I don’t think that I read many of the ‘classic’ comic books when I was a kid: no Marvel or DC or any of the mainstream sort. I grew up on Tintin, Asterix, and Calvin and Hobbes. They were my entire childhood (and I’ve actually been meaning to dig out my old copies and read back through them all again!) I then also found Japanese Manga and the rest is history.

So it had been a really long time since I had read an original comic book of any kind, but there was something about The Many Deaths of Laila Starr that just caught my attention and kept it.

I think part of it most definitely has to do with the gorgeous cover art that the comic boasts. The art style is unique, sharp and you can tell that the artist has a grasp on the fundamentals of art well enough to be able to break the rules and play around with things in an expressive way to best help tell their story. Couple this skill with the striking and bright colour pallets and I’d say you’ve got yourself a winner!

The story follows Laila, the god of death, who has just been made redundant by the birth of the human child, Darius. Darius seemingly has a destiny that is intertwined with Laila’s own, and it sets her on a path full of twists and turns as she seeks out a future for herself. The story is told in an episodic narrative with each of the five issues focussing on an individual journey, contained within the larger overarching story.

Set in Mumbai, author Ram V. and artist Felipe Andrade, give us this incredibly visual tale drawing from Hindu mythology and their own great imagination. Their vision helped alter some perspectives of my own during my read and I found that I really appreciated the deep and philosophical messages being conveyed.

Deep and philosophical messages that were being conveyed with a colourful and vibrant backdrop! Because other than the strikingly bright colour pallet, I noted that there was enough abrupt humour included in this comic, with such great delivery, that it aided in preventing the story from becoming a bit too dramatic; though that’s truthfully not something that I would have minded anyway. Having said that, the comical moments did feel like a very welcome breath of fresh air that were included to keep the balance and inspire some hope throughout an otherwise very poignant story.

I found the comic to be very moving and the twists that happened completely caught me off guard. I was kept eagerly awaiting the turn of the page, excited to see the next gorgeous spread of art and colours. I could feel the cogs in my head turning with the story, too, and I had a realisation that death doesn’t need to be scary, or so dark and sad. It’s a comic that hit me deep in the feelings and left me with profound thoughts about my own existence in this world.

It’s a story that I will be coming back to again and again from now on, to remind myself of the simple things, and to cherish the life that I have, especially when the mundaneness and anxieties of the world get me down; because I found myself questioning my own existence while I read. It’s just one of those books that make you start perceiving life as a gift in and of itself, and I think I really began to understand the term, “it’s not about the destination, but the journey”.

And that simple phrase is something that I hope to remember and think back on a lot throughout my life from now on. Whenever I face struggles, or whenever my brain becomes a bit too active and a bit too powerful for its own good, I will try and remember that same idea and give myself pause.

Just take a breathe. Take a moment!

And remember that life shouldn’t be so serious!