Valerian and Laureline

This is a /co/ related article, which we allow because we find it interesting or we can't be bothered to delete it.

You don't know it, but you actually owe your entire childhood to France.

Valérian and Laureline is one of the longest running science fiction comic book stories of all time, beginning its run in 1967 and continuing up to 2018. For some perspective on how long ago that was, when the first Valérian comic ran, Doctor Who was still in black and white and Star Trek hadn't even gotten to the tribbles episode yet.

The series follows the adventures of a temporal agent named Valérian. On a mission to middle ages France, his life is saved by a peasant girl named Laureline, and (in brazen disregard for the butterfly effect) he takes her with him to the future. In the comic storyline this is no big deal. In the anime storyline, it causes the Earth to fucking vanish.

What's important is that the Valérian series invented most of what we now consider the modern rough sci-fi aesthetic (to differentiate from bright, futuristic Buck Rodgers / Star Trek look). George Lucas and Luc Besson are both admitted fans of the series. The alien ships from Independence Day? Valerian's timeship. The Ferengi from Star Trek? Shingouz with ears instead of wings. Leia's metal bikini? Laureline was rocking that look a decade earlier in Empire of a Thousand Planets. Basically every alien-filled bar ever? Valerian was there downing drinks in shady company years before your favorite literally-who. It cannot be emphasized enough that prior to Valerian, NOBODY had envisioned a future where space manages to look like a seedy truck stop (unless you're rich, which Valerian and Laureline usually aren't).

Dramatis Personae

• Valérian: A temporal agent from the 28th century, Valérian is the cliche heroic man of action. He falls somewhere between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers in terms of competence and machismo. Varies from merely overconfident to occasionally downright boneheaded and stubborn depending on the story. But he's generally a levelheaded lawful-good with his eyes on the objective.
• Laureline: A peasant girl from 11th century France, with fiery red hair (Normans? Normans) and a physique to match. Laureline provides much of the energy that makes the franchise work, fluctuating between chaotic-good and true neutral depending on the story. Compared to Valérian, she's basically amoral, willing to lie, cheat, steal, and use sex appeal to manipulate. But also compared to Valérian, she's far more compassionate, and goes out of her way to champion the downtrodden. Her main flaw played for comedy is that she cannot be trusted with ANY quantity of money, and will resort to busking in the street for coins when Valérian is being miserly.
• The Shingouz: Specifically three particular Shingouz. Basically just winged Ferengi. The three shingouz act as Valérian and Laureline's main information contact in stories involving Central Point Station. On the station, they have their snouts in every crooked deal and shady enterprise; if they don't know, then they know somebody who knows. One of them is smitten with Laureline and consistently falls for her lopsided deals for help or information.
• Mr. Albert: An older, well connected gentleman living in 20th century France; implied to be a semi-retired senior temporal agent. For stories set in contemporary Earth, he is Valérian's main contact, possibly even his field handler.
• Grumpy Transmuter: A tiny alien armadillo that eats radiation and shits money. Literally and unironically. Laureline's pet in the stories he shows up in, the Grumpy is a brazen deus ex machina to deal with Laureline's non-existent budgeting skills by giving her infinite money.

Central Point

Many Valérian stories are set on the space station of Central Point. Depending on the storyline, it was either started by humans, or just been there so long nobody remembers who started it. But either way it's essentially half Babylon 5, half space hulk; a giant collection of ships and station parts from thousands of races all cobbled together until the whole mess just starts to congeal from gravity. Ostensibly governed by a council of the various constituent delegations, although as an authority it's essentially incapable of doing much more than enforcing some basic laws about violent crime in the sections of the station that cooperate. Central Point is basically a cynical, 1970's critique of the European Economic Community (the predecessor of the EU). In one storyline Earth plans to take the place over by force to straighten things out, but then the leader of the operation is persuaded to have a change of heart, gives a speech to persuade everyone to cooperate, and everyone agrees... to kick the Terrans out for asking them to all cooperate.

Games

There aren't any, because there is one: Traveller. To put it simply, Valérian almost certainly inspired the creation of Traveller in the same way it inspired George Lucas to make Star Wars, we just don't have any quotes from GDW admitting to it.