A review by debthebee13
Karmen by Guillem March

5.0

CW: Self-harm, suicide, death, hit and run, nudity.

I jumped into this without any expectations, borrowing a library copy in English after I had learned it got translated to my mother tongue - so I intended to just check it out lightly, as I saw it didn't have that many readers/reviews so far.

But this is not a light story. It's a story of life and death told through what's in between the two as we follow Catalina, the girl who committed suicide, and Karmen, who is supposed to write up a karma report for her and help her transition - but rushing souls is just not her style.

This is a creatively drawn atmospheric and emotional story that reflects on the power we can have in the lives of others when we choose not to be selfish but make just a few acts of kindness and with it make a difference.

I especially liked the unusual and innovative panel use in a few places in this piece, how motion was presented, and the few beautiful panorama drawings of Mallorca (as I learned). Not everyone appreciated this, but I liked how the characters were imperfect and human, as well as how the story was messy and not just rushing straight to make a point. It was a bit funny that Karmen was a kind of a skeleton with heels sticking out of her feet - that was an obvious male gaze esthetic choice, as well as the nudity - but if you're not one to get triggered by it, it plays into the story well.