There is fiction in this work of fiction (The Department of Truth vol 2)

Welcome all! This is The Comic Panel, for those who are listening for the first time, we are a bi-weekly radio show/podcast comic book club covering any and everything regarding comics and manga. We have each co-host pick a book that follows a specific theme and review a book for each episode. Then we wrap up the theme with a postmortem episode covering our opinions and favorite moments from each of the books.

In this episode we are covering our fourth and final book in our theme of Continuations! For this theme, we have each cohost pick a book that is a continuation of a series we've already read. The books we've read so far have been The Magic Order vol 2, Something Is Killing the Children vol 2, and Invincible vol 3. 

Volume 1 of the Department of Truth introduces us to a world where every conspiracy theory you can think of is true, but there is a secret government agency whose job it is to keep those theories under wraps, The Department of Truth. Our mc is an investigative journalist turned Department of Truth rookie. Volume 2 continues with Cole gaining a mentor of sorts, agent Hawk Harrison. He’s an old timer and has been a long standing member of the Department. He is crass and jaded and claims to understand something no one else does about the world… magic is real. Reluctantly, Cole learns from what Hawk has to say. During their time together, Hawk takes him on a journey through the history of the Department and about the things he’s seen and done. Things like Vietnam, the Satanic Panic, and the dispatching of Tulpas. We end the volume contemplating one final thought, perhaps the Lee Harvey Oswald that is running the Department of Truth is himself a Tulpa.

To describe Invincible volume 3, it begins with a concerned Nolan as he struggles with what to tell his son. For those who don't know, Nolan Grayson is the human alias of Omni-man, known to the world as the world's greatest superhero, but his true intentions were far more nefarious. His son, Mark Grayson, only knows his father as the superhero and he aspired to be just like him. At this point the reader knows that Nolan murdered the Guardians of the Globe, a superhero team tasked by the U.S. government to protect the world. The reader is left assuming that Nolan is going to reveal to Mark who he really is. Before that happens though, two villains known as the Mauler Twins revive one of the members of Guardians known as The Immortal. The Immortal awakens and then flies off to beat Omni-man senseless. Much to his chagrin, Omni-man is much too powerful for him and he is killed again. Unfortunately for Omni-man, Invincible sees his father's brutal act and that's when Nolan decides to tell Mark who he really is. He tells Mark that he is a Viltrumite, an empire bent on conquering worlds. Omni-man came to earth on a mission to force the earth to submit to Viltumite rule. Omni-man thinks that by telling Invincible this that he would be on his side, but Invincible refuses and fights him instead. Let's just say the fight didn't end all too well. Hear about all this and more in this thrilling review!

If you liked this episode be sure to follow us on Twitter @thecomicpanel1 and listen to more of us on Spotify, our at The Comic Panel Podcast. You can also listen to us on ksuaradio.com or 91.5 FM in Fairbanks, Alaska. Be sure to tune in two weeks from now for our retrospective covering our theme.

Music: "Sofa" by Dyalla