The Big Lie is the first of a line of books from Truth Be Told Comics, a group producing comic books based around the events of the 9/11 attack in New York. I was very interested to see how the creator, Rick Veitch (The Question, Daredevil), would handle a still uneasy subject like 9/11 in a comic book, and I had no idea what to expect, but I was certainly not expecting what was presented.
The Big Lie #1
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer/Artist: Rick Veitch
Colors: Dominic Regan
Letters: Annie Parkhouse
Cover: Thomas Yeates
Editors: Thomas Yeates and Brian Romanoff
The Big Lie tells the story of Sandra, a scientist, who has traveled back in time to September 11, 2001 to warn the world of the impending devastation and save the life of her husband, an executive working inside the World Trade Center who died during the attack. Sandra would fail to convince her husband and his colleagues, who are working on a new big budget film, and the tower is attacked, and people die. But don’t confuse that last sentence for a spoiler, because whether Sandra can succeed in her mission to save her husband or not is a pretty big afterthought. The real purpose of this story is to present the unanswered questions about why the attack happened and the government’s true involvement in the entire situation.
You may be thinking “Okay, it’s comic book propaganda by conspiracy theorists,” and you wouldn’t be wrong. It eventually comes off that way. The whole issue is a conversation between Sandra, her husband Carl, and his co-workers where Sandra presents evidence surrounding the attack, and the others ask questions about how such an occurrence would be possible in that day with all the surveillance from the CIA, FBI, and etc. The writer never directly points fingers at the government or President Bush and screams “The government was behind the attacks!”, but that’s basically what he is saying, and he does offer some very interesting and thought provoking points, which is the real goal of this title.
The whole issue is very wordy, which I understand, because the book is 95% conversation, and the art really serves the dialog rather than tell the story of these characters.
Whether or not you’ll find this book in good or bad taste really depends on how strong your opinions are on 9/11, the government, and possible conspiracies, but the writer never makes light of the attack or any victims. Don’t pick up The Big Lie #1 expecting a typical dramatic story of heroes or villains, but expect to put it down with a lot to think about. It’s definitely worth reading with an open mind.
Andrew Hurst
andrewhurst@comicattack.net
@andrewEhurst
Just finished it.
Yeah, valid points are certainly raised throughout, and it makes you wonder why ten years later these questions are still left unanswered. As if our country is happy living in ignorance of the truth, because the truth would scare the living fuck out of us.
I expect no less from Rick Veitch.
This looks like a job for the Hardly Boys XP
Even though a mere comic book, “The Big Lie” probably has a greater amount of truth in it than many textbooks- sadly.
We live in an age where uniformity of opinion and rote obedience is drummed into us. The mass media repeats like a faithful parrot the inanities of numerous “official stories”. Also, the unstated but primary objective of public education, which is unquestioning obedience to authority, can leave a real damper on attempts at real education. The quote below, from one of the founders of American public education, is enough to make one’s head pop like an overripe watermelon. There are real teachers who actually educate students in spite of the coercive and stifling structures of public, and you have to respect that. But the institution as a whole appears to promote robotic conformity rather than education. Prepare to be horrified:
from The Fixation of Belief by Charles S. Peirce
Popular Science Monthly 12 (November 1877), 1-15.
Let the will of the state act, then, instead of that of the individual. Let an institution be created which shall have for its object to keep correct doctrines before the attention of the people, to reiterate them perpetually, and to teach them to the young; having at the same time power to prevent contrary doctrines from being taught, advocated, or expressed. Let all possible causes of a change of mind be removed from men’s apprehensions. Let them be kept ignorant, lest they should learn of some reason to think otherwise than they do. Let their passions be enlisted, so that they may regard private and unusual opinions with hatred and horror. Then, let all men who reject the established belief be terrified into silence. Let the people turn out and tar-and-feather such men, or let inquisitions be made into the manner of thinking of suspected persons, and when they are found guilty of forbidden beliefs, let them be subjected to some signal punishment. When complete agreement could not otherwise be reached, a general massacre of all who have not thought in a certain way has proved a very effective means of settling opinion in a country. If the power to do this be wanting, let a list of opinions be drawn up, to which no man of the least independence of thought can assent, and let the faithful be required to accept all these propositions, in order to segregate them as radically as possible from the influence of the rest of the world.
Rick Veitch and Tom Yeates have done us all a great service by creating “The Big Lie”. In a very short space, it effectively brings out a lots of points that will hopefully trigger an interest in readers to do additional homework. Also, this book is respectful of those who lost their lives and those left behind. The only fault I have with the story is that I think that even with the passage of ten years for Sandra, her husband should have recognized her. He may have thought that her appearance was due to her being intensely ill or extremely tired, but he would recognize his wife! The story is otherwise strong, and the art by Yeates is excellent. Mostly, I think it is admirable that they did the book at all- this book is truly an act of love- and courage.