‘Karmen #1’ (review)

Written by Guillem March, Dan Christensen 
Art by Guillem March
Published by Image Comics

“Who are you? You look like death.” Enter Karmen, looking every bit like a walking skeleton onesie topped by wild pink hair.

Maybe she is.

We don’t meet Karmen right away.

Rather, we meet a little girl Catalina, waiting for her best friend Xisco on their first day of elementary school. And Cata accused of driving a wedge between Xisco and his girlfriend in high school. And finally, a much-older Xisco dodging her calls while sitting in a cafe with his girlfriend–Cata’s roommate.

Cata’s last straw.

Now here’s Karmen, a complete stranger.

With a quick knock, she bursts through Cata’s bathroom door. There’s a razor on the counter, and a nude Cata’s arms are covered in blood.

By way of introduction, Karmen does a four-panel song-and-dance routine about self-love and proceeds to bandage Cata’s wrists. With the slightest touch, Cata’s memories begin to leak into Karmen’s awareness. Cata doesn’t know, nor do we, whether she is alive or dead at this point. Karmen discloses to Cata that she’s shifted planes, but what exactly that means is unclear, at least for a while.

Karmen convinces Cata that fresh air would do them good. Despite Cata’s initial protests over being naked, Karmen assures her that will not be an issue and the two depart Cata’s apartment for the outside world.

The fresh air doesn’t offer the improvement Karmen promised it would. Nothing Karmen can tell Cata about her new freedom can cheer her up. Cata feels more alone, more exposed in her invisibility than if the whole world could see her.

Flight, though… the promise that she can fly in this new existence intrigues Cata when nothing could appeal to her before.

And suddenly, Karmen is the uncertain one. No one prepared her for what happens next.

Be prepared for multiple readings if you really want to get everything this issue has to offer. There’s so much to take in visually that it’s virtually impossible to ingest it all in a single sitting. There’s an entire arc just in how the scenes are lit.

The included concept art sketches are an enjoyable peek into the development of Karmen and her world. I particularly love the sketches for Catalina, as well as the final art of her. She looks so very real, making the comic that much more chilling.