Advance Review: ‘The Ministry Of Compliance’ #2 Is Torture Of The Best Kind
by Tom Smithyman
Overview
The creative team take a risk in setting most of this second issue in a torture chamber. But that risk pays off with a compelling issue that moves the story along while also providing some appreciated social commentary.
Overall
9/10It’s unclear whether John Ridley and Stefano Raffaele have ever been interrogated, but the creative team behind The Ministry of Compliance certainly knows how to evoke a reaction from readers when one of their characters is being tortured.
The mere unveiling of the instruments of torture is as entertaining as it is frightening. First comes a corkscrew, then a ballpeen hammer. Next is a cheese grater, then finally a lemon. Anyone who has gotten that citrusy acid in a cut knows that is the worst torture ever!
A torture chamber may not seem like a great place to set the majority of this issue – particularly so early in the limited series’ run – but in the hands of a writer like Ridley, it serves the story well. Avigail Senna is testing her new helper Kingsley. Kingsley is a Biracial, half-human half-alien. Avigail is all alien, a part of the Devolution which secretly invaded Earth decades ago. They capture a would-be assassin and try to ring out whatever information they can from him.
In doing so, Ridley uses the aliens as a way of making some observations and commentary on the state of our culture. For example, it was easy for the Devolution to gain the trust of the people who matter because society values those who don’t, such as athletes and social media influencers. “But if you’re someone who actually serves – a nurse, a teacher, a soldier…best you can hope for is to regularly shat upon,” Avigail says, no doubt channeling Ridley.
Artist Raffaele’s illustrations are strong, though fortunately, he doesn’t force readers to witness the torture itself. As is usually the case, what we can’t see is usually worse than what we can. So some screams and moans allow our imaginations to fill in the blanks without the gore having to be force fed to us.
Raffaele also has a knack for drawing characters that instantly connect with readers. One look at some of these people and we instantly know who they are and what they sound like. Of course, the real trick will be when one of these characters surprises us by turning out to be someone they’re not.
The creative team took a risk with this torture setup, but it pays off. It will be interesting to see what other risks they’re willing to take over the rest of this limited run.
The Ministry of Compliance #2 will be available for purchase on Wednesday.
