Department of Truth #14 // Review
The red lady gets an origin as the affairs of a top-secret organization continue in The Department of Truth #14. Writer James Tynion IV explores a little-known quirk of a connection between science, science fiction, and the occult in an enthralling new issue brought to the page by artist John J. Pearson. Main title artist, Martin Simmonds’ work graces the cover of an issue that is far more integrated as a comic book than many other recent issues have been. Tynion’s writing feels much more fluid than it has in the past as his story explores a strange, little intersection between various shadowy aspects of the history of the 20th century.
Science fiction writer/con artist L. Ron. Hubbard had started dating a woman who had been involved with rocket scientist Jack Parsons. The woman in question was named Sara. She was the sister of Parson’s wife. It was the mid-1940s. The two men ended up getting involved in an occult ritual known as the Babalon Working...they were trying to manifest the archetypal divine feminine. That much is fact on this side of the comics page. In the world of the Department of Truth, things are considerably more complicated. The woman in question is dressed in red. She wears a large black “X” over each eye. A mysterious figure from the margins of the series gets a full treatment.
Tynion has had a very tricky time of making it through the series thus far. So often, it’s the case that he’s exploring subject matter that’s a hell of a lot more interesting than the fiction he’s writing about. (He’s in good company. The X-Files made it quite successfully through a decade on television doing the exact same thing.) The Babalon Working is far more interesting than anything that Tynion manages to fuse into The Department of Truth. It’s not the greatest fiction, but Tynion’s origin for the mysterious red woman is satisfying enough.
Tynion has found a good match in artist John J. Pearson. The art might not have the resonant depth of Simmonds’ nightmare collages. Still, it works on a much more satisfying level with the drama that Tynion is bringing to the page. Pearson’s darkness has a cleaner edge to it than most of Simmonds’ work, allowing the script to feel a bit starker against the page than many of the previous issues have managed thus far.
The fusion between art and story has reached a really nice balance in the story of the red woman’s origin. She really IS the most fascinating character in the series thus far, and it’s a profound accomplishment on the part of Tynion that she remains appealing even with some of the mystery of her identity cast aside. It’s nice to see her energy come to life in a rarely-explored end of occult history that makes an appealing appearance in the series. There are so many different angles for Tynion to explore even after the first fourteen issues. It’s nice to see Tynion casting a gaze in the darker corners of conspiratorial mystery.
