First of all, the front and back cover stories are becoming way too interesting! Matt Kindt needs a second pair of hands so that we can have one spin-off issue of just the history of Mind MGMT. I like this book still, but I am finding the constant chasing to be a bit dull. Hopefully that’ll be resolved in the next issue. This series surprises me by portraying human life as disposable, but at the same time sacred. It’s a strange balance that keeps your emotions in check, but queued up and ready to go at the same time. Meru finds herself driving a motorcycle with a CIA agent riding on the back. After almost losing their pursuers, they begin running away on foot after they crash the motorcycle. The “Immortals” as they’re called catch up to Meru and her handy-dandy CIA agent only for him to shoot one of them in the face. Meru instantly asks if they’re Zombies due to the fact that the man is still standing and alive. They begin running again and the agent explains that they’re not Zombies, but something possibly worse.
Meru and the agent manage to get free and board a plane to Zanzibar; little do they know that the “Immortals” are still a few rows behind biding their time. Once they land Meru has a strange case of Déjà vu which as we’re told by the narrator is his mental suggestion. He steers her away from the agent and up into a shop where she finds a woman typing endlessly on a type writer. The extremely long piece of paper gives Meru two clues, the first being her arrival to that place and the second is a clue on where to go to next.
There are two parts that are so fucked up they’re brilliant in this issue. When the narrator is describing Perrier and why she is typing it’s very intense and immersive. The way Perrier’s dialog reinforces what the narrator is saying is very smart and laces more elements into the story. The second part that was messed up I will not spoil, but it also involved Perrier and the entire page is like a moment in time. It was very powerful and disturbing at the same time.
Kindt’s art style is so perfect for the type of story he wants to tell. The facial expressions and scars on the characters have real weight to the scenes and give a true sense of what they’re going through. The one “Immortal” in particular has several scars and yet he looks and acts like he’s tired and just wants to quit. He’s so far gone mentally that he doesn't even try to hide his appearance by growing hair. This great balance between the story and art is part of the charm of this series.
Right now I feel a bit like Meru in the sense that I don’t know what’s going on in the story 100%, but the journey is very rewarding and keeps me hooked in. I’ve found with each issue of this series so far that I become so emerged in the story that I get frustrated when it ends and even the amazing cover stories can’t settle my mood. Nope there is only one cure and that’s reading more Mind MGMT.
Score: 4/5
Writer/Artist: Matt Kindt Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 6/27/12