In the decaying city of Alora, the life of everyman nobody Jack is about to change forever when he is accepted into a shadowy cabal with far-reaching power, but one whose benevolence towards its members is matched only by its ruthlessness toward those who defy them.

It’s in no way unusual for a story to introduce an audience surrogate character to guide readers through its world, their discoveries happening concurrently to pace the development. Clean, however, is determined to do things differently. The precise nature of exactly to whom (and, perhaps, what) Jack has signed his life away remains tantalisingly hidden throughout the issue, who they are and what they do never actually being stated despite being increasingly skirted around. As your frustration crescendoes with the ongoing denial, you can practically hear the comic cackling with glee.

Although maddening, it does guard against the use of any sloppy expository dialogue that characters would never say and is merely included for the benefit for the reader, instead letting events and reactions speak for themselves and organically building up a picture of the sinister oversight. While their actual actions remain hidden, their nature is laid clear. They are quick to reward those who obey them, taking six months to turn Jack from an inconsequential nonentity to a beloved star of screens both big and small who paparazzi and gossip reporters salivate over, while their reaction towards who break their rules is swift and unforgiving.

The dark tone of the story is matched by the heavily shaded greyscale of the artwork, with the only splashes of colour being the piercing ice-blue eyes of those within the organisation, and a flare of scarlet in several different places such as a visceral spray of blood, the glow of a security camera, the stretch of a celebrity carpet, or the flashing lights of a racing ambulance. It’s as if no other colours actually exist in this world, and the dulled greys are how everything actually looks, a reflection of the drudging despondence in which people wade through their empty and struggling lives.

The first issue of Clean begins an engaging mystery and is a small taste of what’s in store for the rest of the series, but if it’s anything like what this promises, it’ll be a nasty and sinister ride with little chance of relief.

Clean #1 / Author & Artist: Bex Tough / Publisher: Corvidae Comics / Release Date: Out Now