From New York Times bestselling and Harvey award-winning graphic novelist Matt Kindt comes a globe-spanning tale of espionage, top-secret government programs, conspiracy, and weaponized amnesia.
Meru's hunt for answers about the dismantled government Mind MGMT program and its rogue agent Henry Lyme lead her to confront super spies, the competing mission of the deadly agent "The Eraser," and discovering some buried memories of her own.
Collects volumes 3 and 4 of the Mind MGMT series--a story that's optioned for film by Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner).
The storytelling has gotten more obtuse and is losing me, not out of a lack of desire on my part. I just can't always tell what's going on or keep track of the 97 characters in the book at this point. The story keeps flashing back from multiple view points or from different time periods and it's not always clear what I'm supposed to be picking up from this. There was a silent issue that seemed largely meaningless to me. But there's only one more omnibus edition and I'm intrigued enough to stick with it.
Received a review copy from Dark Horse and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.
(Zero spoiler review) 2.75 I found myself mostly frustrated with this one. There were times when I was sucked in to the (fairly simplistic) storytelling, although for the most part, it was rather vague and uninteresting. You could tell that Kindt was really stretching the legs on this series, trying to get as much mileage out of it as he could, and it shows her rather frequently. I believe I complained during the review of book one, that Kindt's simplistic (there's that word again) art style really detracts from the storytelling, and that is certainly true here, too. Though I did find myself slightly more drawn in to his unique, yet basic style, though its still the watercolours that give it whatever lustre it manages to attain. Small praise aside, I find the characters mostly bland, and difficult to follow. Kindt's dialogue and narrative flow don't make for the most connective or discernible of reads. Half the time I had little to no idea what was going on, and not in a good way, either. As I stated at the start of this review, there is frustration and appeal throughout this story, although frustration usually wins the day, which sadly keeps this from being anything more than average. If I knew what I knew now, I doubt I would read it, and I certainly wouldn't pay for it. Here's hoping the best book is the last one, at least. 2.75/5
Very good I will have to reread at some point. I love the art style and the disjointed plot structure. Not as strong as the first omnibus but a fine continuation.
Picks up somewhat from where the Part 1 finishes off This one is moves a bit more slower than the first one in the initial chapters, but picks up pace really fast. I had posted on the first parts review that its kind of loses its focus on explaining conviction and the "why?" aspect for some characters, i take that back now having read part 2. This one goes through a lot of flashback stories about many characters, and links several aspects like which might have been plot holes if unexplained (sometimes over explaining the same thing too :P). This one sets everything for the grand finale or sorts and i am guessing part 3 is going to be really interesting. I somehow felt the art has gotten better in some pages than part1, but the initial chapter in this book got me really confused where you have to recognize people through dress colors and make sense of what is going on.
Not as strong/clear a story as the first volume that I loved so much, but also not diminishing my interest. Good middle of a very strong series, and I'm SO excited for the conclusion.
Meru a obtenu un joli succès avec son premier livre, une enquête sur le meurtre d’une famille par la mère maintenant en attente de son exécution en prison. Mais les factures s’accumulent et la jeune femme est cons-tamment relancée par son agent qui espère un manuscrit. Elle a alors l’idée de découvrir ce qui s’est passé, il y a deux ans, lors du vol 815, qui a vu toutes les personnes à bord arriver au sol sans aucun souvenir de leur vie passée. Seul un passager, Henry Lyme, semble avoir totalement disparu. Meru va donc interroger les am-nésiques et son enquête l’amène au Mexique où un village est lui aussi touché par un phénomène étrange : depuis des mois, les habitants sont léthargiques et ne sont capables que de fabriquer des poteries avec un seul et même dessin, semble-t-il originaire de Zanzibar. Mais alors que Meru est à l’hôtel, un homme surgit et lui affirme qu’elle est en danger. Elle s’enfuit avec lui, poursuivie par un couple de tueurs sans pitié et elle ignore encore que ceux-ci ont été mandatés par une organisation secrète, le Mind Mgmt qui est capable de manipuler les esprits … Quand j’avais lu le sujet de cette trilogie graphique, j’ai su tout de suite qu’il faudrait que je la lise. Et quand j’ai vu les trois tomes disponibles à ma médiathèque, j’ai sauté de joie devant tant de chance ! Car il faut bien le dire : c’est le genre d’œuvre où il ne faut pas vraiment faire de longues pauses dans sa lecture car c’est assez compliqué. J’avais découvert l’auteur avec Super spy, qui m’avait bien plu mais qui n’avait pas été une lecture facile non plus ! Tout d’abord, ce qui marque le plus quand on tient cette série en main, c’est son poids : chaque tome fait plus de 300 pages, avec une belle couverture bien solide et un beau papier. Autant dire qu’on se muscle en même temps qu’on lit ! Ensuite, on découvre un graphisme qui pourrait paraitre un peu brouillon parfois mais qui est très vivant, avec des découpages audacieux, originaux et du texte un peu partout sur les pages, qui ressemblent à des comptes-rendus de mission. Donc, il faut souvent tourner le livre pour pouvoir lire le petit texte imprimé le long de la pliure centrale et en plus, vu que c’est souvent écrit en bleu assez clair, il vaut mieux avoir une bonne lumière (ou une loupe éclairante comme ce fut mon cas !). Du coup, il faut développer aussi une technique de lecture comme on le sent (page par page, bloc par bloc ...). J’avoue que j’aime énormément quand les choses bousculent l’ordinaire et là, j’ai été servie ! En plus, le style graphique m’a énormément plu et contrairement à ma première expérience de l’auteur, je n’ai pas eu de mal à identifier les différents (et nombreux) personnages. L’histoire est à l’avenant de l’originalité visuelle : le Mind Mgmt, cette organisation secrète et omniprésente, est bien décrite, effrayante à souhait, avec tous ses agents aux pouvoirs hors normes mais qu’on peut aisément imaginer dans notre monde réel. Au début, on peut être un peu perplexe et perdu mais les choses vont se mettre en place petit à petit, en nous plongeant au côté de Meru, elle aussi perdue dans un monde qu’elle ne comprend pas. Il y a des moments durs, violents, avec des batailles épiques et de nombreux morts mais il y a aussi des moments plus doux, remplis d’émotion, de tendresse et d’humanité. Au final, on comprend mieux les choses mais la dernière vignette m’a laissée un peu dans l’expectative : y aurait-il une suite possible un jour ? Je l’espère car j’ai adoré et il y a encore tant de choses à développer autour de cet univers particulièrement fouillé et prenant !
Well, this series definitely started strong, but it loses some of the wind in its sails in this middle chunk.
The first volume ended at a point where the plot and characters were really well established. We knew and understood the main characters of the series, and we had enough historical context to understand why the two groups are fighting over Mind MGMT, not to mention where Meru fit into the picture. All Kindt had to do was continue telling this story, with enough of a dose of intrigue and spectacle to turn this into a page turner.
So you can imagine that I was pretty annoyed that a good three quarters of the book takes place in the past! Of the 12 issues in this omnibus, I'd wager 7 of them were almost entirely dedicated to exploring the backstories of various characters, and that's in addition to the Second Floor and Mind Memo segments. I guess I understand why we needed to know more about who the Eraser is, and the reveal there is pretty interesting if predictable, but that really should've been the end of it. Instead, not only does the book devote even more time to the backstories of Meru and Henry Lyme - characters whose histories we know well enough - but it also dives into the backstories of minor characters.
You get through the 12 issues of this omnibus and find that the actual story has barely progressed at all! There are some big moments in the A plot towards the end, and it'll definitely leave you excited to read the next volume, but I'm worried now that Kindt will blunt the edge of these twists by exploring even more of the Management's and Meru's backstories.
I think Matt started writing this series and wound up in a situation like the one I feel George RR Martin is in. GRRM hasn't published The Winds of Winter yet, but he's written thousands of pages about the Targaryen Dynasty, and it's clear to me that is the story he's more interested in. Similarly, Kindt is too distracted by the secret history of the Management and its agents to pay attention to the story he's supposed to be telling.
This is still Mind MGMT, th0ugh. Those who enjoyed Vol 1 should feel safe about continuing into Vol 2, even though the book runs into some problems. Here's hoping Matt finishes strong!
One more complaint, though: a lot of people think, in hindsight, that the artwork is the biggest weakness of the series. I disagree, but it does have one flaw: Matt's brunette women all look the same for some reason? That can get kinda confusing at times, but it's not a dealbreaker by any means.
Wow. Fue triste darme cuenta que los precios en Amazon se habían disparado para este tomo. El primero y el tercero estaban baratos pero el segundo no. Compré ambos y traté de contactar tiendas de cómics para ver si podían enviármelo desde Estados Unidos, a ver si podía obtener un mejor precio. No pude. Llegó el tercer tomo y no iba a poder disfrutarlo. Así que hice algo que no había hecho en estos 13 años leyendo cómics y fue comprarlo en digital. No fue una experiencia tan desagradable como pensaba pero sigo prefiriendo la experiencia de papel, me apuré a leerlo en una sentada para no tener que estar mucho más tiempo en la compu. Disfruté más el primer tomo sin duda. Pero creo que se debía a que no tenía ni idea de qué esperar, el factor sorpresa trabajó muy bien para esta historia. Este tomo no es malo, para nada, de hecho sigue siendo increíble. Se transforma lo que Kindt construyó en el primer tomo y aquí tenemos un universo expandido además de varios giros, seguimos sin saber qué estaba sucediendo. Tenemos un poco más de información sobre Meru y podemos ver a Eraser, además que tenemos una gran revelación de la identidad de Eraser y me sorprendió bastante. También entendemos un poco más sobre la relación de Lyme y de Meru y me parece muy impresionante que el shift del protagonismo se haya revertido completamente: en la premisa de la historia todo apuntaba a que Lyme era el más chingón, pero en estos dos tomos Lyme no es tan útil cómo pensaba y en cambio Meru se vuelve un wild card muy interesante, muy impredecible pero su papel en la historia ayuda a que todo se aterrice bien. La segunda mitad del tomo fue muy interesante. Porque Kindt ahonda más en el tema de las ilusiones. No sabemos quién está en cada bando realmente, ni en quién confiar y seguimos sacando historias interesantes. Sigue haciendo cosas muy locas Kind en el ámbito narrativo. Sus historias al principio de cada número y al final son muy buenas y reveladoras para el resto de la historia principal. También hace cosas interesantes con las historias al márgen de las páginas, podemos ver cómo funcionan las habilidades de Perrier y algunos detalles interesantes sobre lo que está sucediendo en la página. Mind MGMT es una historia difícil de describir pero muy sencilla de recomendar, si buscas algo experimental en la narración gráfica, algo que te sorprenda, esta es la historia que estás buscando.
I'm feeling the same bRain wave patteRns I've felt whilst watching pRimer. Who knew someone could write something so confusing yet make sense at the same time, makes sense? Yea Right.
Really loved the "side" notes and stoRies, again adds so many layeRs for the ReadeR to peel back. The aRt is something I've gRown accustomed to, I feaRed I might not and so kept my distance with this seRies but now I know I've been missing out on a lot and I'm glad I jumped in when I did.
Also have you noticed that in this book there is no loweR case 'r' in dialogs, its all in uppercase. Begs the question how much have we missed!
Fantastic. The inventive and shifting structure, the mystery of the narrative, and the unique character development all combine into a vibrant whole. That's all not even mentioning the striking watercolor images that bring every page to life.
This second collection delivers on the promises of the first, and it sets up a narrative in which Meru's full abilities begin to be hinted at. There's less repetitive self-discovery and more grappling with where things are headed for the characters. I could see the third part devolving into a prototypical war story, like an X-Men movie, but I trust Kindt to subvert my expectations in delightful ways.
Still very readable and how-exactly-does-one-person-come-up-with-this-stuff but it's all getting a bit convoluted to be fully enjoyable and engaging. Why are they there? Wait, who are they again? Wait, what? Having said that, it's imaginative as hell with complete sections only focusing on thoughts, backstories to the whole Mind Mgmt world, and nice call backs to previous moments.
I'll now rush to complete the third before I forget everything but I have no idea if I'm looking forward to actually having to read it or not...
Rehashes a LOT of the first omnibus, not a lot of forward motion, characters aren't deepening but also there's not a lot of action, still not sure why I should care about the different factions. :\ I do like the art style.
Not as good as book 1, partly because it seems to meander a lot more and doesn't seem to follow a super specific story. Or maybe it's too broken up with all the little mini stories (which are a little more hit and miss than book 1). Still enjoyable, still intriguing. I will definitely read book 3.
I thought I'd get over the not-the-best art, but when it gets confusing because some characters look too much alike and you can't tell who's who, I get a little sad.
A little more confusing than the first, to the point that the secondary tales and side plots are probably more interesting than the a little messy action mainline.
Mind MGMT: The Mind Management Comprehensive Report 2 of 3 collects issues 13-24 of the Dark Horse Comics series written and drawn by Matt Kindt.
Meru and Lyme continue their search and recruitment of former Mind Management agents before The Eraser can get to them.
I really don’t know what the hell was happening in this book. I think that is also kind of the point. There are so many characters, different perspectives, and different timelines that it becomes muddled. I found myself really excited to continue reading after how Book 1 ended on a high point after a weak start, but now I am just dreading on reading the next and final installment.
A bit weirder than the previous book. The story of the first book has started to devolve into a monster of the week style comic to introduce new characters. While artistically done, it's nothing shocking.