Ever since The Department of Truth #0, the series has felt like it’s on a more modern, relatable path. The “good guys” are facing a government that lies and wants to create conspiracies to control the masses. With the good guys in the wind, The Department of Truth #36 switches back to the new Department of Truth’s media expert. It’s an issue that has visited the crazy, tangled world of media and news media for decades.
As a history primer, The Department of Truth #36 is an interesting look at how media used to be the written word with reliable sources, but now it’s a chaotic blast of mass media from all angles. The issue opens on a “Fix News” channel broadcast, reminding us of the spin these 24-hour news channels are so good at. We soon learn the person watching knows it’s all bologna, and changes the channel to an evangelical broadcast begging for donations to build a Christian amusement park. The look of the pastor is clearly a reference to Donald Trump – the real-life political references are strong at the start.
From there, we learn who the man in the hospital is, clicking through channels. A now-retired Department of Truth agent, there’s a nice flashback to the monster hunting they used to do, but now things have modernized and been sanitized. James Tynion IV’s script makes it abundantly clear that this is an issue about how things used to be simpler.
The fix is in!
Credit: Image
From there, we meet the new media expert at the Department of Truth, who gets a visit from the last guy in the role. The story dives into the different levels of media during war, with an apt question: “Can you imagine American morale if the world wars had been beamed into every household in the country, live in color?” That is a good segue into the coverage of Vietnam and how the media spiraled from there. The meatier and more thought-provoking portion of the issue, it hammers its points home well.
Ben Templesmith draws and colors the issue, bringing his dreamlike and often sickly style to a series that leans into those elements. Templesmith is quite good at overlaying every panel with smudginess and texture. It’s as if the scenes are dank with fog. Digital effects like a t-shirt on the new media guy that reads “I Vant to Believe” adds a modern visual note. Templesmith is playing around with photoshopped newspaper clippings as well, adding realism to certain scenes.
Similar to the last issue, this issue takes its time with the material. Lee Harvey Oswald’s visit to the man in the hospital takes its time, and the last eight pages are a slow crawl to the cliffhanger. On some scale, the slower pace is warranted as it captures Oswald’s older temperament and knowing the world is faster despite him. And yet, given the time it takes to get to the cliffhanger, one could read this and think the plotting left the issue feeling less material than it needed to feel fully fleshed out.
The Department of Truth #36 continues the series’ shift toward more grounded and immediate themes, zeroing in on the evolution of media and its role in shaping belief. Tynion IV delivers an issue rich in ideas, connecting past and present in a way that feels both insightful and unsettling. Templesmith’s art reinforces that tone with a murky, almost suffocating atmosphere. The issue succeeds as a thematic deep dive, though its deliberate pacing and lighter plot progression may leave some readers wanting more forward movement.
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