Move Over Keanu Reeves and Jeff Lemire,
Bestselling Cartoonist Matt Kindt Has a Surprising New Collaborator
The Creator of Mind MGMT and DEPT. H is Teaming Up With his Mother, Margie Kraft Kindt, for a Brand-New Whodunit Murder Mystery
KINDT X 2 = Gilt Frame
Starting 8/7/2024 From Dark Horse Comics and Flux House
(April 17, 2024) Bestselling cartoonist Matt Kindt has shattered crowdfunding records with Keanu Reeves on their blockbuster BRZRKR graphic novels. He’s created acclaimed comics with fellow indie comics darlings Jeff Lemire and David Rubín and his talented studio mate, Brian Hurtt. And now the creator of Mind MGMT and Dept. H. has a new and entirely unexpected writing partner: his mother, Margie Kraft Kindt. Together the two Kindts are creating Gilt Frame, an eccentric and electrifying crime thriller starring the most unlikely detective duo in the history of murder mysteries. The 3-issue whodunit will be published at Dark Horse Comics through Flux House, Kindt’s boutique imprint that features crime, science fiction, and humor stories, all told and presented in startling and untraditional ways.
“Although it is a privilege and thrill to collaborate with someone of Matthew’s caliber and of his generation, the real joy and value is personal,” said Margie Kraft Kindt. “What a bonus at this time of life, the gift and pleasure of so many hours and days in the company of a grown-up son, sitting across from each other at our partner table, settling into our chairs as we brainstorm plot twists.Each of us takes on the roles of our characters. I develop the energetic persona of the star of Gilt Frame, the take-charge Meredith Pearson — Aunt Merry to her beloved nephew and best buddy, Sammy — while Matt shoots out dialogue for him. We toss around how they would play off each other — so completely immersed in the exhilarating work we are both passionate about, that every once in a while, we stop and ask each other, ‘Are you getting this down?’”
A classic whodunit that spans the globe from Paris to Hawaii to Montenegro, Gilt Frame stars Sam, an orphan in his early twenties, and his well-off Aunt Merry who has an outsized appetite for antiques, travel, and solving crimes. Sam was adopted by his aunt years ago and together they have solved some of the most notorious murders in the world. Now their latest Parisian adventure is cut short when they stumble upon a murder scene so bizarre that only a raging psychopath could have produced it. To solve this crime, Sam and Merry will have to wrestle with jewel thieves, art-forgers, gun-runners, the century-old ghost of the woman in black, a lost puppy, and a master French detective who just might solve the crime before they do.
“Sam, the young nephew in Gilt Frame, is really the star of the show here,” said Kindt. “The voice of reason who generously gives old Aunt Merry just enough screen time” not to embarrass herself. He’s always looking out for her as they solve a real puzzle of a murder. It’s not a locked room murder mystery. It’s more of an unlocked…UNHINGED murder mystery.”
For over 20 years, Matt Kindt has been writing and illustrating inventive, independent comics that balance action-packed storytelling with a highly personal creative vision, with titles like BRZRKR (with Keanu Reeves), Apache Delivery Service, BANG! Dept. H, Ether, Fear Case, MIND MGMT, Folklords, Revolver, 3 Story, Super Spy, and Pistolwhip. But he’s never had a collaborator quite like this…
“While we were working on this book it brought back memories of me when I was ten or so…and Mom constructing pretend “crime scenes” at home for me to solve,” said Matt Kindt. “ Follow the fake bloody footprints to figure out what happened. Pay attention to the broken clock. Why is that door open? That childhood memory actually explains a lot. Very formative. So of course it only makes sense for us to build another crime scene together. Brings me back to my roots and to what writing has always been for me – play. We’re having fun.”
The 64-page giant-sized Gilt Frame #1 is due out in comic shops on August 7, and advance copies will be available for sale at the Dark Horse Comics booth at San Diego Comic-Con. Follow Dark Horse Comics on social media for more news, announcements, and updates.
About Matt Kindt
Matt Kindt is a Harvey Award-winning and NYT Best-Selling writer and artist of comics and graphic novels. His work includes MIND MGMT, BRZRKR (with Keanu Reeves), Bang!, Eniac, Revolver, 3 Story, Super Spy, 2 Sisters, and Pistolwhip. He has been nominated for four Eisner Awards and three Harvey Awards (and won once). His work has been published in French, Spanish, Italian, and German. The author lives in St. Louis, MO, with his wife and Dept H. collaborator, the colorist and artist Sharlene Kindt.
About Margie Kraft Kindt
Margie Kraft Kindt, an educator, went back to school herself to earn a certificate in creative nonfiction writing. Each year she offers a new lecture series and writes to publish. Though her essays and stories have appeared in magazines, in newspapers, and on a broadcast by an NPR affiliate in NYC, and though she has won awards and contests, this is her first published book. She believes she has started at the top, teaming with one of the best in his field and certainly the dearest—her son—Matthew. The author lives in St. Louis, Missouri with 3,821 boon companions, her books.
