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MIND MGMT #1
The Manager
Reporting on a commercial flight where everyone aboard lost their memories, a young journalist stumbles onto a much bigger story, the topsecret Mind Management program. Her ensuing journey involves weaponized psychics, hypnotic advertising, talking dolphins, and seemingly immortal pursuers, as she attempts to find the flight’s missing passenger, the man who was MIND MGMT’s greatest success—and its most devastating failure. But in a world where people can rewrite reality itself, can she trust anything she sees? Collects MIND MGMT #1#6.
200 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 10, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 381 reviews
August 18, 2016
Two years ago, the passengers aboard a commercial flight suddenly lost their memories, and their lives would never be the same. When a young writer named Meru comes across the case in search of inspiration for her new book, she stumbles upon a mystery that involves secret organizations and conspiracies, hypnotic propaganda and immortal assassins, talking dolphins and psychic snipers, sleeper agents who don't know they're sleeping and monks holding the entire history of the world. Yep, it’s a story by Matt Kindt, and his cartooning is really starting to grow on me: genre entertainment undermined by personal vision, postmodern playfulness with a melancholic edge, wild lunacies rooted in abysmal realities - what’s not to like?
PS: Having now also read the second volume, I am bumping this up to five stars. I see now how brilliantly it sets the stage for what is turning into an absolutely amazing series - check it out!
PS: Having now also read the second volume, I am bumping this up to five stars. I see now how brilliantly it sets the stage for what is turning into an absolutely amazing series - check it out!
September 10, 2018
A plane full of people suffer collective amnesia. A village where people are constantly making pots for no reason. A small town wiped out in an inexplicable massacre. Writer Meru decides to follow the strange trail of events for her latest book to answer the question at the heart of this dark mystery: who is Henry Lyme?
I’m not at all a fan of Matt Kindt’s but MIND MGMT, Volume 1: The Manager surprisingly wasn’t that bad. The story opens with an intriguing scenario – the amnesia plane – before moving at a fair clip across the world, taking our heroine Meru to some exotic locales… except she’s being followed! I grew up playing Broken Sword (for the youngs, that’s an olden style Uncharted), reading Tintin and watching Indiana Jones so that kind of globe-trotting action/adventure story appeals to me.
And it’s fun and unpredictable… until Meru finds Lyme and then it all goes a bit Pete Tong. We find out about MIND Management and its agents and then we’re in familiar territory – think Bond/Bourne - the action becomes clichéd and Lyme monotonously tells his life story in one gigantic info dump. He couldn’t have kept his mystique any longer than this introductory book, really? The backups did nothing for me either.
I absolutely loathe Kindt’s super-fugly art. The scratchy lines, the weak, messy watercolours, the stupidly cartoony figures – bleurgh! It’s a half decent story but the drama is completely undercut by the crummy childish figures that I couldn’t take seriously for a second. It really would be a better book with an artist who can draw in a semi-realistic style.
It didn’t impress me enough to keep reading beyond this first volume but, considering how bad Matt Kindt’s output usually is, MIND MGMT, Volume 1: The Manager is unexpectedly tolerable and mildly entertaining – in other words, it’s probably his best book!
(Hat tip to L. McCoy for the rec.)
I’m not at all a fan of Matt Kindt’s but MIND MGMT, Volume 1: The Manager surprisingly wasn’t that bad. The story opens with an intriguing scenario – the amnesia plane – before moving at a fair clip across the world, taking our heroine Meru to some exotic locales… except she’s being followed! I grew up playing Broken Sword (for the youngs, that’s an olden style Uncharted), reading Tintin and watching Indiana Jones so that kind of globe-trotting action/adventure story appeals to me.
And it’s fun and unpredictable… until Meru finds Lyme and then it all goes a bit Pete Tong. We find out about MIND Management and its agents and then we’re in familiar territory – think Bond/Bourne - the action becomes clichéd and Lyme monotonously tells his life story in one gigantic info dump. He couldn’t have kept his mystique any longer than this introductory book, really? The backups did nothing for me either.
I absolutely loathe Kindt’s super-fugly art. The scratchy lines, the weak, messy watercolours, the stupidly cartoony figures – bleurgh! It’s a half decent story but the drama is completely undercut by the crummy childish figures that I couldn’t take seriously for a second. It really would be a better book with an artist who can draw in a semi-realistic style.
It didn’t impress me enough to keep reading beyond this first volume but, considering how bad Matt Kindt’s output usually is, MIND MGMT, Volume 1: The Manager is unexpectedly tolerable and mildly entertaining – in other words, it’s probably his best book!
(Hat tip to L. McCoy for the rec.)
May 6, 2022
“Let's be honest. There's not really any safe place to meet an aspiring head of a top-secret organization, trained in every manner of mind control and manipulation and bent on word domination by any means necessary.”
![Matt Kindt Unlocks The World's Greatest Mystery In 'MIND MGMT' [Review]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1651629133i/32894675.jpg)
Matt Kindt's MIND MGMT, Volume One: The Manager was intriguing and I especially liked the extra case files after the ending. They actually helped explain a lot about the MIND MGMT agency and where things were headed. The art of this graphic novel, however, looks hurried and washed out. I think that is probably a stylized choice to evoke older (maybe pulp) comics, but it didn't do much for me. While I think it had a long middle section that bogged things down, I ended up liking this and will pick up the next installment. 3.5 stars
Matt Kindt's MIND MGMT, Volume One: The Manager was intriguing and I especially liked the extra case files after the ending. They actually helped explain a lot about the MIND MGMT agency and where things were headed. The art of this graphic novel, however, looks hurried and washed out. I think that is probably a stylized choice to evoke older (maybe pulp) comics, but it didn't do much for me. While I think it had a long middle section that bogged things down, I ended up liking this and will pick up the next installment. 3.5 stars
May 23, 2023
I loved Kindt's Revolver. I also loved Kindt's friend Jeff Lemire's Sweet Tooth series a lot (and Kindt also contributes to that series!), and they seem to have a lot in common, very creative original ideas, deft sketchy drawing and coloring, just enough to give you a sense of the situation, not too much, and perfect for their subjects and stories. Just a glance at a few reviews, and it is clear almost everyone loves it. . . some folks mention Lost and that seems fair, as the intro of this first volume is written by Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof. Similarly crazy premise or premises. . . a cross between paranormal and government mind-control conspiracy. . . psychics, talking dolphins, people with lost memories, The Immortals. . . government agents with psychic powers.
So, yeah, Lost territory, in a broad sense, but also unique and not derived from those worlds, of course. . . just an attempt to categorize what yr gettin into here. . . . quite a ride! Beautiful art, complicated story, lots of questions, looks worth waiting for the answers.
So, yeah, Lost territory, in a broad sense, but also unique and not derived from those worlds, of course. . . just an attempt to categorize what yr gettin into here. . . . quite a ride! Beautiful art, complicated story, lots of questions, looks worth waiting for the answers.
April 24, 2018
MIND MGMT is the long overdue makeover of the spy tale, now cerebral, supernatural, and deeply sensitive. The artwork takes a major adjustment, but works with the dreamlike story—think Jeff Lemire, but rougher and simpler. A must read.
A Short Note on the Standard Hardcover...
Rating: A+
I had to review the fine and unparalleled design and construction of this book. The jacket-less hardcover is exquisite and durable—better quality than most hardcover novels, like art book quality. Sewn binding! And double thick matte paper, almost card-stock. And for $19.99? That’s outrageous. That’s unheard of. This puts DC, Marvel, and even Image to shame for standard hardcovers.
A Short Note on the Standard Hardcover...
Rating: A+
I had to review the fine and unparalleled design and construction of this book. The jacket-less hardcover is exquisite and durable—better quality than most hardcover novels, like art book quality. Sewn binding! And double thick matte paper, almost card-stock. And for $19.99? That’s outrageous. That’s unheard of. This puts DC, Marvel, and even Image to shame for standard hardcovers.
December 5, 2016
Ok. This one took a bit to get going for me but by the end I was completely hooked. Hell of a premise with interesting art and a good story. Looking forward to continuing this series. 4.5 stars.
April 23, 2019
Some people seem to really like Matt Kindt's art for some reason. I find it looks like the doodles of a middle schooler. So if you can get by the fugly art, there's a decent X-Files type story here. Everyone on Flight 815 (definitely a Lost reference there) has lost their memory. Now a writer is on the hunt for the one person missing on the manifest. While on a quest around the world to find this individual, she uncovers a clandestine group with special abilities.
February 15, 2014
I liked the idea of this so much, my enthusiasm for what I wanted it to be carried me most of the way through the second book before I realized I wasn't actually into it.
I still like it in theory. A secret history of psychic spies and super-damaged people all around the world; action scenes interleaved with interviews and training manuals and reportage; loose watercolor art in the mode of several indie artists I like... could be cool. I think I just really don't like Matt Kindt's writing. The narration is terribly clunky and repetitive, it always has the same strained hard-boiled tone (Sentence fragment. And then another one. And another.), and there's a lot of it. The dialogue is flat and mostly expository. The textual fake background material isn't much fun to read because it's just... very badly written, in my opinion. I don't know, I've managed to enjoy plenty of other things whose prose isn't great, but this seems awfully padded out to me; the first two books easily could've been one. I'll probably keep picking it up to find out what happens.
I still like it in theory. A secret history of psychic spies and super-damaged people all around the world; action scenes interleaved with interviews and training manuals and reportage; loose watercolor art in the mode of several indie artists I like... could be cool. I think I just really don't like Matt Kindt's writing. The narration is terribly clunky and repetitive, it always has the same strained hard-boiled tone (Sentence fragment. And then another one. And another.), and there's a lot of it. The dialogue is flat and mostly expository. The textual fake background material isn't much fun to read because it's just... very badly written, in my opinion. I don't know, I've managed to enjoy plenty of other things whose prose isn't great, but this seems awfully padded out to me; the first two books easily could've been one. I'll probably keep picking it up to find out what happens.
March 16, 2017
Fantastic premise of a story and the writer treats you with respect with some intelligent story telling.
An fantastic mystery thriller. I'm hooked.
An fantastic mystery thriller. I'm hooked.
February 20, 2025
Twilight Zone vibes!
June 19, 2019
Одного разу майже всі пасажири рейсу 815 втратили пам`ять, окрім деяких. Одного разу письменниця шукала сюжет для свого роману й знайшла таємну організацію, яка прикриває в виховує своєрідних психонавтів. Одного разу дівчинку врятували внаслідок масового самогубства, скоєного завдяки гіпнотичній маніпуляції. Ось такий параноїдальний, постмодерний світ із столітніми монахами, балакучими дельфінами, безсмертними кілерами й ментальними вбивцями вимальовує Метт Кіндт, культова фігура у світі незалежних коміксів. Не тільки незалежних, а ще й авторських, адже Кіндт ще й малює доволі непогано. Насправді його недостатньо акуратна, груба й скетчева манера зайде далеко не всім, або й навіть відштовхне, але в якийсь момент я відчув ритм історії і тепер не можу відірватись. Загалом, комікс для любителів ребусних трилерів, конспірологій і альтернативної супергероїки. Не ідеальний варіант для тих, хто тільки почанає читати комікси, але чудова нагода для розширення власного читацького кругозору.
June 11, 2018
I did not read this book.
This is not a 4-star review.
I did not enjoy this book.
I would not recommend this book.
I did not just confuse everyone reading this review who hasn’t read this book.
What’s it about?
A struggling author investigates a mysterious event from 2 years ago and ends up in lots of danger in a story of mind control and espionage.
Pros:
The story is very interesting and unique.
The art style is absolutely great! It looks nice and I love the way that it sometimes goes outside of the lines, that’s a great touch.
This book has a lot of fast paced, gritty and sometimes bloody action scenes throughout that make this a very exciting read.
This book is very suspenseful.
This is one of those books that’s weird but still makes sense. I love those kinds of books because it usually makes the book unique and more interesting. Mind MGMT is a perfect example. It’s super weird but still makes sense.
Why not 5 stars?
The characters are sort of bland which is strange for such a unique book.
Overall:
I should clarify that the beginning of the review is a joke about something within the book.
I did read this book.
This is a 4 star review.
I did enjoy this book.
I would recommend it.
If you like weird and exciting books this is one that you will most likely enjoy very much.
4/5
This is not a 4-star review.
I did not enjoy this book.
I would not recommend this book.
I did not just confuse everyone reading this review who hasn’t read this book.
What’s it about?
A struggling author investigates a mysterious event from 2 years ago and ends up in lots of danger in a story of mind control and espionage.
Pros:
The story is very interesting and unique.
The art style is absolutely great! It looks nice and I love the way that it sometimes goes outside of the lines, that’s a great touch.
This book has a lot of fast paced, gritty and sometimes bloody action scenes throughout that make this a very exciting read.
This book is very suspenseful.
This is one of those books that’s weird but still makes sense. I love those kinds of books because it usually makes the book unique and more interesting. Mind MGMT is a perfect example. It’s super weird but still makes sense.
Why not 5 stars?
The characters are sort of bland which is strange for such a unique book.
Overall:
I should clarify that the beginning of the review is a joke about something within the book.
I did read this book.
This is a 4 star review.
I did enjoy this book.
I would recommend it.
If you like weird and exciting books this is one that you will most likely enjoy very much.
4/5
September 25, 2016
Seriously never read a graphic novel quite like this one before! The story is so original! Starting with a flight where every aboard gets amnesia and then taking us on a journey to find the man who might be responsible. The illustrations are in these watercolor tones that are beautiful-the frames are large and easy to read/follow. I love the field guide notes all around the edges. Awesome story!!
July 21, 2013
Conspiracy theories aren't my thing. I don't care for them, don't like their speculative nature, don't understand their acceptance as fact by so many different groups of people. I don't subscribe to them. The absurdity of just a few of the most recent ones we have dealt with in America when it comes to claims of 'false flag' operations blows my mind. I think that more than the sheer absurdity of the allegations of a conspiracy, the speculative nature is what really gets me. I'm a historian. I don't have time to guess at possibilities. I need primary documentation. I need the facts, the evidence, empirical data. Just like any scientist or mathematician. So excuse me if I don't buy into aliens and magic bullets. I'm just waiting for the primary documentation before I can reassess certain events.
That's not to say I don't like reading about them. Or books, movies, etc based on them. Because I find that, in the right hands, they can make for hugely entertaining reads. Like 'A Scanner Darkly' or 'Foucault's Pendulum', amazingly literary writing coupled with social commentary up the wazoo. Philip K Dick by way of Umberto Eco. That's really all I can think to say about this book. Matt Kindt has written a cinematic graphic novel of huge proportions, and it reads like he just rattled it off one day without a second thought. Like it was child's play. He made this enormously complex thriller look and feel like it was easy-breezy in it's creation and I'm pretty damned envious of that fact.
So here he is, making a book filled to the brim with conspiracies and cover-ups and monumental metaphysical scenes that feel so cinematic that they would make Terry Gilliam and Haruki Murakami weep, and acting like it's all off-hand.
I can't get over it.
I can't say anything else about it without giving away thrilling little pieces of the book, so I won't. What I will say is that about halfway through, I figured out what was coming, but it did little to detract from my joy. Reading this book was an absolute pleasure. Don't rush it. Don't race through it. Remember this too: All agents should remember to read the field notes carefully placed in the margins of each page.
As for what Kindt is doing with the art, I'm just not sold on it. I wanted it to be sharper. I wanted it to be a little bolder, just some dark inks to give it a push. That's all. But I get it. I do. It fits well with narrative and gives the reader a clear picture of exactly what is going on in Kindt's head as he tells this story. Much like Jeff Lemire, there's a damn near perfect marriage fitting the two together.
Writing: A
That's not to say I don't like reading about them. Or books, movies, etc based on them. Because I find that, in the right hands, they can make for hugely entertaining reads. Like 'A Scanner Darkly' or 'Foucault's Pendulum', amazingly literary writing coupled with social commentary up the wazoo. Philip K Dick by way of Umberto Eco. That's really all I can think to say about this book. Matt Kindt has written a cinematic graphic novel of huge proportions, and it reads like he just rattled it off one day without a second thought. Like it was child's play. He made this enormously complex thriller look and feel like it was easy-breezy in it's creation and I'm pretty damned envious of that fact.
So here he is, making a book filled to the brim with conspiracies and cover-ups and monumental metaphysical scenes that feel so cinematic that they would make Terry Gilliam and Haruki Murakami weep, and acting like it's all off-hand.
I can't get over it.
I can't say anything else about it without giving away thrilling little pieces of the book, so I won't. What I will say is that about halfway through, I figured out what was coming, but it did little to detract from my joy. Reading this book was an absolute pleasure. Don't rush it. Don't race through it. Remember this too: All agents should remember to read the field notes carefully placed in the margins of each page.
As for what Kindt is doing with the art, I'm just not sold on it. I wanted it to be sharper. I wanted it to be a little bolder, just some dark inks to give it a push. That's all. But I get it. I do. It fits well with narrative and gives the reader a clear picture of exactly what is going on in Kindt's head as he tells this story. Much like Jeff Lemire, there's a damn near perfect marriage fitting the two together.
Writing: A
April 4, 2016
A bit too much waiting to hear an explanation for what appear to be inexplicable events, but it was still intriguing enough to keep me going despite the fact that "no time to explain!" is one of my pet peeves.
By the end, I was in. The first 2/3 didn't quite do it for me, but once we got to the exposition, I was in. This probably sounds like a non-endorsement, but I'm a person who's likely to quit a book that doesn't feel like it's going somewhere, so for me to stick with it is high praise, in a way. Not to put too much power in my own hands. I just mean to say that even for someone who loathes a story that takes a little too long to really get started, it felt worthwhile to hang in there.
Also, I don't love the art, but I think Matt Kindt is smart because his different characters have distinct features, so it's not an art issue where I don't know who is saying or doing what. It's just not my favorite style is all.
I'll keep trucking with this one.
By the end, I was in. The first 2/3 didn't quite do it for me, but once we got to the exposition, I was in. This probably sounds like a non-endorsement, but I'm a person who's likely to quit a book that doesn't feel like it's going somewhere, so for me to stick with it is high praise, in a way. Not to put too much power in my own hands. I just mean to say that even for someone who loathes a story that takes a little too long to really get started, it felt worthwhile to hang in there.
Also, I don't love the art, but I think Matt Kindt is smart because his different characters have distinct features, so it's not an art issue where I don't know who is saying or doing what. It's just not my favorite style is all.
I'll keep trucking with this one.
August 18, 2016
Intriguing. I'm all for "government conspiracy" stories and Kindt definitely builds the structure for one: People with mental powers secretly living in our society and run by a mysterious group who will do anything they deem necessary to control the world. It's a little difficult to evaluate things like pacing, because the storytelling is very limited and the rating loses half a star because of it. It's very simple both in anatomy and detail, and the storytelling keeps to only about 3 or 4 panels per page. The composition of each isn't that complicated either. Not trying to be cruel, but at times you feel as if a child drew it. Intentional or not, the simplicity of the drawings actually make you focus on the story more. Perhaps it is a subtle way of hiding a more complicated inner lining with a simpler outer layer?
I'm in for the next volume. Don't forget to read the Field Guide entries on the left edge of the pages.
I'm in for the next volume. Don't forget to read the Field Guide entries on the left edge of the pages.
April 16, 2013
In another medium, Mind MGMT would be referred to as a High Concept story. What if the US government had a secret program with weaponized mind control specialists?
In its particulars, Mind MGMT is the story of Meru, a true crime writer who investigates a curious incident involving a commercial flight whose passengers all show signs of amnesia. Her investigation throws her into a spy story with psychics, immortal assassins, and former government operatives.
Given the widespread praise that this series has received in the single issue format, I was underwhelmed by this collection of the first six issues. The plotting is remarkably simple for such a convoluted tale: Maru travels to exotic location; escapes confrontation with assassins, then receives lengthy exposition. There are a few problems with this. First, Kindt gives too much telling without enough showing. We receive detailed backstory and answers to questions that have never been asked. Second, there’s no time to develop tension or for the reader to ask questions that are later answered. We’re given the answers without the questions ever being raised. This means that there is no payoff in the answers, since we aren’t invested. Also, we have no real investment in any of the characters in the story. Our protagonist, Meru, seems to be sympathetic primarily because she is the protagonist. Otherwise Meru is as much of a mystery as anything else in this story.
Quick mention must be made of the art choices in Mind MGMT. Kindt uses a rough watercolor style that is more common in more personal comics. It is a bit surprising to see it used with this type of storytelling, & some readers may find it a bit jarring.
In its particulars, Mind MGMT is the story of Meru, a true crime writer who investigates a curious incident involving a commercial flight whose passengers all show signs of amnesia. Her investigation throws her into a spy story with psychics, immortal assassins, and former government operatives.
Given the widespread praise that this series has received in the single issue format, I was underwhelmed by this collection of the first six issues. The plotting is remarkably simple for such a convoluted tale: Maru travels to exotic location; escapes confrontation with assassins, then receives lengthy exposition. There are a few problems with this. First, Kindt gives too much telling without enough showing. We receive detailed backstory and answers to questions that have never been asked. Second, there’s no time to develop tension or for the reader to ask questions that are later answered. We’re given the answers without the questions ever being raised. This means that there is no payoff in the answers, since we aren’t invested. Also, we have no real investment in any of the characters in the story. Our protagonist, Meru, seems to be sympathetic primarily because she is the protagonist. Otherwise Meru is as much of a mystery as anything else in this story.
Quick mention must be made of the art choices in Mind MGMT. Kindt uses a rough watercolor style that is more common in more personal comics. It is a bit surprising to see it used with this type of storytelling, & some readers may find it a bit jarring.
March 24, 2013
Really enjoyed this one. It combines some of the spy theatrics of Kindt's earlier Super Spy with a conspiracy story revolving around a secret government agency, responsible for psychic warfare. Meru, the main character, is a young woman true crime writer who sees a televised report about the tenth anniversary of Flight 815, the so-called "amnesia flight," because everyone on-board mysteriously lost their memories--everyone that is, but a seven-year-old boy and the missing, 121st passenger, Henry Lyme. Excited, she calls her agent and proposes a new book to explore the mystery of the flight and is confused when he tells her she's had this idea before. Events conspire to send her off to Mexico to investigate a small town where the citizens all starved to death, while making distinctive clay pots, an incident that is reminiscent of the amnesia flight. From there, she's drawn inexorably into a deeper mystery involving talking dolphins, a group of assassins knows as "Immortals," and the elusive Henry Lyme. Kindt has a very spare illustration style and his lettering is sometimes hard to read, but it all combines with his very heady plot to create something truly memorable. There are echoes of Lost in the story (and a foreword by Lost co-creator, Damon Lindelof) and it would make an effective movie or television series itself, in the right hands. The mystery isn't completely solved by book's end, suggesting there's more to the story, and I'm looking forward to further volumes. **ARC provided by NetGalley.
November 2, 2016
We're off to a promising beginning. I've been hearing good things about this series, and I can see why. How can you fight someone who can literally rewrite your memories and control your perceptions? Would you even know you needed to defeat them?
Meru is a journalist looking into a story about flight 815, an airplane full of people who all lost their memory at the same time. She discovers that one passenger seems to have vanished in mid-flight, and becomes determined to track him down. She quickly uncovers more than she bargained for. Even more strangely, it seems that this may not be her first attempt to do so ...
This is a suspenseful, well-plotted story. Kindt definitely has a clear vision for this project, and does a great job of uncovering the mysteries, little by little. A great deal of thought has gone into the various mental abilities and how they would be most effectively used. There are all sorts of interesting details that might not be noticed on the first read. For instance, the text along the border of each page changes ... I wound up going back over each chapter after I'd read it to read the page borders because it was interfering too much with the flow of the story to do so while reading normally.
I really liked this book, and am looking forward to the rest of the series. Highly recommended!
Meru is a journalist looking into a story about flight 815, an airplane full of people who all lost their memory at the same time. She discovers that one passenger seems to have vanished in mid-flight, and becomes determined to track him down. She quickly uncovers more than she bargained for. Even more strangely, it seems that this may not be her first attempt to do so ...
This is a suspenseful, well-plotted story. Kindt definitely has a clear vision for this project, and does a great job of uncovering the mysteries, little by little. A great deal of thought has gone into the various mental abilities and how they would be most effectively used. There are all sorts of interesting details that might not be noticed on the first read. For instance, the text along the border of each page changes ... I wound up going back over each chapter after I'd read it to read the page borders because it was interfering too much with the flow of the story to do so while reading normally.
I really liked this book, and am looking forward to the rest of the series. Highly recommended!
January 14, 2016
Read in issues.
When I saw the first issue in my LCS I wasn't sure about it. The watercolor art threw me off a little bit and I decided that I just wanted to read something familiar. However, over the next couple of days I kept thinking about it and how intriguing the look of it was. I went back and picked up the issue, then the 2nd issue, then the 3rd, etc. I fell in love with the storytelling as well as the art. I can't think of a better art style to fit this story. You spend most of the time following around the main character while she discovers more and more about a secret gov't agency that has been controlling people's minds for decades. Not only this but she herself is suffering from some sort of memory loss. The art style compliments this dream-like state she seems to be trapped in perfectly. Of all the series I'm currently reading this and Saga are easily two of my top three. I can't wait for it to come out each month. Also, rumor has it that its rights have already been optioned for a movie by 20th Century Fox and it's only 7 issues in!
When I saw the first issue in my LCS I wasn't sure about it. The watercolor art threw me off a little bit and I decided that I just wanted to read something familiar. However, over the next couple of days I kept thinking about it and how intriguing the look of it was. I went back and picked up the issue, then the 2nd issue, then the 3rd, etc. I fell in love with the storytelling as well as the art. I can't think of a better art style to fit this story. You spend most of the time following around the main character while she discovers more and more about a secret gov't agency that has been controlling people's minds for decades. Not only this but she herself is suffering from some sort of memory loss. The art style compliments this dream-like state she seems to be trapped in perfectly. Of all the series I'm currently reading this and Saga are easily two of my top three. I can't wait for it to come out each month. Also, rumor has it that its rights have already been optioned for a movie by 20th Century Fox and it's only 7 issues in!
July 26, 2013
Mind Mgmt opens with an X-Files mystery--everyone on a jetliner gets amnesia at the same time. A writer hunts the one passenger who's missing from the manifest while ducking immortal assassins, gradually uncovering a secret paranormal government agency, a conspiracy gone awry. An omniscient voiceover--apparently by the one orchestrating these events--natters on about regret and necessity and collateral damage. Crawling up the side of each page are instructions from a secret-agent manual, which eventually give way to dire warnings...to whomever the manual is intended for? To the protagonist? Maybe to me, the reader?
Kindt's pretty, limp illustration does not convey action well, but the story structure is intricate and sharp. After finishing the book I immediately started over again and started noticing a lot of wonderfully subtle details that I'd missed the first time through, symbols that keep appearing, a key character in the background of the amnesia flight, things like that. Pretty cool.
Kindt's pretty, limp illustration does not convey action well, but the story structure is intricate and sharp. After finishing the book I immediately started over again and started noticing a lot of wonderfully subtle details that I'd missed the first time through, symbols that keep appearing, a key character in the background of the amnesia flight, things like that. Pretty cool.
June 2, 2016
Really good! I really like the artwork and the writing, reminds me a bit of Jeff Lemire's earlier work (and I hear Kindt and Lemire are very good friends). Can't wait for the next volume!
January 11, 2016
Unique spy fi series. Intriguing premise and payoff. Can't wait to read the subsequent volumes
April 8, 2013
In the introduction, Damon Lindelof—noted for blowing people's mind in the film industry—promises Mind Mgmt would blow the reader's mind. He wasn't wrong.
Mind Mgmt functions perfectly as a standalone novel, reminiscent of Christopher Nolan's Memento, while taking the amnesia game to a higher level. Meru, an acclaimed photojournalist, delves into the mystery of flight 815 in which every passenger with the exception of a child and a missing person from the list is struck with a debilitating bout of amnesia. The passengers return to their lives, utter aliens and struggle to cope. Meru becomes obsessed with the story and follows breadcrumbs of clues that seem to miraculously fall into her lap.
She falls into a series of adventures that awakens something powerful within herself until a final encounter of blinding epiphany on the lazy currents of a foreign river.
I really, really hope Matt Kindt doesn't make a sequel to this story. The short vignettes that come after the main story, modeled as case files, are marvelous insights into the Mind Management project as envisioned by its creators. If there's to be a forthcoming volume, let it at least stretch and exaggerate the myth surrounding Meru's tale, like flotsam nudging a canoe nosing through the lazy currents of a foreign river.
Other readers seem to have an issue with the artwork. I would like to say that this is a creator owned work, and the very fact that it is used with the style Kindt is most comfortable with brings the story alive. It wouldn't be as good, otherwise.
Mind Mgmt functions perfectly as a standalone novel, reminiscent of Christopher Nolan's Memento, while taking the amnesia game to a higher level. Meru, an acclaimed photojournalist, delves into the mystery of flight 815 in which every passenger with the exception of a child and a missing person from the list is struck with a debilitating bout of amnesia. The passengers return to their lives, utter aliens and struggle to cope. Meru becomes obsessed with the story and follows breadcrumbs of clues that seem to miraculously fall into her lap.
She falls into a series of adventures that awakens something powerful within herself until a final encounter of blinding epiphany on the lazy currents of a foreign river.
I really, really hope Matt Kindt doesn't make a sequel to this story. The short vignettes that come after the main story, modeled as case files, are marvelous insights into the Mind Management project as envisioned by its creators. If there's to be a forthcoming volume, let it at least stretch and exaggerate the myth surrounding Meru's tale, like flotsam nudging a canoe nosing through the lazy currents of a foreign river.
Other readers seem to have an issue with the artwork. I would like to say that this is a creator owned work, and the very fact that it is used with the style Kindt is most comfortable with brings the story alive. It wouldn't be as good, otherwise.
August 16, 2018
Read for the local author prompt of my attempt at doing the Popsugar Reading Challenge with graphic novels and comics.
I will likely pick up later volumes of this at some point to continue reading - I didn't love it as much as I expected to, given that this is constantly on people's Best Comics of All Time lists!
I will likely pick up later volumes of this at some point to continue reading - I didn't love it as much as I expected to, given that this is constantly on people's Best Comics of All Time lists!
November 4, 2015
Wonderful concept, secret organisation of agents specialising in mind control. Love the watercolour illustration style. Looking forward to the next instalment.
January 19, 2025
Source material for my favorite game. Always been very interested in the characters and world and cool to see it all start to come together. Definitely going to read more.
July 15, 2021
Мне нравится акварель и ход повествования. Крутые кадры-вставки из фильмов (пока нашла только один, там где сержант кричит на солдат, выстроенных в ряд).
Много деталей интересных, классные письма от читателей.
Много деталей интересных, классные письма от читателей.
April 7, 2016
The most striking thing about Matt Kindt’s Mind MGMT is the art style, done with loose pen and watercolor sketches. It’s like nothing I’ve seen before in a graphic novel, and definitely gives the book a unique flavor. I will admit, however, that although the art is interesting, it isn’t entirely to my personal taste. I like that Kindt did something original with his style, but I had a hard time accepting the art as a stylistic choice instead of something that just felt a bit amateurish. A variant cover by Gilbert Hernandez included at the end of the book made me wish for a version of this story told using Hernandez’ clear, bold style instead.
As for the book’s story, it focuses on an investigative journalist named Meru who is trying to write a follow-up to her bestselling first book after two years with no success and dwindling funds. When she hears a recap of a story about a strange “amnesia flight” where all the passengers lost – and never regained – their memories, Meru calls her agent and suggests it as the topic of her second book. Her agent is skeptical, but agrees to fund a trip to Mexico for Meru to investigate a possibly connected event and try to track down a missing member of the amnesia flight, a man named Henry Lyme.
Throughout the book, an unnamed stranger dispassionately narrated Meru’s adventures, claiming she is following a series of “breadcrumbs” left behind to point her in the right direction. Everything Meru does seems pre-ordained, and she finds herself unable to escape ever-present feelings of déjà vu, or the CIA agents and unkillable couple who follow her every move. Each chapter of the book includes a case file on an individual with supernatural powers recruited by a mysterious agency called Mind Management. The more Meru uncovers, the more it becomes clear that Mind Management is the source of it all. All of this strangeness converges in a meeting between Meru and the man named Henry Lyme.
Although the story is full of interesting concepts, it feels like the tone of the narration keeps everything at arm’s length. Character development is minimal, and the dialogue is all very one-note. Henry Lyme’s story is the most interesting part of the book, but in the end I didn’t get very invested because the characters felt like tools of the plot and not real human beings. This is the first volume of an ongoing series, but I’m not sure where the story might go from here; the book wraps up enough that this could serve as a standalone story.
Overall, I thought the book was a decent enough read, but I don’t plan on reading further volumes of this series.
As for the book’s story, it focuses on an investigative journalist named Meru who is trying to write a follow-up to her bestselling first book after two years with no success and dwindling funds. When she hears a recap of a story about a strange “amnesia flight” where all the passengers lost – and never regained – their memories, Meru calls her agent and suggests it as the topic of her second book. Her agent is skeptical, but agrees to fund a trip to Mexico for Meru to investigate a possibly connected event and try to track down a missing member of the amnesia flight, a man named Henry Lyme.
Throughout the book, an unnamed stranger dispassionately narrated Meru’s adventures, claiming she is following a series of “breadcrumbs” left behind to point her in the right direction. Everything Meru does seems pre-ordained, and she finds herself unable to escape ever-present feelings of déjà vu, or the CIA agents and unkillable couple who follow her every move. Each chapter of the book includes a case file on an individual with supernatural powers recruited by a mysterious agency called Mind Management. The more Meru uncovers, the more it becomes clear that Mind Management is the source of it all. All of this strangeness converges in a meeting between Meru and the man named Henry Lyme.
Although the story is full of interesting concepts, it feels like the tone of the narration keeps everything at arm’s length. Character development is minimal, and the dialogue is all very one-note. Henry Lyme’s story is the most interesting part of the book, but in the end I didn’t get very invested because the characters felt like tools of the plot and not real human beings. This is the first volume of an ongoing series, but I’m not sure where the story might go from here; the book wraps up enough that this could serve as a standalone story.
Overall, I thought the book was a decent enough read, but I don’t plan on reading further volumes of this series.
January 11, 2018
This graphic novel, which deals with a mystery, which is never solved - setting the stage for subsequent volumes - features excellent art work by the author, as well as text/story line that moves the plot along. I did get a bit confused by the introduction of a flashback onto the origin of an agent - who I am not sure was actually featured in the story - but other than that, I thought the book was well-written and well-drawn.
I even liked the running meta commentary in the margin - underlining the drab, bureaucratic world of the agency - a contrast to the fast-paced action of the story itself. The reference to Lyme is of course to the famous character of almost the same name (Harry Lyme in the film vs. Henry Lyme in the GN) in the film "The Third Man." The contradictions Lyme has in both works, and the impossibility of escape, perhaps hinted at with the use of the name, add another layer of complexity to the Lyme character in the GN.
Meanwhile, the protagonist of "Mind Mgt, Vol 1" Meru, is a down at her luck writer, who embarks on a round-the-world quest to track down Lyme, who presumably holds the key to what happened aboard a flight wherein all the passengers (except Lyme) became amnesiac. Either Lyme did this to the passengers, or he knows how it was done. She convinces her literary agent that the subject will lead to a book, and receives an advance to start her search for Lyme. The adventures & misadventures on her quest, as well as Lyme's account - including flashbacks to Lyme's youth etc. - are incorporated into the GN, fleshing out the central character of Lyme, and explaining his retirement from the agency.
There's one incident of gratuitous/gory violence in this GN which bothered me since I dislike depictions of bloody violence; most of the fight or mayhem sequences aren't too graphic, however. Other than this one depiction (which disappears afterwards anyway since the victim is an "Immortal" and can somehow regenerate damaged/injured portions of his body) and the sequence about the agent whose role in the text I couldn't figure out, I would say this was a satisfying, fast-moving and exciting read. I'll definitely try to find and read subsequent volumes of Matt Kindt's "Mind Management."
I even liked the running meta commentary in the margin - underlining the drab, bureaucratic world of the agency - a contrast to the fast-paced action of the story itself. The reference to Lyme is of course to the famous character of almost the same name (Harry Lyme in the film vs. Henry Lyme in the GN) in the film "The Third Man." The contradictions Lyme has in both works, and the impossibility of escape, perhaps hinted at with the use of the name, add another layer of complexity to the Lyme character in the GN.
Meanwhile, the protagonist of "Mind Mgt, Vol 1" Meru, is a down at her luck writer, who embarks on a round-the-world quest to track down Lyme, who presumably holds the key to what happened aboard a flight wherein all the passengers (except Lyme) became amnesiac. Either Lyme did this to the passengers, or he knows how it was done. She convinces her literary agent that the subject will lead to a book, and receives an advance to start her search for Lyme. The adventures & misadventures on her quest, as well as Lyme's account - including flashbacks to Lyme's youth etc. - are incorporated into the GN, fleshing out the central character of Lyme, and explaining his retirement from the agency.
There's one incident of gratuitous/gory violence in this GN which bothered me since I dislike depictions of bloody violence; most of the fight or mayhem sequences aren't too graphic, however. Other than this one depiction (which disappears afterwards anyway since the victim is an "Immortal" and can somehow regenerate damaged/injured portions of his body) and the sequence about the agent whose role in the text I couldn't figure out, I would say this was a satisfying, fast-moving and exciting read. I'll definitely try to find and read subsequent volumes of Matt Kindt's "Mind Management."
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