Jean-Claude Mézières
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Jean-Claude Mézières (; 23 September 1938 – 23 January 2022) was a French ''bandes dessinées'' artist and illustrator. Born in Paris and raised in nearby
Saint-Mandé Saint-Mandé (; named for Saint Maudez) is a Communes of France, commune in the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France, in the high-end eastern inner suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero, cent ...
, he was introduced to drawing by his elder brother and influenced by comics artists such as
Hergé Georges Prosper Remi (; 22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), known by the pen name Hergé ( ; ), from the French pronunciation of his reversed initials ''RG'', was a Belgian comic strip artist. He is best known for creating ''The Adventures of T ...
, Andre Franquin and
Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia * St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Man ...
and later by
Jijé Joseph Gillain (), better known by his pen name Jijé (; 13 January 1914 – 19 June 1980), was a Belgian comics artist, best known for being a seminal artist on the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' strip (and for having introduced the Fantasio character) ...
and Jack Davis. Educated at the
École nationale supérieure des arts appliqués et des métiers d'art The École nationale supérieure des arts appliqués et des métiers d'art, also called the École des Arts Appliqués or Olivier de Serres and abbreviated to ENSAAMA, is a post-baccalauréat teaching establishment for the decorative arts in the 15 ...
, he worked upon graduation as an illustrator for books and magazines as well as in advertising. A lifelong interest in the
Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...
led him to travel to the United States in 1965 in search of adventure as a
cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...
, an experience that would prove influential on his later work. Returning to France, Mézières teamed up with his childhood friend,
Pierre Christin Pierre Christin (; 27 July 1938 – 3 October 2024) was a French comics creator and writer. Biography Christin was born at Saint-Mandé on 27 July 1938. After graduating from the Sorbonne, Christin pursued graduate studies in political scie ...
, to create ''
Valérian and Laureline ''Valérian and Laureline'' (), originally titled ''Valérian: Spatio-Temporal Agent'' () and also commonly known as ''Valérian'', is a French science fiction comics series, created by writer Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mézières. I ...
'', the popular, long-running science fiction comics series for which he is best known and which influenced many science fiction and
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
films, including ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
''. Mézières contributed as a conceptual designer on several motion picture projects, most notably the 1997
Luc Besson Luc Paul Maurice Besson (; born 18 March 1959) is a French filmmaker. He directed and produced the films '' Subway'' (1985), '' The Big Blue'' (1988), and '' La Femme Nikita'' (1990). Associated with the '' Cinéma du look'' film movement, he h ...
film, ''
The Fifth Element ''The Fifth Element'' () is a 1997 English-language French science-fiction action film conceived and directed by Luc Besson, and co-written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. It stars Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, an ...
'', as well as continuing to work as an illustrator for newspapers, magazines and in advertising. He also taught courses on the production of comics at the University of Paris VIII: Vincennes—Saint-Denis. Mézières received international recognition through numerous awards, most notably the 1984
Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême The Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême is a lifetime achievement award given annually during the Angoulême International Comics Festival to a comics author. Although not a monetary award, it is considered the most prestigious award in Franco-Be ...
.


Biography


Early life and career

Raised in the
Saint-Mandé Saint-Mandé (; named for Saint Maudez) is a Communes of France, commune in the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France, in the high-end eastern inner suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero, cent ...
area in the suburbs of Paris, Jean-Claude Mézières met his friend and frequent collaborator Pierre Christin at the age of two in an
air-raid shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. He was first inspired to draw by the influence of his elder brother who, aged fourteen, had a drawing published in the magazine ''OK''. Mézières' initial inspiration came from such ''OK'' strips as ''Arys Buck'' by
Uderzo Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo (), was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the '' Astérix'' series in collaboration wit ...
, ''Kaza the Martian'' by Kline and ''Crochemaille'' by Erik. Later he was exposed to Hergé's ''
The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' ( ) is a series of 24 comic albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century. By 2007, a c ...
'', Franquin's period on ''
Spirou et Fantasio ''Spirou & Fantasio'' (), commonly shortened to ''Spirou'', is one of the most popular classic Franco-Belgian comics. The series, which has been running since 1938, shares many characteristics with other European comics, European humorous adventu ...
'' and, his favourite of all, Morris' ''
Lucky Luke ''Lucky Luke'' is a Western (genre), Western bande dessinée, comic album series created by Belgian cartoonist Morris (cartoonist), Morris in 1946. Morris wrote and drew the series single-handedly until 1955, after which he started collaborati ...
''. He had his first drawings published in 1951, at the age of thirteen, in the magazine ''Le journal des jeunes'', published by ''
Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...
''. A year later, "completely fascinated by Tintin", he created an eleven-page strip, ''Tintin in California'', which features an unusually muscle-bound ''Arys Buck''-influenced Tintin. This was followed, at the age of sixteen, by ''La Grande Poursuite'', a
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
influenced by ''Tintin'', ''Lucky Luke'' and ''
Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), nicknamed the King of the Cowboys, was an American singer, actor, television host, and Rodeo, rodeo performer. Following early work under his given name, first as a c ...
'' which he sent to Hergé in the hope of getting published. Hergé sent a reply encouraging him to keep up his efforts. In 1953, the fifteen years old Mézières enrolled at the
École nationale supérieure des arts appliqués et des métiers d'art The École nationale supérieure des arts appliqués et des métiers d'art, also called the École des Arts Appliqués or Olivier de Serres and abbreviated to ENSAAMA, is a post-baccalauréat teaching establishment for the decorative arts in the 15 ...
for four years. His class there included two other aspiring artists who would go on to find success in the field of comics – Patrick (Pat) Mallet and Jean "Moebius" Giraud. With Giraud in particular, he developed a life-long friendship due to their shared interest in Westerns and science fiction (both men later worked together as production illustrators on Besson's ''The Fifth Element''). At this time he also rekindled his friendship with Pierre Christin, who was coincidentally attending the high school next door to the Arts Appliqués, the pair bonding over a mutual interest in
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
and cinema. While at college, Mézières, like Giraud, published illustrations and strips for publications such as ''Coeurs Valliants'', '' Fripounet et Marisette'' and '' Spirou'' magazine. Following art college, Mézières entered
military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...
, which at the time lasted twenty-eight months, including a tour of duty based in
Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran and is the capital of Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the port of Rachgoun. It had a population of ...
,
Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
, during the
Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...
, returning to France just fifteen days before the
Algiers putsch The Algiers putsch (; or ), also known as the putsch of the generals (), was a failed coup d'état intended to force French President Charles de Gaulle not to abandon French Algeria, the resident European community and pro-French Algerians. Orga ...
. Answering an advertisement in ''Le Figaro'' after his discharge from the army, Mézières was employed by the publishing house
Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette Livre, a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachette Fil ...
as an illustrator on a series of books titled ''Histoire des Civilizations'' (''History of Civilization''), for which he brought in Giraud to help him out with the well-paid chore. Intended to run to twenty volumes, ''Histoire des Civilizations'' folded after just five. Introduced to Benoit Gillain (son of the famous comics artist Jijé) by Giraud, Mézières entered into a partnership with Gillain and they opened a studio in 1963. Working mainly in advertising, Mézières acted as a photographer, model maker and graphic designer. He also assisted Gillain with the setting up of ''Totale Journal'', a publication he would later work for again upon his return from America.


Work in the United States

Mézières had been fascinated by the
American Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...
since he was a little boy through exposure to Western genre films starring the likes of
Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, silent screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...
,
Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor. Initially known for playing tough characters with tender hearts, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year caree ...
and
James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...
and comics such as ''Lucky Luke'' and ''
Jerry Spring ''Jerry Spring'' is a Franco-Belgian Western comics series created by the Belgian artist Jijé. It made its debut in '' Spirou'' magazine on March 4, 1954. The character aimed to replace the American-made ''Red Ryder'' as Belgian publisher Du ...
''. At the age of sixteen, he had attempted to travel to Mexico with Jean Giraud, whose mother lived there, but was prevented by his parents. In 1965, Mézières arranged a working visa through a friend of Jijé's who had a factory in
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. In the end, however, he never took up the job in Houston. After staying in New York for a few months, the call of the West proved too strong and eventually he ended up
hitchhiking Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Signaling ...
across the country, first to
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
and then to
Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
(where he worked on a ranch driving tractors, laying posts and cleaning stables) before ending up in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
. His initial plan was to find work in an advertising agency in San Francisco but he ran foul of the Immigration Service who told him that his visa was good for working in the factory in Houston and nowhere else. He quickly left San Francisco in search of an authentic "Wild West"
cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...
experience. Arriving in
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
,
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
with no money, he sought out Pierre Christin, who was living there while teaching at the
University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
, and turned up on his doorstep asking him if he could sleep on his settee. To make ends meet, Mézières produced some illustrations for a small advertising agency in Salt Lake City and for a
Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
children's magazine called ''Children's Friend'' as well as selling some photographs he had taken while working on the ranch in Montana. After a few months, he found work on a ranch in Utah: this time succeeding in his aspiration of living the life of a cowboy, an experience he described as "better than in my dreams". When winter came and there was no work available on the ranches, he collaborated with Christin on a six-page strip called ''Le Rhum du Punch'', a copy of which he sent to Jean Giraud who was by now writing and illustrating ''
Blueberry Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' with the genus ''Vaccinium''. Commercial blueberries—both wild (lowbush) ...
'' for the Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''
Pilote ''Pilote'' (), for a while subtitled ''the magazine of Asterix and Obelix'' (French: ''Le Journal D’Astérix et D’Obélix'' ) was a French comics magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major Franco-Belgian comics, French ...
''. Giraud showed the strip to ''Pilotes editor, Rene Goscinny, who agreed to publish it (issue 335, 24 March 1966). This was followed by another collaboration titled ''Comment réussir en affaires en se donnant un mal fou'' (''How to succeed in business by almost killing oneself through hard work'') which was also published in ''Pilote'' (issue 351, 14 July 1966). By this stage Mézières visa was almost expired and so he used the money from these strips to pay for his ticket home. In leaving America, Mézières also left behind a young woman, Linda, one of Christin's students: she followed him to France some months later and became his wife. Mézières' experiences in the United States have provided the inspiration for several magazine articles published in ''Pilote'', ''
Tintin Tintin usually refers to: * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), the protagonist and titular character of the series Tintin or Tin Tin may also refer to: Material related to ''The A ...
'', and ''
GEO Geo- is a prefix derived from the Greek word ''γη'' or ''γαια'', meaning "earth", usually in the sense of "ground or land”. GEO or Geo may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''GEO'' (magazine), a popular scientific magazi ...
'' magazines as well as two books – ''Olivier chez les cow-boys'' (''Olivier with the Cowboys''), a children's book written by Pierre Christin with photographs and illustrations by Mézières about a visit Christin's son Olivier paid to the ranch Mézières worked on in Utah and ''Adieu, rêve américain...'' (''Farewell, American dreams...''), again written by Christin with photographs and illustrations by Mézières, a nostalgic look back at their time in the United States.


''Valérian''

On his return from the United States, Mézières visited the offices of ''Pilote'' magazine to see
René Goscinny René Goscinny (; ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Asterix, Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Born in France to a Jewish family from Poland, he spent his chil ...
and
Jean-Michel Charlier Jean-Michel Charlier (; 30 October 1924 – 10 July 1989) was a Belgian comics writer. He was a co-founder of the famed Franco-Belgian comics magazine '' Pilote''. Life Charlier was born in Liège, Belgium, in 1924.De Weyer, Geert (2005) ...
. Goscinny put him to work on ''L'extraordinaire et Troublante Aventure de Mr. August Faust'' (''The Extraordinary and Troubling Adventure of Mr August Faust''), written by
Fred Fred or FRED may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Fred ...
. This would be the first serialised strip that Mézières would work on. Due to the lack of artistic freedom he was given (because Fred's script came with all the strip panels already blocked out), Mézières found this a difficult assignment. By this time Pierre Christin was dividing his time between Paris and
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
, where he was working on founding the school of journalism at the Institut Universitaire de Technologie (IUT). Meeting up with Mézières one day, Christin suggested that they work on creating a comic strip together. Both had their experiences in the American West to draw upon but felt, thanks to ''Lucky Luke'', ''Jerry Spring'' and ''Blueberry'', that the market for Westerns was already crowded. Instead, Christin suggested that they turn their hands to science fiction, a genre that, at that time, was not prevalent in French comics. Although Goscinny was not a science fiction fan, he wanted to promote innovation and originality in ''Pilote'' and so commissioned them to produce a strip. Drawing on influences from literary science fiction, Mézières and Christin devised the character of Valérian, a spatio-temporal agent from the 28th century employed by Galaxity, the capital of the future Earth, to protect space and time from interference. Neither Mézières nor Christin had any interest in making Valérian into a clean-cut hero of the type that appeared in French comics of the time. Instead they sought to create an
anti-hero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero or two words anti hero) or anti-heroine is a character in a narrative (in literature, film, TV, etc.) who may lack some conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism and morality. Al ...
, "a banal character ithoutany extraordinary means of action". The first ''Valérian'' adventure, '' Les Mauvais Rêves'' (''Bad Dreams'') appeared in ''Pilote'' in 1967, with the first installment of the story published on 9 November in issue 420, and ran for fifteen issues, concluding in issue 434 on 15 February 1968. ''Bad Dreams'' shares an artistic style similar to that of Mézières and Christin's earlier collaborations for ''Pilote'', with influences from Franquin, Morris and
Mad magazine ''Mad'' (stylized in all caps) is an American humor magazine which was launched in 1952 and currently published by DC Comics, a unit of the DC Entertainment subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. ''Mad'' was founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman an ...
artist Jack Davis. Also introduced in this story was Laureline, a peasant girl from the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. Originally intended to appear in only one story, the popular reaction to the character meant that she was retained for subsequent stories and she has since become elevated to the main star of the series. ''Bad Dreams'' was followed by ''La Cité des Eaux Mouvantes'' (''The City of Moving Waters'') and its sequel ''Terre en Flammes'' (''Earth in Flames'') in 1968 and 1969 respectively. These two stories show some evolution in Mézières' art but also retain the cartoonish influences of ''Bad Dreams''.
Jean-Pierre Andrevon Jean-Pierre Andrevon (born 19 September 1937 in Bourgoin-Jallieu, Isère) is a French science fiction author, as well as a painter and singer. He has used the pseudonym ''Alphonse Brutsche'' for novels published under the Fleuve Noir label. In ad ...
best sums up Mézières' style at this time in his 1970 review of the story where he describes Valérian as a "kind of ''Lucky Luke'' of space-time". ''The City of Shifting Waters'' and ''Earth in Flames'' were collected together in one volume in 1970 under the title '' The City of Shifting Waters''. This became the first ''Valérian'' album – ''Bad Dreams'' was skipped because of its short length – thirty pages – relative to the usual album length of around 46 pages. Every ''Valérian'' story up to and including '' The Rage of Hypsis'' in 1985 would debut in serial form in ''Pilote'' before being published as an album. '' L'Empire des Mille Planètes'' (''Empire of a Thousand Planets'') premiered in ''Pilote'' in 1969 and marked a further development for the ''Valérian'' series and for Mézières art. This story was the series' first full-blown attempt at
space opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes Space warfare in science fiction, space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, i ...
and it set out for the first time the two main signature elements of ''Valérian'': the use of science fiction as a political
allegory As a List of narrative techniques, literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a wikt:narrative, narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political signi ...
and Mézières' meticulously detailed depictions of alien worlds. The follow-up story '' World Without Stars'' saw the final evolution of Mézières' art into the style that became prevalent in the ''Valerian'' stories of the 1970s and 1980s, with the first realistic renderings of Valérian and Laureline, as opposed to the caricatures of the earlier stories. ''Valérian'' is Mézières' best-known work, translated into at least thirteen languages: the last album, '' L'Ouvre Temps'', was published in January 2010. It is one of publisher
Dargaud Société Dargaud (), doing business as Les Éditions Dargaud, is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1936 by Georges Dargaud, publishing its first comics in 1943. ...
's top five best-selling comics series. Various attempts were made from the late 1970s onwards to adapt ''Valérian'' for film or television and an animated series, entitled '' Time Jam: Valerian & Laureline'', made its debut in 2007.


Work in film and television

Mézières was always as interested in the cinema as he was in drawing. In 1957, he began work with Jean Giraud on creating an animated Western. Dissatisfied with the results, the project was abandoned after 45 seconds of animation had been completed. The same year he shot a short, ten-minute,
8 mm film 8 mm film is a motion picture film format in which the film strip is wide. It exists in two main versions – the original standard 8 mm film, also known as regular 8 mm, and Super 8. Although both standard 8 mm and ...
, '' La vie d'un Rêve'' (''Life is a Dream''), with Pierre Christin. The success of Valérian led to Mézières becoming involved in several, mainly science fiction, film and television projects. The first of these was ''Billet Doux'' (''Love Letter''), a 1984 television series starring Pierre Mondy as a comic strip editor for which Mézières mocked up comic book covers and characters. Also in 1984 he produced designs for director
Jeremy Kagan Jeremy Paul Kagan (born December 14, 1945) is an American Film director, film and television director, screenwriter, and television producer. Early life Born as the son of a rabbi into a Jewish family in Mount Vernon, New York. Kagan received hi ...
who was attempting to adapt
René Barjavel René Barjavel (24 January 1911 – 24 November 1985) was a French author, journalist and critic who may have been the first to think of the grandfather paradox in time travel. He was born in Nyons, a town in the Drôme department in southeas ...
's novel ''
La Nuit des temps ''The Ice People'' () is a 1968 French science fiction novel by René Barjavel. Plot When a French expedition in Antarctica reveals the ruins of a 900,000-year-old civilization, scientists from all over the world flock to the site to help ex ...
'' (''The Ice People''). Due to difficulties experienced by the film's Iranian producer as a result of the
Islamic revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Im ...
in Iran, the film was never made. Some of Mézières' production art was published in ''Les Extras de Mézières''. In October 1985, Mézières was contacted by the German director
Peter Fleischmann Peter Fleischmann (26 July 1937 – 11 August 2021) was a German film director, screenwriter and producer. He worked also as an actor, cutter, sound engineer, interviewer and speaker. Fleischmann belonged to the New German Cinema of the 1960s an ...
who proposed to adapt
Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky The brothers Arkady Strugatsky (28 August 1925 – 12 October 1991) and Boris Strugatsky (14 April 1933 – 19 November 2012) were Soviet and Russian science-fiction authors who collaborated through most of their careers. Their notable works in ...
's 1964 novel ''
Hard to Be a God ''Hard to Be a God'' () is a 1964 science fiction novel by the Soviet writers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, set in the Noon Universe. Premise and themes The novel follows Anton (alias Don Rumata throughout the book), an undercover operative from ...
'' into a film. This was to be the first major German-Soviet co-production. Mézières travelled to Moscow to join the production team and also to
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
where it was proposed to shoot the film. Travelling from there to
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, he produced several concept drawings and paintings over a three-month period before the project was suspended due to funding difficulties. At this point Mézières left the production and returned to France. Filming was eventually scheduled to begin in April 1986 in
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
and Mézières re-joined the production, creating
storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding proce ...
s for some scenes. However, at this time the
Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...
occurred only 100 km from Kyiv and production was again halted. The film was eventually finished in 1989, but Mézières' concepts were barely used. Again, many of Mézières' designs were later published in ''Les Extras de Mézières''. In December 1991, Mézières was approached by director Luc Besson, a lifelong fan of ''Valérian'', who wanted Mézières to work on designs for a science fiction film called ''Zaltman Bléros''. Along with his old friend Jean Giraud, who had also been approached by Besson, he began work producing concepts of buildings and vehicles for the futuristic New York depicted in the script. Interested by the flying taxi cabs that appeared in some of the drawings, Besson asked Mézières to draw more taxis and also a flying police car. By the start of 1993, production had stalled and Besson moved to the United States to work on the film '' Léon''. Mézières returned to ''Valérian'' for the album ''
The Circles of Power ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
'', published in 1994. This album made use of some of the concepts Mézières had worked on for ''Zaltman Bléros'' and featured a character, S'Traks, who drove a flying taxi around a great metropolis on the planet Rubanis. Mézières sent a copy of the album to Besson when it was finished. The commercial success of ''Léon'' led to ''Zaltman Bléros'', now re-titled ''
The Fifth Element ''The Fifth Element'' () is a 1997 English-language French science-fiction action film conceived and directed by Luc Besson, and co-written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. It stars Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, an ...
'', being green-lit for production. Mézières returned to the production and was amused to discover that the occupation of Korben Dallas, the film's main protagonist, had been changed from a worker in a rocket-ship factory to that of a taxi driver – obviously inspired by Mézières' drawings for the film and by ''The Circles of Power''. Mézières produced further designs for the film including more taxis as well as spaceships and sets including the Fhloston Paradise liner seen in the latter part of the film. ''The Fifth Element'' was finally completed and released in 1997. Mézières published many of his concept drawings for the film in '' Les Extras de Mézières No. 2: Mon Cinquieme Element''.


Other works

At the same time as he was working on ''Valérian'' and various film and television projects, Mézières also worked extensively producing illustrations and comic strips for magazines and newspapers such as ''Pilote'', ''
Métal Hurlant ''Métal Hurlant'' (; literal translation: "Howling Metal," "Screaming Metal") is a French comics anthology of science fiction and horror comics stories. Originally created in 1974, the anthology ceased publication in 1987, but was revived b ...
'' and ''
Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
'', as well as covers for books and art for advertising campaigns. For ''Le Monde'', in 1993, he was a regular illustrator for the ''Heures Locales'' column. Mézières was also involved at one point in giving hands-on courses on the production of comic strips at the University of Paris, Vincennes. Graduates of his course include
André Juillard André Juillard (9 June 1948 – 31 July 2024) was a French comics artist. Biography Born in Paris, Juillard was one of the most prolific artists of historical comics in France. His career began in 1974. After studies in the School of Decorativ ...
and
Régis Loisel Régis Loisel (born 4 December 1951) is a French cartoonist, best known for the series ''La Quête de l'oiseau du temps'', written by Serge Le Tendre. He worked with Walt Disney Studios on the animated films ''Atlantis'' and ''Mulan''. Bibliog ...
. He collaborated with Pierre Christin on a number of non-''Valérian'' projects. The first of these was ''Lady Polaris'' in 1987, an illustrated novel about the mysterious disappearance of a cargo vessel, the ''Lady Polaris''. The narrative comprises various documents related to the lost ship: comic strips, log books, even an investigative journalism account by a fictionalised Mézières and Christin. The action takes place against the backdrop of many of the great seaports of Europe. Mézières undertook considerable research in putting together this book, visiting the ports of
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
,
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
,
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
,
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
,
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
,
Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...
,
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
,
Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...
and
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
. Another collaboration with Christin was ''Canal Choc'', a series of four albums about a television news team investigating strange phenomena. Mézières did not draw these albums but supervised a team of artists including Philippe Aymond and Hugues Labiano. In 2001, Mézières was approached by the city of
Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...
, which had been designated
European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...
of 2004, to produce something for the celebrations. He created a series of futuristic arches, called ''Chemin des Etoiles'' (''The Way of the Stars'') along the Rue Faidherbe in the city, similar to those seen at the Port Abyss spaceport depicted in the ''Valérian'' album '' At the Edge of the Great Void'' which was first published the same year.


Death

Mézières died on 23 January 2022, at the age of 83.


Legacy

Mézières' arrival on the French comics scene with ''Valérian'' was contemporaneous with the debuts of other notable French science-fiction strips including '' Luc Orient'' by
Greg Greg is a masculine given name, and often a shortened form of the given name Gregory. Greg (sometimes spelled " Gregg") is also a surname. People with the name *Greg Abbott (disambiguation), multiple people *Greg Abel (born 1961/1962), Canadian b ...
and
Eddy Paape Edouard Paape (3 July 1920 – 12 May 2012), commonly known as Eddy Paape, was a Belgian comics artist best known for illustrating the science fiction comic series '' Luc Orient''. Biography Eddy Paape was born in Grivegnée (now a part o ...
and ''
Lone Sloane Lone Sloane is a science fiction comics character created in 1966 by the French cartoonist Philippe Druillet. Publication history Lone Sloane first appeared in Druillet's own debut, ''Mystère des Abîmes'', published in 1966. Other stories wer ...
'' by
Philippe Druillet Philippe Druillet (; born 28 June 1944) is a French comics artist and creator, and an innovator in visual design. Biography Philippe Druillet was born in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, France, but spent his youth in Spain, returning to France in 195 ...
. The success of these strips eventually led to the creation of ''Métal Hurlant'', the highly influential French comics magazine dedicated to science fiction. Mézières' influence has been noticed in such strips as ' (by Víctor Mora and Carlos Giménez) and ''Gigantik'' (by Mora and José Maria Cardona). His visual style also influenced some American comics artists, notably
Walt Simonson Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned ...
and
Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz , ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day vers ...
. On occasion this went beyond mere influence – following a complaint by Mézières, the artist
Angus McKie Angus McKie (born July 1951 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is a British comics creator who has worked as an artist, inker, writer and colourist. McKie was an early employer of computer-generated artwork. He has worked frequently with fellow British cr ...
admitted that several panels of his strip ''So Beautiful and So Dangerous'' were copied from the ''Valérian'' album '' Ambassador of the Shadows''. Outside of comics, Mézières' art has been especially influential on science fiction and fantasy film. In particular, several commentators, such as Kim Thompson, Jean-Philippe Guerand and the newspaper ''
Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...
'', have noted certain similarities between the ''Valérian'' albums and the ''Star Wars'' film series. Both series are noted for the "lived-in" look given to their various settings and for the diverse alien creatures they feature. Mézières' response upon seeing ''Star Wars'' was that he was "dazzled, jealous... and furious!". As a riposte, he produced an illustration for ''Pilote'' magazine in 1983 depicting the ''Star Wars'' characters
Luke Skywalker Luke Skywalker is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in the original film trilogy as the main protagonist and also appears in the sequel trilogy. Raised as a poor moisture farmer on the desert planet Tat ...
and
Leia Organa Princess Leia Organa ( or ) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Introduced in the original ''Star Wars'' film in 1977, Leia is a princess of the planet Alderaan, a member of the Imperial Senate, and an agent of the Rebel ...
meeting Valérian and Laureline in a bar surrounded by a bestiary of alien creatures typical of that seen in both series. "Fancy meeting you here!" says Leia. "Oh, we've been hanging around here for a long time!" retorts Laureline. Mézières has since been informed that
Doug Chiang Doug Chiang (; born 16 February 1962) is an American film designer and artist. He is vice president and executive creative director of Lucasfilm and previous Chief Creative Officer (CCO) at Lucasfilm. Early life and education Chiang was born i ...
, design director on ''
The Phantom Menace ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
'', kept a set of ''Valérian'' albums and ''Les Extras de Mézières'' in his library. Mézières also noticed similarities between some of the sets in the 1982 film ''
Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero created by American author Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) and who debuted in 1932 and went on to appear in a series of fantasy stories published in ''We ...
'' and the planet seen in '' Birds of the Master'' and between some of the production sketches for the alien fighters in the 1996 film ''
Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...
'' and Valérian and Laureline's astroship.


Awards

* 1984: Winner,
Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême The Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême is a lifetime achievement award given annually during the Angoulême International Comics Festival to a comics author. Although not a monetary award, it is considered the most prestigious award in Franco-Be ...
, the most prestigious award given at the annual
Angoulême International Comics Festival The Angoulême International Comics Festival (AICF; ) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after Lucca Comics & Games and the Comiket of Japan. It has occur ...
* 1987: Winner, with Pierre Christin,
European Science Fiction Society The European Science Fiction Society (ESFS) is an international organisation of professionals and fans who are committed to promoting science fiction in Europe and European science fiction worldwide. The organisation was founded at the first Euro ...
award for ''Valérian'' * 1992: Special mention by the jury, with Pierre Christin, Prix Jeunesse 9–12 ans (Youth Prize 9–12 years), at the Angoulême International Comics Festival, for ''Les Habitants du Ciel'', an encyclopaedia of the alien creatures that have appeared in the ''Valérian'' series * 1995: Nominated, with Pierre Christin, for the
Haxtur Award The Haxtur Award (''Premios Haxtur'') is a Spanish award for Spanish comics. It is awarded annually at the Salón Internacional del Cómic del Principado de Asturias (International Comics Convention of the Principality of Asturias). It takes its n ...
for Best Short Comic Strip, at the Salón Internacional del Cómic del Principado de
Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...
(International Comics Convention of the Principality of Asturia, Spain), for the ''Valérian'' album ''The Circles of Power'' * 1997: Winner, with Pierre Christin, Tournesol Award given to the comic that best reflects the ideals of the French
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
, for the ''Valérian'' album ''
Hostages of the Ultralum A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...
'' * 2018:
Max & Moritz Prize The Max und Moritz Award (German language, German:Max und Moritz-Preis), also known as the Max & Moritz Prize , is a prize for comic books, comic strips, and other similar materials. It has been awarded at each of the biennial International Comi ...
from ''Comic-Salon Erlangen'' (Germany) for ''Special Prize for outstanding life's work''


Selected publications

* The ''Valérian and Laureline'' (1967–2019) – drawn by Mézières, written by Pierre Christin. The classic comic strip series depicting the adventures of spatio-temporal agent Valérian and his feisty redhead companion, Laureline, as they travel through space and time is Mézières' most widely known and best-selling work. With the exception of the short stories originally published in the digest-sized ''Super Pocket Pilote'' spin-off publication of ''Pilote'', all albums have been translated into English. * ''Mon Amérique à moi'' (''My Very Own America'') (1974) – an 8-page autobiographical strip, first published in ''Pilote'', recounting Mézières' time in America in the mid-1960s. ** An English translation was published in black and white in 1996 as a part of ''European Readings of American Popular Culture'' an academic publication edited by John Dean and Jean-Paul Gabillet. * ''Mezi avant Mézières'' (1981) – a collection of Mézières' early work for magazines such as ''Pilote''. * ''Mézières et Christin avec...'' (1983) – compilation of early work, including the first publication of the ''Valérian'' story ''Bad Dreams'' in an album as well as ''Mon Amérique à moi'' and the strips Mézières produced for ''Métal Hurlant''. * ''Lady Polaris'' (1987) – an illustrated novel written by Pierre Christin, set against the backdrop of the great seaports of Europe, about the mysterious sinking of the cargo vessel, the ''Lady Polaris''. * ''Les Extras de Mézières'' (''Mézières' Extras'') (1995) – a miscellaneous collection of works Mézières produced in the 1980s and early 1990s. Includes examples of Mézières' advertising work as well as concept designs for film projects. * ''Les Extras de Mézières No. 2: Mon Cinquieme Element'' (''Mézières' Extras No. 2: My Fifth Element'') (1998) – a collection of the concept drawings Mézières produced for the film ''The Fifth Element''. * ''Adieu rêve américain'' (''Farewell American Dreams'') – part of the ''Correspondences de Pierre Christin'' series. Mézières and Christin reminisce about their American adventures.


References


External links


Jean-Claude Mézières official site


on Lambiek Comiclopedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Mezieres, Jean-Claude 1938 births 2022 deaths French comics artists French military personnel of the Algerian War Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême winners People from Val-de-Marne French science fiction artists Valérian and Laureline Pilote