Courtney Love has been popping up in all places and on the covers of many magazines these past couple of months. While this doesn't quite mean that she is 'back in business' as they say, it does imply that she managed to win back some of her social status, namely that part she lost when she was too intoxicated to know what she was doing.

Last year, there were some rumors about a comeback album but, so far, none of them has materialized. Instead, we were bombarded with tons of photo shoots, from magazines ranging from 'Pop' Magazine to 'Vogue' and most of them were quite good. In fact, they were so great that the photos published barely resembled the original Courtney, the one we get to see in the paparazzi's pics, of her attending parties and stuff.

Of course, we are not so gullible as to believe that everything we see in magazines is for real: there is a lot of make-up, lighting and Photoshop involved in making the photos that we later pay money to see. However, generally speaking, the women (and occasionally men) who appear in such media outlets still resemble the original model. Which is not what can also be said for Courtney.

As far as I'm concerned, Miss Love is talented enough to make it in showbiz. She has a flaming personality that always makes her one of the paps' favorite celebrities and, from what I remember, she used to make beautiful music. Let's just say she had bad luck in her choice of lifestyle. And boyfriends. And rehab centers. And managers. And choice of beverages.

But now, things are completely different from what they used to be in the '90s: the entire celebrity 'pack' tends to avoid Courtney as if she were plagued or something and the media just can't get enough of making fun of her way of being and looking. Because, truth be told, she did kinda ruin her looks with too many plastic surgeries and, apparently, she is ashamed of her face now. And so is 'Vogue Italia', the latest publication to feature her on the cover.

Below are the photos from the magazine. The last one is of Courtney Love, the way she really is. By looking at them (you don't even have to stare too hard to see the difference), you too will see how the limits of verisimilitude are tested: there was so much Photoshop put in them that they don't even look like the Courtney we all know anymore. They might as well have asked someone to come in and draw her picture... in crayons!

Again, this is not something that has never been done before (remember THIS?) but it does raise a very huge question mark: where do they draw the line? Crayon drawings may be fun, but completely altered photos is a completely different thing. The woman who posed for 'Vogue' may be hot and sexy, but she is not Courtney.