Mind MGMT #13

by Matt Kindt

Matt Kindt's monthly series Mind MGMT has been a terrific, genre-defying read, and with this issue, he begins his third story arc.  This is a perfect place for new readers who have been curious about Mind MGMT to jump on board, or to sample the title, as the inside front cover contains a summary of sorts, which also helps establish the spirit of this comic.

We know that Henry Lyme has put together a group of ex-Mind MGMT agents, psychic spies and the like, to help counter the group being put together by the sinister Eraser.  Meru, who has been our point-of-view character from the beginning is currently out of the picture, as both sides in the conflict scramble to find new recruits.

This issue doesn't really touch on any of that though.  Instead, we are taken to a very nice little suburbia, where couples in nice homes have parties and gossip about one another.  The men in the community have been finding some of their things going missing lately, a treasured grandfather's watch, and a priceless movie prop.  Accusations, and accusations of paranoia, threaten to overwhelm the small community, but it seems that the real culprit has to do with Mind MGMT's Matryoshka program, which has embedded one of the suburbanites into the picture, for ends that don't seem all that clear.

This is a nicely constructed single issue, which also fits into the larger story Kindt is working on.  It seems we may never know all of the MGMT's secrets, but I really like the pace at which we are learning many of them.

Kindt's art is not for everyone, but I can't imagine a story like this being told by a slicker or more polished artist.  Plus, look at how wonderful that cover is.  If you aren't reading this, please check it out.

Mind MGMT #11

by Matt Kindt

Individual issues of Mind MGMT feel like the lightest, most insubstantial thing on the comics racks (mostly because of the light newsprint used to print it), but it's in fact the densest, most rewarding comic being published.

This issue has Meru, our point of view character, interviewing Duncan, the former Mind MGMT agent who can predict the future and can kill people by putting his finger to their forehead.  Meru wants to know why Duncan is refusing to help Henry Lyme and his friends travel to Shangri-La, the base of Mind MGMT.  She is given most of Duncan's history, including his predictions of doom around the way the organization was using its agents.  We also get our first glimpse of The Eraser, the agent who has wiped the minds of al other agents, and who is now trying to put the group back together.

After this, Meru and her group successfully travel to Shangri-La, attempting to find the list of all other former agents and their locations.  Of course, they aren't alone.

While all of this is going on, we also, in the vertical text pieces that run along the side of each page, get to read more of Meru's book, and see what the Mind MGMT Manual has to say about the approach to Shangri-La.  Most significantly, the Case File at the back of the book contains a surprise that I really did not see coming.

Matt Kindt continues to cover almost every page with fresh and crazy ideas, while still moving his story forward.  This book never stops amazing me.

Mind MGMT #9

by Matt Kindt

I can't think of another new title that accomplishes what Mind MGMT does on a monthly basis.  Matt Kindt is telling his large story on a number of different levels, showing us the main story of what is happening to Meru, Henry Lyme, and the small but growing group of ex-Mind MGMT agents that are helping them to try to foil the plans of The Eraser, but also filling in the background of the agency, and introducing us to a number of its agents through short strips at the front and back of the book.

In this issue, Meru and her crew survive the attack on Dusty, an ex-agent with music-based powers's mansion, and try to use his half of a map to find Shangri-La, the former base of operations of Mind MGMT.  We learn that, despite the agency being defunct for a few years, Dusty has recently received missions.  We also become a little more intrigued about the often-mentioned figure Duncan, who we can imagine has some sort of beef with Lyme, but who is also likely to be essential to this mission's survival.  Meru is getting closer to figuring out (again) her relationship with Lyme, as she becomes more and more convinced that she has had her memory wiped.

One thing that is really cool about this issue is the way in which Kindt shows us Dusty's history, through the tracks of his first album.  The first letter of each song title spells out a message, furthering the use of subliminal information which is a theme in this comic.  Also of interest is the way in which the text from Meru's book (which runs up the left-hand side of most pages) intersects with her own experiences.

Mind MGMT is one of the more impressive comics on the stands.

Mind MGMT #8

by Matt Kindt

As we move ever deeper into Matt Kindt's unique and excellent series Mind MGMT, I find that my enjoyment of it only increases.  With this current arc, the once-again amnesiac Meru has begun working with Henry Lyme, the most powerful Mind MGMT agent of all time, to stop a former agent known as The Eraser from putting the agency back together.

In this issue, Meru and Lyme visit Perrier, the surviving member of a pair of sisters who, when working together, had the ability to create novels and graphic texts that could influence peoples' behaviour.  The book starts with an excerpt from their graphic novel/memoir, which helps reestablish the characters, and bring us up to date on their abilities.  As Lyme recruits Perrier, it becomes clear that everyone is going to have to travel back to Zanzibar, which is a location of great significance for all involved.  They are being pursued by other former agents, and things don't go smoothly.

Kindt continues to really impress with this book.  I love the way that he's structured this story, so that despite the fact that reader knows more about the MGMT than Meru, we are still able to discover new things alongside her.  I also love some of the meta touches that Kindt works into the story.  After reading Perrier's bio, Lyme comments that he "never liked the art", which I'm sure is something that Kindt hears, seeing as his style is so unique.

Apparently there has been talk lately that Kindt has sold the movie rights to this title.  I think that means it's a great time for new readers to start checking this out, not just because it's a wonderful book, but so you can feel superior to your friends when the film comes out.

Mind MGMT #7

by Matt Kindt

When the first arc of Mind MGMT ended pretty much exactly where it began, I wondered if the next stories would perhaps not include Meru, the main character.  As it turns out, it looks like Meru will continue to be the centre of this series, as she wakes up in her apartment and realizes that someone has delivered a letter to her on a Sunday.  Since she's convinced that she has sent a letter to herself, she pursues the guy who delivered it, and is once again sent on a journey of discovery, as she tries to track the original sender down, and is once again apprised of the existence of Mind MGMT.

Eventually, Meru ends up in New York, at the office of someone named Brinks, an adman with the ability to influence people through his work.  Brinks spills the beans, and is then assassinated by a gunman.  Meru is rescued by a familiar figure, and together the two go on the run.  It turns out that someone known as The Eraser is trying to put Mind MGMT back together again, and they see Meru as a threat.

This series is a very good read.  Kindt's got a great sense of pace, and he continues to fill his pages with information.  Where the first arc had messages from the Mind MGMT training guide running along the left-hand side of each page, this arc is printing the text of a true crime novel called Premeditated, presumably written by Meru.  The bottom of each page (for about half the comic), contains information about the history of assassination letters, which helps inform the main story.  As always, there is also a 'case file' at the back of the book, this one introducing the Mind MGMT agent known as Hulk.  I find that many of these extras distract from the main story, but in a good way, as they almost caused me to miss the identity of the person shown following Meru; I guess that means they are doing their job in proper Mind MGMT fashion.

I'm really enjoying this book, and am happy to see that this new arc looks to be just as good as the first.

Dark Horse Presents #19

Written by Duane Swierczynski, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, Ulises Farinas, Erick Freitas, Joshua Williamson, Matt Kindt, Phil Stanford, Peter Hogan, Corinna Bechko, Gabriel Hardman, and Frank J. Barbiere
Art by Eric Nguyen, Steve Lieber, Tony Akins, Ulises Farinas, Victor Ibáñez, Matt Kindt, Patric Reynolds, Steve Parkhouse, Gabriel Hardman, and Giovanni Valletta

You know, I'm starting to wonder if it makes sense to keep buying Dark Horse Presents, since most of the stories I'm interested in, aside from Finder, are always getting collected into single issues before the mini-series that almost inevitably follow a three- or four-issue run in DHP.  I think the problem I had with this issue, more than anything though, was the lack of a Finder story by Carla Speed McNeil (which is the absolute best reason to buy this comic).

Anyway, there are still some gems in this issue.  Matt Kindt provides a Mind MGMT short story which helps showcase why his on-going series is such a wonderful thing.  This story introduces us to Duncan, an agent with the ability to predict the future by reading the minds of those around him.

Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman, who have been impressing me on their Planet of the Apes stories at Boom, debut Station to Station, a new science fiction serial about a science experiment that has destroyed a small island in the Bay Area, and has somehow brought some very BPRD-looking creatures into our world.  Hardman's a great artist, so I was very happy to see him working on this.

I am becoming every more intrigued by Gamma, a strange science fiction series by Ulises Farinas and Erick Freitas.  We get a good idea of why the main character is considered a coward in this installment, but we are given a very bleak view of their fictional world, without an explanation of how society came back from it.  I hope this series is running for a while...

I also enjoyed the new chapters of Resident Alien and Deep Sea, although I got the sense that the latter story is finished for now, and not in a satisfying way.  It's been a while since we last saw The White Suits, and I didn't enjoy this chapter as much as I did the first, partly I think, because of the length of time that has passed.  I am enjoying the Captain Midnight serial.

The cover to this issue is given over to the relaunching of X, one of Dark Horse's Comics Greatest World titles from the 90s.  I didn't like it then, and it continues to read like a Punisher knock-off with a fetish twist.  Not for me.  Likewise, I'm not a fan of the Alabaster or City of Roses stories.

Here's hoping for some Carla Speed McNeil next issue.

Mind MGMT #0

by Matt Kindt

I live in such ignorance of digital comics that I had no idea that Matt Kindt had posted the three stories, collected in this zero issue, on-line before (or around the time) Mind MGMT started.  Thankfully, Dark Horse recognizes how many of us dinosaurs there are out there happily buying paper comics, and so they still collect this digital material into real comic books.  (This is probably a good place to point out that, with the cheaper newsprint used in this comic, this issue smells really, really good - like a comic book is supposed to.  I feel old right now).

Anyway, the three stories here cover different moments in the history of the Mind Management organization.  The first one has Meru, the investigative true crime writer and hero of the series, interviewing a woman who knows about the company, having been involved with a Russian sleeper agent who works for that country's counterpart to Mind Management.

The second story concerns Meru's first book, wherein she tracked down and exposed one of the world's most successful serial killers.  He too has a connection to the shadowy organization that drives this comic (and the world?).

The final story has Meru interviewing another man, who claims to be over 140 years old, and who was, for many years, an agent of...  (I'm sure you can guess it).

Taken as a whole, these stories do provide a little more insight into what this group really does, and it also gives Kindt the opportunity to entice a new reader to come on-board what has become one of my favourite new series of 2012.  Mind MGMT is a great read for anyone who loves spy comics, or just likes solving complex puzzles.  Kindt is working on many levels with this comic, and also filling it with his lovely, unique art.

Mind MGMT #6

by Matt Kindt

The first volume of Mind MGMT ends in a way that makes a lot of sense, as Meru's meeting with Henry Lyme continues to reveal some of the secrets of the Mind MGMT organization, and Meru's place in the world.

Matt Kindt is an incredible comics creator.  He's woven together a rich and dense story, and infused it with situations that are logical, if you accept that people with mind control powers really do run the world.  Meru is an interesting character, as much a puppet of this organization as are the Immortals, even though we are no longer really sure if it still exists or not.

Kindt is clearly having a lot of fun with this book.  He has built up a rich mythology, and has given himself a place to play with some of his wildest ideas.  The blue text running along the left side of each page discusses the existence of the Mind MGMT Field Guide this month; a collection of rules and tips for agents that exists in a virtual environment in their own minds, and which defies description, explanation, or transcription.

As always, Kindt's art is a bit of an acquired taste, but I don't think any other artist would be able to pull this book off the way he does.  Next month, we're being given a 'zero issue', a concept I usually don't like, but I look forward to seeing where Kindt takes this story next, as he transitions into his next big arc.

If you are not reading this comic, you really should be.

Mind MGMT #5

by Matt Kindt

I really do love this title, and for a variety of reasons.  One of the most striking, and inconsequential, is that this is a comic that actually smells like a comic.  The book is printed on a nice newsprint stock, and it brought back a lot of Proustian memories when I opened it.

The comic itself is excellent.  Kindt has slowly been building up the layers of complexity in this series, which involves a young woman's investigations into the strange world of Mind MGMT, an organization which has so far remained very shadowy, but that we know it is involved in influencing and controlling world events.

Henry Lyme, the central character of the comic (despite his only having really shown up in the last issue), continues to narrate his life story to Meru in this issue.  Previously, we saw how Henry was Mind MGMT's most powerful agent.  At this point in his story, he basically loses his shit, as he begins to question how pervasive his influence has become on the world around him.  Wherever he goes, people give him things for free, and he even questions his own wife and child's love for him, which he suspects is the product of his own abilities, with disastrous results.

Towards the end of the issue, Henry reveals his connection to Meru, which I did not see coming.  That's the thing I like most about this comic; by creating such a unique series, Kindt has made this book hard to predict, something that is rare in comics these days.  Coupled with Kindt's fantastic art, sharp dialogue, and interesting backmatter, this title is terrific.

Mind MGMT #4

by Matt Kindt

One of the coolest things (and there are many) about Matt Kindt's new on-going series was that, the main story (each issue has two other shorter features) never even mentioned the words 'Mind MGMT' until the end of the third issue.  No, our main character Meru has found herself face-to-face with the man she has pursued around the world, Henry Lyme.

She was looking to write a book about a famous flight where every passenger on the airplane was stricken with amnesia.  She discovered that one passenger, named Henry Lyme, went missing from the flight.  Her quest to find him took her to South America, Africa, and China, and along the way she was pursued by Immortal killers, and assisted by a kindly CIA Agent.  Now that she has found Lyme, he begins to tell her his history with Mind MGMT.

It seems (and I say seems, because in a hidden message, Kindt tells us "nothing is what it seems") that Lyme was recruited as a child, after a mishap with his mental abilities, to a school that taught him various psychic arts.  He was involved in the first Iraq war (which somehow had American soldiers liberating Baghdad, so I'm not sure if we are looking at an alternate history), but also clearly ended up leaving the organization.

This issue tells us a lot, but still leaves a great deal unsaid.  I really like the speed at which this series is moving - Kindt takes his time with setting up this world, but still has Meru going through a variety of experiences at a pretty quick pace.  Kindt excels at this type of book - where there are complicated rules of engagement and lots of complex backstory that he portions out on a need-to-know basis.

This title is up there with Saga, Manhattan Projects, and Chew in terms of leading creator-owned books that are more exciting and fascinating than anything being produced at the Big Two.

Mind MGMT #3

by Matt Kindt

I love the fact that it's not until the end of this third issue that the words 'Mind MGMT' are even mentioned in the main story.  Since this series began, we have been following Meru, a True Crime writer who has been trying to track down Henry Lyme, a mysterious figure who may have been responsible for an entire airplane full of people contracting total amnesia at the same time.

Meru has been chased by Immortals - unkillable agents of some sort of organization (Mind MGMT?) and aided by a CIA agent, a crazy woman who writes long rambling prose on a typewriter in Zanzibar, and now a talking dolphin (okay, a spelling dolphin) and an old Chinese man who tells her a legend.

There is definitely a sense of a trail of breadcumbs being left for Meru, a fact that is confirmed by the narrator (who is also revealed this month).

Kindt is taking his time getting this series up and under way, and that is one of the things that I love about it most.  All of the information we have about Mind MGMT so far has come from the short strips on the inside cover (called 'The Second Floor') and the case files that make up the last two pages of each issue.  What is slowly emerging is an organization that has influenced advertising and popular media for almost a century, whose goals are unknown to us.

Is Meru going to expose and write about the group?  Are they recruiting her?  I'm not too sure what's going to happen, but I do know that I like the way Kindt is writing this, and I love his art.  With its washed-out colour scheme and yellowed paper, it is like nothing else on the stands right now.

Mind MGMT #2

by Matt Kindt

Matt Kindt's Mind MGMT is one of the most exciting new series to debut this year, belonging in the ranks of Saga, Manhattan Projects, and The Massive as proof that the best comics are coming out of the smaller publishers who recognize the value of creator-owned properties.

This is one of those rare series where every word and image in the book, from cover to cover, is part of the larger story, including the fake ad on the back.  Kindt is slowly letting us into his world, where a group (company?  governmental organization?) of people with psychic abilities have been either running the show, or influencing it heavily since the beginning of the First World War.  There are a lot of qualifiers in that sentence, but that's because Kindt has been keeping much of what Mind MGMT is wrapped in secrets.  I feel like I learn more from the short 'Second Floor' strip that runs across the inside covers than I do from the main story.

In this issue, Meru, our easily confused True Crime writer continues to evade pursuit with the CIA agent she met at the end of the last issue.  They are being chased by a pair of 'Immortals', who apparently can't be killed except by a head shot, and who are not zombies (that's all we know so far).  Escaping them, Meru and Bill leave Mexico to travel to Zanzibar, trying to figure out the significance of the design Meru found on pots made by amnesiac Mexicans (yes, really).  There, they meet Perrier, a journalist who has been typing on a long spool of paper Jack Kerouac style for a very long time. 

It's a little hard to follow exactly what's going on right now.  Meru and Bill are attacked again, and after ditching their Immortal pursuers again, they decide they need to go to China to look for talking dolphins (when I type it, it sounds a little stupid).

I know how odd this series sounds when described this way, but Kindt has proven himself a master at the spy genre, and his ideas in this book feel very fresh and exciting.  I can't wait to learn more about the mysteries of the Amnesia Flight and just what exactly Mind MGMT is, and what they want with Meru.

Mind MGMT #1

by Matt Kindt

I've been anticipating this new series since I first heard about it, and Matt Kindt definitely does not disappoint with this debut issue that raises all sorts of interesting questions.

Mind MGMT opens with a dream sequence, which I feel is probably foreshadowing something, but it's not yet clear what that may be.  It then moves to a flashback set two years prior, where an aircraft full of people suddenly suffer almost total amnesia.  They are able to land the craft without incident, but the 120 people who come off the plane never regain any of their memories from before.

We then are introduced to our main character, Meru, a writer of true-crime books, who has not written anything for two years.  She is supposedly working on a book about the Amnesia Flight, and the mystery of Henry Lyme, a passenger who boarded the flight but was never seen again.  The thing is, Meru is broke, and her agent is running out of patience with her.  He does send her to Mexico to investigate something strange that is happening there that may or may not be related to the topic of her book, and that's where the comic takes another change.

You see, Kindt is a master of writing stories with an espionage angle, such as his terrific Super Spy and even his 3 Story, and with the inclusion of a sudden fight in a bar in Mexico, and the introduction of CIA Agent Falls, it's clear that this comic is going to move into that territory.

As to what Mind MGMT is, Kindt is keeping things pretty close to the vest right now.  There is a two page 'memo' from 1980 about a man named Duncan Jones who has the ability to predict the future, and a short strip on the inside covers about how a man named Leopold Lojka was able to use 'mind-managing' abilities to protect the Archduke Ferdinand from the Black Hand's first assassination attempt.  Kindt layers his story, and creates detailed back stories, and I can't wait to watch how all of this is going to unfold.

I really like Kindt's art, which is almost always displayed on yellowed pages.  His sense of design pervades this comic, right down to the fake ad on the back cover selling 'Mindjuice' gum which is apparently 1/6th of a puzzle that will unlock some on-line material after the first six issues of the series are published.

This is a very creative and unique new series, that really deserves to be checked out.  Also, look for the hilarious letter from a young Jeff Lemire on the letters page.  Highly recommended.