The following is an interview with New York Times bestselling writer/artist Matt Kindt regarding the June release of the self-contained new series, MIND MGMT: NEW & IMPROVED, through Oni Press and Kindt’s Flux House imprint. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Kindt about why new readers can easily dive into the story, why you should pay no attention to his trademark added content within the gutters and elsewhere throughout the pages, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: You will soon be returning to the critically acclaimed world of MIND MGMT for the self-contained new series, MIND MGMT: NEW & IMPROVED. What can you tell us about your decision to return to the series and your experience in steeping yourself within its world once again?
Matt Kindt: I’ve completely forgotten all about the original series and I suggest everyone else do so, as well. It was full of half-truths and outright propaganda. None of those characters will be appearing in this new series as far as I know. I am going out of my way not to repeat anything I did in the original ground-breaking/trend-setting/best-selling series. Instead I wanted to sort of sand off all of the hard edges and do a fun detective-duo murder mystery with a couple of main characters who may or may not be falling in love while they try to solve a series of the strangest murders you’ve ever read about. I wanted this series to start out really easy and smooth…a fun little mystery to solve with some quirky characters. Never mind all that other stuff going on in the page edges and back matter. Definitely don’t read the back page prose story and 100% it will not haunt your subconscious or make you question whether you’re “getting everything.” Don’t worry! I’m spoon-feeding it this time…very digestible. Very much a crowd pleaser!
BD: In having previously laid the groundwork for the MIND MGMT series with such incredible storytelling and character development, how would you describe your approach to crafting a series that serves as a solid jumping-on point for new readers while continuing to engage returning readers?
MK: There is no need to have a jumping-on point. The previous series was absolute lies and propaganda. None of that has any bearing on what is about to happen. The younger me didn’t really understand what he was writing about and sort of missed the point of “Mind Management.” But the new me (the new and improved) has all the answers and will be spelling it out one page at a time. If you’ve read the old series, I really appreciate it. I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing now without all that support. That said, this new series is going to correct all of the errors of the original series and tell an entirely new story with all new characters. It’s a series written and drawn for our modern age and in much shorter, bite-size pieces for more easily digestible entertainment. And will easily accommodate shorter attention spans. It’s an infinite scroll of a story with a finite page count. We’re trying to combat doom-scrolling with a steady diet of FOMO.
BD: How do you feel that this story may connect with and impact readers, and what, if any, conversations do you hope that it might inspire?
MK: I hope readers finish an issue and think, wow, what a fun murder mystery. I love these two characters. I wonder if they’re going to fall in love. I wonder who did the murders. I hope they’re not at all concerned with a character named the Eraser who might be erasing memories. And I hope no one notices any weird message in the gutters between panels. I mean, those are most likely printing errors. Comics isn’t an exact science. I hope they ignore the big, long prose story on the back inside cover. That doesn’t have anything to do with anything. It’s just experimental stuff. Seeing how much content can be jammed into one issue of a comic. In fact, there’s a lot of printing errors in this book. Like, all over the place. Weird colors. Lack of colors. Captions that are missing background boxes. Word balloons with random words bolded inside of them. None of that is some kind of “secret message.” I’d just ignore anything that feels anomalous.
BD: Do you foresee further expanding the MIND MGMT world (and its new characters) into subsequent story arcs (or other storytelling mediums) if given the opportunity?
MK: I can see it. I’ve been sitting on a novel for a while that needs finishing and it’s so-far been unadaptable into film and television but that is currently in the works. If we’re going to adapt it – it really needs to be just right so getting it just right takes some time and the right collaborators.
BD: Are there any other projects – past or current – that you would like to highlight for our readers?
MK: A month after MIND MGMT debuts, I have a new series I’m working on with Brian Hurtt doing the art – called Fort Psycho. We’ve been working on this one secretly for the last couple years, and that is going to be unlike anything else either of us have done. It’s kind of like G.I. Joe on acid if I had to describe it in a few words.
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell fans who want to learn more about MIND MGMT: NEW & IMPROVED?
MK: Stay tuned! I’ll be feeding much more mis-information about it on all of my social medias.
