Nobody Is In Control

by Patrick Kindlon, Paul Tucker (Artist)

When Richard sees a man run through his yard, he follows him out of concern. This deep in the woods, he must be lost... must be in trouble. Bust soon it's Richard in peril, as this stranger drags him into a deep, twisted web of conspiracy going back hundreds of years. By writer Patrick Kindlon (Survival Fetish, We Can Never Go Home, There's Nothing There), artist Paul Tucker (Tet), and hand-lettered by Wallace Ryan. Collects issues 1-4.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Thriller, Conspiracy Theories

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 2, 2020

Reviews

[Kyle Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool comic about conspiracy theories that marries the form and function of comics very well. A lot of interesting things are said, and it was fun to take at least a surface level look at some theories in here. Very crass and fun to read, moves quick and has great, sort of experimental art. The ending is somewhat predictable, and unexpectedly lame, coming to its conclusion with a sort of catch-all, inoffensive opinion.

[Matt Graupman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories about conspiracy theories can be kind of a tough sell. It's a very thin line between being interesting and wandering off aimlessly into tinfoil hat territory. Thankfully, Patrick Kindlon (vocalist of the excellent punk band Drug Church and post-punk band Self Defense Family) is too clever to let "Nobody Is In Control" fall into that trap. In fact, artist Paul Tucker actually uses a tinfoil hat as part of the structure of one of his pages, another way he pushes the boundaries of the art with little experiments and multi-media gags. The plot of "Nobody Is In Control" is simple enough - a former Coast To Coast AM-style radio host encounters a man running through the woods behind his home and ends up following him down a rabbit hole of fringe beliefs - and it seems like it's basically a rough framework for Kindlon to explore some of his favorite random historical conspiracies. It's not exactly the most coherent storyline but it was certainly never boring. Also never boring? Tucker's contribution which, like I said, leans into some pretty dreamy, time-bending experimental work. Unconventional and thought-provoking, "Nobody Is In Control" was kind of what I expected from the frontman of some equally unconventional and thought-provoking bands.

[Adam Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

A frenetic story about a regular guy in a terrifying slightly future world who, in trying to protect a stranger from the perils of his world, gets sucked into a web of conspiracy theories and intrigue.

I enjoyed the concept that when the Conspiracy Theory character spoke about theories, he visually became the thing he was talking about. I don't think the art 100% achieved its goal there, as it was initially confusing, but I appreciate the creativity.

There were a few times where I started daydreaming, and had to go back because I hadn't absorbed any of the story but I did choose to go back, rather than just skipping the parts that didn't hold my attention.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cool little story about conspiracy theories. The art is quite nice too.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of cool ideas and layout. The information is presented in a really cool way. The story is not really anything great but I didn't care much while reading. It was a fun read.