Years in the making, Oni Press and Matt Kindt are launching Mind MGMT: New & Improved #1 on June 24. The new series brings a Twin Peaks vibe to conspiracy-style mysteries and secret organizations. At its core, it’s about memory, or lack thereof, especially in today’s day and age. All those things combined make this new series feel on the edge of our shared world experience, in a world where our memory is reduced to our phones and news cycles make us forget what happened hours after the event.
With an advance copy in hand, I have to recommend folks get this on their pull list. Speaking as a fan of X-Files, Department of Truth, and Valis, this was right in my wheelhouse.
Opening the book is a handy introduction to the concept, with a cool mixed-media vibe and credits. Taken together, there’s a kind of fourth-wall-breaking vibe that suits the series’ themes. It’s a good way to introduce new readers to Mind MGMT without taking away from the main story.
The story opens with a woman asking, “Are you…okay?” Is she speaking to us, the reader, or someone else? A turn of the page reveals an odd, wide-eyed man who slowly puts his hands down, as if he were making binoculars with them a moment prior. That action is a bit of a hint for later, with an intermix of tead bodies between the panels in the gutters. Trust me when I say you’ll reread this issue or at least the opening page when you finish.
These two characters engage in a dialogue about memory, making for a relatable conversation that helps you get into the narrative. Considering that in a given month there are 30 news cycles, do any of us even remember Venezuela being a big news item? Some of the headline news they discuss quite possibly has taken place, and we, too, have forgotten in the real world. Woven into it is an interesting supernatural element, making the mundane news cycle feel more engaging and mysterious. That sense of mystery carries over into the narrative’s main mystery and the detective work that follows.
The opening page of the story.
Credit: Oni Press
As the story develops, most will find the general setup familiar, as two detectives attempt to uncover how the murder occurred. One is a bit more straight-laced, and the other has a superpowered nose. It may sound fantastical and a bit ridiculous, but the idea that the sense of smell is tied to memory, and how Kindt uses it here, is intriguing. For the first issue, the main story feels quite long, and more importantly, it doesn’t leave you with more questions, but a firm direction for what’s next. Often, mysteries in comics these days leave you with a cliffhanger that doesn’t convey where the characters go as the cliffhanger, but Kindt gives you plenty to chew on.
That’s also because there’s a nice backup, which dives into a very popular podcast. I can’t say I understood every panel or page, but the backup does deepen the sense of supernatural mystery and weirdness this series has historically delivered.
If you’re unaccustomed to Kindt’s pencils and watercolor art style, the book may feel quite different to casual comic fans, but its style evokes a pulp-noir vibe that suits the material. The creativity employed on any given page is impressive, whether in the lack of panel structure or in how the watercolors spill into the gutter. Facial expressions can be almost too simple, but once you get into the style, it all makes sense.
Matt Kindt returns to Mind MGMT with a confident, eerie first issue that leans into paranoia, memory, and perception without losing narrative clarity. The mystery is engaging right away, the structure invites rereads, and the backup adds texture to an already strange world. It is a strong entry point for new readers while rewarding longtime fans who enjoy Kindt’s experimental instincts. An unsettling, must-read return that turns memory itself into the mystery.
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