Batman writer James Tynion IV has teamed with Dying Is Easy artist Martin Simmonds for The Department of Truth, a new conspiracy thriller comic that should appeal to anyone with a fondness for The X-Files.
Image Comics has provided IGN with several exclusive pages of character designs for the new series. Check those out, along with a preview of the first issue, in the slideshow gallery below:
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Department of Truth focuses on a protagonist named Cole Turner, a conspiracy nut who discovers every one of his favorite conspiracies is actually true. From the existence of Bigfoot to the truth behind the JFK assassination to the world being run by a cabal of lizard people, there’s no difference between fact and fiction in this bizarre universe. But why has the titular organization been covering up these conspiracies for centuries, and what is their end goal? That’s the crux of Tynion and Simmonds’ new series.
“I’ve always loved conspiracy theories. I think we all do,” Tynion told IGN. “It’s a part of human nature to want to understand the ‘secret truth’ behind the truth, and I grew up eating up all sorts of movies, and TV shows, and cartoons that dug into the people behind the people. I always lost my mind when they’d say things like ‘Classified five levels above the President,’ and I can’t tell you how many books I had on my childhood bookshelves about UFOs and Cryptids, and all sorts of the unsolvable mysteries of the world, and the mysterious people who kept all those things mysteries. But it wasn’t until my adult life that they really started to scare me. It wasn’t until I saw people I knew swayed by the irrational that I really saw their power.”
Tynion continued, “Department of Truth is a book written to explore those modern fears, and explore them through modern conspiracies that are growing and changing the world we live in today. And yes. It’s got plenty of UFOs and Cryptids, and all the conspiracy touchstones you could hope for. Every issue of Department of Truth explores a different conspiracy through the lens of this twisted world I’ve created with Martin Simmonds. A world in which the more people believe in one truth, reality changes to match that belief. Which is literally true in the book, but figuratively true in real life. Truth has always been frighteningly subjective, and this series is looking to tap right into the heart of that.”
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“The Department of Truth is an ambitious concept, and as such, pushed me to take a different artistic approach to past projects,” said Simmonds. “Moving away from a digital process and instead focusing on using traditional media, plus some collage and photography elements, has meant I can try various analog approaches to the artwork, which I hope will make for an interesting aesthetic.”
The Department of Truth is an ongoing series, with the first issue priced at $3.99 scheduled for release on September 30.
In other recent comic book news, Cyberpunk 2077: Trauma Team is getting an exclusive bundle from Dark Horse Direct, while DC has finally revealed the release date for the long-awaited Black Label series The Other History of the DC Universe and kicked off a new Injustice: Gods Among Us prequel set before Superman murdered the Joker.
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Source: IGN.com The Department of Truth: Exclusive Preview of New Conspiracy Thriller