It has been five years since the launch of The Department of Truth, one of the most original sci-fi series in some time, aptly timed for the conspiracy theory-obsessed society of today. To celebrate, James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds are kicking off a turning point for the series, with Scott Snyder and Joshua Hixson joining in on the fun with a backup all about Elvis Presley. Serving as a good jumping-off point, The Department of Truth #0 may be the scariest issue yet, thanks to a narrative that mirrors the love of alternate truth in today’s politics.
This issue opens in 2016 when a man with a gun entered a pizza joint. He insists there’s a basement, and he wants to save kids. Sound familiar? Nobody actually says “Pizzagate,” but it’s clear that’s what this is about. Soon, his belief spawns a door in the back, because in this series, if enough people believe something, it becomes true, and the man is ready to kill an innocent worker at Pizza Gogo. Thankfully, an agent is at the ready to put this crazed gunman away.
The story then cuts to today, where the very same gunman is asked to join the current administration. Tynion does a fantastic job linking the deep need to control facts and own them. Even if you’re a criminal, why admit it? Simply lean into your conspiracy and present yourself as the martyr. This leads to a rousing speech about what America is “supposed” to be.
Simmonds makes it quite clear what this is all about, from a gun-toting, overweight man with an American flag, to near-topless women dancing for a man in a red cap and blue suit. The visual that takes the cake, however, is a cross blanketed in the American flag, with a man wearing flag paint on his face and horns, screaming to a crowd of angry onlookers. The visuals make it clear that the current conservative cultish movement in America is all part of the plan.
Creepy!
Credit: Image
Deftly, Tynion loops in Cole Turner, the main character of the series, as a target of the Department of Truth. This efficiently directs the main narrative, while reminding us that the once “good guy” organization isn’t about stomping out false truths, but reveling in them. A concerning notion that aligns with the current political and cultural climate.
This extra-large issue then shifts to Snyder and Hixson’s story about a boy who gets lost in books to escape from it all. It’s 1955, and he runs into a young Elvis Presley. We then smash-cut to 1977, where we learn the boy is now an agent of the Department of Truth. Through a well-drawn and well-written montage, we see all the falsehoods he spends his time investigating and shutting down. It’s an apt two-page spread that does a great job of summarizing the types of supernatural things the Department of Truth is so good at stopping.
Hixson brings the story to life with a roughness that suits the scary elements. It all builds towards a cliffhanger that reveals the main character’s mission is going to be far more personal than he had ever hoped. It’s too early to tell what we see on the cliffhanger page, but it’s likely related to Elvis being too good to be true.
The Department of Truth #0 is a harrowing return that doubles down on the series’ greatest strength: reflecting our darkest cultural obsessions at us through horror and allegory. With Tynion and Simmonds delivering their most unsettling work yet, and Snyder and Hixson layering in a creepy, Elvis-tinged mystery, this oversized issue is both a celebration and a chilling reminder of why the series is so important.
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