Valérian et Laureline and Twentieth-Century Countercultural Shifts

Abstract Published amid post-war shifts in the science fiction (SF) genre, bande dessinée and French society, the French comics Valérian et Laureline emerge as a pivotal work. Written by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières after their time in the American West, the first album (1967–1971) blends nostalgic, American-style space operas with progressive sociopolitical themes of 1960s counterculture. Tracing the changing definitions and public perceptions of both SF and comics, this article suggests that the series opens up new possibilities for visual SF storytelling – especially, but not exclusively, in France. Highlighting speculations surrounding Valérian et Laureline 's visual influence on George Lucas's Star Wars (1977), the article concludes that the series’ inception and publication foster a transhistorical and transnational reflection on SF.