Matt Kindt has proven to be one of comic’s most restlessly inventive creators, particularly when it comes to story structure, formal experimentation and the physical design of the books themselves. From his early work on Pistolwhip and Super Spy to Mind MGMT and beyond, Kindt has never been content to make a comic that looks or reads like anything else on the shelf.
Now he’s making a move. After launching Flux House at Dark Horse Comics, Kindt is relocating his imprint to Oni Press, where his first two titles will be Mind MGMT: New & Improved and Fort Psycho, the latter co-created with artist Brian Hurtt. Mind MGMT: New & Improved #1 arrives in June, billed as a self-contained entry point for new readers. Although Kindt would be the first to tell you, you should probably read that disclaimer with some skepticism.
I spoke with Kindt about this new chapter, both for Flux House and for Mind MGMT, how the new series differs from the previous one and his zany approach to the blind bag cover program for the first issue. My thanks for his time.
Matt, I thought we’d start with the recent change for Flux House, as you’re moving the imprint from Dark Horse to Oni Press. What was the reason for this change?
Initially I was just going to do what my wife has been encouraging me to do for many years…and just become completely independent. Take my imprint and just publish and distribute on my own. But in the process of doing that, I got an offer from Oni Press – owned locally here in St. Louis, and run by one of my oldest friends in comics, Hunter – that was just too good to pass up. I think Oni’s publishing plan and commitment to the comics convinced me to collaborate in a way that is good for my books – but actually going to be great for the industry. I think it’s a tough time right now in comics but Oni is positioned to give it the shot in the arm that we all need.
You’ve always been one to work with multiple publishers, rather than putting all your eggs in one basket. Is this change a sign that you’re consolidating your work at Oni, or can we expect to see you in other places, too?
I’d never say never. My career has always been driven by what is the most fun I can have? What’s the most challenging project? – and usually those two things are the same thing. Oni has been such a great partner and really “gets” my work so having total creative freedom and a bunch of super intelligent people running it all makes it hard for me to imagine a scenario where I’d want to do anything else. I get to work with the legendary editor Sierra Hahn and Hunter who is the smartest person in comics right now. Those are two people who care about the comics as much as I do…and probably have more sleepless nights than me (since I don’t tend to stress about anything) – and you can’t ask for more as a creator than working with people that care about the books as much as the creator does.
Mind MGMT and Fort Psycho are your first two Flux House titles. What do they have in common that made them the right books to launch the line?
I’ve been secretly working on Fort Psycho with Brian Hurtt for over a year…so in a lot of ways it’s a coincidence that they are appearing at the same time. Mind MGMT is pretty much how I live, breathe, and think, so re-launching that as the first new series seemed like the most natural thing.
Mind MGMT has been billed as a completely self-contained entry point for new readers. How do you write a sequel that works as a fresh start without shortchanging longtime fans?
Longtime fans will know that the original series was a giant pack of lies so they should be able to come into this new series and feel that fresh breath of air. Finally rid of all that old propaganda and overly-dense storytelling and flashy design tricks meant to make the reader feel like they’re only understanding half of what’s going on. And new readers won’t have any idea that any of that happened. It’s perfect. The new series is streamlined and stripped down and an easy-breezy read, put together for the modern reader who wants something fun and digestible that doesn’t make you think too hard. Don’t worry…this time, the comic is going to do all the thinking for you. It starts with a fun series of murders and a maybe-maybe-not romantic detective duo trying to figure out what’s going on. The series this time is really going to hold your hand…not in a condescending way, but in a kind of platonic guiding kind of way. It’ll pat your hand every once in a while…assure you that it’s all okay. Maybe it’s a little confusing but all the questions will get answered. You might feel like you’re getting lied to. Like, maybe there’s something else going on, but that’s just “long-time readers” poisoning the well here. You gotta ignore them.
The original series was famous for its formal experimentation — hidden text, margins as narrative space, the book itself as an unreliable object. What does New & Improved do that pushes that further?
I’ve tried to pull back from all that. All of that flashy stuff is really just smoke and mirrors, you know? “Look at all the fun weird things comics can do that no other medium can pull off” and that kind of thing. Enough of that, you know? We’ve proven that comics are the best medium to work in. It’s the most undiluted way to get a writer/artist’s voice to the reader so why rub it in? Many cooks don’t ruin things all the time. I mean, look at movies and TV…all so good and they have tons of people giving input and getting their fingerprints on original concepts. Let all those cooks cook, I say. And let comics do what comics do…quietly exist and provide a modest living to those who enjoy making them. Now, you’re going to hear about “di-cut” covers that integrate the cover into the first page of the story, and “blind bag” foil variants where the bag contains a story and an “extra use” after you’ve opened the bag. And maybe somebody’s let it spill that there’s a longer prose-narrative that’s serialized in the back of every issue that’s going to tie the entire series together in some grand finale final issue a year or two from now…but please, don’t let that make you think this comic is doing anything more than any other comic. Read the word balloons, skim the art, flip the page and be done in like five minutes feeling fully fulfilled. I absolutely don’t recommend you going back through the comic and looking at the borders, or holding certain pages up to the light…and please, by whatever god you pray to, do NOT smell this comic.
Psychic espionage is a concept you’ve now lived with for well over a decade. How do you keep finding new angles into that premise without repeating yourself?
One of the great things about paranoia is that it’s kind of endless. Every morning you wake up and think…am I paranoid enough? And then you start getting ideas…all day long. Until you’re laying in bed that night and then it’s like…was I paranoid enough today? Did I pursue every possible narrative thread that could be pursued? And then you eventually fall asleep…wondering how you did it…you don’t remember falling asleep but now you sure as heck remember waking up and what woke you up? You didn’t set an alarm. You don’t hear anything but a bird outside. Your wife is still asleep and your daughter is happily living in another city, happily pursuing her dreams. So then…WHO woke you up? And usually the answer is…a new idea.
The original series ran 36 issues. How long is the story you’re telling this time?
We’ll see how long I last. I called 36 issues last time and it nearly broke me. I’d underestimate how much work it takes to do a 24 page comic every month all by yourself (not counting my wonderful editors)! So I’m going to do it as long as I can…I have about two years worth of ideas planned out but I might condense it all down into half that or stretch it out until the end of my career, depending on how many people buy into the lies this series is peddling.
We’ve seen blind bag variant covers become a thing in comics over the last year or so, but you’re taking a unique approach with the first issue. Can you talk about the idea behind the “U.S.S.A.” covers?
We’re really trying to instill value into these strange covers that will transcend comics entirely. Think of the cover more like money. Money is just an idea. A fiction that we, as a society, enter into willingly…a story we tell ourselves…this money represents time, and effort and I’m willing to trade it for your time and effort. Well…not all people put the same amount of effort into earning this “dollar”…so while we all agree to this fiction that money has value…we’re operating in different fictional worlds. These covers are trying to capture that idea…let’s all enter this fiction together…but we’ll each have a different cover to do it with.
What can fans expect both from future issues of Mind MGMT, and from Flux House in the future?
We’re really trying to make this comic, and all the Flux House books into something you’re excited to read…but also, even more excited to go out and be seen with while next to your partner in bed, to get their attention and they’re like, what are you reading? And you’re like, (fill in the blank) – the new Flux House book from Oni. And they’ll be like, I wish I was reading that instead of playing my merging game that I can’t quit anytime I want to. And you’ll be like…hey, it’s okay. Whatever you need to do to unwind, you know? We all have our thing. Our routine. This super cool creator-owned book just happens to be the way I’m doing it. No pressure.