In the Stars of History, the life of Marilyn Monroe is summed up and presented through art. Marilyn has a very complex and long history for her short life, so this is a tricky story to sum up. It follows the star from her birth family to her stardom and eventually to her passing. 

While it covers a great deal, there are some time jumps in the story that I would have found jarring if I had not read other biographies about Marilyn before. The dialogue could also use a bit more work to sound more natural. The art was nice to look at and captured many of Monroe's iconic costumes and looks well. 

Overall this was a great concept and a good effort to bring Marilyn's story to life, I just felt it could have had a bit more detail to connect certain moments in Marilyn's life to make the story stronger.

This is a fascinating graphic novel, telling the story of Marilyn Monroe. The book is a good introduction to her childhood, rise to fame and career. The artwork is good and manages to tell her story without overwheming the reader with too much text. It is an amazing story of a woman who believed in herself and her abilities, despite the challenges of being a woman in the the film industry. 

The novel focuses on the well known aspects of Marilyn's life. It is a graphic novel and so it is somewhat limited in how much can be told, but I think it did a pretty good job. I enjoyed reading this because I didn't really know that much about Marilyn Monroe and I think this has a way of providing a thoughtful introduction. She was clearly a fascinating woman and a life lost far too early. The reader is left wondering what might have been.

Copy provided by Europe Comics via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

I learned a lot about this famous figure reading this graphic novel. They had a rather tough childhood, and things didn’t get better in early adulthood for them either. Yet at an early age it was clear they had something that was really special. They went to Hollywood where sadly things were challenging in the beginning. Over time though they got some roles that made them a star forever. The final days of this legend were tough to read about, but their legacy still lives on to this very day. Fans of this actor will want to check out this graphic novel.

It's hard to tell a person's life in 100 pages. It's even harder when you're telling the story of Marilyn Monroe... So... yeah... this was not great. The art was ok, but the thing that bugged me was the time jumps. Some panels have dates but most doesn't. It's confusing.
I can't figure out the age demographic for these comics, it's not for kids or young teens, that's for sure (there's mentions of drugs and alcohol, there's also nudity) but at the same time it's too childish for adults...

"Stars of History - Marilyn" provides an interesting overview of Marilyn Monroe's life. While many events are skimmed over, and some important details only hinted at, the story still manages to provide a great summary that I would easily recommend to someone only starting to learn about the legend of Marilyn Monroe.

I loved the artwork used here which gave an easy look into the life of a Hollywood icon however the rushed execution from the 3rd act onwards left alot to be desired. Nevertheless I would count this one as an easy breeze read..

This graphic novel traces life of Marilyn Monroe.
Right from her childhood thus it tries to cover less touched aspects of her life.
Everyone knows about her stardom and beauty. But few works are devoted to her struggles and resolve to succeed.
Various aspects of her personal life are described.
Artwork is wonderful. She is illustrated as beautifully as possible.
A good illustrated biography of the beauty queen.

There are books and graphic novels I like in concept that absolutely fail in execution. The Stars of History: Marilyn Monroe is absolutely one of those books. I love Old Hollywood, and I've always been fascinated with Marilyn Monroe so a graphic novel exploring Monroe's life should be amazing. This, however, is just insulting. Bernard Swysen pretends to be interested in the nuance of Monroe's life, but he gives a plot synopsis of her life instead of diving deep on anything. You get no depth of Monroe, no insight into her psychology, nothing about her interests or ambitions or pain. This graphic novel is just like reading her Wikipedia page, and that page is probably better sourced! (The version I read did not include a bibliography.) And the artwork! Frankly, if I were Marilyn Monroe, I would be insulted by a creative team who pretends to be interested in me as a person but illustrates me as the stereotype I hated. Every biography I've read about Marilyn Monroe makes a distinction about Norma Jean the person and Marilyn Monroe the star. It was a character she could play, turning it off and on and being able to pass as a normal person on the street if she wanted to. Bernard Swysen and his team have no concept of this, and it shows. Marilyn Monroe deserves a hell of a lot better than this effort.

This takes an honest look into Marilyn Monroe's life, exposing the harshness of Hollywood and how the glamorous life portrayed on the screen is just a facade. I loved seeing this story from her point of view, getting a glimpse at what's going into her head, and how she just wanted to be taken seriously. 

Also, Frank Sinatra sucks.

The Stars of History: Marilyn Monroe is a graphic novel about the life of Marylin Manroe. This book provides a lovely insight in her life for people who don't know much about her. If you're already familiar with her story , this novel won't provide much new things to you. The illustrations were great, but I think the story needs a bit more focus. It felt like the story was all over the place and it was fast and superficial. I do think people who are new to her story would enjoy reading this graphic novel.

It was interesting to read about Marylin Monroe, because I didn't know much about her at all. So, I was quite curious to learn more and more about her, her movies, her personal life... In this comic, we see a lot, between the abuse, the failures, the despair... It was not very much a happy reading. She had a difficult life for sure. On the other hand, I was not a fan of the art and the chain of events (the change of scene was too quick for me).

This was a really lovely graphic novel about Marilyn Monroe's life. I loved the art style too. It was perfect for that era. It is a perfect graphic novel for Marilyn Monroe fans.

Thank you for quickly fix the file.

The Stars of History: Marilyn Monroe by @bernardswysen and @christianpaty_dzack Thank you to #netgalley and @europecomics for the review copy. #eightysixthbookof2020 I enjoyed this #graphicnovel a lot. I had no idea this series existed. I loved the NBC series #Smash, about the staging of a Broadway musical about Marilyn, so of course this cover jumped out at me. I liked the way the story of Marilyn’s life unfolded, starting with her parents. I loved the bright graphics of the book. They’re bold and pretty and really engaging. I thought the story fleshed out aspects of Marilyn’s life that I was previously unaware of, such as her unfortunately tragic early life and multiple miscarriages. Be aware of some nudity and sexual trauma. The story jumps around and skims the surface of things I would have liked more details about, but overall it was a good way to learn more about a life I assumed I knew but actually didn’t.

First of all, I’d like to thank Netgalley for giving me an advanced copy of this graphic novel in exchange for my honest review.

Now, what do I think of this?

This was pretty fast, and also, the graphical part of it was so cool, I loved seeing the illustrations and it was pretty great.
The story was so fast that I was sometimes confused how it jumped from this to the other things, I would have loved to see more of some things that they were showing on it.
But then I also loved that they decided to tell the story of her mother, then we can learn more about her past. I also loved that at the end of it you can see all the movies and songs of Marilyn trascurring the time.

In fact, this was something good but not that great to be worthy of my 5 stars rating, for me it was 3,8  stars, just because of those amazing illustrations.

Marilyn Monroe: an icon that has transcended time and continues to be a favourite starlet of many people. 

I was very excited to see a story of her life presented in a medium I had yet to see: a graphic novel! The style of the art is perfect for the story; a style that is timeless and always eye catching. For some people, it presents them more as a caricature than what they were in real life; which in ways makes some of the more well known people quite obvious just by glancing at the art. 
The story itself is one that has been told many a time, in many ways, so its hard to judge the story and its contents. We are talking about a real life! Not much will change over the years and research that is done. 
For someone who may want to know more about Marilyn and where she came from and who exactly Norma Jean was, this would be a great way to start! For those who are familiar with her story and her troubles, this won't provide much to you, other than a new medium in which to accept the information. Being a fan of hers already, I'm obviously part of the latter group.
The panels were LOADED with text, which did become quite distracting and sometimes confusing, but it meant that there was always something to read. This made the book last a bit longer, which was nice. 
For those who aren't super familiar with her life, the first can be a bit confusing as it does not easily distinguish the people at the start of the novel. You figure out who is who quick enough, but it can still be a bit misleading. A nice touch though was the addition of in panel footnotes that would tell you who directed what movies Marilyn was in and other relevant information to the panel topic. So this could potentially be a good guide for someone who wants to not only know about her, but also be familiar with her film history. 

To sum it up: for first time fans, a great option if you don't want to read a biography. For established fans: its a nice change, but won't bring you much.

This one wasn't as satisfying as I thought it would be. It felt too all over the place. I didn't feel consistent enough, story-wise. I didn't feel truly representative of Marilyn Monroe. However, the illustrations were nice. This just wasn't as good as I expected.

I have loved Marilyn Monroe since I found out we shared our birthday years ago. So I was so excited when I saw that her story was made into a graphic novel. That said, I was kind of disappointed with this. I'm not sure if it was the graphic novel format or the storytelling itself, but all the nuance of her life was stripped away. This book made Marilyn seem ditzy and flakey, when she was deeply intelligent and was forced to use her body to sell her career. They did excel in showing how much trauma she went through in her life, but I'm not sure that her depression came across well. It also felt like there was an agenda to make it seem like Arthur Miller was a good husband to her, and making it seem like her previous husbands were astronomically worse by comparison. By the end of this I just wanted to pick up one of the Marilyn biographies on my shelf, including rereading her journal entries in "Fragments" and her own accounts in "My Story."

Marilyn Monroe is a towering figure of pop culture history, both in the United States and around the world. Rightfully so. She exuded a charisma and sexuality that cannot be put into words; it must be seen. Her prodigious talent as an actress and model was at once natural and diligently honed. No one biography can ever present a complete, unilateral snapshot of who Marilyn was. That is one of the reasons why we have so many.

Europe Comics has decided to add one more Marilyn biography to that growing pile, this one an entry from their The Stars of History graphic novel series. In about 100 pages, this graphic novel covers A TON of ground. Indeed, each page is jam-packed with many panels and words. The pace and abrupt jumps in setting, both of time and place, can make your head spin (often more than once on a single page). It certainly takes some time to get used to the writing/plotting pace and style. As an educational book for those who don’t know very much about Marilyn, this book succeeds, as it is a pretty comprehensive, mostly accurate roundup of her life, both personally and professionally. As a deeper exploration of Marilyn’s inner psyche, however, the book comes up short. Though it does not ignore Marilyn’s struggles with mental health and physical and mental abuse, there simply isn’t enough space to delve into these subjects beyond a superficial level. 

Like the writing, the art takes a little getting used to. It is a cartoony style, often crossing over into caricature. With so much somber, melancholic material, it is at best an interesting choice that lightens the mood and at worst an ill-suited choice that distracts from the serious nature of the written content. I eventually grew accustomed to the art style and its vibrant colors and even came to appreciate it for what it was, even though it’s not the option I would have chosen.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I have read several Marilyn Monroe books over the years, so I know her story well. However, this book did include a handful of people and events that I had either forgotten or of which I was unaware. For those wishing to get a fast-paced, educational primer on Marilyn’s life, this book fits the bill. For those wanting a deeper exploration of who Marilyn was, you may want to look for something more substantial.

Note to whom it may concern: There are a few panels with (cartoonish) nudity.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have previously read the 'Chaplin' book in the Stars of History series, and really enjoyed it. So I was excited to read this.
Once again, I really loved the illustrations, and the story is so well told considering its a graphic novel.

My knowledge of Marilyn is a little vague, so I'm not sure how close the plot is to Monroe's real life story, but I enjoyed it nevertheless and it's made me want to go and watch a Marilyn Monroe film now.

I'm sure any Marilyn fan will love this book, and I can see it being a great gift for any movie-lover!

I look forward to reading other books in this series!

This graphic novel follows the life of Monroe from before she was born to her tragic end. The illustration style is ok and fun to look at . I felt the story jumped around a lot but the first half was much stronger than the second half. I almost gave up in the second half. I found Monroes childhood very compelling to read about though .