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The Department of Truth #3

The Department of Truth, Vol. 3: Free Country

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Six acclaimed guest artists join JAMES TYNION IV (Something is Killing the Children, Batman) and Martin Simmonds (Dying is Easy) to uncover the deep tangled roots of the Department of Truth...and Lee Harvey Oswald's rise to its top position. From the Phantom Time Hypothesis to Mothman, find out what terrible secrets await in the archives.

Collects THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH #6-7, 14-17

176 pages, Paperback

First published November 25, 2020

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About the author

James Tynion IV

1,174 books1,999 followers
Prior to his first professional work, Tynion was a student of Scott Snyder's at Sarah Lawrence College. A few years later, he worked as for Vertigo as Fables editor Shelly Bond's intern. In late 2011, with DC deciding to give Batman (written by Snyder) a back up feature, Tynion was brought in by request of Snyder to script the back ups he had plotted. Tynion would later do the same with the Batman Annual #1, which was also co-plotted by Snyder. Beginning in September 2012, with DC's 0 issue month for the New 52, Tynion will be writing Talon, with art by Guillem March. In early 2013 it was announced that he'd take over writing duties for Red Hood and the Outlaws in April.

Tynion is also currently one of the writers in a rotating team in the weekly Batman Eternal series.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 160 reviews
Profile Image for Dave Schaafsma.
Author 6 books32.2k followers
June 25, 2022
“Question authority”: Pin worn by a lot of people in the late sixties, and many people took this invocation to heart

“What the fuck do you even think America is? You think it had the name carved into the fucking bedrock? Nothing about this place is real. It’s all just people.”

On the one hand, The Department of Truth (DoT) is the perfect book for the times we live in, as it speaks to the politics of the time, the media-advanced conspiracy theories that, embraced by more and more extreme right folks, are moving us closer and closer to chaos. On the other hand, DoT in this “history and background’ volume makes it clear that we have always had with us as a human race fictions/lies--some of them useful, as in mythology and some spiritual beliefs--and many of them crazy and self-destructive (such as that climate change is anti-biz socialist myth?) and some just mildly entertaining as such as BigFoot/Yeti and the Loch Ness Monster. Some of them just as ridiculous but maybe more scary such as put forth by the likes of Breitbart and Q-Anon.

We have always had the belief in the supernatural with us, as scholars of, for instance, Japanese Yokai, tulpas, and as the organizers of multiple religions, make clear. We have our share of fictions, our histories, and we have our share of myth-busting projects, from Howard Zinn’s The People’s History of the United States, The X Files and various movies about the supposedly true or supposedly faked moon landing.

The Department of Truth, Volume 3: Free Country collects issues 6-7, 14-17 of the comics series written by James Tynion with art by guest artists Elsa Charretier, Tyler Ross, John J. Pearson, David Romero, Alison Sampson, and Jorge Fornes. The first volume had issues 1-5, the second volume 81-3, so you can see the team is trying to create a better sense of coherence in this ambitious, wide-ranging series.

The focus in this volume is largely on Lee Harvey Oswald’s tenure at the DoT : Oh, you say you saw him killed--as I did--on live network tv?--oh, sure we did! You really think that’s real?! How convenient that they immediately killed the killer Jack Ruby, problem of a criminal investigation solved! I saw it! Or did I?

In this volume we have four basically separate back stories that help deepen and historicize the work of the Department of Truth: UFOS, the moon landing, The Men in Black, and Mothman.

What is the tipping point when mass belief in some lie turns to destruction? When did it happen in Hitler’s Germany? When can it happen here (or in any alt-right extremist location)? Watch what happened to the parents and teachers and administrators of Sandy Hook and tell me we are going to be “all right.” I am sure Uvalde is already experiencing this treatment from the crazy nihilist alt right.

The art in this volume is wonderful, scary, nightmare beautiful, hallucinatory, powerful. The downside of this volume is that it tends to be very expository instead of advancing the overall narrative. But I’m okay with a backstory volume, deepening the world-building. All comics do one or more of those. But it’s not very much story. It’s mostly people talkin’ at ya. Minimal action, wide angle. But still very, very good!

I liked very much the meeting between Lee Harvey Oswald, Frank Capra (the creator of positive visions of America) and Nixon at the White House, talking about how someone as talented as Stanley Kubrick created a plausible fake of the Moon Landing (go ahead, google that, Tynion didn’t make up that theory). Why do that? Go figure: Space race, Nixon needed some feel good news for his tenure as President, and so on.

Who is the Lady in Red?

There are in this volume even more current crazy theories such as put forward by science fiction writer and then purveyor of his own “religion” (Scientology) L Ron Hubbard are sprinkled throughout.

What’s the point? I mean, you do have to believe in something, but you should also question everything you hear and read and think you see. But I do not recommend you read this series about the nature of truth if you are paranoid schizophrenic or have just dropped acid.
Profile Image for Chris Lemmerman.
Author 7 books123 followers
April 21, 2022
Department Of Truth's third volume is basically a collection of one-off stories that examine different parts of the American psyche under the usual DoT lens. There's nothing wrong with this in theory, but it does kill some of the momentum that the series has been building.

Since these are six one and dones, they vary in quality. The Mothman story is probably the best, followed closely by the Moon landing story at end of the collection. The Men In Black issue is actually pretty terrifying as well, come to think of it. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the drug-induced hallucination issue, which has something interesting to say somewhere but it takes a lot of digging to find it.

Each of these issues is a good think piece on its own, and it's clear that Tynion IV has a lot to say on a lot of subjects, and almost all of his thoughts are interesting (once you can parse them). If we'd launched the series on a premise like this, then I'd probably rank this higher, but as it is, to stop the main story in favour of all of these stories feels like a misstep. They could have been peppered between arcs instead of all thrown together. (Granted, 2 of these issues actually came between issues 5 and 8, while the other four are the latest issues, but the fact remains that they're slowing the pace).

Tynion IV does attract a high caliber of artists however - there are contributions from Jorge Fornes, Elsa Charretier, Tyler Boss, John J. Pearson, David Romero, and Alison Sampson throughout the volume. Some of them are more straight forward artists compared to series artist Martin Simmonds, like Fornes, but that's sometimes more unnerving than when things get really crazy on the art front.

Taken on its own, this volume's intriguing as hell. But as part of DoT's larger storyline, it's a bit of a stall.
Profile Image for James.
2,587 reviews80 followers
July 4, 2022
This volume had me all over the place. From being intrigued to also being like, what?? We start off with Lee Harvey Oswald in the beginning. First being brought into the fold. The story we get is one that he is reading. That issue was weird. I’m sure there is a purpose in there somewhere. Then we move into where Oswald has been doing this for a bit and in comes Doc Hynes. He tells Oswald about the men in black. That issue was pretty cool and creepy. The next issue gets heavy when Oswald and Hynes go to talk to the old man about Babalon Working. Not sure I got 100% of what he was telling them. The next issue was straight prose in the form of Doc Hynes being debriefed about the Moth Man. Although the stepped away from comic book format, this was pretty good and creepy also. Next issue was super psychedelic and I have no idea was was going on there. The final issue was the Department of Truth meeting the newly elected President Nixon. This is where they put in motion the whole “moon landing” and Oswald gets promoted to leading the Department and an eerie ending with what Nixon asks and an appearance from the lady in red. Still wondering what’s her deal. That first vol really had its hand on something new and refreshing and I was really into it. Since then the series has been moving in all these different directions, slowly been dipping in quality with this vol being my least favorite. Hopefully they get back to what was working for me.
Profile Image for Shaun Stanley.
1,313 reviews
May 6, 2022
The Department of Truth Vol. 3 Free Country collects issues 6-7, 14-17 of the Image Comics series written by James Tynion with art by Elsa Charretier, Tyler Ross, John J. Pearson, David Romero, Alison Sampson, and Jorge Fornes.

We get flashbacks of Lee Harvey Oswald's early days in the Department of Truth and learning about how this world works.

I loved this volume where we got extremely interesting backstory involving UFOs, the Men in Black, Mothman, and the moon landing. Tynion is creating an extremely unique book with a lot of rich history. The really interesting part of the book is that the history and backstory can change at any given time so the reader is left questioning everything they read. Each story in this volume is by a different artist and I liked each more than the series regular's sketchy, hard-to-decipher style.
Profile Image for Bryan.
Author 58 books22 followers
May 12, 2022
Tynion has gone 3 for 3 on this series so far. Absolutely amazing, and legitimately chilling.
Profile Image for Mike.
248 reviews4 followers
July 27, 2022
Probably my favorite volume so far, but still not exactly what I'm looking for. I've beat this horse to death, but the concepts and meta of the story is aces. It's the individual stylistic and narrative choices that miss a bit for me.

One note, I found some of the art here to be totally hideous. Specifically the Pearson illustrations. Like, I actually hate it. But that's insanely subjective. In the same vein, I find "psychedelic freakout" shit to be totally hack and completely uninteresting, and one whole issue is dedicated to that. But that's just my narrow opinion.

Beyond all that bitching, it still gets 3 stars because the main thread narrative that is unraveling is fantastic. Oswald remains the most interesting character in the book as he parades through history seemingly bending reality to his will. And that's super cool.
Profile Image for Chris.
779 reviews13 followers
November 8, 2024
We get a break from Martin Simmonds artwork in this volume. His artwork totally suits this story but it's so hard to see what's going on most of the time, it's clearly deliberate and plays into the whole unstable reality of it all but it's nice to see some more traditional art in this arc as we look back on the early days of the Department.

I really enjoy this series although I'm a little concerned I'm going to start feeling turned off by the subject matter due to the recent election in the US but we'll see.
Profile Image for Alex Fernández.
44 reviews301 followers
January 20, 2023
Una compilación que rodea a la historia principal que, aunque me perdió un poco en los primeros números, rápidamente toma buen ritmo y ayuda a complementar las historias de los personajes, profundizando en sus orígenes, miedos y pasiones. No lo recomiendo sin haber leído 1 & 2, van a acabar más confundidos que una persona que va a trabajar en día feriado. Máximo Respeto a Jordie Bellaire que en los dos últimos números colabora y sigue demostrando que es una de las mejores coloristas contemporáneas del cómic.
Profile Image for Travis Duke.
1,140 reviews15 followers
October 25, 2022
Slowing down a bit as a series for me, still good but slowing down on the excitment. I liked the Roman stuff and the moon landing but the rest felt a bit thin. I might check out more but I am feeling the end of DoT.
Profile Image for Estibaliz.
2,578 reviews71 followers
January 15, 2023
4.5

So glad I hang in there for the next volume, with all its 'trippiness', because the story just keeps getting more and more interesting. Still pretty trippy at times, but mighty interesting.

This volume introduces different artists, stories and even forms of storytelling, with one issue being more heavy on the narrative, and another one being psychedelic, while yet another one brings Kubrick to the mix, and, of course, the whole thing with the fake moon landing.

Past, present. Monks, aliens... And I'm probably joining the party late, but I just realized Frank Capra was the previous director of the Department of Truth?

This graphic novel continues to entertain, amaze and give food for thought.
Profile Image for Florin Pitea.
Author 41 books199 followers
December 24, 2022
It reads like the Illuminatus! Trilogy for the 21st century. Recommended.
Profile Image for Brooke.
1,527 reviews82 followers
January 6, 2023
I did not enjoy this. It’s basically a history of the department of truth so we don’t follow the plot of the first two. I was honestly just confused and didn’t care. I don’t think I will be continuing this series.
Profile Image for Lesley.
2,430 reviews14 followers
January 18, 2024
Very enjoyable and weird graphic novel series that goes down the rabbit hole a little more each volume. On to 4.
Profile Image for Bradley.
Author 45 books390 followers
May 21, 2022
I have the same issues with this as volume 2. I loved the first collection, but I wish Tynion would just quit it with the expository monologues and actually tell a story. It seems like he hasn't figured out how to continue it yet so we just get what reads like notes for a story that say the same thing over and over again in different ways.
Profile Image for Craig.
2,895 reviews30 followers
May 31, 2022
Still love this series and this time out we've got a bunch of single stories that show the DoT from a variety of viewpoints over time. Each story is drawn by a separate artist and the story continues to be fairly exposition-heavy, so if you haven't liked that in the past, well, I'm sorry, but there's more of it here. I liked the UFO stuff a lot and the Nixon/moon landing was good, too. Also, it looks like the Catholic church at one point figured out this whole "mass belief can change reality" stuff, so there's an intriguing story there, too. I'm onboard this train as long as it runs and am looking forward to the next volume.
66 reviews
June 11, 2022

**The Department of Truth: Volume 3: or the truth we make for ourselves** I was a little underwhelmed with the previous collection of issues from the series and this volume in particular is odd because it takes two earlier ones and combines it with a later section. The resulting fusion however is perfect and tells a complete backstory of the Department of Truth, focusing on some interesting characters. As before, the gist is that tulpas are real. Tulpas are like folklore, symbols, or ideas fictionally imagined but given life through human belief. At least so far as this series contextualizes it. For instance, say you proclaim the truth that the sky is blue and everyone believes that… But you say “…the sky is blue?“ I say why yes, it is now. All the rationality, history, science, and knowledge of humanity reinforces that. The sky is blue. But is that true? I’m using this as an analogy I know there are different colors to the sky but work with me. In a series like SCP, there is one example where an anomaly changed how colors in our reality look and we have forgotten that change. This is all sort of in the same territory. And I’m very captivated by the ideas inherent. More than any other concepts it throws out, the integration of tulpas is one that makes the most sense to me. Human belief, collective determination, and all that are powerful. They’re definitely metaphorically powerful. But the idea that they are physically, transformationally, and history rewriting powerful? That gets into the paranormal and I don’t know. But I’m captivated by that idea. All the issues in this volume take the core thesis of the series and give it the best opportunity to shine. I also appreciate that guest artists drew each of these and it lends a quality that reminds me of the Sandman main series books and feels more timeless.

In the first issue, which is actually several issues ago in publication, we see Lee Harvey Oswald early on after he needs to lay low in the 60s. The Director at the time of the Department of Truth, Frank Capra, shows him one of their secret documents which they collected from World War II which details basically 1000 years ago when the Church tried to make the imaginary Charlemagne into a inspirational hero and also erased 300 years of the middle ages to bring the calendar to 1000 A.D.. A traveling monk happens upon a pagan woman with ties to the Roman Empire and this development of the past enriches the entire story. This is a fantastic puzzle piece which I wish had been part of a previous volume. In the next issue, we’re introduced to Hynes, a young guy investigating MIB and who always wears tinfoil around his head. The real life historical renderings that he does of incidents of MIB …and these real accounts taken from history are fascinating and rather horrifying especially when one of the agents grabs a piece of metal and contorts it and it’s examined later that it would’ve taken 2000 pounds of force to do that. The remaining section of the issue is the guy’s encounter with these creatures and how it might connect to the lady in red who is easily the most mysterious and enigmatic figure. She could be the devil, she could be anything. I have some really screwed up theories about her but I’ll keep them to myself. I’m not a huge fan of the subsequent issue which catches up at the end of the second arc several issues later. Although I did like some of the visual metaphors used. This section deals with hunting for people related to some stuff with L Ron Hubbard and some guy Parsons with JPL….(looks them up)….oh. So yeah yeah this history part really checks out. There was some really screwed up stuff. And actually the scarlet woman goes back to Alister Crowley as Babalon. And her connection to Lee is especially reinforced in here.

Not my favorite issue but still a vital one. And a very pretty one.

For the volume after that is actually my favorite even though it follows the same idea of going after one of these fictionals, a cryptid given existence through belief. But this presentation of the same idea from the Bigfoot hunt is better because it integrates this long narrative with text but that part is easy to read and feels integral to the story whereas the other one had this letter by this one off character that I didn’t really care about. The art is also absolutely insane and probably some of my favorite work in the entire series. This is stuff I would enjoy putting on my wall.

And I want to include a later part that freaked me out because it feels like a real life scenario of Doctor Who. And this is real, this is a thing that happened in paranormal accounts as being something that the author for the story drew upon from our world, as weird as it is.

The issue after that is basically a drug trip where our character tries to figure stuff out. In someways, I feel like the 1960s were a work of fiction because there are so many freaky elements that go together in that decade which beggars belief. The drug trip issue is OK and there’s some great lines but it’s the one after that which jumps into Stanley Kubrick faking the Moon Landing into reality which was really my favorite and I wish there was more because Lee Harvey Oswald chatting with Richard Nixon is the kind of scene which absolutely delights me from this series.

You can tell that Tricky Dick’s wheels are turning about the kind of things he can make people believe into reality. We also get our first hint of the Ministry of Lies, the Soviet counterpart to the Department of Truth and how their end goal is creating the retroactive belief that America is a failed capitalist dystopia. I am so happy that the series got back on the right track with this compilation of issues. And I am looking forward to reading each issue live as #18 will come out in late May and launch the third arc of the series. They haven’t touched upon a lot of ideas yet like multiple realities, the Mandela Effect… Although tulpas definitely hits the same territory as the Mandela Effect in that it’s not that someone is rewriting all sorts of little bits of history for us with the large hadron collider or whatever is blamed for it but that collective human conscious belief is. And part of me wonders if all the strangess of the series could be easily explained away as our universe and our reality being a simulation. That would definitely seem like a copout but I read that novel that came from France that postulated the idea with a strange airplane. We live in strange, interesting times. I give this book five Mothmans who just wanna say hi out of five.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Fraser Simons.
Author 9 books297 followers
December 22, 2022
What a massive step backward, imo. Rather than continue off the cliffhanger of the previous arc, it’s an entire collection of random stories pertaining to the agency. Some of how the other characters became involved, but not all, despite the last one saying one who doesn’t get featured has a wild recruitment story, mind you. Also, the art is different each issue, so the tone and atmosphere, which is what much of the entire thing has going for it is obliterated—with cartoony looking stories. A couple of which are interesting, but none of the presentation remains the same. I really have no idea what was going on here. An entire arc without the main plot line? No thanks!
Profile Image for Josh.
Author 1 book28 followers
December 1, 2022
Following Lee Harvey Oswald's history with the Department over the course of 6 collected one-shot stories, Vol. 3 does not move the central story forward in any significant ways--but as it dives deep into the larger mythos and history of the story, there are some terrifying encounters, dramatic twists of plot, and key revelations with significant implications to come. With varying art styles and shifting narrative forms, Free Country continues driving a strong and fascinating adventure through truth and fiction across America.
Profile Image for Jiro Dreams of Suchy.
1,374 reviews9 followers
June 23, 2022
The larger overarching story heats up and different styles of art for each issue, (I still love the watercolors made of coffee and blood look of the first trades more).

What the fuck do you even think America is? You think it had the name carved into the fucking bedrock? NOTHING about this fucking place is real. It’s all just people.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Mendousse.
323 reviews6 followers
April 21, 2025
Troisième recueil de cette série qui s'apprécie sur sa longueur. Beaucoup de clés données dans cette série d'épisodes qui se penchent sur le passé.
Plusieurs artistes aux styles très variés se succèdent sur les épisodes, pour marquer différentes périodes. Tout est très beau, très réussi et l'histoire générale prend de l'ampleur.
Profile Image for Jonathan Crabb.
Author 1 book13 followers
March 5, 2025
Gosh I love this graphic novel series so much. This one did UFOs, tin hats, mothman, the MOON LANDING and the 60s and I just can't get enough. The art was highly varied per issue which was great as well. Still holding up as my favorite graphic novel ever.
Profile Image for Brylliams.
335 reviews7 followers
September 11, 2022
I didn't love this as much as the first two volumes. But I did appreciate all the backstory we got on the department. There wasn't enough horror in it this time I think. I am definitely ready to dive back into the present though in the next volume.
Profile Image for James.
4,327 reviews
June 9, 2023
Recreating reality by getting the most people to believe in an idea and by doing so making it real. Lotus-eating is talked about.
Profile Image for Laura Starzynski.
447 reviews
October 5, 2024
3.5 rounded down.

While I read volumes 2 and 3, I'm just going to let the one count for Goodreads.

I liked the third volume's art style the best. It was tongue-in-cheek retro, but it's so much prettier than modern-day illustrations in comics.

I can't say I loved the idea of a triple-cross (a double-double agent). It's getting a hair too convoluted. But it's interesting. I like that. I also want to learn more about Ruby. She seems awesome.
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