Karmen
Writer: Guillem March
Artist: Guillem March
Publisher: Image Comics
One of the most original concepts featured in a comic book in 2021, ‘Karmen’ is an unflinching expression of the selfishness and inaccuracy of personal despair, and its effects on those around us.
It manages to be simultaneously light and dream-like and painfully tense. The book causes readers to reflect on the possibilities of an afterlife or the dread of nothingness, and their own individual flaws and turmoil.
With an impressive two decade career under his belt, Guillem March is best known in the comic world for his lauded artistic creations for DC Comics. He has vast experience illustrating DC’s absolute top tier titles, including ‘Batman’, ‘The Joker’, ‘Gotham City Sirens’, ‘Detective Comics’, ‘Justice League’, ‘Justice League Dark’, ‘Superman’, ‘Action Comics’, ‘Harley Quinn’ and others.
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Though March is also responsible for some very notable non-caped creations - including the acclaimed ‘Monika’ (Titan Comics) and ‘The Dream’ (Europe Comics) – it was a smart and exciting move by Image Comics to translate and release ‘Karmen’ for a new, larger, English-speaking audience. Originally published by Dupuis in Belgium as a full length graphic novel, Image chose to chop ‘Karmen’ up and release it monthly as five individual issues. It’s a move that actually really benefits readers, allowing them to dwell on the quality of the book, and avoid being overwhelmed by an overdose of its complex subject matter, heavier themes, and emotional burden. Speaking just before its imminent release through Image, March spoke proudly and candidly of his creation:
“Karmen is a story about what it takes to make a real change in life. After working on it for six years, I can say I´ve put my all into this project. I decided to write the script because I´m a much better storyteller when I´m doing the whole thing. If you know me from my superhero work, I´m sure Karmen will surprise you. I can´t express how proud I am of this book, and how happy I am that it will finally be released in print for the U.S. audience.”
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‘Karmen’ revolves around the story of Catalina, a heartbroken young woman that has recently committed suicide. As she meets the afterlife with a complete lack of awareness of her new situation between the worlds of the living and the dead, she’s luckily taken under the wing of Karmen, a quirky, fun, and disobedient angel of death. Rather than blithely shepherding her from purgatory to the afterlife and reincarnation, Karmen helps Catalina undertake a journey of discovery and reflection, making her face the feelings and choices that brought her to such a low place, and question whether she regrets her life’s desperate final action.
Meanwhile, Karmen is facing her own set of difficulties. She’s stymied by the bureaucracy and rules of the karma management corporation she works for, which oversees the afterlife of humanity. Karmen’s exuberant and mischievous demeanour often portray her as naïve and foolish, underestimating her value in the process. She’s a constant frustration for her supervisors and colleagues, who want nothing more from her than to quickly cross souls over and move onto the next one. They regard her additional care of in-transit souls as insolence, and her proactive, out-of-the-box efforts as insubordination. They consider Karmen unworthy of the plaudits she’s received from the highest leaders of their organisation, and enviously question how she has accomplished the success she’s achieved by taking extra care of souls like Catalina’s. They deem Karmen’s revolutionary methods as a threat to their livelihood, one they won’t take lying down.
The book’s unique methods of narrative conveyance don’t stop there. ‘Karmen’ uses memory as a plot illuminator to great effect, parceling out details as the story calls for them. When Catalina floats through the still living people in her town, she’s overwhelmed by their memories, receiving glimpses of their lives’ most emotionally powerful moments. As the plot unfolds, we’re also taken through pivotal flashbacks of Catalina’s life, as she’s forced to confront how her own perspective of events may be subjective – not objective – truths. She’s forced to relive her actions towards others, however this time being able to see their subsequent reactions. She’s forced to face the veracity of her feelings, and the feelings of those closest to her. She’s forced through this by Karmen, who seems to identify something worthwhile in Catalina that she doesn’t recognise in herself. It’s a painful and difficult journey they’re both undertaking, and the unique world and innovative narrative methods utilised by ‘Karmen’ make for a story that readers won’t be able to second-guess.
The art is striking, consistently attractive and graceful, while visceral and graphic in the book’s harshest moments. At times, it silently carries much of the story-telling weight, though March also adeptly contrasts this with large swathes of expository dialogue. His characters’ facial expressions say so much, with their wide eyes conveying more surprise, anger, joy, and pain than words could. Catalina also spends the majority of the book naked, and March shows that he knows how to handle nudity and the female physical form in a realistic and non-gratuitous manner – vitally necessary to allow the story to resonate with readers correctly.
‘Karmen’ isn’t for everyone, especially those who could find the plot’s subject matter triggering. Readers that do love it and truly connect with it will find it to be one of their new favourite books. Given the prominence and quality of March’s ongoing work for DC, ‘Karmen’ will be picked up by many of his fans seeking out more of his excellent work. It’s heartening to know that such an excellent and important book is certain to stand the test of time.
Want more of 2021’s greatest comics? Visit Amazon to purchase the full length ‘Best Comic Books of 2021’ book or eBook. It contains 45 detailed essays reviewing the year's best comic book titles.
After more comic book news and reviews? The Sea Shell mobile app is available worldwide as a free download on the App Store and the Play Store. Download it today.