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.
The cover
This month’s front page features Duncan and a woman being approached by a shadowy figure. Duncan’s pointing his finger at the person, ready to kill them. On the tv screen behind the woman is the cover to issue nine. The art is rough and worn-looking around the edges, giving the impression of an old, well-used paperback book. That’s exactly what it will be shown as in the background of the next issue, as a old mystery novel called “Hard Time.”
The main story, part one
The first half of the issue is narrated by Duncan, who has traded the MIND MGMT agency for a private eye desk. The plot features numerous mystery tropes used to great effect, and would be a great short story in its own right. It also reiterates some of Duncan’s story from “Dark Horse Presents”, highlighting how Duncan’s abilities leave him isolated and depressed.
Fitting for the noir nature of this segment, the art has a more shadowy look than the rest of the series. The stark contrasts definately lend weight to Duncan’s hard-boiled narration. The angle and lighting of the splash on page two especially evokes the feel of classic detective movies.
It may not have been intentional, but was I the only one who was reminded of Ferdinand’s lucky umbrella when Duncan grabbed one to use against the jock in the bar, then again against the cheating husband? The panel of him in the rain with it bent made me smile, even more so when I wondered if it was Duncan’s umbrella, or if he’d just taken it. The latter feels very much in his character.
Duncan’s thoughts
The side text accompanying Duncan’s short story gives the reader an idea of what it’s like to be Duncan. In short phrases, and sometimes just a word at a time, Kindt gives us a glimpse into the minds of every person who appears on the page. Even animals who aren’t shown directly get mentioned. OVerall, these 11 pages don’t advance the plot much, but they’re a very fun aside.
The main story, part two
The rest of the story picks up with Lyme’s crew trying to get close enough to talk to Duncan, who’s very good at avoiding them. In the third panel of page twelve, the newspaper reads “Mystery Disappearance.” I’m not sure who this is referring to, but it was written clearly enough to be important. Is someone looking for Meru, perhaps?
Knowing Duncan can read minds, Meru has a bright idea to catch him: Randomize their movements by rolling dice. After a few pages of twists and turns, Lyme finally bumps into Duncan, who’s easily convinced to meet the others. When the futurist asks about the other Perrier sister, Lyme quickly steers the conversation toward the Eraser. Not taking the bait, Duncan instead asks why Meru is there. Realizing she’s been recognized, Meru wonders what secrets are being kept from her. She thinks to her self (again) about how they’re like a family. Privately, Lyme admits telling Meru the truth will drive her away. Duncan insists there will be no more lying, and not to Meru specifically.
Premeditated
The excerpts from the book about Julianne Verve continue this month, finally getting to the murders. It also finally begins to tie itself to the world of “MIND MGMT.” Julianne’s journal makes it clear P. K. was a MIND MGMT agent, and has been having parts of her memory wiped. She has a blackout, and then she’s covered in the blood of her husband and children. She claims she bumped into a man who told her “Mug him again, rock” (“Mulligan Rock”), and the writer tracked down a man matching her description: Jason Corridor.
If that name sounds familiar, it should. Jason is the man Meru tracked and captured in issue zero. While the account of how she learned about him here isn’t quite the same, the minor discrepancy can easily be chalked up to creative license (issue zero was actual events, “Premeditated” is the book’s telling) and hindsight. Perhaps Meru didn’t connect Julianne’s description to Corridor until after she caught him.
Mind memo
As Ferris Ferral got older, he also got more familiar. When he’s deployed as a full agent, he’s sporting a goatee and ponytail. He talks to his girlfriend about a codename, and she suggests Will Falls as a pun on his abilities. When Ferris requests something more friendly, she changes it to Billy Falls. This is a surprising reveal, and casts Bill in an entirely different light in the first six issues. Was his memory wiped, and was he really with the CIA? Or was he up to something completely different? Either way, it explains why Lyme scooped out his mind and left him drawing rhinos in China – he’s dangerous.
The gray box at the bottom of page 24 had a 5 in it this month, making the message so far “3RA5”. If you read the 3 and 5 as an E and S respectively, the box is working it’s way to spelling ERASER. Does this message underneath the orgin of Bill Falls mean he’s working with her? Or is it just fun?
The letter column
The very polite letter from Samuel F. B. Morse is fake. He’s the (dead) inventor of Morse Code, and this is meant to be a hint for anyone who missed the coded message in issue nine. Incidentally, I mis-deciphered it, as pointed out in the comments. The actual message was “DONT TRUST LYME.”
The back cover
At first glance, this seems to be nothing more than a continuation of the play of making this month’s cover a mystery novel next month. Hidden in the accurate description, you’ll notice a few letters are more gray than black. The p in “plotting” and “plan”, for example, or the ed in “predict”. If you spot them all, the secret message is “the eraser must be stopped.”
And that’s all for this month
If you caught something I didn’t from this issue or prior ones, please mention it in the comments. I know I’m not catching everything.
Previously, on Minding MIND MGMT…
Issues: #0 #1 #3 #4 #5 #6 DHP #19 #7 #8 #9
Interviews: Matt Kindt Brendan Wright Matt Kindt (2)
Annotations: Volume one
