At first glance, “The Vesha Valentine Story” is very pleasing to the eye. Its pages are filled with beautiful images of a lovely women named Vesha Valentine. Vesha herself is basically Marilyn Monroe with black hair. Although “The Vesha Valentine Story is visually stunning,” with Des Taylor’s artwork both colorful and poignant, the book unfortunately falls nothing short of cliché.
This book is not totally trite however. It has its moments. It is definitely a fun, easy read. “A pin-up storybook,” Vesha looks like a pin-up doll and through beautiful imagery, the comic book story takes shape in a fun, albeit predictable way. Taylor’s inspiration for this book came from his love of Rita Hayworth, Sophia Loren and, of course, Marilyn Monroe. He also drew inspiration for this book from Michael Jackson, as some of Valentine’s dance moves in the come from the King of Pop himself.
With its colorful look, it’s obvious, the book’s main purpose is to entertain. The author does some narration which helps guide the story, but the artwork does most of the talking. Taking us through Vesha’s life, growing up as a young women in France and what she goes through to become a major movie star, we see her rise to success.
It all starts off with a young Vesha Valentine aspiring to become a movie star. Although she never met her mother, she unknowingly dreams of following in her famous footsteps. After getting kicked out on the streets by her grandfather, she finds work in a small café during the day, and at night visit’s a burlesque club in Paris. She auditions to dance in the club, and, as luck would have it, she gets the part.
This is where the start of her career begins. Vesha makes a name for herself at the club and soon finds herself the most sought after burlesque dancer in all of Paris. But that’s not enough for her. She wants something more. She soon decides to move to the South of France. Before she knows it, she’s asked by the biggest director in Hollywood to star in his latest blockbuster film for the Cannes Film Festival.
As luck would have it though, Vesha gets slammed by all the critics for being an unknown actress in such a big film. However, her talent is undeniable. At this point in the story, you pretty much know where this tale will take you. Her life unfortunately plays out much the same as Marilyn Monroe’s did.
Soon enough, Vesha’s life starts to crumble. Vesha turns to pills and alcohol to suppress her problems.
The rest of “The Vesha Valentine Story” plays out probably how you would expect it to. That is why the story is so cliché. You almost know what the next line is going to be. You know where the author is going to take you. Taylor accomplishes entertaining the reader through the artwork in this story.
However, the story is too predictable to be truly enjoyed.
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