Mind MGMT: New & Improved #1 is written by Matt Kindt and published by Oni Press. Artwork and main cover art (left) is also by Kindt.
Mind MGMT: New & Improved #1 is available from June 24, 2026, in comic book stores and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your physical copy from Forbidden Planet or digitally from Amazon Comixology UK.
Synopsis
Ten years ago, the extra-governmental agency known as Mind Management exploded in a barrage of bullets and brain matter. Those that survived have gone underground—forging new lives with unremarkable identities and falsified pasts to obfuscate the strange abilities that once made them highly prized assets in the global war for psychic control. Now, two investigators—Detective Delphi and Detective Swon—have found themselves at the center of an unexpected puzzle. Here: A man poisoned in a coffee shop with a sophisticated neurotoxin. There: A supposed suicide victim run over by a train . . . with his arms found in a trash can five miles from the tracks. Their connection: Someone is killing former Mind Management agents in improbable and arcane ways . . . Seemingly impossible crimes committed by a faceless killer capable of evading even the most pervasive digital surveillance. What secret are they killing to protect? Who will be next? Has Mind Management returned? Did it ever go away? You are paranoid . . . but are you paranoid enough?
Review
After 11 years of living underground, the mysterious agents of the Mind Management agency are about to resurface into comic book stores. After an initial run of 36 issues at Dark Horse, Matt Kindt’s breakthrough series is returning under the banner of “New & Improved”, now at innovative publishing house Oni Press.
The new series is the perfect jumping on point for new readers. I have to admit that I hadn’t read the original run of the series but after experiencing issue one of Mind MGMT: New & Improved as a teaser, I’m intrigued. A hefty credits page does a huge amount of heavy lifting in the most meta way possible. Kindt is clearly relishing the opportunity to toy with readers who may be coming into this world fresh. It’s pitched perfectly to complement the tone of the book itself.
Mind MGMT: New & Improved is every bit the paranoid, cerebral, and melancholic espionage thriller I had anticipated. Brilliantly driven home by Kindt’s trademark watercolours. The opening page (below) emblazoned with the name “Vapid Gas” does everything it needs to do to inform the reader about this world. It’s sardonic, it’s acutely self-aware and vitally it’s also sophisticated in its critique of modern society.
Kindt introduces our two new leads, Detectives Delphi and Swon, on page one rather than setting up a mystery to then fold them into. It cements their place as taking over from the cast of the original book, allowing us to re-enter the world through their eyes. Again, it works swiftly to open up Mind MGMT to new readers without disregarding any of its history. It will put new readers at ease whilst simultaneously confirming to fans of the original series that previous events all still happened.
It’s clear through their initial dialogue that the world has moved on from 2015. The physical words on the page could easily represent a generation who has grown up in the world of social media and misinformation as much as it encapsulates the core conspiracy theory at the centre of the book itself. The swathe of mysterious circumstances which Swon describes illustrate a fascinating world full of secrecy which make for an effective segue into what will be the meat and bones of New & Improved.
The core mystery, at least in these early issues, will focus on two apparent murders. One in a coffee shop using a Ricin-like toxin. The other a body on rail tracks with missing arms found several miles away. Delphi and Swon will be tasked with unpicking these seemingly disconnected crimes that we know have ties back to the original Mind Management authority. Kindt’s story has more than enough intrigue baked into its DNA to keep me coming back for issue #2. Between some exquisite world building and curious characters I’ve definitely been enticed into immersing myself in this world.
Kindt’s artwork is so unique and yet it feels synonymous with Mind MGMT to me even after a single issue. The watercolour palette is so muted and in certain circumstances that could detract from the experience. But here it feels like the perfect accompaniment to its melancholia. There’s an unpredictability and disorder to the visual which again just feels pitch perfect to the tone of what Kindt is trying to achieve with the story. So despite first impressions the whole thing works in perfect synergy.
Verdict
Mind MGMT: New & Improved #1 is a confident, cerebral return that respects its history whilst throwing the door wide open for new readers. Kindt’s watercolour world is as distinctive and unsettling as ever, and with two compelling new leads and a mystery that feels urgently contemporary, this is a comeback that more than justifies the eleven year wait.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
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