Mind MGMT #10 Review

In Mind MGMT #10, creator Matt Kindt drives home the message that it’s not superhuman abilities that make his characters special. As the motley crew of misfits zeroes in on the enigmatic Futurist, Meru is the issue’s real hero as she proves herself to be the most instrumental part in finally reeling him in. Finding the Futurist has been a tricky proposition for the group. His ability isn’t so much telling the future as it is predicting patterns in behavior with almost clairvoyant accuracy. But sometimes, one good idea is worth more than any superpower, no matter how insurmountable the task at hand might seem.

We first met the Futurist back in issue #1 in one of Mind MGMT’s side stories and nine installments later, we’ve come full circle on him. The Futurist, aka Duncan, is promoted to a full fledged character in his own right and Kindt gives him a compelling backstory in addition to integrating him into the larger story.

Duncan struggles with human relationships as his abilities make it nearly impossible for him to maintain them over any significant period of time without falling to extreme boredom. Even though Duncan’s internal narration is cold to the point of being clinical, Kindt still manages to make him a sympathetic figure. In an indirect way, he invites the reader to imagine themselves in Duncan’s shoes. If you could predict their every move, would your friends and lovers still be interesting to you? It’s the problem of the relationship rut magnified a hundredfold. It’s still firmly within the realm of speculative fiction but Kindt makes it all so utterly relatable.

Kindt’s aesthetic is consistent as ever, even if my heart does continue to cry out for a touch more sophistication in the art. The lack of polish is a stylistic choice but one can’t help but imagine what the world of Mind MGMT would be if the visuals matched the moody atmospheric tone of the writing.

Melissa Grey is a lover of all things cats, comics, and outer space. She can be found on MyIGN at MelissaGrey or lurking on Twitter @meligrey.