Valerian

I confess to a curiosity about other international movements that share the spirit of the pulps. Whether its Japanese doujinshi and light novels, Chinese xianxia alchemist fantasies, or European serials like Perry Rhodan, other cultures have put their unique stamp on the stories of rocketships and swordslingers.  Yet the heirs of Campbell tend to ignore these stories when crying for diversity in science fiction and fantasy.

Fortunately, a movie based on a long running French comic named Valerian and Laureline is coming to theaters:



From Wikipedia:

The series focuses on the adventures of the dark-haired Valérian, a spatio-temporal agent, and his redheaded female colleague, Laureline, as they travel the universe through space and time. Valérian is a classical hero, kind-hearted, strong and brave who follows the orders of his superiors even if he feels, deep down, that it is the wrong thing to do. On the other hand, his partner Laureline combines her superior intelligence, determination and independence with sex-appeal. Influenced by classic literary science fiction, the series mixes space opera with time travel plots. Christin's scripts are noted for their humour, complexity and strongly humanist and left-wing liberal political ideas while Mézières' art is characterised by its vivid depictions of the alien worlds and species Valérian and Laureline encounter on their adventures. The series is considered a landmark in European comics and pop culture, and influenced other media as well: traces of its concepts, storylines and designs can be found on science fiction films such as Star Wars and The Fifth Element.

I hope it does well so that similar works can be introduced to American audiences.