Review by Ian Keogh
The Many Deaths of Laila Starr is an evocative title, yet whatever thoughts as to plot and content it might evoke, it’s unlikely you’ll conceive the truth of this beautifully told meander through connected lives. There’s a touch of mystical realism, some poignant writing, lives layered with tragedy and some funny moments, the first of which is Death and other immortal personifications being reduced to a corporate structure.
It’s uncertain if Laila Starr’s first death is accidental or suicide when the attractive student falls from a window she’d been sitting in, but the certainty is her body being occupied by Death. She’s deemed surplus to requirement in the celestial firmament after a prophecy that a man will invent a method of immortality. That man, Darius Shah, is born in the same hospital in which Laila dies for the first time. Brought back to life due to a severance package Death has cut, Death’s intention is to kill Darius, thereby denying the prophecy and restoring her immortal career.
From that start The Many Deaths of Laila Starr becomes a strangely poetic meditation on the value of life as seen from opposite poles. Darius and Laila begin with seemingly incompatible fixed views and move towards a sort of accord over the many deaths, during which Laila disappears for years at a time and life goes on for Darius. Their meetings are few, but poignant, and in the end the conclusion is that life being limited is what gives it the greatest value.
Portuguese artist Felipe Andrade serves up a mixed menu. His figures are often stylised and stretched, but seemingly without purpose, while Laila’s hair is almost a character in its own right. On the other hand, a unique application of colour supplies an exotic vibrancy, his methods of drawing Laila convey the necessary emotional fragility, and he brings the locations to life.
Despite the spectrum of 21st century graphic novels being the broadest ever available in English, online complaints can still be found about there being nothing different. The Many Deaths of Laila Starr is not only different, it’s completely accessible and an intelligent meditation on an unusual subject.
