The Ministry of Compliance, Vol. 1

This was well drawn with a lot of slightly abstract gory violence (a *lot* of heads and limbs are severed), plus an interesting setting and complicated plot full of twists. The characters are well written and easily distinguished from one another for the most part and all their motivations mostly make sense.

My thanks to NetGalley and IDW publishing for an advance copy of this science fiction graphic novel that tells the story of aliens living among us, working in committees to make Earthlings more acceptable to the grand empire they work for, and what happens when board room politics become corporate takeovers.

As a long time fan of science fiction, the idea of life on alien planets has been a comfort to me. Looking around at this world we have made, really can an invasion from the stars be worse. At the same time I do feel rather unsettled. What if these extra terrestrials are very much like us. With a love of control, having meetings to discuss control, how to finance control. And of course full of boardroom politics that makes modern business such a mess. How to make more money, how to claim more credit, how to finance things, and who to send the torturers out to make sure everyone is in compliance. Actually this does explain why this country is so weird recently. If only we had a group to handle these problems, as there is in the graphic novel. The Ministry of Compliance, Vol. 1 by award-winning screen and comic writer John Ridley, with illustrations by Stefano Raffaele is a story of a Earth under siege, though only a few know it, with various sides fighting for power, with constantly changing allegiances.

Thirty-seven years before this comic starts the Earth was invaded by a group of aliens called the Devolution. Their job, which has taken much longer than expected is to get the Earth ready to join the vast Galactic Empire they work for. To do this different committees, known as ministrys have been set up, workers, finance, transportation and the like. One of the most powerful is the Ministry of Compliance which oversees the others, making sure things are done right, with swift judgement for those who make errors. The leader of the Ministry is Avigail Senna, who is slowly becoming aware that things are starting to go wrong. Ministries are acting a little too free, too many people seem to be aware of the Devolution, and their have been a few attempts on her life. The rot though goes far deeper, soon the Ministries are cut off, and the only transportation off-world is taken away. And sides are shifting faster that Avigail can swing her sword at.

An interesting premise, a mix of Philip K. Dick, meets Wall Street or Succession, with a lot of violence. The idea that Earth is conquered doesn't know it, and doesn't seem to care is not a new one, but the added bureaucracy to run things adds something uniquely 21st American to the story, a War of the Worlds with WeWork suppling the coworking space. The characters are interesting, and the dialogue really snaps. Avigail is a very good character, a tough fighter, who might trust a little too much. There is an interesting subplot with children of alien and human parents, along with some really good ideas about how an invasion of an area can be kept to quiet. The ending though seems a little rushed, the Netflix-syndrome of not being sure one can complete the story might be part of it, as their seemed to be a lot of coups, countercoups and more. The art is really good, violent when needed, with a lot of brightness and very detailed backgrounds. The little things like the characters suits, the cars, all looked really great, and help with the story.

Lots of fun, and I hope these adventures continue as there is a lot of backstory I would like to know more about. Avigail's sword, how they invaded, more about the Devolution. A story well worth complying with.