MIND MGMT: New and Improved is the debut launch title of the brand-new Flux House line from comics publisher Oni Press, spearheaded by the brilliant and ever-creative Matt Kindt. Returning to one of his most beloved series for the first time in years, MIND MGMT: New and Improved is Kindt at his best, seamlessly blending surreal, haunting artwork and intelligent, gripping dialogue to craft a beautiful return to the larger series and a fantastic launch title for the new imprint. We sat down with series writer/artist Matt Kindt to discuss MIND MGMT: New and Improved, his creative process, and all things Flux House.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
JARED BIRD: To those unfamiliar, how would you describe MIND MGMT: New and Improved?
MATT KINDT: It’s about a pair of detectives that work for a super secret organization (the titular MIND MGMT) investigating crimes that involve…mind powers.
BIRD: How did it feel to go back to the Mind MGMT series with a different focus after many years?
KINDT: It was pretty easy. I think MIND MGMT as an idea and a style and way of writing and thinking is really just how I think and approach everything. That said, I wanted to re-launch it in a way that could preserve the original series and also make it irrelevant to new readers. Treat it like interesting “lore” but the new series is completely different. It’s about something else. We live in a different time and place than the world the first series was created in and I’m a different person now than I was then.
Art by Matt Kindt
BIRD: The notion of forgetting the specifics of incidents, no matter how recent they are, resonates a lot in the age of misinformation. What led to you wanting to explore that as the central concept of the first issue?
KINDT: I think the cover says it all. This series is checking in on you. Are you okay? Is everything all right? What can I do? How can I help? This series is a Tibetan singing bowl. Read the words. Look at the art…forget who you are for a little while.
BIRD: What was your main approach to developing the visual identity of the book?
KINDT: Let the story drive the visuals. The cover is the first page of the story. The back cover is the last page. Every inch of the paper is a part of the narrative. You holding the book and turning the page makes you complicit. You’re an active reader and really the entire thing is designed to indoctrinate you.
Art by Matt Kindt
BIRD: Do you find that your creative process is different when illustrating your own work as opposed to sole writing duties?
KINDT: I have the luxury of knowing my creative partners and in every case, I’m also friends with them so writing for different artists is unique every time. I’ll include myself in that mix. When I’m writing for Brian Hurtt or David Lapham or David Rubin or Tyler Jenkins – I’m inhabiting their art. Living in it. Thinking visually like they think. Writing to their strengths and writing to entertain them. I’m not writing these scripts and then searching for an artist. I’m writing for them, to them, with them. You can’t separate the writing and the art. It’s all one big thing in comics. In a lot of ways I think someone comes up with the “story idea” and the writer and artist are then writing it together. Not every comic is like this – and you can tell when it’s not. The words can vibrate against the art or the words and pictures can flow together.
Art by Jeff Lemire
BIRD: What’s it been like to work with Oni Press on the Flux House line of comics?
KINDT: Oni Press is the brand name but it’s really made up of people I love and respect. Sierra Hahn and Hunter Gorinson get my work and me better than anyone I’ve ever worked with. What an amazing team. The entire Oni staff has been amazing. I met the production artist on my books this week and we had a good chat. Everyone is excited about their jobs and what we’re making here. And every piece of the puzzle is important. From PR to design and printing. I care about all of it. It’s the thing I’ve spent my life doing and I want the people I work with to care as much as I do…and they really do. It’s inspiring.
BIRD: What other works would you recommend to readers who enjoyed MIND MGMT: New and Improved?
KINDT: I would read the complete works of Philip K. Dick (Valis in particular). Then I’d read Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is a good one after that. Bookend it with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre.
Then, Subgenre and Spy Superb. Both of those have direct tie-ins to what’s going on in MIND MGMT. Every book I’ve written (and drawn) is connected in some way but those more than some of the others.
Art by Matt Kindt
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