Advance Review: Karmen #1 (of 5)

Given the task of advance reviews can be great, especially when one f your favourite creators are involved. On the other hand,, when the book doesn’t resemble what you expected then reviewing the book can get a tad trickier.

Karmen follows the story of an angel who is a little unorthodox to say the least. Her role is to shepherd the sprits, the souls if you will of the recently departed, regardless of cause or situation, into the bright light. Step up the recently deceased Catalina who is taken under Karmen’s wings so to speak. What follows is a trippy journey full of morbid humour, sensitivity to various hard hitting home truths and some metaphysics thrown in for good measure. Light reading it may not be; but it does pack an emotional wallop!

Guillem March is well known for a swathe of oDC books to long to mention here. He is also a strong indie creator with hits such as the surrealist erotica Monika. Here March pulls almost triple duty as writer, artist and colorist, though he is helped with the latter by Tony López. Taking the writing first; March creates a character that is, as a kid, so adorable. Catalina and her best friend Xisco are inseparable, which can come to cause some problems in later life. The other main character, Karmen is kind of like a Morpheus crossed with Beetlejuice in both her wisdom and her humour, though thankfully no t in Beetlejuice’s mania. Kerman takes her role seriously, which may be hard to believe, Together, Karmen guides Catalina through this next plane of existence, with a number of stopping in points.

March usually svelte, sexually graceful art is toned down to suit the feel of the book. Karmen’s design is a tad strange and wholly not the usual angelic ensemble. March does display his facial stylings on occasion, though this is few and far between. Instead we get an often of kilter art style that harks back to the Spaniard’s European leanings. This means that whilst it takes a little time tog et used to, the art is still gorgeous if a unpredictable at times. As mentioned, Tony López more than helps out with the colors for the book. The world in which Catalina almost lives in is less bright, more lived in with hues dominating both the fore and backgrounds adding an emotional murkiness to some of the situations the pair find themselves in.

I am not going to lie; when I saw Guillem March on this book is was extremely happy, given how much I enjoy his work across the comic book aisles. I also admit that at first glance, I was worried about the art. However, that all changed when Caralina first meets Karmen. I was mesmerised from the start of their friendship and all the way through Caralina’s journey of self.

Writing – 5 Stars

Art – 5 Stars

Colors – 5 Stars

Overall – 5 Stars

Written & Art by; Guillem March
Colors by; Guillem March & Tony López
Published by; Image Comics via Europe Comics

Karmen #1 is due out in shops on March 10th 2021

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network