Every Conspiracy Is Real, But We Know What the Bad Ones Are, in Image's 'Department of Truth' #1

Cole Turner has studied conspiracy theories all his life, but he isn’t prepared for what happens when he discovers that all of them are true, from the JFK assassination to flat-earth theory and reptilian shapeshifters. One organization has been covering them up for generations. What is the deep, dark secret behind the Department of Truth? Writer James Tynion IV (Batman, Something is Killing the Children) debuts his first Image ongoing alongside artist Martin Simmonds (Dying is Easy), letterer Aditya Bidikar and designer Dylan Todd. Vishal Gullapalli and Zoe Tunnell break down the first issue.

Vishal Gullapalli: I feel like it’d be an understatement to say James Tynion IV has made quite the name for himself over the past few years. Something is Killing the Children was a statement about his place outside of the Big Two, and he’s clearly going places. Which is why I’ve been really excited for Department of Truth.

Zoe Tunnell: I’m also a pretty big Tynion fan, although maybe not quite as much as you, Vishal. When he hits, like with Justice League Dark and Constantine: Hellblazer, he is a talent I truly enjoy who has a knack for working with grim, macabre stories. When he misses, well, you get The Immortal Men or, personally, his current Batman run. Department of Truth has been a big ol’ question mark for me since it was announced, as it seems like it could be in Tynion’s wheelhouse, but the subject matter has lots of potential for grave missteps.

The Secret Truth

VG: So the whole concept of the book is centered on conspiracy theories, a topic that’s become a bit more ingrained in reality than I’m comfortable with as of late. So I was a bit wary going in – this book legitimizing conspiracy theories that have been used entirely to spread hatred would not be a good look, but Tynion goes in a completely different direction here, digging into the idea of a collective truth – if enough people believe something, it becomes the truth and so rewrites reality. I love this kind of metaphysical idea of truth and reality, but how’d it strike you, Zoe?

ZT: I think it handled the subject matter better than expected! Explicitly tying the conspiracy theories to racist, conservative movements by having the lead, Cole Turner, be an FBI agent investigating tendencies in white nationalist groups is a fantastic way to sidestep a lot of the potential rakes in the series’ path. As for the metaphysical concept of truth, well, I thought it was a neat way to handle the nature of conspiracy theories but didn’t blow my hair back. I’ve read enough “if enough people believe in _____ then it becomes true” stories that DoT doesn’t earn originality points, but that doesn’t keep it from being a fun touch.

VG: The investigation of the white nationalist groups was another touch that I thought worked really well – the actual investigation into this tinfoil hat convention reminded me a lot of the “Cereal Convention” issues of Sandman, but even more sinister because Tynion isn’t shying away from the idea that these could very easily be people we know in our real lives. I also do enjoy that at no point does this book validate flat-earth theories or anything else like that – Tynion calls it out for what it is, a desire to assume control over something, even the truth. And of course, there’s the rich elite pulling the strings behind the scenes. I went into this book apprehensive about how it would treat conspiracy theories, considering they’ve become an actively harmful presence in the real world, but I think Tynion does a good job handling that.

Historical Inaccuracy

ZT: Okay, Vishal, here’s where I’m about to go off on a bit of a tangent. Have you heard of Billy Bat?

VG: I have not! A quick google tells me it’s a manga, but I’m curious how it connects to this book.

ZT: Oh boy, this is gonna be fun. Billy Bat is a manga from Naoki Urasawa, one of the greatest living comic creators on the globe. Any one of his books is considered an all-time classic, but he has done multiple series that fit that bill, such as 20th Century Boys, Monster and Pluto. Billy Bat is one of his more recent works and has yet to receive an official English release for some particularly pointed jabs at the Disney corporation by Urasawa. The series focuses on a centuries-spanning conspiracy to control the thoughts and narratives of the masses via a supernatural creature named Billy Bat as well as tons of classic conspiracy theories such as the moon landing and JFK’s assassination. It even features, like DoT, Lee Harvey Oswald as a major character who was framed for the assassination. While not 100% the same as Department of Truth, the two are playing in similar enough territory that DoT can’t help but suffer for me in comparison. This isn’t necessarily a knock on the creative team, it’s a solid book, but when your title reminds me of an Urasawa joint, well, you’ve got a big act to follow.

VG: Okay, wow. This is really similar and I can definitely see why DoT would evoke Billy Bat. Like I mentioned earlier, the conspiracy convention reminded me heavily of Sandman, but as someone without a very high opinion of most of Neil Gaiman’s work, I honestly think I enjoyed this more. I haven’t read much manga, so DoT came out as something much more unique for me than it did for you, but even so I feel like I’ve seen the premise of “Lee Harvey Oswald is a good guy” before. Honestly, I thought the reveal that he was the leader of the Department of Truth was when the book made the choice about whether to go full serious or be a little campy, and I’m really glad it chose to go campy.

I’m thinking a bit more about the conspiracy theories that Tynion’s been using so far. There’s the obvious one about Lee Harvey Oswald being framed for JFK’s assassination that seems to be baked into the premise, but there are a few others that we get looks at. Using the moon landing conspiracy and the flat-earth conspiracy (neither of which has any ground to stand on) in the first issue is a good way to set up what the book is about, but I’m honestly really curious to see how Tynion tackles what looks like Ronald Reagan being the devil, because that seems far more grounded in reality.

ZT: Wait, you mean Reagan wasn’t Satan, the Devil? Huh.

I am also interested in seeing exactly what Tynion tackles as far as the conspiracy theories themselves. A brief appearance by The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, an infamous antisemitic conspiracy text, sent up some red flags, but this far the title is clear in saying that these are all bullshit and not to be believed. Hopefully that continues, otherwise … it might get a bit messy.

The Style of the Substance

VG: So there’s a good amount to dig into with the concepts and story here, but I think there’s just as much to talk about how they’re brought to life in this book. Martin Simmonds’ artwork and Dylan Todd’s design work are absolutely incredible from the very beginning of this book to the end. There’s obviously the woman in red that’s been in all the promotional material because of her very distinctive and striking aesthetic. But it’s more than that – the whole book has this ethereal quality, the feeling that it could all be a dream, but it’s not.

ZT: I feel like both of us haven’t really touched on Simmonds’ art previously because it really deserves its own spotlight. It is absolutely fantastic and sells this book where another artist might have failed to do so. It’s scratchy, frantic and deeply evocative of the shadowy hallways and loose grip on reality that Turner spends much of the issue coping with. My only complaint, honestly, isn’t even with Simmonds. Tynion lets his own verbosity get in the way sometimes, and the pages of narration can sometimes feel claustrophobic in a way that detracts from just how impressive this book looks.

VG: On the flip side, though, this leads to the most striking page in the issue – the big double page spread that the whole story had been leading to. It’s a wordless image that conveys a sense of awe, fear and disorientation all at once, and it worked really well. I also LOVE Aditya Bidikar’s letters here. The whole visual aesthetic of the book feels like two separate realities laid on top of one another, with the whole experience being a fantastic trip. I don’t think I can say enough about how excellently this book was designed; I feel like it’s as close to perfect from a visual standpoint as it can be.

ZT: Aditya’s lettering is such a perfect fit for this title, you’re right. Almost any other book and it would feel overdone and jarring, but paired with Simmonds’ art, it sings. The dialogue balloons that have no clean border, the Case Report style typewriting on Turner’s narration, it’s all just a perfect combination.

Honestly, I wish I loved the book as a whole as much as I do the art. To be clear, Department of Truth is a perfectly solid debut and a series I think a lot of people will really enjoy. Hopefully Tynion manages to do some more unexpected things with the premise and really hook me; as is I’ll be keeping an eye on the book, but it hasn’t quite earned a spot on my pull yet.

VG: I was definitely hotter on the book than Zoe, and I’m absolutely going to be following it. While it hasn’t cemented itself as a must-read, it’s at the very least an intriguing start that’s worth checking out to see where it goes. Barring any serious missteps, I think this book has a very bright future.