I got this from net galley
TW: death, suicide, death, self harm

This was a super interesting graphic novel surrounding death and the idea of reincarnation, it was interesting to meet these characters and learning about their lives. I liked the story and by the end wanted to know more!

The artwork is gorgeous, bright and keeps you yearning for more. Can’t wait for the next volume!

Karmen de Guillem March turned out to be a fantastic way out of a reading slump. 

Karmen is a guardian angel who accompanies Catalina, a young woman who has just committed suicide (?), In her process of transition to an afterlife.

The level of detail of the drawings is truly impressive and the perspective games make a reading not just a reading and each page a piece of art to appreciate in every detail.

However, the play on nudity often seems random and excessive. 

Trigger warning for suicide topic. 

My copy was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This one wasn't my type. I don't what I expected, but it wasn't this.
I'm not a fan of the art, but the story was ok. This is how I'd rate it, O.K. We are following Catalina, a woman that after she tries to commit suicide is stuck in the "in-between". She's accompanied by some kind of Angel of Death that takes her to different places.
The story is kinda dark and maybe it was too heavy for me and that's why I didn't enjoy it ...
TW : suicide, nudity

(Contains 18SX themes)
‘Don’t break your little heart anymore. You’re hurting yourself, you know that? If you don’t start loving your poor little heart, it will break into a thousand pieces. Love it.’ 

Description: The comic describes Catalina’s (Cata’s) life after reincarnation, where before that she cut both of her wrists and soaking herself in blood in her friend’s bathtub. Then, a strange visitor came to meet her - Karmen (is she a sort of ‘death goddess’?) – and she tries to entertain her after bandaging both of her wrists and a special dance performance. After that, Cata realized that she couldn’t grab anything, as well as seeing herself in the bathroom’s mirror, and Karmen reassures her not to be afraid of people out there, even though she’s naked. What I found Karmen very interesting was her philosophy about life and her core ability – knowing whatever Cata’s thinking about and her past life when she shook her hand. Somehow, Karmen too able to do some tricks and all of her abilities were being passed to Cata. She enjoyed her flying ability and she’d discovered some interesting living experiences and places along her way. She abruptly stopped herself at a monument and one of her memories with her childhood friend – Xisco – resurfaces. But, she saw the real Xisco - on the same bench where they’re sitting – who’s calling her housemate – Joana – and told her that he’ll be breaking up with Cata soon (he’s flinging with Joana behind her back). That gets her mad and she curses him with all of her might, but to no avail that all of them couldn’t be heard by him as she’s already dead! She poured her problems to Karmen later and they flew to her parent’s house for a while. Then, Cata got herself sitting alone on a bench when a smart-dressed man came and sits beside her – she nicknamed him as ‘Toni’ at first, but he told her that his actual name’s Enrique. The man, who’s been in love with a beautiful yet sweet-looking woman in a café, came to propose to her when suddenly - unluckiness befall upon him – a speeding car crashes into him and Cata tries hard to save him, but failed. After he’s been teleported to the afterlife with Karmela – Karmen’s workmate – Cata described that the incident was cruel and Karmen got mad, explaining that it all begins with her very own fault, dragging the others along to follow suit, before she goes to the afterlife. Cata finally realized she wouldn’t do that if possible and not to become her old self once again. 

Conclusion: It’s really heart-wrenching.

I really enjoyed this one!

I was provided an advanced digital copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley for review purposes, all opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the review copy!

This was fun and short. This story is solid and was told great. There were some deep subject matters in this such as suicided and depression, so beware before going into this.  I think the artwork was so great and very easy to follow!

I highly recommend this read!

The adventure of this graphic novel is surreal. 
We open with a young woman in the bathroom crying. Karmen materializes next to her and introduces herself. 
The story unfolds slowly. Karmen remains evasive, giving little bits to carry us through, to keep our curiosity peaked, to keep us reading. 

The artwork is beautiful. The coloring perfect. The ending - a surprising twist. Would very much like to read volume 2.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and Guillem March for an ARC in return for an honest review.

TW: suicide, depression, death

I loved the artwork. It worked so well with the story, with characters flying out of the panels. The color palette was also really nice and the detailing on the characters was great.
The plot was intriguing and I loved the way it led the reader to introspection about life, death, and happiness.
The worldbuilding is really good, and it had me wanting to know more.
This graphic novel had me hooked and I cannot wait for the translation of the next volume in this series!

Karmen, Vol. 1 by Guillem March is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in mid-September.

Karmen exists as a kind of demi-angel of death, who accompanies people from the mortal coil into being a ghost on a different, yet parallel dimension, while addressing the transgressions of those who need a little extra help and who held onto their previous lives so strongly.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this graphic novel. The artwork was done really well and I really enjoyed its art style. The story was compelling and kept me engaged from start to finish. I really want the next volume right now!

Last year I sent travelling around Spain for a month. The architecture around Andalusia left a lasting impression on me. It is one of the first things that struck me about Karmen is that the book has a powerful sense of place. This story unmistakably takes place in Spain. Also, for a story that explores the themes of suicide, regret, and, relationships, it is not dour. It treats these themes with the seriousness that they deserve with becoming maudlin or mawkish.

The art is splendid. I particularly enjoyed the colouring, which plays with a palette that gives the pages a subtle otherworldly ambience. Karmen takes place in a lived-in world. Mallorca where the story takes place wonderfully presented here. The characters designs are also notable for the bold choices March makes. For a comic where one of the leads is mostly naked, it rarely seems voyeuristic. Indeed the nakedness is a rather blunt metaphor for the character’s vulnerability. However, any comic which prominently features naked woman is open to accusations of the male gaze. Yet most the panels are composed in a way that I think manages to avoid this.

Catalina is a rather unlikeable character. I felt relatively little sympathy for her and did not understand her reasons for taking her own life. It isn’t easy to enjoy a book where you don’t enjoy spending time with one of the leads. This is made up for with Karmen who is reminiscent of Death of the Endless from Sandman by Neil Gaiman. Karmen is playful, almost mischievous as she guides Catalina into the afterlife. Karmen gives Catalina a chance to see the world and the life she had through a different lens. I think the book is about how we can empower ourselves to make better decisions. Part It’s a Wonderful Life, and part Kore-eda’s After Life Karmen is a comic that is a skilfully accomplished character study that blends the fantastic with the mundane.

I enjoyed Karmen a great deal; however, the nudity and themes explored might make it unsuitable for some readers who might consider it exploitative and excessive. I can understand this argument to a point.

Some of the panels in Karmen are exquisitely composed, giving real weight to the story where relatively little actually happens. This is a book about accepting the consequences of your actions and dealing with the aftermath. The importance of conversations and what is and is not said to those we hold close. The final conversation between Catalina and Karmen is especially powerful. There is a sense of wonder and tragedy that runs through the book. Dan Christensen did a commendable job with the translation. This is an outstanding comic that I hope finds a broader audience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Europe Comics for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

TW: Suicide, Depression

In the past few years, I've been quite the sucker for graphic novels, particularly if i love the cover art. This is exactly what drew me to Karmen V1 by Guillem March. The character art on the cover is exactly something that is right up my alley, and I adore the style.

Karmen V1 tells the story of Catalina, who feels that no one understands her and will always let her down, so why invest in others only to be hurt later? The only person she really trusts is Xisco, her friend since childhood who has been the only constant for her. He has stuck with Cata even when his girlfriend's may have felt their friendship was a bit too close, But lately, Catalina has felt like Xisco is pulling away from her for the first time. Feeling like there is nothing left, Catalina makes a very big, final decision. Little does she know that Karmen is coming to knock on her door. And she's not named Karmen by accident; karma always has a way of coming back around.

Karmen likes a bit of fun, but is no nonsense in letting her mission know exactly why they're in the predicament they're in. Throughout this graphic novel, March guides us through both Catalina and Karmen's struggle - Catalina to come to terms and learn from what she's done, and Karmen with wanting to assist her missions along their path while the Karma Police push for quicker overall passing of missions on to the next realm.

March weaves a wonderful tale of someone coming to terms with their death and how their actions affect not only themselves, but those around them. And the art style use is absolutely stunning. As someone who has suffered with depression and has at times had suicidal ideation in the past, I could relate to much of the thoughts Catalina goes through. It's not that happiest of reads, but done so very well.

It doesnt support or open after I download the pdf version of it. It's also not showing in my shelf in netgalley and I cant open it to read

Please look into the issue and if you can send me the pdf in my mail ID- taniagungunsarkar@gmail.com 

I cant read the book from here. Please look into the issue

This book is amazing. When I read the description and saw that it was about death and suicide I really wasn't sure if it was for me. But it was very good. The story follows Catalina as a ghost (of sorts), right after she commits suicide. There is an angel, Karmen, that shows up and helps guide her. Overall, I think that this is a great graphic novel that really explores death and suicide in a different way than I've seen before.

First of all, I felt wronged that it ended the way it did. Then as I was preparing to make this review, I scroll back to the cover page and realized that this was but a PART 1. Seriously, I can't even describe the relief that I felt. I enjoyed this so much, and am definitely looking forward to the sequel!

Karmen comes upon Catalina as she’s cutting herself and takes her on a journey in order to rethink how she is living her life.

Trigger warning for self harm, suicide, and rape.

Karmen, clearly a spirit of some kind, reminds me of Death from the Sandman comics in a way. The difference here is whatever Karmen is, there’s a bunch of them and there’s in implication she’s taking too ling with shepherding Catalina’s soul to wherever she’s supposed to go. I wonder what is so special about Catalina, or perhaps what’s so special about Karmen, that will keep this story going. It’s trippy and cool with some amazing art. I am very curious to see what happens next. 4 out of 5.

A stunningly gorgeous book about life, death, and flying around naked. I loved the lush backdrops.  I'm definitely curious about where these characters will go next.

This is about our main character Catalina, a woman who committed suicide from because of a heartbreak. After she dies, she becomes a ghost and is led through the afterlife by Karmen. 

I loved the artwork, it was absolutely beautiful. Although I was very confused at the beginning, I ended up really intrigued and can't wait for the next volume. Also, I liked the discussion about how suicide affects others and why it's important to reach out. However, there were some problems for me: it was at times confusing, why is she naked throughout almost the whole thing, is there a point? and  I don't understand the obsession with farts. 
Overall, a cool concept and would 100% read the next installment.

a really interesting concept, Karmen being some kind of creature that poses as a incarnation of Karma, that appears after someone dies and somewhat guides them to their next life.
it is quickpaced, and at times it seems a bit shallow but i think the concept is worth more in depth discovery.

can no longer give feedback due to it being archived and now unavailable for me to read via Netgalley