- Writer and Artist: Guillem March
- Color Assistant: Tony Lopez
- Translation: Dan Christensen
- KARMEN Logo Design: Jack Durieux
- Lettering Image: Cromatik, Ltd
Thanks to Image Comics for the review copy!
If you didn’t have the chance to read the first issue of KARMEN, you might be wondering why there is a naked lady flying around. In the last issue, Catalina was visited by Karmen, a sort of ghost welcome guide to the afterlife. Karmen is a captivating character, both because she brings a sweetness to the macabre and because her design is so intricate – she’s essentially a regular head on a fully detailed skeleton (which just hit me is kind of like a reverse Skeletor, but that’s neither here nor there). I came out of the first issue wondering if the series would continue Catalina’s story or feature a new person Karmen must help deal with their death. It turns out, the answer is both, though Catalina gets most of the focus.
We learn a lot more about what made (made?) Catalina tick in this issue. It’s interesting to see how Karmen pulls the information out of her. I can’t say the two are friends, but they seem to be moving closer to something like that. The way Karmen treats Catalina is different from how she handles the other person she deals with this week, leading me to think there’s something bigger going on. Or it could just be the fact that they both have red hair.
For a series with a main character who is nude the whole time, KARMEN isn’t a sexual comic. But the nudity and theme of death makes it a series geared towards adults. I recommend starting with the first issue, because it will be hard to pick up on the high concept of the series if you jump in with issue 2.
KARMEN #2 is now available.
Check back in a few weeks for my review of the 3rd issue of the series.
Are you going to pick up the issue? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter.
