The last issue of Matt Kindt’s Mind MGMT ended with a huge cliffhanger. Somehow, this issue advances the plot and reveals some interesting backstory while keeping the stakes high. This arc has been focused on the magician, Professor Agement, and the attempts by the two factions to recruit her. It is not going well for Lyme and company.

The magician’s backstory is a fascinating one. She is almost completely defined by her fear of aging, so her past makes perfect sense. Without spilling any details at all, she was a revolutionary who got in over her head. She escaped the life, was pulled back in, and escaped again. If I were making her backstory into a movie, I would cast Robert Redford. This, by the way, is why I love this series so much. Mind MGMT periodically shifts into different genres for an issue or two, and it always does it well.

This issue isn’t just a pseudo-political thriller with a psychic twist, it is also a fascinating character study of a woman who is driven by and, ultimately, ruined by denial and deception. This is another thing that Mind MGMT does so well. The “villains” are as sympathetic as the “heroes,” and everyone is incredibly flawed. This is why the series is so compelling.

The art in this issue is just as good as it always is. Kindt’s loose watercolors give everything a feeling of unreality, which makes perfect sense in a series about psychics who spend all day messing with people’s perception. The layout in the comic is a thing of beauty. The way that characters and scenes are framed does as much to set the tone as anything of the art or dialogue. The script, art, and layout all work together to make this one of the best comics out there.

If you have been reading Mind MGMT, then you only need me to tell you that this issue works. If you haven’t read it yet, you should get yourself caught up as soon as possible. This issue does a lot to move the story along, while developing the world even further.

Four and a Half Rabbits in Four and a Half Hats out of Five