Jean-Claude Mézières (Spouse: Linda Mézières; Sister and frequent colorist: Évelyne Tran-Lê)
Jean-Claude Mézières (1938–2022) was a visionary French comic book artist and illustrator, best known as the co-creator of the pioneering science fiction series Valérian and Laureline. His intricate, imaginative world-building profoundly influenced the visual landscape of modern science fiction, both in comics and on the silver screen.
Born in Paris, Mézières met his lifelong friend and future collaborator, writer Pierre Christin, in an air-raid shelter during World War II when they were just six years old. He developed an early passion for drawing, heavily inspired by reading Tintin, Lucky Luke, and the works of André Franquin. As a teenager, he attended the École des arts appliqués (School of Applied Arts) in Paris, where he studied alongside another future comic legend, Jean Giraud (Mœbius).
Fascinated by the American Wild West, Mézières traveled to the United States in 1965 to live out his dream of working as a cowboy in Montana, Wyoming, and Utah. During this trip, he reconnected with Christin, who was then a university professor in Salt Lake City. The two collaborated on a short comic strip, sparking a creative partnership that would last a lifetime.
Upon returning to France, Mézières and Christin were hired by René Goscinny at Pilote magazine. In 1967, they launched Valérian and Laureline (often colored by Mézières’ sister, Évelyne Tran-Lê). The series, which ran for over 40 years across more than 20 albums, broke away from traditional comic structures. Mézières’ highly detailed, vividly alien, and technologically complex artwork set a new benchmark for the genre. His visual concepts directly inspired the look of major Hollywood sci-fi films, most notably the Star Wars franchise.
Mézières eventually transitioned his talents directly to cinema. In the early 1990s, director Luc Besson hired him to design the futuristic sets and vehicles for the blockbuster film The Fifth Element (1997)—including the iconic flying taxis, a concept Mézières originally developed for the Valérian album The Circles of Power. Besson later adapted the comic itself into the 2017 film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.
Awarded the prestigious Grand Prix de la ville d’Angoulême in 1984, Mézières left an indelible mark on the “Ninth Art” before his passing in 2022.
Active in others filds : Concept Art and Set Design (Film/Cinema), Advertising Illustration, Photography, Art Education (Professor at University of Paris VIII).
