A Review of Mindset the Complete Series
Mindset the Complete Series
Zack Kaplan words
John Pearson art
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou letters
From Vault Comics
Is the internet holding too much of your attention? Having trouble walking away from the phone, the tablet, or the computer? Peep the solicit:
When an introverted tech geek accidentally discovers mind control, he and his friends do something unexpected - they put the science into a meditation app to help users break their technology addiction. But as their Mindset app achieves a dangerous cult following, lies, conspiracies, and murder come to light. Are they helping people or controlling them?
Free your mind.
Who's in control?
I’ve often felt control is an illusion. It’s something we often crave, but, it seems, is never really within our grasp. What if that were different? What if absolute control over ourselves and those around us was accessible from a myriad of devices? How would the world change? How would we, as individuals change? This is the situation Zack Kaplan is manipulating throughout his brilliant scripts for Mindset.
To call Kaplan a smart writer would be the understatement of the year. This book is fucking brilliant. The realness of the silicon valley culture makes for an eye-opening experience. The way hundreds of millions of dollars are casually tossed around mimics the big tech stories we see in the news. Kaplan is able to insert himself into this alien realm most of us only hear about in whispers. It turns into an organic, easily relatable experience for the audience, and that feat is made possible by relentless research and proficiency of the craft.
Speaking on craft, John Pearson is running like a high-end gaming PC built from the most expensive components. He’s overclocked and staying within acceptable temps. Honestly, it’s absurd how great these pages download into our eager and malleable minds. The double-page spreads and idiosyncratic page layouts make every page turn an experience. In a book that deals in sovereignty, the power Pearson exhibits over readers is both masterful and terrifying.
Throughout the narrative, we’re told of the dangers of becoming absorbed and not looking away, and Pearson orchestrates that notion with elongated, sweeping layouts that effortlessly take us into new territories. Script and art are intensely cerebral. We might as well have a Matrix-like jack penetrating our brainstems and injecting us into an alternate reality where mind control is real, mobile, and faultless.
Pearson’s palette runs on the cool side and adds to the technological phenomenon executed within the narrative. It’s metallic and alien, oftentimes juxtaposed against some truly great character model work. The cast may be unsure of who’s controlling their emotions, but they’re always on full display due to Pearson’s raw, unmatched talent.
The letters look great as well, but if you’ve followed me long enough, and read enough of my reviews, you know that I know that you should know Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou is one of the best in the business. When his name is on a cover, you’re in for the sauce.
This is a great comic book. It’s also challenging. This isn’t a cookie-cutter narrative. It requires attention and respect. If you’re willing to sacrifice a bit of your own agency, Mindset will take you to some miraculous and frantic places.
I suppose you’ll also have to take everything I’ve said with a grain of salt. Can you trust this reviewer? Have I been programmed to sell this book? Was I unknowingly manipulated via experimental textures and narrative structure? There might have been a subliminal element to the book forcing me to sing its praises, to influence its purchase, and contaminate more minds in the mix.
I’ve often thought control is an illusion. Under that premise, would I know if I’d lost it?
Would you?