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Targeting Tinfoil Hats In The Cryptocracy

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by Vince Brusio

What if there is a skull-and-crossbones organization that runs everything in the shadows? What are you going to do about it? Take up arms and hope the shadows solidify long enough for you to hit them with some buckshot? Or would you rather be on the inside of intelligence that lets you see WHY the organization functions the way it does, and learn about it's true objectives? Knowledge is power, and power takes out your opponent. So listen up. This PREVIEWSworld Exclusive interview with writer Van Jensen exposes who the invisible puppet masters are in the upcoming Cryptocracy TP (NOV160052) from Dark Horse Comics, which is now available to pre-order in the November issue of the PREVIEWS catalog!

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PREVIEWSworld: Could you peel back the layers of the onion for us, and explain more in-depth how this book is a "blend of The X-Files and Marvel's "A.I.M."?

Van Jensen: We're imagining a world in which the secret, shadowy organization that controls everything is real. Only, instead of being the bad guy, as usual, they're our protagonists. So we see who they really are, why they do the things they do. Imagine if The X-Files was told from the side of the Smoking Man.

These Nine Families serve almost as shepherds, guiding humanity, keeping us from destroying ourselves. But now someone knows who they are and has started hunting them.

PREVIEWSworld: What published or rumored conspiracy theories had you entertained that helped you formulate the idea for Cryptocracy? Or did you avoid such research, and spin this web from your own cerebral cortex?

Van Jensen: Oh, gosh, so many. I did a lot of research on the obvious sources, like Robert Anton Wilson. But I also dug deep into some of the really scary conspiratorial writings out there, like Apocalypse Culture and Secret and Suppressed. I tried to craft the story, though, where the conspiracies are certainly relevant, but they aren't the centerpiece. It isn't like: "And here's the Loch Ness Monster issue!" It's more that they're woven into the story organically.

PREVIEWSworld: Why the fascination with this topic of a government within a government? Is there social relevance to this topic?

Van Jensen: Look at this presidential campaign. How much rhetoric has there been about grand, sinister powers? About secret cabals? Each side views the other as manipulative if not evil, and we see outsider candidates having nearly unprecedented success. I think that says everything about where we are culturally.

Conspiracies have a lot of allure. They promise a rational explanation for our very chaotic world, even if rationality in this situation shows up as secret reptilian agents.

PREVIEWSworld: If the common folk really wanted to "make a difference" and fight back against this kind of oppression … is that idea examined in this story? Or did you take a detour into highways uncharted?

Van Jensen: Common folk can always hole up with a tinfoil hat!

No, I think that's a too easy way of framing it. I wanted to look at a group uniformly treated as villains and find the humanity within them. Because, really, no one wakes up and the morning and exclaims how they're going to destroy the world, unless you're Doctor Doom. But at the same time, everyone wants control, to shape the world. And we're still figuring out as a race how to balance that calculus. That's the idea I wanted to explore.

PREVIEWSworld: Without spoiling the book, can you give readers a primer to some of the main characters in the book, and how their lives are going to play out in fast-forward mode for the upcoming issues?

Van Jensen: We have a pretty big story planned, with an ever-expanding scope. The main character is Grahame, an agent of the Nine Families. He's seeking to track down and stop the mysterious Hum, who is attacking the Families. Grahame forges an uneasy alliance with Bela Kalki, a radio host who is an ardent conspiracy theorist. Grahame's right hand man is Jason, a bugbear. Then there's Gary and the Grays. Are they aliens? Read on to find out. Reptilians. A dragon. Mothmen. Crazy tinfoil hat types. Mummies. And that's just the first four issues.

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