MegaCon 2025: ‘Department Of Truth’ 5th Anniversary Panel
by Frank Martin
Longevity means everything in comics. In an industry where production can get quite expensive relative to sales, it’s incredibly impressive to find a series that is still going strong five years after its debut. That’s exactly where Department of Truth from Image Comics finds itself. The series details a secretive department within the US government in charge of managing conspiracy theories, dictating which ones become truth and which ones remain fiction. And with the series approaching its fifth anniversary, series creators James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds hosted a panel to celebrate at MegaCon.
The panel began with an introduction by Todd McFarlane, who talked about the founding of Image Comics and what their ultimate goal was. He claimed Department of Truth as the realization of that dream, allowing talented creators to pursue a story that otherwise wouldn’t have an outlet. From there, McFarlane left with Tynion and Simmonds taking center stage to discuss the origins of the project. Tynion was very careful to talk about the fine line they walk when developing story arcs, aiming to tackle the subject of conspiracy theories head-on while also not giving them too much credence.
Questions from the audience ranged from discussing the comic’s roots in horror and their inspirations to how they tackle conspiracy theories in real life. The panel was particularly interesting when Tynion discussed his research. Conspiracy theories are a vast subject that includes far out topics such as aliens and the flat Earth, but they can also deal with real life government cover-ups. Tynion and Simmonds brought up the topic of pet conspiracy theories, things that everyone more or less dabbles in to some degree, relying on friends and family to pull them back in before they go too deep down the rabbit hole. Lastly, the panel ended with a bit of a surprise as Tynion detailed future story arcs and how the series will change coming out of its fifth year. One thing that wasn’t talked about was a series ending, and after five years, it doesn’t appear as if either of them will be wrapping things up.
