Who Killed JFK?: Department of Truth Is Back to Expose the Greatest Conspiracy of All Time

Summary The Department of Truth #23 finally brings James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds' iconic series back to comic shelves.

The series is set in a world where if enough people believe a conspiracy theory, reality warps to make it true.

Now, the Department reveals itself to the world, beginning with the truth behind JFK's assassination.

John F. Kennedy's assassination weighs heavily on the American Consciousness, and no more so than in The Department of Truth - a series in which all conspiracies can become reality if enough people believe them. In its grand return after a lengthy hiatus, Department of Trurh is now revealing what really happened on November 22, 1963. With Lee Harvey Oswald a major character, the series has dropped hints about what really happened since the beginning, but only now are readers getting the full picture of one of America’s defining moments of the modern era.

Per Image Comics, with The Department of Truth #23 the series will finally delve into exactly what happened the day JFK was assassinated. Issue 22 - released November 2022 - ended with the shock revelation that Lee Harvey Oswald, head of the Department of Truth, would finally reveal the existence and history of the Department to the wider world, including what happened to JFK. Writer James Tynion IV says:

Since our first issue, the very darkest mysteries have seemed to zero in around Lee Harvey Oswald and one fateful day in Dealey Plaza in 1963. These next issues of The Department of Truth will answer once and for all: who really shot JFK?

The Department of Truth #23 (2024) Release Date: June 26 Writer: James Tynion IV Artist: Martin Simmonds Cover Artist: Martin Simmonds Confronted with an enemy intent on exposing their secrets to the world, the DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH makes a shocking choice - go public first. But to understand LEE HARVEY OSWALD’s risky gambit, we have to return to where it all started: Dallas, 1963, as President John F. Kennedy’s motorcade passed the grassy knoll… Multiple Eisner-winning writer JAMES TYNION IV and acclaimed artist MARTIN SIMMONDS bring their celebrated series back from hiatus with the bang heard around the world!

Along with artist and series co-creator Martin Simmonds, Tynion is finally laying out all the cards as the series barrels towards its conclusion after going on hiatus for all of 2022. Fans can check out the issue's variant covers by Alex Eckman-Lawn and Sebastián Fiumara, as well as a brief preview of the issue, below:

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The Department of Truth Reveals the Truth Behind America's Greatest Conspiracy Theory

In the World of Department of Truth, Collective Belief Warps Reality

The core conceit of The Department of Truth is that if the public believes something strongly enough, it manifests in reality. The titular Department’s job is to limit and control manifested conspiracy theories - or, according to their enemies, to wield conspiracy theories in the interests of American hegemony. In the series so far, the Department has been fighting a cold war against Black Hat, a group ostensibly dedicated to letting reality do what it will, regardless of the consequences. Now, with Black Hat seemingly holding all the cards, Oswald is finally revealing the Department, the one thing Black Hat won’t expect.

Like Tynion says, the question of JFK’s assassination has been a major element of The Department of Truth from the series' beginning. Issue 1 opens with Oswald’s debriefing with Department members after the assassination, which reveals he was already a member. However, Hawk Harrison, an ostensible Department traitor, believes that this isn’t the ‘real’ Oswald, but his ‘tulpa’ - a new being that’s an amalgamation of all the public’s conspiracy theories about the JFK assassination. Issue 14 created another wrinkle, revealing that holding the rifle was the ‘Red Woman,’ a mysterious entity following her own agenda throughout some of history's biggest events.

The Department of Truth Has a Lot to Say About the Nature of 'Truth' in American Politics

Tynion and Simmonds' World Explores How Lies Can Reshape Traditional Power Structures

The Department of Truth is ultimately about the part that conspiratorial thinking plays - and has always played - in American politics, and how group consensus can change how we understand reality, even if it's built on false foundations. The series traces its conspiracies throughout history, tying the Red Woman to the Illuminati, to ‘magician’ Aleister Crowley and to the Nazis. As The Department of Truth finally opens the doors on its biggest mystery, readers will finally learn how JFK’s death changed the world... and was changed by it.

The Department of Truth #23 releases June 26 from Image Comics

Sources: Image Comics