Welcome back to Minding Mind MGMT, the monthly column focused on the Dark Horse series “Mind MGMT” from Matt Kindt. Why a special column instead of a regular review? Because each issue is crammed with story, requiring no less than two reads to fully absorb everything Kindt packs into it. Each month, we try to piece together the clues Kindt is hiding throughout the book, and speculate on what may happen next. This is a spoiler-heavy column, so turn back now if you don’t want major plot details revealed.
For those who just picked up the reprint, this column will be Spoiler Free regarding developments after the first issue.
The 3 covers
When originally published, this issue had a standard and a variant cover. Most readers got a headshot of Meru with the top of her head missing, showing her brain. A close look will show what’s been on Meru’s mind: violence.
The variant was drawn by Gilbert Hernandez and is the only contribution to “MIND MGMT” not done by Matt Kindt (excluding the editor’s work in the letter column). It features Meru and some shadowy figures behind her. Matt was tasked with coloring it, and had a hard time finding a scheme which worked. Irritated, he took a red brush and put an X on it. He liked the effect, put a paper bag texture in for background, and declared it done.
The reprint features Meru in a pose fans of Matt’s work will recognize from his early graphic novel “Super Spy”. Text boxes reveal small tidbits of information about various other characters, most of whom don’t appear in this issue. Some of the details have been redacted, but the missing facts of the woman in the lower left and the bearded man under Meru’s foot should be easily deciphered by regular readers. If anyone knows what it says about Bill, please share in the comments. I made out a “T” and “i”, but couldn’t figure what it was hiding.
Main story
The main story opens with a silent prologue of violence. People with emotionless faces claw one another, throw molotov cocktails, shoot, and hack at each other with knives. This specticle has a few narration boxes asking you, the reader, about the nature of dreams. How can you surprise yourself?
The action shifts to a plane, two years ago. The first panel mirrors the standard cover, but it’s an airplane pilot instead of Meru, and his brain doesn’t have people fighting in it. This particular cut is probably the exact moment his memory was altered, leaving him (and nearly everyone else on board) with amnesia. As the panels continue, the camera pans through the cockpit and down the passenger compartment as people realize they’ve lost their memories. The man in the aviator glasses seems unconcerned, if a little sad in the last panel of page five. He’s also the man with a redacted name on the front cover. He’s probably important.
With these two prologues past, the story skips again, this time to the present day. A commemorative tv special on the amnesia flight airs as Meru wanders around her apartment noticing how much she’s let things go. One thing to note is the only person who didn’t get amnesia was a young boy. Narration informs us she’s a published writer,* but hasn’t done much since her first book came out two years ago. As she hears the details of the flight, she decides solving the mystery behind it and the missing passenger, “Henry Lyme”, will be the basis for her next book. The narration for this sequence tells us she’s had ideas like this before. When she calls her agent, he even guesses what her new idea is. Meru doesn’t have much money, but she sets off for Los Angeles to interview victims.
*Learn more about Meru’s book in issue zero
Once she’s there, the narrator wonders if she feels the agents around her. A man with many scars watches her enter a book store, and two men with grey suits follow her inside and to a cafe. one of the suits, who looks suspiciously like Matt Kindt, over hears a phone call from Meru’s agent telling her to go to Mexico, and he makes a call of his own.When Meru arrives at a cantina, the two suits are already there. One of them is attacked and killed by the man with scars. During the scuffle, said man heals from a gunshot wound. Must be why he was noted as an immortal on the cover.
Continued below
Unaware of this encounter, Meru goes to Santa Teresa the next morning and learns about a town whose adult population has nearly starved to death. For some reason, all of them are compelled to make and paint pots, while the children are unaffected. Meru comments on the simliarity to the amnesia flight before being shown a whole church filled with pots, all painted with the same rhino design. She investigates the picture further and discovers it comes from Zanzibar. Just as she’s thinking about getting another ticket, the surviving suit knocks on her door and reveals he’s CIA. He’s taken a beating, and warns her she’s in danger too. The two escape through a window just as the door is busted open by the scarred man and a woman accomplice. The narrator tells us Meru is now on her way to finding the answers, and to finding…whoever’s narrating.
Field Guide
Along the left side of each page is an entry from the MIND MGMT field guide. This is a fun way to build the world, but also tie directly to what’s happening in the main story. On page three, for instance, agents are instructed to ‘burn all written materials’ as a book store is lit on fire. Page five talks about traveling expenses while showing an airplane. When Meru questions victims on their experience, the field guide reminds her to keep her questions as bland as possible. Pages 11 and 12 show the two suits aren’t MIND MGMT agents since they’re drinking beverages they didn’t personally prepare. Page 14 walks you through how to survive a gunshot to the abdomen.
Page 17 indicates the rhino pots were left behind on purpose as a message or breadcrumb from a MIND MGMT agent.
Mind Memo
In the eighties, Duncan Jones was recruited to MIND MGMT without showing any abilities. They later realized he could predict the future actions of everyone around him, effectively predicting the future. Whatever he saw with this gift caused him to leave MIND MGMT. More about Duncan’s history can be found in “Dark Horse Presents” #19.
The Second Floor
The black and white story on the inside covers reveals the origin of MIND MGMT in 1914. The part about Ferdinand’s lucky umbrella is historical fact. For those unaware, the assassination shown here is what started World War I.
The Letter column
This is a rare instance of a first issue letter column actually featuring a letter. Jeff Lemire is a Canadian, creator of the comic “Sweet Tooth”, and friend of Matt Kindt. For those who don’t know, the reply to Lemire’s seveth question is the premise of “Sweet Tooth.”
In the reprint, the letter column is replaced by scenes from future issues.
The back cover
The original issue featured an ad for ‘Mind Juice’ chewing gum, promising the product will blow your mind. Smaller text explains this ad, combined with ads from issues 2-6, will reveal a code to unlock secret content at mattkindt.com/mind. The code is 7734, and the content is some neat commentary on the creation of this issue. Check it out.
The back of the reprinted issue has a real ad, although the text claims it isn’t. It encourages you to pick up the hardcover. The panels at the top are from the Mind Memo, and are actually situated such that, if you were to rip them off the back cover, the same pictures would still be there. If you have the opportunity to have this copy signed, don’t be surprised if Matt really does tear it. He’s funny that way.
Around the web
New interviews with Matt are available at Bleeding Cool, Robot6, Outhousers, and Read Comic Books.
Coming soon!
Tomorrow, I’ll have an interview with Matt and on Thursday I’ll have some annotations for the first Hardcover.
In the meantime, please let me know if you spotted something I missed from this month’s issue. I know I didn’t catch it all.
Previously, on Minding MIND MGMT…
Issues: #0 #1 #3 #4 #5 #6 DHP #19 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13 #14 #15 #16 #17 DHP #31 #18 #19 #20 #21 #21 #22 #23
Interviews: Matt Kindt Brendan Wright Matt Kindt (2)
Annotations: Volume one
