As Mind MGMT grinds to a conclusion, it seems less and less likely that everything will resolve neatly for our plucky heroes. They have all been damaged in one way or another, and it looks like it isn’t getting any easier. The latest issue follows Duncan, who can see fifteen minutes into the future and kill you by pointing at you, and Perrier, a novelist who can incapacitate you with a haiku, as they try to recruit a few more agents to fight the mysterious and deadly Eraser.
Their hunt takes them from South America to India, with stops in London and the Himalayas. On the way, they encounter a cult leader, a team that combines magic and science, and an immortal. I loved watching Duncan and Perrier getting into and out of desperate situations in this issue. The plot moves along at a brisk pace, but it also manages to squeeze in some quiet moments between two interesting characters. Perhaps more than any other issue, this one shows some of the truly horrific consequences of the secret conflict between powerful psychics. This ties into a major theme of this series: while absolute power corrupts absolutely, even a little power can be incredibly dangerous.
As always, Matt Kindt’s watercolor art is spectacular. This issue, in particular, is full of horrible images and grotesque characters. The watercolors don’t mask the awfulness, but the looseness does soften the images. Elsewhere, the loose-flowing nature of the art heightens the impact, especially in the fights, which are gorgeous. As a side note, for a comic about psychics using psychic powers, this issue has three separate fights that are resolved by beating the other guys up with punching.
This issue is one of the more emotional Mind MGMTs in a while. It does have three sections that could be expanded into full-length horror stories, and a fourth that could be a rollicking action piece, but at the heart of this issue is the story of two people working together. The real payoff here is purely emotional. The characters are as believable as a chain-smoking psychic with a deadly finger and a word ninja can possibly be. This is why the comic works. Also, I don’t know where else to put this, but this issue has the single best joke about predicting the future of a fist fight I have ever seen.
Five Deadly Word Ninjas out of Five