Norma Editorial brings the conspiracy to life in The Complete Conspiracy: Wild Fictions, a volume that works wonderfully as a companion to The Department of Truth series
In the post-truth era we live in, differentiating what is true from what is not becomes more complicated every day. This is the ideal context for the development of work like the one we have created Editorial standard just published, a sort of complement to the vaunted series of James Tynion IV Yes Martin Simmonds which comes to us under the title of The Department of Truth. The Complete Conspiracy: Wild Fictions.
After the Department of Truth
The Department of Truth is a conspiracy bomb transformed into a comic that places us in a reality where the craziest conspiracy theories (flat earthers, reptilians, men in black, chemtrails…) will become reality if enough people believe in them, similar to what I did Neil Gaiman with religion inside American gods. Thus is born a mysterious government department charged with controlling these “truths” before they destroy reality as we know it.
We follow this story written by James Tynion IV and drawn by Martin Simmonds Cole Turnera conspiracy-obsessed analyst recruited by this secret agency. As an agent, as you try to unravel what is true and what isn’t, you discover that the threads that run the world are much more intricate than you thought. Who decides what is real? What price does the truth have?
With a disturbing plot, unexpected twists and graphics that seem taken from a feverish nightmare and which in some respects recall the wildest one Dave McKeanThe Department of Truth mixes the suspense The X-Files with the chaos of Black mirror. The mythology he creates is so rich that it allows for the creation of a work like this appendix, which serves as the mortar for the main story.
Conspiracy at its best
What we have in this volume functions in itself as a compendium of urban legends, paranormal phenomena, and monster stories from collective folklore. We have already been able to follow many of them through the mother series, but others are added for this volume. This place will appeal to crime fiction fans and blogs created by conspiracy theorists who believe that the US Democratic Party has created a network of underground passages leading to a pizzeria where its leaders unleash their most depraved sexual appetites.
Blurry records of UFOs and abominable snowmen, theories about secret groups ruling the world with dark agendas, and reports of apparitions of ghosts and virgins (in the most biblical sense of the word) are just the tip of the iceberg.
In this volume we will find all these ridiculous myths grouped into three parts, presented in such a way that even the most cautious reader wishes there was some truth behind them. In class 1 wild fictions we will have immaterial manifestations with a minimal physical effect on their environment (ghosts, fairies, poltergeist…). Class 2 involves intense encounters with overwhelming otherworldly presences (aliens and angels). And in class 3 we find living creatures and monsters to discover (Bigfoot, Mothman…).
An artist for every monster
The icing on the cake of this compendium is that in each chapter we will find the graphic representation of the corresponding wild fiction by a different artist. Thus we will have, for example, drawn children with black eyes Andrea SorrentinoA Elvis Presley (is he still alive?) by John McReaA Santa Claus Of Bill Sienkiewiczto the skunk monkey for Simon Bisleyto alligators in the sewers for James Stokoe Already Bigfoot Yes Krampus by Simmonds himself.
On each card, in addition to the illustration, we find what would be the Department of Truth’s report on the fiction in question, with a detailed description, the date of the first documented meeting and the geographical location. And in reality this volume can work wonderfully as a compendium of monsters, creatures and supernatural beings of culture and folklore, even if at the end of the volume two numbers of the mother series are inserted which show their origin.
As for the edition, it must be said that this is wonderful tome presented by Editorial standard It comes in hardback format without dust jacket with a page size of 18 x 27.5 cm. The volume contains 224 pages in color and includes the translation of the original edition The Department of Truth: The Complete Conspiracy – Wild Fictions. The recommended retail price is €36 and went on sale in November 2024.
The Department of Truth. The Complete Conspiracy: Wild Fictions
SECRET REPORTS ON CRYPTIDS AND OTHER TULPAS FOUND BY DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH AGENTS
Some fictions manifest themselves in our reality as dangerous and incomplete things. THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH relies on hunters to track down and contain these wild tulpas before they become too real. In these FIELD OFFICE archives you will discover the truths, deceptions and mythologies of some of the most dangerous cryptid hunters catalogued.
Designed as real-life accounts of beings like Mothman, Bigfoot, Chupacabra, Gray Aliens, Flatwoods Monster, and more, WILD FICTION FILES contain astonishing illustrations from some of the most famous illustrators in the world of comics.
The award-winning writer James Tynion IV (W0RLDTR33, The beautiful house on the lake) and acclaimed artist Martin Simmonds (Universal Monsters: Dracula) invite the most talented artists in the industry to bring THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH’s Wild Fictions to life.
Author: James Tynion IV, Andrea Sorrentino, John McRea, James Stokoe, Bill Sienkiewicz, Simon Bisley, Martin Simmonds