My Cultural Diet

Every single conspiracy theory you’ve ever heard is true, or at least has the potential to become true if enough people believe in it. But altering reality and rewriting history like that is dangerous. Thus, it’s up to the Department of Truth, led by Lee Harvey Oswald — yes, that Lee Harvey Oswald — to prevent the worst ones from taking root in the public consciousness while promoting those that ensure America’s greatness. The Department’s methods, however — which range from mundane to mystical — are questionable at best, and there are other forces who seek to use the world’s conspiracy theories to further their own agendas. The question is, who are the good guys? The Department of Truth is as engrossing as it is troubling, as James Tynion IV weaves together the JFK assassination, flat Earthers, school shootings, Aleister Crowley, Jack Parsons, the moon landing, Bigfoot, the Illuminati, Charlemagne, and of course, the Satanic Panic into a nightmarish tangle of alternate histories. Meanwhile, Martin Simmonds’ painterly artwork is the perfect accompaniment to Tynion’s writing, richly capturing each bizarre conspiracy theory as it comes to life. Tynion has written a lot of great comics, including Something Is Killing the Children and The Nice House on the Lake, but The Department of Truth — which perfectly captures the zeitgeist that gives rise to such dangerous nonsense as QAnon and election denialism — might be his crowning achievement.

I may earn an affiliate commission on items you buy through Opus. These commissions will go directly to support the site and my blogging.