myqz's review
4.0
A weaker volume than the first, but probably still my favorite running series. The potential here still hasn’t been reached, and I love the way Tynion uses conspiracy to get at the heart of America.
sfletcher26's review
4.0
This is a rabbit hole that gets deeper, darker and more convoluted with every turn of the page. My head hurts trying to process it all.
Simmons' art work is just amazing too. Equally dark and twisted, keeping you always slightly off balance.
Definitely looking forward to the next installment
Simmons' art work is just amazing too. Equally dark and twisted, keeping you always slightly off balance.
Definitely looking forward to the next installment
fortuna_regis's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
cesspool_princess's review
4.0
I actually liked this one better than the first volume. The art style, esp when it becomes a multi-media effort, is stunning and unsettling. The order of the panels can sometimes be counterintuitive and hard to follow. The exposition dumping was def a lot but bc it was ideas that I personally find interesting / have already thought through before, I didn't mind. So while I didn't feel like I was slogging through, I think many ppl might get turned off by that part. Honestly, I liked the big foot section. To me, it was refreshing to see big foot obsession portrayed not as the butt of a joke/ silly but as actually sad. I like that this addressed how stuff that is culturally seen as dumb or silly can genuinely take over ppls lives and destroy their relationships. I think about QAnon ppl in this regard. Like obviously everyone loves to dunk on and make fun of Q ppl bc esp liberals are terrified of that demographic and need to make themselves feel superior, rational, insulated and safe BUT there is little acknowledgement about how these obsessions, induction into these internet communities can genuinely destroy people's lives and their relationships with loved ones, how there is a deep sadness there. This is made more sad by the fact that these people are driven mad with fear and hatred by a world, a political and economic system that legitimately is a NIGHTMARE, that legitimately is controlled by a power elite, where people do get dissapeared, where governments are toppled, leaders assassinated and classes of people crushed under the weight of the machinery. They rightfully sense that something is wrong and so they are easily funneled into these insane communities with twisted and fucked up worldviews. But anyway, the bigfoot thing is also sad just bc of the extent to which it is just fully seen as a joke, to be made fun of. So while the handwritten letter got a lil melodramatic I still found them to be soulful and affecting (ngl I did almost tear up at the final part of the letter). And then Hawk and Cole's descent below the school was also well done imo and Hawk brought up something that has been coming up over and over lately (both Laura and Andres have both talked about this): conspiratorial thinking is all about this notion that all we need to do is REVEAL the truth, that once the truth is brought to light and people finally wake up to that horrific truth then everything else will fall into place, that people will take the necessary steps to slay the dragon, will come together and fight back against that horrible truth, but then there is the reality or the fear that revealing the truth is not enough, that consciousness is not enough, that even if everyone is watching the giant monster slowly lumber towards us, even if we all openly acknowledge to ourselves and each other that this monster is coming to annihilate us, to devour us, that we will still just watch as it approaches, filled with apathy and dread.
600bars's review
4.0
This one was very exposition heavy, when Hawk explains the entire history of esotericism and Alestair Crowley and Thelema and the Theosophical society and whatnot. I thought it was a little overwhelming and would be hard to follow if you don’t already have an interest in this stuff, but how else is he going to get all this info dumped? This installment mentioned every shelf of the Metaphysics section at work lol
The section on the bigfoot hunter was very sad and reminded me of the posts I see on the subreddit for people who have lost family members to Qanon. It’s really heartbreaking the way conspiracies cause people to become isolated as they go deeper down the rabbit hole. It’s even more sad when the conspiracy is in fact true and no one believes them and thinks they’re crazy, as is the case with the bigfoot hunter in the book. I thought of the scene in Ben Lerner’s 10:04 where he has a student come to office hours who is clearly having schizo-sounding paranoia and seems to be breaking with reality, but he doesn’t know what to say to him because the things he says about surveillance and poisonous food are *technically* all true. This is what I always find really sad about people who fall into paranoia and Q and that sort of thing, because they’re just trying to make sense of a world that is genuinely confusing and fucked up, and they know something is wrong, which is true, but then they take a turn. I return to the Eve Sedgwick quote about conspiracy theories, which is that if we find out something is true for sure, we don’t really learn anything we didn’t already know.
The section on the bigfoot hunter was very sad and reminded me of the posts I see on the subreddit for people who have lost family members to Qanon. It’s really heartbreaking the way conspiracies cause people to become isolated as they go deeper down the rabbit hole. It’s even more sad when the conspiracy is in fact true and no one believes them and thinks they’re crazy, as is the case with the bigfoot hunter in the book. I thought of the scene in Ben Lerner’s 10:04 where he has a student come to office hours who is clearly having schizo-sounding paranoia and seems to be breaking with reality, but he doesn’t know what to say to him because the things he says about surveillance and poisonous food are *technically* all true. This is what I always find really sad about people who fall into paranoia and Q and that sort of thing, because they’re just trying to make sense of a world that is genuinely confusing and fucked up, and they know something is wrong, which is true, but then they take a turn. I return to the Eve Sedgwick quote about conspiracy theories, which is that if we find out something is true for sure, we don’t really learn anything we didn’t already know.
conor_macritchie's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
grimondgalgmod's review
3.0
Not quite as interesting as the first volume but I did like the Bigfoot issues. Hopefully Cole actually gets to do something in the next story arc?
joshgauthier's review
4.0
With unique, engaging artwork and high concept storytelling, the continuation of The Department of Truth sees myth and legend come to life as the stakes rise higher and two competing factions battle it out for control of reality itself. A bit heavy on exposition at times, the execution of the story is nevertheless fascinating enough to keep things moving along as this creative team takes us deeper down the rabbit hole.
tbloehrlein's review
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0