Nrama: James, this is your first series for Image Comics, why do you think this title was the perfect fit for the publisher compared to Boom! Studios and some of the other publishers you've worked with in the past? But actually, he thought as he readjusted the Ministry of Plenty's figures, it was not even forgery. It was merely the substitution of one piece of nonsense for another. Most of the material that you were dealing with had no connection with anything in the real world, not even the kind of connection that is contained in a direct lie. Statistics were just as much a fantasy in their original version as in their rectified version. A great deal of the time you were expected to make them up out of your head. Although I think no one should believe deeply in conspiracy theories, they are continuously fascinating through the fictional tales that sprung from films and movies, not matter how fun or outlandish they are. At the very least, when you think of The X-Files or The Matrix, they can make you think, but first and foremost, they should entertain. Going into The Department of Truth, which makes the Image debut of writer James Tynion IV, he is about applying the horror twist to the whole idea of conspiracy theories. Couch, Aaron (November 14, 2022). "James Tynion IV Launches Dark Horse Comic Book Line (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 5, 2023 . Retrieved November 5, 2023.

Beethoven Was an Alien Spy: Apart from the aforementioned presence of Lee Harvey Oswald, a number of other historical figures feature in the comic: This deep-dive into conspiracy theories both old and new was fascinating and mind-boggling. I came out of it even more confused than I had been going in because the plot was so bizarrely on-point that I had no idea what part was actually true and what part was a conspiracy theory within the plot. But all that confusion really added to the tense atmosphere created and furthered the protagonist’s struggles against his desire to side with the “good guys”. And yet I felt as though in this comic there were no “good guys” or “bad guys”. There were no conspiracy theories because “collective belief shapes the world, so everything had the potential to be true.” And, as fascinating a concept as that is, it doesn’t leave much room for clarity. Orwell named Room 101 after a conference room at Broadcasting House where he used to sit through tedious meetings. [7] [8] Ministry of Plenty [ edit ] British Second World War rationing poster This latest brainchild from James Tynion IV is a peculiar little book, but after the first issue, I was totally hooked. The premise is super intriguing, and while I don't know a lot about American conspiracy theories, Tynion IV does enough of the groundwork to let me fill in the gaps. He also manages to humanise the story by populating it with a good lynchpin in Cole, and a supporting cast of characters that are quirky and weird all in their own right, as well as by hammering Cole's story right into the heart of the battle of the conspiracy theories. Our Cryptids Are More Mysterious: There is an entire cryptozoology wing of the Department of Truth dedicated to finds and hunting down cryptids, or "wild fictions". They are placed into three categories: Class One ("Hauntings"; ghosts and demonic possessions), Class Two ("Close-Encounters"; aliens and angel sightings) and Class Three ("Critters"; monsters like Bigfoot and Chupacabra). Their level of danger goes up with their numbers, Hauntings being nothing more substantial than sights and sounds, Close Encounters disappearing as soon as they manifest, and Critters acting and behaving (and therefor being as dangerous as) real-life animals.Razorblades: The Horror Magazine #1–5 (with Ricardo Lopez Ortiz, Andy Belanger, Martin Simmonds, Fernando Blanco, Josh Hixson, Liana Kangas, 2020–2021) Straight Gay: Neither Cole Turner, nor his husband Matty have any of the campier stereotypes of their sexuality on display. The first issue features the Boulet brothers, heirs to an oil fortune who have been funding right-wing politicians and conspiracy theorists. They're presumably stand-ins for the Koch brothers , who likewise made their money in oil and fund conservative groups. For added humor points, they share their names with a prominent pair of drag queens. Soviet Superscience: The Soviets had their own Department Of Truth equivalent, the Ministry Of Lies. It was apparently led by fabled Soviet filmmaker Dziga Vertov and thus shaped by his philosophical theories about the technological evolution of humans into "machine men" (i.e. men with a movie camera, shaped by cinema's possibilities). The Department of Truth comes from James Tynion IV, who’s also currently working on a little book you might have heard of called Batman, with artist Martin Simmonds ( Dying is Easy). The comic is lettered and designed quite creatively by Aditya Bidikar and Dylan Todd, respectively. What is The Department of Truth #1 about?

I was definitely one of the people who walked away from that day reeling,” he told Polygon. “I hadn’t seen it coming, and I needed to grapple with the fact that I had effectively built my own fictional bubble, with its own slanted history. I started reading a lot of non-fiction books about contemporary American history, all the predecessors to the current moment [...] I saw that there has always been a struggle to define the truth and to shape the present day as a culmination of that truth.” The Ministry of Plenty ( Newspeak: Miniplenty) is in control of Oceania's command economy. It oversees rationing of food, supplies, and goods. As told in Orwell's book, the economy of Oceania is very important, and it is necessary to have the public continually create useless and synthetic supplies or weapons for use in the war, while they have no access to the means of production. This is the central theme of Oceania's idea that a poor, ignorant populace is easier to rule over than a wealthy, well-informed one. Telescreens often make reports on how Big Brother has been able to increase economic production, even when production has actually gone down (see §Ministry of Truth). As well as administering "truth", the ministry spreads a new language amongst the populace called Newspeak, in which, for example, "truth" is understood to mean statements like 2 + 2 = 5 when the situation warrants. In keeping with the concept of doublethink, the ministry is thus aptly named in that it creates/manufactures "truth" in the Newspeak sense of the word. The book describes the doctoring of historical records to show a government-approved version of events. Tynion: I've always been fascinated by the Satanic Panic of the '80s and early '90s. Just how common and widespread the belief was that satanic ritual abuse was real, and after almost a decade, there was not one confirmed case ever prosecuted in the country. The Department of Truth, vol 1: The End of the World - Collects #1-5. "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?" - DEC200103 - WorldCat - ISBN 9781534318335 - KindleI grew up Catholic, and the Catholic Church is its own lightning rod for conspiracy, so don't be surprised if you see a few threads popping up from that direction as well. Hollywood Satanism: Discussed. Hawk Harrison makes a disclaimer that real-life Satanists are far more likely to be atheists who make Satan out to be a metaphor and are relatively harmless as far as society should be concerned. However, thousands of years of fear-mongering culminating in modern day fears of baby-eating Satanists hiding in plain sight have made the concept of Hollywood Satanism a far bigger danger than Real Life Satanism. The fact that Hawk encouraged the Satanic Panic to help the Department of Truth increase their base of power certainly didn't help. Tynion contributed to the comic anthology The Devil's Cut, which was published by the publishing startup DSTLRY in 2023. [36] He also began a new horror series for Image, entitled W0rldtr33, with artist Fernando Blanco, with publication beginning in April 2023. [37] [38] Personal life [ edit ] The Ministry hands out statistics which are "nonsense". When Winston is adjusting some Ministry of Plenty's figures, he explains this: