Mind MGMT is winding down. This week, we can finally get our hands on the penultimate issue, and I can tell you that it is good. Normally, I hate using language that is too flowery or complimentary in a review. So, I try to avoid phrases like “incredible,” “my favorite series,” or “one of the best pieces of science fiction in any medium that I have ever seen.” I am a professional, after all.

Matt Kindt has been killing it for nearly three years on this comic, and it looks like it will finish as strongly as it started. His writing has always been top notch, and this issue more than delivers. There is a vein of tenderness that runs through the issue, even in the midst of the violence. That compassion never steps on the issue’s need to provide a strong action climax to a massive story. The story pulls you along at a breakneck pace, with some truly fascinating parts that just register for a moment, before the next thing grabs your attention. For example, without straying too far into spoilers, there is an action scene in this issue with squirrels flying through the air in a menacing manner. Squirrels. I have reread this issue three times and keep finding little details that add more and more depth and humor. Nevertheless, the thing that sticks with me the most is the utter loss and sadness that the characters in this story live with every day. The writing is strong enough that deep melancholy and attack squirrels can happily coexist in the same 32 pages.

Have I mentioned the art yet? (Ed: It would be easy to read the first two paragraphs to find out.) Matt Kindt, who might be a little too old to call a wunderkindt (Get it?), is one of the best and most interesting illustrators working in comics today. His style is unlike anything I have seen in comics before. (Please send all corrections to “ben AT fanboycomics DOT net.”) The loose and expressive watercolors are a perfect match for this story. This comic is full of clever, little effects that reinforce the plot and add nuance. Additionally, this issue has one of my all-time favorite splash pages that is equal parts awesome, fist-punchy, and absurdly funny. That is no mean feat.

I feel the need to remind you that I am a professional reviewer, not some overenthusiastic fanboy (That’s “ben AT fanboycomics DOT net.”), so when I say that for nearly three years, Matt Kindt has been writing and illustrating the single finest ongoing comic on the market, I hope you will take me at my word. This is a spectacular comic, and it is well worth your time. The newest issue is a beautiful piece of the conclusion to a wonderful story. I can’t recommend it enough.

Five Fearless Attack Squirrels out of Five