This third book of the collected edition contains volumes 6 to 8: Ambassador of the Shadows – the story that directly inspired Luc Besson's film – On the False Earths and Heroes of the Equinox. Over the course of these titles, among the finest in the series, Laureline takes her rightful place as the brains of the outfit, while Valerian fully embraces his role as anti-hero: always brave, but often a bit out of his depth. You will also find the end of the interview with Luc Besson and the authors, and an in-depth portrait of Jean-Claude Mézières, the artist.

Jean-Claude Mézières and Pierre Christin created Valerian in 1967 after working in the USA together, one as a cowboy, the other a teacher. While Valerian is Mézières' only comic series, he has worked as an illustrator in many other areas, including designs and sets for The Fifth Element, and he was awarded the Grand Prix du festival d'Angoulême in 1984. Christin also works in collaboration with other artists such as Tardi and Bilal and writes novels and film scripts.