Ten years ago, the extra-governmental agency known as Mind Management exploded in a barrage of bullets and brain matter. Those that survived have gone underground—forging new lives with unremarkable identities and falsified pasts to obfuscate the strange abilities that once made them highly prized assets in the global war for psychic control. Now, two investigators—Detective Delphi and Detective Swan—have found themselves at the center of an unexpected puzzle. Here: A man poisoned in a coffee shop with a sophisticated neurotoxin. There: A supposed suicide victim run over by a train . . . with his arms found in a trash can five miles from the tracks. Their connection: Someone is killing former Mind Management agents in improbable and arcane ways . . . Seemingly impossible crimes committed by a faceless killer capable of evading even the most pervasive digital surveillance. What secret are they killing to protect? Who will be next? Has Mind Management returned? Did it ever go away? You are paranoid . . . but are you paranoid enough? Mind MGMT: New & Improved #1 is a whole new volume… or is it a new start… or is it a continuation of what came before…

Matt Kindt‘s Mind MGMT is an experience to read. It’s a comic whose mystery and oddity extends beyond the page to the margins, between the panels, the introduction of the comic, the back of it, everything is part of the story and world. It’s one whose every detail tells the story and expands the experience. Mind MGMT: New & Improved #1 dives right into that with a credit page that goes on and on introducing the comic and world in what has come before. But, that doesn’t matter… or does it… is it continuity… is it all fiction, a lie… That’s part of what makes this new series so much fun.

Mind MGMT: New & Improved #1 is new and improved in some ways, playing with its concept and delivering it in a way that new readers can dive right into the world of manipulation and longtime fans can sit pondering if everything they read before matters. It starts with a mindfuck and goes from there.

The story itself feels straightforward, someone is killing possibly former agents and two agents need to find out who and why. It’s about as simple as you can get. But, it’s Kindt’s delivery of it that sucks you in, making you question your own reality and what you do and don’t know is fact.

The art adds to the experience with Kindt’s distinct style that has an almost watercolor quality about it. The art is one that readers need to pay attention to because you never know what detail is hidden within delivering a clue as to what’s real and what’s not. It’s a seamless continuation of the style that was prevalent in previous volumes, down to the fun additions beyond the panels.

Mind MGMT: New & Improved #1 is a perfect start for new readers, easing them into the rabbit hole. Fans will appreciate being left to guess if this is really a new start or a continuation of the weirdness that has come before. It’s an issue that can be read either way creating a mystery that’ll suck you in. It’s a welcome return to what hopefully will be a long run and further expansion of the world.

Story: Matt Kindt Art: Matt Kindt
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

Oni Press/Flux House provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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