REVIEW: 'Karma Police' #1 by Chris Lewis, Tony Gregori, and Jasen Smith

★★★1/2 (3.5/5)

The monks of the Karma Grove Monastery try to ease spiritual suffering and promote peace, but when an evil that spans lifetimes challenges them, they’ll have to call upon their skills to liberate it from existence.

Karma Police is a unique story that positions monks as a sort of evil spirit-busters. The world is under siege and only a reincarnated Buddhist master and her elder can cleanse the world of them. A flashback sets the stage for what happens in the present. The duo is tasked with hunting down a major threat and it leads them to a strip club in Oregon, naturally. There is a certain sense of fun and quirkiness that shows Chris Lewis isn't taking it all too seriously.

The result is a colorful universe that includes a possessed toddler, luchador demons, and fiendish strippers.  There's also an enchanted dagger from her previous incarnation’s bloody past. She’ll have to resist its power and concentrate on stopping the reckless spirits from any more violence. 

With a fantastical concept like this, it requires a creative artist to give this story a larger than life look. Tony Gregori is more than capable with his wild character designs. You get some original creatures and spirits that help separate 'Karma Police' from other fantasy action books on the shelf. Jasen Smith provides the vibrant colors filling the pages with bursts of glorious hues. There's a slight anime flavored design going on that makes the comic a joy to look at.

'Karma Police' is off to a solid start. It's wonderfully inventive and colorfully illustrated. It's full of monsters and evil spirits with a sly sense of humor amid all the violence. In the spirit of "Big Trouble in Little China," Karma Police is a fun trip filled with action and horror.