By Christin & Augustin
Publisher: Cinebook
ISBN: 9781800440975
With the main series concluded, this is the second stand-alone book. The ‘Valerian And Laureline By…’ umbrella allows different creative teams to offer their particular take on the characters. Or, at least, one of them is different here. For, in this case, Pierre Christen returns to write an appendix to the main series.
Valerian and Laureline are now children, living as the wards of Mr Albert on Earth in contemporary times. For now, everyone’s lives are a little more peaceful. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t adventures still to be had. A race of narrative-driven artificial beings need a source of metalloid nodules (that was quite a sentence) to aid their storytelling. With the source exhausted, they must turn to Earth for a supply. But they’re not the only ones interested. Galaxity wants them too. But, rather than descend into a fight, this should just be about negotiation, compromise, and available funds.
Galaxity pressure Mr Albert to take Valerian and Laureline along, although he’s rightfully reluctant. After all, they have school. But despite their new forms, Valerian and Laureline retain their natural abilities, and they just might be what is needed in the days ahead.
The story is a good excuse to use a few familiar faces and is, in some respects, an exercise in nostalgia. Because it’s written by Christin, it manages to swerve away from what could have been quite a lightweight story to being something that feels part and parcel of the previous books. Virginie Augustin needs much credit here too. After the death of original illustrator Jean-Claude Mézières early last year, finding an artist that pairs with Christin could not have been easy. Fortunately, Augustin’s style fits perfectly.
If you’ve not picked up a Valerian and Laureline book before then perhaps this isn’t the place to start, but those familiar with the characters will find much to enjoy as we step back, if not temporarily, into their world.
And if you liked that: There are plenty more Valerian and Laureline books on Cinebook.com
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