Matt Kindt – SMASH PAGES

Watch the launch trailer for Matt Kindt’s ‘Mind MGMT: New & Improved’

The print-only, 100% Human-Made first issue debuts in June.

Matt Kindt’s return to Mind MGMT is shaping up to be one of the most carefully constructed comic book launches in recent memory, as Oni Press continues to march toward the June debut of Mind MGMT: New & Improved #1.

Today, they’ve released a trailer for the series, which will mark Kindt’s return to the world of Mind MGMT after the original series concluded in 2015. The new series, published under Kindt’s Flux House imprint, begins with an entirely self-contained entry point, following two investigators, Detective Delphi and Detective Swon, who find themselves at the center of a string of seemingly impossible murders: former Mind Management agents being killed in arcane and untraceable ways by a faceless killer capable of evading digital surveillance.

“I’ve been working on this book for 10 years — without even realizing it,” Kindt said. “Mind MGMT: New & Improved was a subliminal message I sent myself. And for the last decade it’s grown in my head, like a virus, with every passing day. I can’t imagine a better, more truthful time in the world to release it than 2026. Mind MGMT: New & Improved will shatter all the lies from my previous series and the truth shall set us free.”

Smash Pages Q&A | Matt Kindt on ‘Mind MGMT: New & Improved’

After moving his Flux House imprint from Dark Horse to Oni Press, the cartoonist prepares to launch another round of his mind-bending series.

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.

Lewis LaRosa unleashes cover art for Matt Kindt + Brian Hurtt’s ‘Fort Psycho,’ plus a look inside his career retrospective ‘Carbon Based’

The comics artist behind ‘Punisher MAX,’ ‘Bloodshot Reborn’ and more marks his return to cover duties with the Oni Press maxi-series that launches in August.

We’re excited today to reveal an exclusive first look at Lewis LaRosa’s variant cover for Fort Psycho #2, the upcoming maxi-series from writer Matt Kindt and artist Brian Hurtt, along with an early peek inside Carbon Based: The Art of Lewis LaRosa, the artist’s first career-spanning retrospective, arriving in comic shops this week from Oni Press.

LaRosa, known for his raw, realism-driven work on Punisher MAX and Bloodshot Reborn, will serve as a cover artist for all 12 issues of Fort Psycho, joining Hurtt who handles interior art. His contributions mark his first consistent return to ongoing cover duties in several years. LaRosa’s black-and-white artwork will also be available as incentive variants throughout the series’ run.

Feeling paranoid? The fine folks at Mind MGMT want to hear from you

Dial up the new comic coming from Matt Kindt later this year.

Feeling paranoid? Do strange things happen around you? Then the folks at Mind MGMT, the fictional (maybe?) organization created by Matt Kindt, would like to hear from you.

With the comic returning at Oni Press later this year as Kindt’s Flux House imprint prepares to relaunch with the publisher, they’re kicking off a fun promotion involving you, your phone and any psychic abilities you may have, as noted on this flyer:

Free Comic Book Day will return in 2026

Comics’ favorite day returns, and one publisher has already announced the first title that’ll be offered.

The Free Comic Book Day website has sprung back to life with an announcement that says the annual promotional event will return on May 2, 2026.

Universal Distribution, one of the suitors as Diamond Comics Distributor and its many businesses went up for auction following Diamond’s bankruptcy, now owns Free Comic Book Day and its branding. In addition to comics, they’re a major game distributor, and they plan to expand the day into “friendly local game stores” as well.

Not every publisher has signed up for FCBD, however; right now the site lists Archie Comics, DC Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, Image Comics, Mad Cave Studios, Oni Press, Titan Comics, Udon Entertainment and Vault Comics have signed on, all publishers who fall under Lunar Distribution. According to ICv2, Universal has partnered with Lunar and Diamond UK to distribute titles. On the games side, Upper Deck and Wizards of the Coast are also getting involved.

Matt Kindt + David Lapham team for ‘Knight City’

The psychological superhero thriller will debut from Dark Horse in February.

Dark Horse Comics has announced Knight City, a three-issue series that will debut in February. The project reunites Matt Kindt and David Lapham, who worked together on The Hero Trade from Bad Idea.

Kindt will write and color the book, with illustrations by Lapham and letters Joshua Reed.

The comic is about a superhero who lives two lives: While awake, he’s tasked with protecting the entire world. But while sleeping, he shifts to a mundane world where he has no super powers. Kindt has explored similar ideas in Revolver and Subgenre, where the main characters also had two different lives and worlds they traveled to when they slept.

SDCC | Matt Kindt + Ibrahim Moustafa bring John Le Carré’s Circus to comics

The three-issue miniseries begins in November.

Writer Matt Kindt and artist Ibrahim Moustafa will team up to bring the world from John le Carré’s novels into comics. The three-issue John Le Carré: The Circus—Losing Control will begin in November.

Le Carré is the author of many best-selling espionage novels, including The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which have been adapted to film. Several of his books are connected and feature a British intelligence agency nicknamed the Circus, which is overseen by a man known only as “Control.” His right hand is a man named Smiley, and his left hand, as seen in the comic, is his executive assistant, Maggie. When Control goes missing, it’s up to Maggie to find him — while keeping the world on track.

“Getting asked to contribute a piece to John le Carré’s world of Smiley has been one of the greatest honors and responsibilities of my life,” said Kindt. “I wasn’t looking for this job but I was called into service. And much like Smiley, my heart is in the right place and hopefully that will be enough.”

Matt Kindt + David Rubin scratch their ‘crazy 1950s Superboy’ itch with ‘Space Scouts’

The three-issue, magazine-sized series will begin in November.

Matt Kindt and David Rubin, who previously teamed on Ether, will collaborate once again on Space Scouts. The three-issue sci-fi space odyssey will be published through Kindt’s Flux House imprint at Dark Horse.

“Space Scouts is dream project that David and I have had for a long time – getting to tell a story that centers around thousands of teenage super-heroes recruited to save the universe,” said Kindt. “It gives us a chance to let our creativity run wild – with different super powers and aliens all tied to a competition/reality show. As a long-time fan of the crazy 1950s Superboy comic book covers – this scratches that inspirational itch.”

Each issue will be magazine-sized (8” x 10.875”) with 32 story pages and bonus content.

“Working with David is something I will never turn down. He’s a generational talent – I’m happy to just be alive and working in the same era as him. There hasn’t been a visual artist as inventive and energetic as David since Jack Kirby. He channels that same bonkers energy without being derivative in the least – David is a true original,” Kindt said.

Slugfest | Spawny returns to kill off … Spawn?

Plus: News and announcements on ‘Uncanny X-Men,’ ‘Gilt Frame,’ Godzilla, Blacksad, ThunderCats and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you that we haven’t otherwise covered. Hit the links for more information.

McFarlane Productions has been on a roll introducing Spawn into various genres, and this summer they’ll return to the world of humor and satire with Spawn Kills Every Spawn. Like the previous Spawn Kills Everyone and Spawn Kills Everyone Too, this comic features the tiniest Spawn, Spawny, deciding to kill another set of comic characters — the Spawn universe.

Written by John Layman and illustrated by Rob “Sketchcraft” Duenas and colorist Robert Nugent, the five-issue miniseries sees Spawny arrive at a Spawn convention filled with Spawns from around the multiverse, all of whom are more popular than him. So he decides to become the most popular by eliminating the competition.

Kindt + McDaid go dimension-hopping in the ‘scuzzy cosmic sci-fi’ story ‘If You Find This, I’m Already Dead’

The miniseries from Flux House/Dark Horse Comics arrives next year.

Matt Kindt and Dan McDaid will go multi-dimensional next year in If You Find This, I’m Already Dead, a new miniseries about a reporter whose job takes her on a cosmic odyssey.

“If Moebius, Richard Corben and Jack Kirby had a baby…well…they actually did. And it’s us,” Kindt said. “We wanted to capture the great tradition of such great sci-fi magazines as Heavy Metal, Epic Magazine and 1984 with a big scuzzy cosmic sci-fi story and format.”

Kindt and McDaid will be joined by colorist Bill Crabtree and letterer Jim Campbell on the project, which will be released through Kindt’s Flux House imprint at Dark Horse Comics.

Kickstarter’s comics projects have increased by 14% this year

The crowdfunding platform shares some of their data for the first half of 2023, as comics projects continue to flourish on the site.

Crowdfunding continues to serve as a viable method for creators to fund their creative endeavors, as comic-related projects flourish on sites like Kickstarter. Even with the rough economic environment we’ve seen over the last six months, with rate hikes, inflation and layoffs, comics-related projects on Kickstarter have remained resilient — and have even grown compared to last year.

With Comic-Con on the horizon and the first half of the year complete, Kickstarter shared some of their recent data with us.

In the first half of the year:

Comic projects on the platform grew by 14% when compared to the first half of 2022. Comic projects in the first half of 2022 numbered 1,457 and increased to 1,666 in the first half of 2023.
Dollars pledged to comics campaigns also increased, from $14.4 million in 2022 to $17.6 million in 2023.
While the number of overall projects increased, so did the number of successful projects. 1,171 comics projects, or 78.1%, successfully met their funding goal this year. This is a 13.5% increase compared to the same time last year.

Slugfest | Mary Jane officially becomes a superhero in ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #31

Plus: News on the Witcher’s next comic series, White Widow, ‘Coda’ returns, Ram V and Filipe Andrade reunite, ‘Killer Queens’ is back, and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. Hit the links for more information.

Marvel has been teasing Mary Jane Watson’s new power set, most notably in the recent Mary Jane & Black Cat miniseries, but the longtime supporting character will put on a costume and go full superhero in Amazing Spider-Man #31.

The oversized issue will not only feature a story by the regular creative team of Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr., but also will include a story by Celeste Bronfman and Alba Glez that features Mary Jane suiting up to become Jackpot.

Here’s a look at her costume, designed by Humberto Ramos:

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