which comic author would have thought about that? Pure GENIUS.

[@Holammer]

I read the Swedish edition (Linda och Valentin) a little back in the 80's. It was interesting, but too heady for a child. Suppose I'd enjoy it more today, so I'll have to check it out again. We had tons of Franco-Belgian comics in Sweden in the 80's and 90's so most people my age grew up with Tintin and Spirou.

[@hingeslevers]

It's funny that they felt they had to change their names in different countries. In the Netherlands he his name was Ravian.

[@SterileNeutrino]

I rememeber my parents bought me "The Thousand Planets" in german softcover edition and I took it to school like Calvin and carried it everywhere. Also the one with New York underwater, which actually had a few panels showing civilians trying to get out of the disaster areas, which are gone in today's edition. Also ❤❤❤ Lauréline. Both extremely capable AND a damsel in distress in the hands of Xombul .

[@PointBlankevumbi]

Dude, you are SO DOPE!! Thank you for this

[@djMiSSDeeeZ]

I love comics from Belgium & France

[@projectfear22]

Ravian = Valerian?

[@sanderlalo]

Yes .≈:•)

[@ratonsito2836]

I really like the way you present those comics. Keep on the good work!

[@davidwuhrer6704]

The animal in Ambassador of the Shadows is from a planet that is introduced in The Kingdom of a Thousand Worlds. Or rather: mentioned in passing during the introduction of the story. I think that connection is interesting. The ending of Ambassador of the Shadows may seem anti-climactic, but it is really the punchline to an elaborate joke that the entire story is the set-up for: The "godlike aliens" that claim to control everything and seem to control everything while professing not to be interested in ruling immediately lose all credibility when the Zuur just take over at just the time that the ambassador had originally planned to. And Valerian, stereotypical fantasy hero, treats Laureline like an equally stereotypical side-kick, unaware of what all she had gone through to save him. Of course, she is the damsel, he is the hero, he should be the one to save her, and it turns out he hadn't needed saving after all. So the "damsel in distress" trope is subverted on two levels, but that isn't even the point. The point is that the people who think they are in control, or at least think they know how the world works, are all wrong. The true hero of the story is ultimately the animal.

[@fairwinds610]

Back in the 1970s, I had to have my monthly issue of Heavy Metal. It was usually sold on the "restricted" magazine shelf behind the check-out counter at grocery stores. The shelf that also held Playboy, Penthouse, and Hustler,..... I read the entire story, "Ambassador Of The Shadows" and pretty much fell in love with Lauraline. She was both beautiful and intelligent as well as athletic and resourceful. This video doesn't show the last scene; Lauraline puts the dying grumpy-converter into an atomic power generator for a recharge, making him VERY happy. I still have most of the issues including the rare sought-after H.P.Lovecraft special issue.

[@marklawrence2772]

Thanks very much, my introduction to this strip and Moebius was Heavy Metal as well, the added background detail in relation to influence was spot on, nothing gets created in a vacuum as they say

[@patrickowens4294]

OK I feel guilty that I never really explored this series. It seems really fascinating.

[@thomasfink2385]

Buy it! There is a new edition in print. Three stories in one book.

[@MKF30]

This guy is entertaining, kind of reminds me of the Angry Video Game Nerd of Comic books.

[@joeysopinion4463]

Best thing is he’s family friendly(most of the time), meaning I can listener him in front of relatives

[@MKF30]

@@joeysopinion4463 Oh yeah for sure

[@RazHalGuhl]

0:11 French tip : when you say "mes amis", you must pronunce the s for the 'liaison' : "mé zami"... (but not the s at the end... because ... you know... french is a hard language)

[@TDCflyer]

Influential they were, not only around Europe and the US, but also (you wouldn't believe it unless you see Nausicaa with truly open eyes...hint: Moebius) on the home turf of manga - Japan.

[@Steve_Vendetta]

Hey, Chris. I'm enjoying your series tremendously, and agree with most of the points you make. One correction, though: HEAVY METAL debuted stateside in 1977, not 1981 as you indicated in the video. Anyway, keep up the great work!

[@lturner7159]

This needs the Akira or Fist of the North Star style animated movie treatment

[@fnjesusfreak]

There was a half-anime produced some years ago called "Time Jam" that one of the guys from Macross worked on, is that close enough? xD

[@Alaryk111]

@@fnjesusfreak The problem with Time Jam is that it is far mor childfriendly and by this less mature. Also the CGI aged terribly.

[@dall6]

I just love that world and the Laureline character, no need to add more words

[@Pebble3007]

Lucky enough to see the author and artist being interviewed at Institut Francais in London before a showing of the film with a Q & A afterwards. Great talk, they were happy with the film and hoping there would be a sequel. They did mention that Laurilen's character grew during their series and started to dominate Valerian.

[@jeanmarc5303]

hello ! french guy here , just a bit late , I was in my teens at the begining of those two . TWO IMPORTANT POINTS : 1-french comics and french fries were created in BELGIUM . 2- You should check the background of Christin , he wrote OTHER stuff ..... you did a very good work here , keep them going!

[@ShempDavidNiven]

Chris, it's not your shoddy production values that so endear me to this site - it's that you care enough in the first place to even _have_ production values. Trust me when I tell you this in all sincerity - the American public would be far better versed on civics and government if the host of WASHINGTON WEEK IN REVIEW introduced that week's episode in a Lucky Pierre get-up from Central Casting (including the French bread! _Mes compliments au chef!)_ ....or dressed up as Fat Aquaman. Thanks, man - it's that extra mile you continually traverse that makes Tropes such a must-subscribe, must-watch.

[@VOLKHVORONOVICH]

To me the ending of Ambassador of the Shadows might be anticlimactic, but it was also quite realistic, under the circumstances. The was the first Valerian I ever read, and I had the earlier edition. The dialogue in the version you're using is, the way I remember it, identical to the earlier version. It's a slight peeve of mine when I see the work of different translators on my favorite stories, and I don't feel (but it's a personal preference) they do the original material justice. Still, one of the best series that ever came out. Pure, unshackled imagination. Luridly colored artwork. A pleasure and a treasure. And you made a very good point: even the secondary and tertiary characters have at least a little bit of a backstory. They are not just cardboard cutouts used to move the story along. They each have their own story, though that story now intersects with that of Valerian and Laureline. That's good storytelling. Even the least of characters is a story in his, her (or its) own right. Thanks for covering one of my favorite strips.

[@NicoBleackley]

Damn! And I thought the Keepers from Mass Effect were original!

[@calanives3270]

I'm looking forward to Moebius video. He's one of my favorites.

[@legomaker3105]

“I don’t know if that’s considered a trope but it’s MY show so…” 😂😂😂 nice

[@macsnafu]

I actually read some of the Asterix books as a kid, my mother had gotten them for me. And later I read some Tin-tin. It's only much more recently that I've been able to read Lucky Luke and Valerian.

[@joestiloski2421]

Valerian and Laureline, Blake and Mortimer and The Adventures of Tintin (Even though it’s not technically French) are all required reading for French Comics. I’m so glad you’re shining a spotlight on a well-loved, but not nearly as regarded, comics market and culture!

[@HenchmenNo616]

Looks like it's time to buy the collected volumes! A pity the film didn't live up to expectations, I give a thumbs up to the Alpha Station scene

[@Windwalker88]

When i was a kid i loved the Storm comic, the art always was mindblowing and it had plenty of blood and bewbs

[@ericbazinga]

Fantastic video! I'm working on a video about Valerian (mainly its little-known 2007 anime adaptation) and while I am planning on reading the comics for research purposes, this video was just the summary I needed of how the society and characters in the comics operate. It was surprising to me just how similar Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is to Ambassador of the Shadows, to the point where a lot of scenes were more or less lifted straight from the comics. While I still dislike the movie, I have much more respect for it now that I can see that the movie really did try to do Valerian and Laureline justice. I'm not sure where it went wrong now (the whole part with the Boulan felt like a plot derailment, but it was in the original story), but Valerian just feels like a franchise that doesn't translate well into a singular movie. Its sci-fi spectacle is indeed dazzling and Alpha is a phenomenal setting, but it really leaves you wanting more than the movie can offer in its two-hour runtime. Valerian works best as a series of multiple adventures throughout its universe, giving it the time and breathing room to establish lore. I'm gonna have to rethink my entire script after watching this, it really was an eye-opener. Thanks for making it!

[@3Nhoj3]

I'm french and I'm offended by the apparent low quality standards applied in the making of that cheap baguette. Other than that, great video as usual, your content never disappoints, both entertaining and informative.

[@danbeaudet6718]

I had the pleasure of chatting with Pierre Christin, in Montreal in 1985! Very generous and fun to hang out with! Plus, when I was in High school in 1973, the whole staff of the 'journal Pilote' came to a local college. Moebius, Druillet, Uderso, Mézière, they were all there live sketching! They all were already comics superstars. And by the way, the movie was a true deception for me. Luc Besson fell into the 'Hollywood mold' and don't get me started on the awful casting..!

[@PainMonkey]

Wow...sounds like the movie was a lot more loyal than I expected.

[@bronzedisease]

Lucas: you created this? ....I created this

[@hurdygurdyguy1]

I bought 2 volumes of V&L in the late '80's, they were in Danish but I didn't care because the art was terrific. Europeans across a broad spectrum take comics and comic art seriously!

[@VOIDTheft1]

Interesting take on the comic! Thank you. I've mentioned you on my video about the movie.

[@Doodlebugdude]

So glad I hadn't seen this before the movie!

[@paxhumana2015]

Ironically, Point Central from Valerian and Laureline might have also influenced the International Space Station in that regard.

[@angry_wizard]

Also reminds me a lot of Babylon 5.

[@Waspinmymind]

My favorite comics!!

[@antivalidisme5669]

Nothing can beat that intro! Love your Euro comics stuff especially because I grew with guys like Moebius or Bilal alongside some Japanese or Alan Moore influences 'cause why not!? Read the French version of the series when I was in the Navy back in 1998-99 and I loved it! So naive and genuine at the same time. Fascinating. Too bad Besson sucks so much. Cheers!

[@nairbvel]

Back in high school (two or three centuries ago), my 12th grade French teacher managed to keep issues of Pilote (pronounced roughly as "pee-LUTT") on hand, issues I still have practically memorized. I later managed to get my hands on a few issues of Métal Hurlant, and was a very early subscriber of Heavy Metal magazine. Later on, my family spent a couple of years in Belgium, and I still have a couple of shelves on my bookcases with various magazines & hardcover books with different styles of "bédé" that I read through periodically. ("Bedé" being the French pronunciation of "B.D." itself short for "bandes desinées" -- "drawn strips," aka comics.) Somehow I never quite got into the Japanese style manga, but Moebius, Christin/Mézieres and co. remain near & dear to my heart. :-)

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

I’m not so keen on the Japanese style either. I find their obsession with European facial features pretty dumb. Not to mention the hairstyles ...

[@martinhertog5357]

This comic was such a source of new ideas, I collected it my self 30 years ago. The comic writers should get a part of the revenues of Starwars!

[@quintustheophilus9550]

I'm two years late, but rad video! Recently read some Valerian and Laureline comics, and I love it!

[@Kikkoman85]

One of my favorite European comics growing up was Thorgal. Started in the seventies so there was plenty of it by the time I knew how to read, and it's still going on today. It's one of those things that I'm honestly surprised it hasn't been adapted more into other media.

[@echozgus]

I love Valerian and Laureline

[@GameHammerCG]

Hang on, hang on. There’s a giant alien city in space that is home to every space-faring race and it has disinterested engineer aliens keeping it going? Is this where The Citadel from Mass Effect came from?!

[@thomasfink2385]

Yes, I also thought about that.

[@jtzoonie2552]

Valerian and lauraline was f ing fantastic

[@DarthSparhawk]

amazing video

[@ariurip3751]

My most fav comic series

[@brya9681]

This comic and Scott McCloud Zot! Are huge inspirations to me

[@KootFloris]

Your comment on the ending is so American. It's about human arrogance being called, instead of the Hollywoodian final clash,war, battle that solves everything, which we know in reality never solves anything. The writers of Valerian know that. Most of the US has still to learn that lesson. ;)

[@LargenirGK]

Here should be a comment about passive and complacent Europeans who consider their peace and well-being to be their absolutely obvious right, which materialized somehow by itself. Oh yes, I see why such people believe that the Universe will somehow protect them and everything will be fine without a struggle... You know by the level of smug stupidity, such a comment will be no worse than yours, and by the correlation to the material - much more true and powerfull.

[@KootFloris]

@@LargenirGK Ah, that might be true for average Europeans, but I know we use force (preferably out of sight) to help the US conquer oil and share in the spoils of war (Shell oil). At the same time, peace is often reached by the willingness to engage in dialogue. Your gun laws and gun attitude shows how less safe the US attitude actually is. Bombs for peace, just create new wars, like that 'victory in Iraq' created Isis. You comment rests upon decades of military propaganda, getting youth riled up to protect the USA, in far away countries, as Trump openly says, all for the oil. Perhaps if the USA would be less barbarian in its robbing natural resources and inciting 'regime change wars', the world would be more safe. The USA spends more money of self protection, than the next six major world powers combined. That's quite over the top. It's either paranoia, or the military industrial complex robbing the US people. Start thinking beyond.

[@LargenirGK]

@@KootFloris The American taxpayer pays 25 cents on every dollar of taxes to maintain a global army protecting the world order. Through the efforts of the world oligarchy, which finances nationalist propaganda for idiots around the world, now have the prospect of seeing what will happen to the world if the United States does lose world leadership ... You won’t like the result. You really will not like it. But for now, you can continue to write your nationalistic smug nonsense.

[@jordinagel1184]

So THIS is what it’s called...! I remember reading one of these as a young kid (Empire of a Thousand Worlds apparently, going by some of the images shown here), but could never remember the name of the comic. The fact that it stuck with me for so long is pretty telling

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

Thanks. That was really interesting. I've seen the movie but didn't care that much for it. I had no idea that French Comics were that big a deal. One thing about your comment on the ending - is that I have noticed in some European Cultures - a sense that everything is futile. So the Futility of Existence is something you tend to see as an idea. This - I believe - started after WWI. Before the First World War, European ideas were much more assertive. Europeans were moving throughout the world colonizing the parts they wanted and sometimes contesting other colonial power for their colonies - such as Britain and Holland. The Trench Warfare of WWI though, saw the expenditure of so much sacrifice and heroism for so little perceived gain that there was a shift in public consciousness that sacrifice and heroics were pointless and foolish. .

[@philv3941]

very true from my french point of view. It's still our mindset, many of us show the monument and explain to our kids how many died for nothing but industrial war industries, colonies, nationalism... Except for brits we europeans mostly hate nationalism and heroism.

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

​@@philv3941 The problem with that attitude is that there are things worth dying for and things before and after WWI - were different. Before WWI there was not as much difference between the different nations as there was after it. You had Empires before it that still had hereditary monarchies but the lives of the people in these countries, while they were different, weren't as different as they were after WWI. The two things that really made a difference after WWI - was Communism and Fascism. The Democracies didn't change that much - but those nations which had had monarchies before WWI and lost them - tended to have authoritarian governments after WWI. Russia went from having a Czar to having a Communist Government whereas Germany went from having a Kaiser to having a Fascist one. Italy and Spain both ended up with Fascists. While the Fascists never were a factor in Russian - in Germany, Spain and Italy there were Communists and Fascists contending for control. Now - the thing with the Communists and Fascists was that they were Totalitarian Governments - wherein the Government exercised a degree of Thought Control over the population. Here - if you came to the attention of the Government as someone who opposed the basic idea behind it - you were subject to being imprisoned or killed simply because of your beliefs. While there was some of that before WWI - it was on no where near the scale that it was in the Totalitarian Regimes after WWI. Much of the Second World War was in fact fought between Communists and Fascists. WWII saw the end of most of the Fascist states but the triumph of Communism in Europe and Asia. The Cold War was a struggle between Democracies and their allies and Communism. Here - while some of the Democracies allies were not democracies themselves - none of the Communists states were democracies. Communism had mostly succeeded in nations where there were fundamental social problems that the Communists addressed and because of that - there were some people who sincerely believed in Communism. In the major democracies you had much greater individual freedom and Communism was seen for what it was. What it was - was a solution to problems that was vastly WORSE than what went on before - because what had gone on before could have been changed - whereas the Communists were NOT going to give up power once they got it. So - heroism and sacrifice in the name of something greater than nationalism and industrialists - was and is more meaningful. The problem is that heroism and sacrifice were not always in the name of good causes. It was also, to some degree specifically because of Communist Propaganda - a subject of confusion in democracies among ignorant young people. Now - as to Nationalism. It's gotten a bad name - but - think about it. What came before Nationalism? What came before Nationalism was often unending squabbling between various small Tribes, Kingdoms and City States. The only time you didn't have THAT was when you had a larger Empire like those in Rome and China. Within these larger Empires and Nations - you at least had some peace at local levels and there were gaps between the wars. So - sneering at Nationalism is something done in historical ignorance. I would also point out - that Culture is a contributing factor to human relationships and that some people engage in a good bit of Cultural Snobbery - sneering at those they do not feel are as "Cultured" as they are. Often times - differences in Culture - are as big a factor in human conflicts as other factors. In fact - Cultural Differences - are part and parcel of how different Nations perceive themselves and thus a part of Nationalism. As to Industrialists ... criticizing Industrialists is mostly ... bull shit. Industrialists were just businessmen trying to make a buck where ever they were. The Communists would say that the Industrialists started wars so they could make money - but that was a lie. Wars are bad for business. Sure - business men like to sell weapons - but if they are all at peace - they can sell weapons to both sides along with everything else from hair dryers to microwaves and TV's. If you're at war with a large number of people - you can't sell them hair dryers. The other thing is - really big wars - tend to result in damage to industrial properties - and Industrialists hate THAT. So - blaming Industrialists for wars was and is just Communist Bullshit. This doesn't mean that Industrialists are nice guys - it just means that they don't want to start wars - because they lose money. As to Colonialism - yeah - that was businessmen making money however they could. Most of your governments were not that enthusiastic about colonies - because - their governments were going to end up spending money on policing them while the businessmen made money. BUT - it was Nationalism on the part of the Colonies that helped put an end to Colonialism. The REASON that the Western Colonial Powers were able to colonize so much of the world was BECAUSE most of the rest of the world lived in a Pre-Nationlist Tribal State. They had all these little tribes who hated each other and were thus not in a position to resist the businessmen coming into their geographic locations to exploit them monetarily. THE Colonial Pattern was: 1) Businessmen see an opportunity to make money in a small backward area. 2) They move in and begin exploiting the resources there - resources the people who lived there may or may not have had any interest in before the arrival of these businessmen. 3) They provide jobs to the locals. 4) Some of the locals begin to appreciate the difference between what their local resources are worth - and what they themselves are getting out of them - as opposed to the business men exploiting them. 5) They try to do something about it - which may result in the loss of lives and/or property by the foreign businessmen. 6) The Foreign Businessmen call on their governments for protection - which their governments reluctantly spend the money on providing. 7) The local geographic area, with little or no regard to tribal boundaries - becomes a Foreign Colony. Colonialism ended primarily because of local Nationalism - and - the fact that after WWII - the Colonial Powers were all broke - and just weren't going to spend the money on those colonies any more just so their businessmen could exploit them. .

[@dmkerr]

Thank you! I watched the movie and didn't really like the story. I appreciate your review of the issue the movie drew from. And, how close some elements of the movie's story are to the comic. I think I like the movie more now.

[@johnathanclark79]

Man I thought I was the only comic geek that talks about Bende dessiner. You forgot to mention Star Wars was also inspired by Moebius 1975 strip The Long Tomorrow

[@ComicTropes]

johnathan clark I have an episode about Moebius that addresses that.

[@grandsome1]

*Bande dessiné or BD.

[@vampazilla2622]

You are soooo right about not being a true comic book reader if you haven't read French comic books (Bande Dessinee as its known in France. Thought I didn't know that did you? Smile.) Stumbled across this vlog randomly. Glad I did. Very informative.

[@ssesf]

As a teenager, I borrowed the comics/BD at the library and read them in my own language. Laureline was so cute!

[@yordalyn]

Thank you for this. Snow piercer or Le Transperceneige is also a French bande dessinée.

[@ArturdeSousaRocha]

Thanks for covering my favorite comic book series. Such a shame the movie was not up to the same standards.

[@RazHalGuhl]

Nice video and point of view! Happy to see U.S. people interrsting by french comics! We call them "bandes dessinées" in France ;) I have some suggestion for next video about "french comic": Spirou (because huge influence and great moments, specially in the "Tome & Janry" artists period) SILLAGE (let me try to explain... It's like Tarzan + Star Wars + James Bond + Sliders + Ghost in the Shell ... in a french comic book, 20 tomes) Great Reading ;)

[@MegaCityPatrol]

Wow - I can really see where Walt Simonson got some of his drawing style from!

[@illustriouschin]

So imaginative and great artwork.

[@KeoMewak]

Well but that viewport in the XB9 82 is on the front of the astroship not the rear and a "metal bikini" was used by Dejah Thoris thanks to Frank Frazetta more or less in the same year of the publication of that story of Valerian

[@BrandochGarage]

I feel I will probably watch a lot more of your videos. Each is a wonderful essay, with lots of illustration of ideas, and a respect for the art. I did some doodles in my sketch pad while I watched. doesn't look anything like you, but there's a baguette, and a glass of wine... I kind of like the ending on this one. It is a fun take on Kafka, just getting lost in a massive bureaucracy in a sense, and the utter futility of what 'we' do. I'm surprised they didn't need to stamp their passports to get out...

[@spacedinosaur8733]

Time Jam: Valerian & Laureline is a French-Japanese anime that's really beautiful and you would definitely get a kick out of it.

[@ComicTropes]

I've seen it. It's pretty cool.

[@johnkennedy4023]

My favourite cartoon. When my daughter was 10 we saw the whole thing in English on Israeli TV

[@DaDunge]

Reminds me a lot of the citadel in mass effect. Even having a mute species who maintain the station.

[@thegreywanderer8427]

The comics would have deserved a live action adaptation done in the 80's, with practical effects...

[@maneiropacas]

Great video my friend. Thanks

[@Gremriel]

The practice of publishing these comics a few pages at a time in weekly magazines was popular in Belgium and the Netherlands as well (Robbedoes, Pep, Eppo)

[@penelopegreene]

Thanx. I used to say, "I READ Valerian somewhere as a kid. Like in Heavy Metal or somethin'!" And other people would tell me I was wrong.

[@paimless]

I like that it is essentially a detective story: Laureline uses brains to solve all the issues. And not because she is afraid of using force! She draws her weapon two or three times (but only fires it once - and that to clear a blocked doorway). The rest of the time she talks or thinks her way through. No wonder the Shingouz love her :-)

[@frankdavf4599]

¡Amazing! Now I can see Star wars Radiography with this info, aside from the multiple references of other influential refernces I had known by enjoying G.Lucas films.

[@frankdavf4599]

femmale bagullas are the same as that walrussiren Jack skywalker milked for blue milk!!

[@antonydrossos5719]

20:30 It's called "Deus Ex Machina" in classic literature, or "Plot No Jutsu" to manga fans

[@DaDunge]

Not really, a Deus ex machina comes from outside of the plot, this is the point of this plot. Just because it's unexpected and robs the characters of their agency does not mean that it's a deus ex machina.

[@LuisAldamiz]

Rather like not-Hollywood, more European, Greek tragedy but less dark, destiny, existential pessimism, the power of controlling what's going does not belong to us, at least not always.