Review – Mind MGMT #18 (Dark Horse Comics)

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer/Artist: Matt Kindt
Release Date: 22nd January 2014

Psychic espionage thriller Mind MGMT takes a breather from its multi-issue story-arcs for this one shot comic about Ella, a young girl brought into the fold of the Mind MGMT agency.

Fans of the series will see familiar faces take on a more peripheral role than usual as the world of nefarious psychic spies is seen through the eyes of Ella who’s too young and bewildered to fully understand her actions and the meaning of the events which are unfolding around her.

The lush watercolours that make up much of the artwork are reminiscent of a children’s book; particularly woodland scenes of animals and children peering through the foliage. It’s lovely to look at but also rather apt in this story which is centred on, and narrated by, a young child. It’s a great example of a comic’s form and content marrying perfectly.

While the artwork can be said to be childlike, the narrative technique on show is rather more sophisticated. Using a variety of different styles including first person narration, excerpts from psychological evaluations and reports as well as random thoughts scribbled in the margins of the pages this is multi-textual and densely layered.

Writer and artist Matt Kindt has said that he only plans to create thirty six issues of this series in total and this one and done issue is as good a place as any for new readers to jump on. Go on, give it a try. Open your mind.

Rating: 8/10.

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The writer of this piece was: Joe Morrison
Joe is Freelance film journalist based in Glasgow.
You can also find Joe on Twitter.