The second thing I’m going to say is that this issue is a pretty good jumping on point if you haven’t been reading the best comic around. The first thing I’m going to say is that you should pick up Mind MGMT #19. This is the best ongoing comic out there, if you ask me.

I have been a big fan of Matt Kindt’s art for a long time. His loose and dreamlike water paint style works flawlessly in this comic. The entire comic is about powerful psychics and their huge, petty conflicts. The loose inks reflect the fact that you don’t always get to believe your eyes. The other cool thing that Kindt does is incorporate some of the trademark elements of noir, like imposing shadows and skewed camera angles. This accentuates the wonderful sense of desperation as the characters increasingly find themselves outnumbered and out of control.

This brings me to the plot in this comic. Oh goodness, did I love this one. The past issues have focused on the aftermath of the collapse of the titular psychic agency and a recruitment competition between a group who wants to start the program back up and a group trying to keep it locked down for good. The conflict is shifting into a new phase in this comic, and things are looking nothing but bad for our heroes. Trouble begins when Lyme and company attempt to recruit Professor Agement, a practicing magician and former agent. This issue deals with several plot threads at once, and none of them look like they will end well. Basically, the second half of this comic has four separate plots plowing toward a conclusion at the same time. The pacing and plotting of this book are both spectacular.

I keep being surprised by the clever, little details in this series. There are interesting throwaway details that show up months later as critical plot points. There are times when the art does something odd and cool that you only realize later was for very specific plot reasons. This comic has been firing on all cylinders for so long that it’s easy to forget how good it is. Every issue I have read (and I have read them all) has at least one panel or plot device that would make that the best issue of the year in any other book. If you aren’t reading Mind MGMT, you are missing the best thing in your local comic shop.

Five Rabbits out of Five Hats