Mind MGMT: Bootleg
Matt Kindt, script; Farel Dalrymple, art & letters; Matt Lesniewski, art & letters; Bill Crabtree, colors; David Rubín, art & letters; Jill Thompson, art; Jim Campbell, letters
Dark Horse Books, 2023

The first comic book series from Flux House, Matt Kindt’s all-new imprint revisits his Mind MGMT series. The blurb promises that it is not: a prequel, a studio-driven sequel, or a corporate re-imagining of that comic you love. All true, but it really is a sequel, just not the sort you would expect from a mainstream comic series. It seems that the Mind MGMT organization (a covert government agency of psychic super spies) has gone inactive after the actions of one rogue agent. Henry Lyme had retired to Zanzibar, but he had a breakdown and lost control of his abilities, which resulted in the residents murdering each other.

This was a core plot point in the original series. But it seems that there were four Zanzibar survivors, and this story revolves around them. Kito (and his pet rat) are scratching out a living hunting for old LPs and selling them. Haunted by an ad, he arrives at a modernist building, where he is expected. He is put through a series of bizarre tests, but it turns out that the real test was seeing the receptionist again (“the Eraser”) and remembering her. Kito has “advanced pattern recognition” which allows him to survive by seeing patterns in behavior and the environment. He is to seek out two of the others, and avoid Meru Marlow (a major character in the original series) at all costs. The narrative is followed by a supposed sample script page, except it goes beyond the ending to explain more about the Eraser. Then there is a Le Black Chat minicomic about the adventures of another agent.

Denny  (his skill is a technology specialist to counter and destroy the viral memes) is Kito’s first stop, in India . They talk, then have to run to escape surreal enemy agents. They get to Chiyo in Japan (her skill is the “Muscle” to make it happen).  Followed by more sample script pages and the minicomic. The third issue opens with a battle between Meru and Eraser: Eraser tries to convince Meru that they have to bring back Mind Management to combat Mister Hide’s memes, which are turning the collective minds of the planet into mush. The three members of the Zanzibar Four chew an enormous amount of bubble gum to take in a lifetime of training and information, and confront a man who can tell them the location of Mister Hide. After a very twisty battle, the kids succeed and the story ends with a new Mind Managment with the Eraser in charge. But the kids are on to her, and Meru and Henry Lyme (who is not dead after all) are still keeping an eye on things.

Like the original series the storytelling here is incredibly dense, with twists and turns that can be hard to follow despite it being only four issues long. That’s what happens when there are multiple characters who can influence other people’s perception of reality. There is always the possibility that everything you know is wrong! The cast of guest artists all do a great job capturing the look of Kindt’s artwork on the original series, without losing their own stylistic identities. The collection concludes with a gallery of alternate covers.