Welcome back to Minding Mind MGMT, the monthly column focused on the Dark Horse series “Mind MGMT” from Matt Kindt. Despite being busy with all his new writing gigs, Matt was nice enough to answer some questions.
You’ve been to several cons already this year. Do you have any fun stories from them?
Matt Kindt: Hmm. It was really a blur this year. I’ll have been to 12 cons/signings by November so they start to blend together. I think my favorite thing I did so far was a lecture and signing in Berkeley this year. I figured out where Philip K. Dick lived when he was there and got my picture taken in front his house.
How far ahead are you on “MIND MGMT”?
MK: I have all 36 issues plotted out generally. And I currently have up through issue 24 written and/or thumbnailed out. As I write this issue 14 is just about to hit stands…and I just turned in final color and lettered art on 16.
You’ve mentioned before the idea of doing some “MIND MGMT” annuals. Is that an idea you’re still toying with, and if so, when should we look for them?
MK: There won’t be any extra anything until I finish the main 36-issue story. I’m planning on doing some shorter 8-page stories in Dark Horse Presents during the run of the series but after that I have a lot of ideas for MIND MGMT throughout history – so we’ll see. I’ve been kicking the idea of a crazy MIND MGMT novel around too so we’ll see how I feel in a couple years.
Adam Grano, and now Sharlene Kindt, are listed with you in the credits of “MIND MGMT”. What is it they help you with exactly?
MK: Adam helps with design and production on the books and Sharlene is my wife and she helps with pretty much everything. She’s an artist as well so I run all the covers by her (she doesn’t like me spoiling the interior art/story so she doesn’t see that as much) — and she helps me keep it all organized. I’ve been talking to her about guest-painting a story in MIND MGMT so that might be happening soon.
I know some of your characters – Bill Falls, Duncan Jones – are named after real people. Others – like Henry Lyme – were inspired by a movie character. Where have some of the other names come from?
MK: Meru came from a class-list of students when I used to teach at Webster University. No idea who she was but she had a great name. Anthers Kindle is my wife’s name mixed up. The Perrier twins…comes from the water. I thought that would be funny (to me anyway.) Names are the hardest part. I never get writer’s block until I get to the name…then I stop cold and literally just type in “xxx” and find and replace that later with a name when it occurs to me. It’s the worst part of writing.
Aside from The Third Man, Lost, and Maltese Falcon, are there any other movies or TV shows you’d recommend to fans of MIND MGMT?
MK: Delicatessen, City of Lost Children, Twin Peaks, In the Mood for Love.
I know you’re a fan of Blade Runner and Philip K Dick, but how do you feel about other adaptations of his work, like Minority Report, Next, or A Scanner Darkly?
MK: I liked Scanner Darkly. I think Blade Runner worked the best though because it tried to be something more — something different than the book and it ended up being great in it’s own right, rather than trying to remain 100% faithful to the source material.
Do you have any movie news to share, for either “MIND MGMT” or “Secret History of the Giant Man”?
MK: Not really — they’re plugging along. I honestly try to just stay out of the way of the movie stuff until they call and ask me about story stuff. It’s such a slow process to me. I’m used to the immediacy of comics. I think of an idea, put it on paper and it’s out there. Movies takes a long time, a lot of people, and a lot more money.
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You’ve taken on several writing gigs at DC and Marvel lately. How do you manage the work load? Are you maxed out, or are you looking to take on more work?
MK: Oh man. No more work, please! I was bugging DC in the spring — everyone thought I was working on more than I really was…and then they gave me a bunch of stuff all at once. Be careful what you ask for! I’m having a great time but I can’t wait for a few of the limited series to be finished so I can go back to a normal life where I don’t work 14 hour days, 7 days a week. It’s a little crazy.
The Martian Manhunter is a character who’s right up your alley. Are some of the characters in the other books you’re doing favorites of yours? How long have you wanted to do a Sinistro, a Harley Quinn, or a Spider-Man story?
MK: I don’t really have a favorite character I’ve been dying to get my hands on. I really think they all have interesting stories that can be told. I think I’m not as attracted to the more popular characters because most of those have been done so well for so many year that I don’t think there’s much more that I could contribute. I did have fun writing a Superman story though which really surprised me. And Spider-man was fun…but I think the Harley Quinn story ended up being the most surprising to me. She’s a hard character to do correctly so that was a fun challenge. I’m a huge proponent of strong female characters that aren’t sexualized for the sake of being sexualized…so she presented a unique challenge — because of her costume and the ditsy way that she tends to be portrayed. But I think I figure out how to handle that stuff in a way that wouldn’t make me embarrassed to have my name on the book.
Previously, on Minding MIND MGMT…
Issues: #0 #1 #3 #4 #5 #6 DHP #19 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13, #14
Interviews: Matt Kindt Brendan Wright Matt Kindt (2)
Annotations: Volume One
