[Startaiger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by En Sabah Nerd

Maybe that comic art was just inspired by Peter Cushing, he's kind of always looked like that

The similarities are notable but it's not like Valerian invented most of these things, a lot of classic sci-fi tropes were established in ye ol' Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon stories. There are a ton of sci-fis from before the '70s that clearly set the tone for what would become the sort of standard used by Star Wars and Star Trek before it.

Agreed. Even if Lucas took some elements from Valerian or Kurosawa's movies (among others), Star Wars is its own thing, & is far more popular worldwide than any of the "ripped" properties.
Same could be said for many other characters: Batman (Zorro, The Shadow), Robocop (Japanese Metal Heroes, Marvel's Deathlock), ...