Karma Girl
Jennifer Estep
Reviewed by Susan Helene Gottfried
Newcomer Jennifer Estep blends the over-the-top, cartoonish world of
comic book heroes with the everyday life of a woman scorned in Karma
Girl. Believe it or not, it works.
Carmen Cole is a reporter who trusts her instinct and discovers, on her
wedding day, that her fiance is sleeping with her best friend and maid
of honor. Definitely a clichéd premise, but Estep uses it as a
stepping stone to introduce the superhero-ubervillain concept that
defines her fictional world.
Jolted out of her expected life in the town of Beginnings, Carmen
climbs the journalistic ladder, intent on unmasking the superheroes and
ubervillains that populate every city and town. When Carmen finally
lands in Bigtown, she finds trouble that is bigger than the town she
moved to. On many different levels.
First is the problem she created when she unmasked Tornado, one of
Bigtown's Fearless Five superheroes. Much to the world's shock, Tornado
committed suicide after his true identity was revealed to the world.
Carmen promptly finds herself on the superhero blacklist -- and a
target for ubervillain Malefica, member of the Terrible Triad. Worst of
all, her karma's black. She drove a man to suicide.
Can Carmen find a way out of this? Can she turn around the ugly karma
she began creating on her wedding day, when she discovered her fiance,
her best friend, and some harsh truths that sent her reeling?
Of course she can; Carmen is a hero's heroine, resisting her new roles
in life as she resists the handsome and horny-for-her Striker. While
she'd like to be a shrinking violet, she relies on her intuition to
tell her when to step it up and when to back out. And so, Carmen saves
the day, in many different ways. Yet she is the least cartoonish of the
characters. In Carmen Cole, Estep has created a woman similar to so
many of us -- brave in the face of our insecurities.
Making Bigtown come to life displays a depth of knowledge of the often
imitated superhero canon. The main department store, where everyone
shops, is named Oodles o' Stuff. Good Intentions Lane is fraught with
danger. The Fearless Five's compound is named Sublime. And so it goes,
more along the DC Comics model rather than the Marvel Comics model,
where the heroes are complex, brooding, and full of angst. This is an
easy, breezy world that's a pleasure to dwell in even while the reader
squirms at the thought of vats of radioactive goo.
To balance out the cartoonish aspects, the characterization is the
other strong point of Karma Girl. Maybe Carmen talks about karma a bit
more than she ought to, but it's an integral part of the storyline.
Striker's character has room for development, but right now,
that's part of what makes him the ultimate hero. He makes mistakes, he
is elusive, and most of all, he's hotter than his flame-wielding
partner, Fiera. It'll fun to watch the Carmen-Striker relationship
develop during the sequel, due out in November 2007.
Speaking of a sequel, Karma Girl is a book that deserves one, leaving
as many brand-new loose ends as the book ties up. I hope we see more of
Lulu and the other members of the Fearless Five, and indeed, many, many
more adventures set in Bigtown.