A new issue of “MIND MGMT”, another hunt for codes and Easter eggs in a new edition of Minding MIND MGMT. Because each new issue of Matt Kindt’s monthly series is packed with too much story for a standard review, this column will provide in-depth analysis and help you navigate the intricate, overlapping plots.
Issue 18’s cover is a straight-forward image of Ella Jean hiding in a jungle and surrounded by her animal friends. The leaves and vine around her form a diamond shape frame, and the darker green shadow behind her head really cause her face to draw attention and pop from the cover. Even with all the competing colors from the fox, the leopard, and the other animals, your eye’s attention is drawn straight to her at first glance.
There don’t appear to be any hidden messages in the cover, despite the root at the center bottom of the picture looking like an E.
The main story
The last and only time we met Ella Jean was in the Mind Memo of issue 4, where she was codenamed “The Animal Kid.” It gave a slightly different account of how Ella’s powers work, and showed her and Lyme releasing the black ops dolphins. According to the memo date, it happened at the end of 1988.
This issue begins before Ella’s recruitment, going back all the way to her first use of her abilities. She narrates the events with gray captions. In the first panel, she’s reading “Big Book of Words,” which is something of an anachronism because the book was first published in 2012. The floating words are a technique used by Richard Scarry, whose children’s books also inspired some of the art later in this issue. It’s not the first time “MIND MGMT” has referenced Richard Scarry’s works. The Sniper was shown to be a fan of them in issue 7, page 16.
On the second page, Ella reveals her powers grew strong enough for her to detect Wally and his feelings from any room in her house. His soul is shown in the last panel, and the narration seems to imply Ella could still detect him after he was gone.
When Ella and her family are walking past a Spencer’s after buying the new pet, Aiden’s playing some kind of hand held video game, but the scene should be somewhere around 1985, before hand held games would have been available. One of the earliest, the Sega Game Gear, wasn’t released until 1990.
The splash page of the zoo break subtly gives us an interesting detail about Ella. If you look close at the gate, above the word zoo, you can make out just enough of the letters to see they were at the St. Louis Zoo. This isn’t terribly important, and it could have been during a vacation, but this puts Ella very near to Lexington, Missouri, where Meru was living at the start of the series. At this point in time, though, Meru is either in Shangri-la on her first tour, or she’s with her parents in Zanzibar.
After seeing the same snapping man who has welcomed everyone to Shangri-la, there’s another splash page which goes into full Richard Scarry mode. Most of the characters are recognizable, but there are several things worth discussing in this image. The note on psychic insulation is a new detail, and this is the first time we’ve seen an ad woman. The bird labeled ‘spy’ seems like a gag on a first read, but takes on more significance after this issue’s Mind Memo. The strong man is (maybe) Ferris Ferral, although he’d be more of a strong boy at this point. Natasha is listed as ‘guardian’s wife,’ which is strange considering she was shown to be Ella’s handler in issue 4. You would think she would at least rate as ‘teacher.’ If you look close at the ‘House Cleaner,’ you’ll notice two scars on her left cheek. That’s an…odd euphemism for the Eraser, but it is one way to look at her role. The ‘bad student’ is wearing a Hawaiian shirt, which is a trademark of Bill’s. Maybe the strongman wasn’t him after all?
Continued belowOh, and ‘Mouse Management.’ I laughed.
Page eight is a different angle on a scene lifted straight from issue 4. This time, we see it was the beginning of her friendship with Lyme – note her suspicion of him. And the number of mice she rescued! It’s notable that Lyme was trying to change MIND MGMT at this time. This is still 15 years or more before the Zanzibar massacre, which shows Lyme was questioning the agency long before he lost control.
When Ella meets Lyme again in the garden, she mentions he is the only person she can use her ability on, and compares him to Wally. There’s no evidence for it from the narrative, but with what we know about Lyme, I suspect he used his abilities to make her trust him. Consider: he persuades her to stay with MIND MGMT on at least two occasions. He’s shown no compunction about manipulating others. He’s the only human she ever ‘felt.’ And he just happened to feel like her first and best friend. Sure, he fulfilled his promise to her, but he also did what was in MIND MGMT’s best interest.
Page 13 has several things which are minor, but bear a closer look. The description ‘aptly named’ for the killer whale is ironic, because, you know, it’s really not. The transaction being witnessed by the hummingbird looks familiar, but I can’t place it. I’m pretty sure a similar handoff occurred somewhere in the “Super Spy” books. And the clueless Koala – I laughed.
The woman attacked by the snake on page 15 is the same one who insisted Ella continue sending animals to die on page 9. By the time Lyme and Ella are talking about her leaving, Lyme has already helped her sabotage the agency once. The Mind Memo from issue 4 seems to be clear that when he’s questioned by his boss, it’s only about the missing dolphins – not about a missing Ella or any other animal. The guilt he’s labeled with on page 15 could be his guilt for manipulating her earlier. That, combined with the similarities he sees between her and his daughter, is probably the biggest factor in why he helped her escape.
While living with Rocky Raccoon and the other animals, Ella learns to support her self in Nepal’s Chitwan National forest. On page 18, a pig helps her find some edible mushrooms, but they’re probably not the ones required for immortal training. On page 19, the first two panels are a mirror of Ella and Meru. This highlights the parallels between them – both are red headed women who looked to Lyme as a father and are approximately his daughter’s age.
In the narration on page 17, Ella mentions Spots is the last leopard, but there are two with her on page 19. Either Spots had babies, or Ella’s been recruiting.
As Meru rejoins the team and they discuss leaving Ella to herself, Bill is strangely missing. Maybe he stayed behind in Zanzibar while the others went on their field trip? Or maybe we’ll find out what he was up to in the next arc.
The Gutter Text
Instead of a field guide, this issue’s side text continues the Richard Scarry motif and reads like a children’s book. Most of it is just for fun, not adding much. On page 10, though, there is a veiled reference to the Eraser, and her dispute with Lyme evidently stretches back further than previously indicated.
Mind Memo
The one page memo expands on the African Grey Parrot seen throughout the issue, which really is considered smart. The identity of the paranoid Panamanian dictator has eluded me so far. The best candidate seems to be Simón Bolívar, who was suspected to be poisoned, but he seems a little too old to be the one pictured here. Shoot, he wasn’t even really the dictator of Panama – just a large territory that included modern Panama. If you know something I don’t, please share it in the comments.
The memo is dated 2003, which must be prior to Ella’s escape, since it doesn’t mention the bird’s departure. I believe this is about 3 years before the incident in Zanzibar, which fits with Lyme still being an agent and with Ella’s apparent age throughout the book. (Ella, Meru, and Lyme’s daughter are all about the same age – 25 to 28ish)
Continued belowThe Second Floor
This month showcases the adventures of the rogue agent Jedediah Akers. In addition to his enviable beard and stylish ascot, Akers uses his talents to brainwash people. Either his subjects must be restrained for his abilities to be effective, or he just likes doing it. In at least one instance, he uses the same codeword used by Zero (the Russian MIND MGMT agency). “Mulligan Rock” was also the phrase substituted into Meru’s first book.
The Letter Column
The title of this issue was “The Zookeeper”, which is a much better fit than “The Animal Kid.”
Pete Buser has a great letter mentioning the real value in “MIND MGMT” versus the similarly priced books from Marvel and DC. While I’d love to join the conversation, this probably isn’t the best soapbox for me to air displeasure with the two comic powerhouses. Suffice to say: this is one of the few comics on the shelves which is actually worth $4.
Brendan also includes a reminder for anyone who forgot to get last month’s “Dark Horse Presents.” You shouldn’t have needed the reminder – you should be buying it anyway. If you did skip it, please keep in mind that Brendan’s helpful tip about the cover won’t be as helpful as he intended. Yes, the issue you need (#31) has Hellboy on the cover, but so does issue #32. So be watchful.
The Back Cover
As a companion piece to the “MIND MGMT” ad found in last month’s “Unity” #2, issue 18 features an ad for the Valiant book. It’s also written by Kindt, and is pretty darn good.
Around the web
If you’re looking for movie news, Comicbook.com has a nice summary of what’s out there.
In other news, Kindt is off “Suicide Squad” and on “Star Wars“.
And that’s all this month
If you spotted something I missed, or if you had a different interpretation of events, please share your thoughts in the comments!
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
