Pop Karma

This is a little bit "Amelie" as the Angel of Death by way of "Chocolat", but that actually worked surprisingly well. Long story short, Karmen is a psychopomp who does things in her own understated, slightly facetious, playful way when it comes to helping the souls of the dead to move on. Traditionally such spirit-angels are supposed to be non-judgmental and to merely serve as guides. Karmen, though, is neither brisk nor efficient, (which becomes the source of a story cliff hanger at the end of this volume), and she's not above doing some serious judging. At a minimum she takes her own sweet time with her assigned souls and tries to bring them to some realizations about themselves before sending them on to their next cycle.

That sounds heavy, but as I say this whole book has a lively and playful touch. Since the main focus of Karmen's work is a self-absorbed suicide, there is some heavy lifting to be done on the road to enlightenment. But the author keeps things airy and keeps Karmen gentle and sympathetic as she performs her duties. The result is engaging without being pedantic or preachy.

It helps that the art is top notch. The characters are expressive and convincing. But the big show is in the full and double page flashes that are quite striking. Pencils and inks are strong and crisp, with a wide range of muted color setting a perfect mood and atmosphere. There's a lot of flying around for these free spirits, and the artist makes the most of the opportunities that that presents.

The upshot is that this is exactly as described - "a graphic novel about death and suicide... but not in the way you think". That was just fine by me.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Karmen is an angel, you could maybe call her an angel of death since she shows up right after self-obsessed Catalina commits suicide. She knows how to gently guide individuals from one plane of existence to another and she does it with a sense of humor.

The color palette of this graphic novel has to be my favorite thing at the moment: pink skies and teal shadows, green palms, and pastels galore. The girls are drawn incredibly well with detailed facial features that had me stopping often to marvel at the illustrations. The story itself is awesome, it's not predictable, you feel like you're just going on a ride along with Catalina wondering what's coming next. There are some funny movie references and I personally appreciated the Muppet Christmas Carol one, really cool little cameo there. A solid 5 ⭐'s from me because I could read this over and over, just for the gorgeous artwork. This was only V1 so it does end at a cliffhanger but it's a series you won't want to miss if you enjoy female leads, color stories, and sci-fi stories about death and angels.

Trigger Warning: graphic images of suicide and death.

Big thanks to Europe Comics and NetGalley for providing this reader's copy.

CW/TW: This graphic novels deals with death and suicide and contains some graphic scenes.

In this graphic novel we follow Karmen and Catalina. Catalina committed suicide and Karmen helps Catalina in the what you can call the after life. I didn't really know what to expect going into this one, but it surprised me positively. I would recommend reading this one, but please be aware of it's topic.

The illustration of this graphic novel is beautifully unique and the story left me longing for more. I can't wait to find out what happens next, whether we find out how Cata's friends and family react to her suicide or if we follow her into her next incarnation. Perhaps this is where Cata's journey end's for us and we follow Karmen to her next soul. Wherever the next novel picks up I will be there eager to read on.

TW: Death, loss, suicide

The concept of this book is extremely interesting. Imagine “The Christmas Carol” without the whole reliving part. The art style was beautiful, a bit heavy on the nudity for my taste but that’s okay.

To be blunt, the way this book dealt with suicide felt harsh and unsympathetic in my opinion. I def don’t think that that was the intention, I just felt odd vibes.

Overall, it was fast and interesting. I’m curious as to what will happen in the next volumes. There’s a lot of potential for an amazing story.

This graphic novel looks dark at first, but can be quite uplifting and relatable for some. I personally really like the art style of this book, and I like the story so far but thought this plot is moving rather slowly. I'm looking forward to what the next book brings!

Karmen features attractive art, a unique story, and a range of pages with multiple panels in lovely layout. Recommended for older readers as a literary and visual treat.

This was a very interesting story. The ending had me wishing to see where the story would go next. The artwork is absolutely stunning. The story line is very unique and interesting.

Art style was very cool. At times was a little wordy, but still very gripping. I enjoyed the take on angels and death, and am invested in what happens next! Would love to learn more about the “process” of dying - seemed vague.

Karmen V1 is a fantastic comic book, with a story that deals with a lot of heavy themes such as suicide, life and identity.
The art style was unique and unconventionality beautiful. It swayed seamlessly from realistic to fantasy-like and it all seemed like a dream. I also loved the story itself and how it was delivered.
Unfortunately, there's this one thing that annoyed me about the format and that's just how small the text was compared to the pages. I'm not sure how that would look in print, but in was a bit hard to read on a PC.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Europe Comics for providing me with a free digital copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.*

The story was mildly interesting but the overabundance of nudity, coupled with the gritty art style made it hard to focus and ponder the message. Interesting idea, but not really my thing.