Love Me Please: The Story of Janis Joplin is written as a love letter to Janis -- although the writer of the letter, or narrator, is never clearly identified. It's one of a series of musical biographies published by NBM.

In this case, the biography is written by Nicolas Finet and illustrated by Christopher. Color was provided by Degreff who, like Christopher, just goes by a mononym.

The story is concise, and sad. Starting with her childhood in Texas, the book shows Joplin's early passion for the arts -- not just singing, but visual art and theater. She struggles to find a place to fit in, running into constant roadblocks because of her gender, her looks and a stubborn disdain for conformity. She finds her place in music -- standing in awe of the early blues greats, among others, while at the same time laughing off the popular musicians of the day, such as Elvis.

In her short career, she sings with various bands and finds varying degrees of success. The book also depicts her descent into a near-constant need for alcohol, drugs and sex; although she sometimes tried to break the cycle, even returning at times to a tamer college or career track, it was of course that obsession (represented here by creeping tentacles grasping at her) that eventually killed her at age 27.

The book gives only a cursory look at her short life, showing many of the musicians (and others in the music biz) who operated in a similar orbit, sometimes in a positive way, others not so much. A handy gallery at the end of the book identifies many of the characters who might have eluded your notice, among them Odetta Holmes, David Crosby, Mike Bloomfield, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Leonard Cohen, Robert Crumb and Kris Kristofferson.

It's a really interesting life and, as I mentioned, quite sad. Janis Joplin was a groundbreaker in many ways, and it's impossible to know what she might have accomplished with a longer life. Thanks to NBM for this glimpse into her world.