One government agency is responsible for making sure that the truth remains stable in a world of shifting beliefs. The instability of it must constantly be guarded, but it can’t afford to have eyes prying into its operations, as Agent Cole discovers in Department of Truth #4. Writer James Tynion IV marches into the darkness once more in a cleverly-constructed issue with some very tight dialogue. Artist Martin Simmonds weaves shadowy images into something captivating in a weird alchemy as the series reaches a major turning point at the end of 2020. Department of Truth continues to be one of the sharpest new series in a very tumultuous year. 

Cole has returned to the office with coffee. His boss Lee Harvey Oswald is treating him like an intern. Given what he’s done for the Department, he’s understandably upset about that. Oswald is going to give him a chance to prove himself. There’s a bit of a problem with a few people who have run into a few documents that might be rather dangerous. Cole walked into the office with coffee. That coffee is traded-in for a gun. There’s a silencer on the gun, and there isn’t a whole lot of time to make the right decision. 

The fourth issue of the series makes a tremendous impact on the last page. The entire issue is pointed in the direction of that last page. Tynion takes a hell of a lot of time setting up the shot, but when the trap is lowered, it’s remarkably potent. The congealing of conspiracy theories that Tynion manages throughout the early going of the issue is charming enough, but none of it feels particularly fresh. It’s the same smoke and mirrors that have been echoing and reflecting through conspiracy-obsessed circles in the course of the past few decades. Tynion does a brilliant job of bringing it all together in the end, though. Once again, Tynion manages something powerful.

Simmonds’ art dances against Tynion’s script with a very clever sense of nuance. Quite a lot of the issue takes place in front of video screens. There have been a lot of shadows in the series thus far, but there’s a LOT of grainy video images in this issue. The shadows and silhouettes are everywhere. Complicating this are huge blocks of text in which Tynion outlines a dreary conspiracy formed from various documents. This type of script would be a challenge for any artist. Simmonds pulls it all together with a dazzlingly nightmarish design aesthetic. Simmonds is cleverly subdued with the visuals. The temptation to cram the page with a dizzy nightmare collage is firmly kept in check. 

Tynion is skillfully gliding his way through a story that gives just enough plot and characterization to crawl around inside the imagination without overpowering. The narrative text involving the conspiracy is hellishly thick, but it’s all wallpaper for the central drama that resonates on the page with a haunting pulse. Image maintains the steady beat of one issue of the series per month, but the time between issues feels more and more cavernous as Tynion and Simmonds ratchet-up the tension.

Grade: A