Noe’s Comics Nook: Department of Truth

Review

The world is secretly run by reptilian overloads. The world is actually flat. The moon landing was faked. Vaccines cause autism. 5G is mind control. These are just some of the conspiracy theories you’ve inevitably heard of if you live in the U.S. in the 21^st century and all of them are at risk of becoming “truth” in this first volume of Department of Truth (some of them appear in this volume, along with others). Like our protagonist Cole Turner, the reader is dropped into a world where collective belief is what shapes reality – such that if enough people believe in a conspiracy theory, no matter how outlandish, it will manifest into our new reality. Scary right? That isn’t all Turner has walked into though. No, he is now at the center of a war for The Truth between a secret branch of the U.S. government known as the Department of Truth and an organization known simply as Black Hat.

Admittedly, conspiracy theories aren’t typically my thing, though I know many folks like to keep up with them as a sort of ironic hobby. Perhaps that is why while I was reading Department, I was thinking about it more from a lens of information literacy – that skill that we perhaps idolize too much in librarianship – and how in a world where collective belief shapes truth, teaching people to sift through information is vital but not enough. There’s also the truth (lowercase T) that while collective belief isn’t going to spawn monstrous humanoid reptiles into existence that actually IS how parts of our reality work, right? And when reality isn’t as we want it to be, sometimes we struggle against it in incredibly unhealthy ways. In the first issue of the volume, Turner describes the turn to conspiracy theories this way: “They want reality to make sense in a way that makes them important and special. Everyone wants to feel like that, right?”

With trippy illustrations from Simmonds, reminiscent of a 90’s Vertigo style, and brilliant lettering that adds weight at just the right moments from Bidikar, Department of Truth might just be the most must-read comic in Tynion’s ever-growing corpus of must-reads. And if you should only have time to read one issue of this comic, make it issue #3 – you’ll know why when you do.

Elements of Story

Plot: Cole Turner has been investigating conspiracy theories his entire life – but even that doesn’t prepare him to be recruited by a secret government organization known as the Department of Truth or for the revelation that collective belief can rewrite reality. What will he do when he comes up against an opposing organization known only as the Black Hats?

Characters: Cole Turner, Lee Harvey Oswald, Ruby, Woman-in-Red, Star-Faced Man, Matty (Cole’s husband), Hunky, Doctor Tin-Foil, Frank, Mary, Martin Barker

Major Settings: Library of Congress, Department of Truth, Washington, D.C., Connecticut, Denver

Themes: Truth, Conspiracy Theories, Nature of Reality, Morality

Lesson Plan Idea Using Common Core Standards (CCS)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.4 – Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks.

Directions: This assignment is meant only for students in 11^th, 12^th, or beyond high school grades as it will involve research into blatantly inaccurate information that often makes use of hate driven views of the world. Students should be provided significant support and given opportunities to choose a different topic if they find the one they are working on becomes too much.

After students have read The Department of Truth, hold a class discussion about the nature of truth and listen to/discuss this podcast with Karen Douglas, PhD about why people believe in them. If possible, the school librarian should be invited to teach a session on information literacy and strategies for online information seeking.

Once students have a solid grounding on conspiracy theories and how they manifest, divide them into groups of three to develop an oral presentation on the history and current prevalence of a conspiracy theory of their choice (it must be approved by the teacher first). Students should plan a 10 minute, in-class presentation and any visuals included in the presentation should be reviewed with the teacher before sharing with the full class to avoid unnecessary spread of harmful images. The presentation should be divided into two main parts: history and prevalence and a thorough, thoughtful, evidence-based refutation of the conspiracy. The history of the theory should include answers to when the theory started as well as who it targets for harm and who benefits from its spread.

This is an opportunity for students to engage with the kind of misinformation they are going to encounter the rest of their lives and to learn how to find accurate information to refute these theories. As such, presentations should include references to reputable sources, though they need not be limited to text sources only.