On Wednesday I did the usual. Looking around the comic shop all bright eyed and eager, I wasn’t too surprised to find they didn’t have a copy of Mindfield in one of the smaller London stores, if they do it’s usually just a single copy. So I went into Forbidden Planet and had a nose around, it took me about 20 minutes to find it hidden behind some Mickey Mouse comics in the independent section. I have nothing against Mickey Mouse, but I thought it was a shame I had to look so hard for this comic because I think it’s been ace.
The premise is thus; the events of 9/11 have made the US government so paranoid, they have resorted to using a team of telepathic agents. Treated with a volatile and dangerous cocktail of psychotropic drugs and substances, these agents are used in the ‘war against terror’ to wire tap our minds and keep the shores of the US safe and sound. The content is often dark, the art is really hallucinogenic, and it’s been really cool but i don’t think many people have been reading it.
As a story that dwells on the events of 9/11, I guess the book instantly dates itself. I also think the message is a little murky. I believe through these ‘thought police’ the book talks of how we sacrifice our freedom (and sometimes much more) for security, but the characters in the book so assuredly sacrifice everything to do their bit against ‘the terrorists’, I can see people turning off in the face of seeming US propaganda. This issue provides a big leap forward in giving us a look at the actual enemy, and if you’re wondering, it’s not who they were expecting.
Without the politics, Mindfield should still have been a hit. With the success of something like Inception, it doesn’t make any sense to me why this wasn’t picked up as a comic book comparison. There was a whole issue set inside the mind of two characters under the attack of a telepath and it was stunning, thought is incredibly well realised in this series. This issue features a look inside the mind of a tragic character, and it’s presented brilliantly, it is desolate and miserable and it makes you feel for the guy. This series has asked a lot of questions and forgive me for saying, really got inside my head.
As I believe the next issue of Mindfield will be the last, the story has clearly jolted forward in pace. Whether or not this was planned is unclear, but I’m looking forward to seeing how they’re going to finish it. I hope you feel the need to catch up because it’ll make you do some thinking and feeling, and that as they say, is life.
Joe Innes.
