Lady Mechanika in The Monster of the Ministry of Hell #1

Lady Mechanika in The Monster of the Ministry of Hell #1

Image Comics 2021

Written & Illustrated by Joe Benitez

Writing Assist by M.M. Chen

Art Assists by Martin Montiel

Coloured by Beth Sotello

Lettered by Michael Heisler

In a Victorian asylum full of grotesque inmates, sadistic guards, and a fanatical doctor, a young lady wakes to find her arms and legs have been replaced with mechanical limbs. But who among this gruesome menagerie is the true monster of the Ministry of Hell? The origins of the notorious adventuress known as Lady Mechanika!

I am thrilled that we are getting a new Lady Mechanika story and this one is pretty amazing already. I mean it’s a Founder’s Day Fair and we get to see a very young Lady being admitted to The Ministry of Health with one Deacon Grin. The dual story-lines being told in concert with one another is absolutely astounding to witness. Plus it not only delves into her early life but also it also cracks me up that little Allie is so adamant that Mechanika isn’t the real deal and talks to an adult so condescendingly it just brightens up the mood as Lady has a chuckle at the girls expense. The harsh reality of her past and the brightness of her present showcases such a great dichotomy and the balance is utterly brilliant.

I’m loving the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information are presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a magnificent job in spotlighting their personalities. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story we are caught up in the dual versions of the same woman at different stages in her life.

I’m a fan of the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story begin to emerge and grow. I am also liking how we see these layers opening up new avenues to be explored and since this is the first issue we are seeing a tonne of avenues opening and it’s phenomenal how much potential we see. All of this adds such great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are impeccably handled.

The interiors here are bloody brilliant. The linework is exquisite and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level & quality of detail within the work is extraordinary to see. The use of backgrounds to enhance and expand the moments as well as work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The creativity and imagination that we see in the work is mindbogglingly wonderful and this includes how we see the page layouts being utilised. How we see the page layouts as well as the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a masterful eye for how colour works and how to maximise their effects.

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This is one of the freshest and most intriguing comics characters, male or female, that we see in comics today. She’s mysterious, interesting and full of this verve and pizzazz that just makes her such an undeniably wonderful woman. With such strong intelligent writing and smart, sassy characterisation wrapped up in these utterly bloody phenomenally brilliant interiors make this beyond anything you have come to expect seeing.