Review: Mind MGMT – Vol 2, The Futurist / Author: Matt Kindt / Publisher: Dark Horse / Release Date: October 22nd
The premise of Mind MGMT is a pretty neat one; an elite cabal of government-sponsored psychics once had complete and total control over the world on a personal and global level. However something went wrong, and because this is all about mind powers, those who would have the first clue have had their mind wiped by shadowy conspirators.
In Volume 1, the main characters had pretty much lost, having had their memories messed with. This latest instalment picks up the pace with some explosions and some convenient exposition that puts the principle protagonists back the in the game. Alas, what should be a high-octane spy thriller with a dash of superpowers and touch of The Bourne Identity is instead a confusing mess. Twists and turns in storytelling only work if the reader is truly engaged and informed, and this is especially true in spy stories, even sci-fi ones like Mind MGMT.
Sadly, a combination of messy artwork and even messier dialogue means that the reader is more confused than interested. When it does work, it works very well; Matt Kindt is both writer and artist and that means he’s been able to fill each every single page with detail and ideas. Though these are charming and add extra depth and meaning to the work, they aren’t enough to carry the story. It’s not that the story is hard to follow, it’s more that there doesn’t seem to be any real narrative here, just a bunch of stuff that happens, which is an approach that rarely works for super-spy stories.
