INTERVIEW: ‘MIND MGMT’ jumps from the page to the eardrum
Top photo: Matt Kindt previews MIND MGMT’s sleeve art for a new comic-vinyl record combo. Courtesy of Superfan Promotions / Provided with permission.
And now for something completely different.
MIND MGMT, the comic book from Matt Kindt, is gearing up for a unique departure from its typical publication schedule. If all goes well with a new Kickstarter campaign (the original goal has been far surpassed already), Kindt will release a MIND MGMT special issue that comes with a read-along vinyl record.
It’s a cool and perhaps unprecedented way to experience a comic book, and Kindt seems super excited to unleash his artistic vision on fans.
For newbies, the comic book series follows Henry Lyme, a former secret agent who has gone rogue. His newfound goal is to take out the very organization that gave him his spying chops. Although Dark Horse typically publishes MIND MGMT, this special project is self-produced by Kindt and will include 24 pages of content with a gatefold in the back to hold the vinyl record. Joining the comic book creator for the sound portion will be voice actor Clint McElroy.
An added bonus, besides the perks on the Kickstarter page, is that 10 percent of profits will help the Hispanic Federation, an organization that is aiding Puerto Rico following the destruction of Hurricane Irma. The fundraising campaign runs through Thursday, Aug. 9.
Recently, Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Kindt about the new project. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What can fans expect from this new MIND MGMT project?
If you’ve read the previous comics, you’re in for a new and interesting back story — a tale about how agents are sometimes recruited.
If you’ve never read MIND MGMT before, this is a great introduction. The entire project in a meta kind of way serves as a recruitment device for those unfamiliar with the mind-managing secret society that has threaded its way through history to influence global events using advertising, mind-powers and invisible mental influences to ‘heard the sheep.’
This project is a comic book that comes with a read-along audio record. It’s also available as a digital file (for those without record players). It’s meant to be read and listened to simultaneously for the full experience. Neither the comic or the audio work to tell the story unless they’re used at the same time.
Using the audio story [is] one piece in a larger puzzle. You listen to the story and read along just like when I was a kid … but the images in the comic paint a different story. They subvert the audio, and then you have this crazy third layer of words and captions that are subverting both the audio and the image below it. It’s really working on three levels all at the same time. I’ve never seen anything like it, and that’s really why I felt like it was worth doing. It started as inspiration from nostalgia but then morphed into this crazy kind of hybrid medium that really hasn’t been explored at all.
Where did the idea come from?
MIND MGMT really lends itself to some of the more ‘out-there’ ideas that I have. Even after the series was done I never really stopped thinking about new ideas or stories to tell, and that’s where this came from. I grew up reading and listening to these read-along records, and they’re just burned into my brain — the soundtrack and the voice-acting. My brother and I loved these — and we still quote the G.I. Joe: Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb record all the time.
I realized MIND MGMT would be the perfect vehicle to do a comic and read-along record. Vinyl is having a resurgence, and it just seemed like the right medium to bring it all back. But also audio storytelling (via podcasts) has also really taken off. Clint McElory and his kids are a testament to that success. It’s really a great revival of an audio medium that has been around for generations.
Why go to Kickstarter rather than the traditional route?
Really, I just wasn’t sure if this idea was marketable. My publishers have all been really great, and I have no complaints. But this idea was so far outside of the box that traditional book publishing didn’t seem like the right fit. I had to do a lot of research about having records produced and all that goes into that. Add audio editing and sound mixing, and it just became something much bigger than art and words on paper. Kickstarter is a great way to gauge interest and viability of an idea. It’s also a very public way to crash and burn. We’ve been super fortunate to get all of the amazing support that we’ve gotten. It far exceeded any expectation that I had, and it’s encouraging that there are so many readers out there willing to take creative risks along with me.
Do you feel this unique format has a life beyond this special project? Could it be used for other titles?
I’d be interested to see. I think there is immense potential in this hybrid medium. The key is to use the comic to full effect with the audio. It isn’t like the read-alongs we had as kids. If the audio is just reading you the words in the comics … there’s really no point in it. But if the audio and visual subvert each other or build off one another — much like captions over art in comics — then there is a lot of potential.
What was it like to work with Clint McElroy?
What a true gem. Clint is such a big fan of MIND MGMT that it put me on my heels. I couldn’t believe it. He is such a talented guy and spent so many hours recording and re-recording the audio to get it just right. His acting is absolutely perfect. He’s channeled the sound of those old record recordings perfectly. It’s haunting work really. I gave him zero notes (other than the original script I sent him) — and he just ran with it.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
MIND MGMT’s Kickstarter campaign runs through Thursday, Aug. 9. Click here for more information.
