Screaming children run from oversized vaccine death needles. Barack Obama shows off a handwritten birth certificate bearing the words “KENYA” and “FIRE ME.” Swastika-inscribed fluoride tanks empty themselves into lakes beneath a sky full of chemtrails. It’s every overblown conspiracy theorist’s nightmare, and there’s not a drop of irony in sight.

Each image is just one more window into the bizarre, sad, and preposterously earnest mind of David Dees—the artist-in-residence for internet truthers everywhere.

Unless you frequent the sorts of websites that exist to scream about martial law, building 7, and fluoride-related conspiracies of all sorts, you might never have the pleasure of coming across any of Dees’ work at all. But for fans of the bullshit-peddlers making their money off people’s most paranoid delusions, David Dees’ artwork is as ubiquitous as the Zionists controlling our media.

Popular conspiracist personalities like Alex Jones and Jeff Rense regularly take advantage of Dees’ free-to-use illustrations. But it’s not just the big names; dozens if not hundreds of smaller sites blogging in the name of Truth (911blogger.com, Truth Alerts, The Hollow Earth Insider, and Real Jew News, to name but a few) also make use of his various frenzied hellscapes.

And it’s easy to see why—Dees’ work is void of any sense of shame or apology. Recently, the landing page of his website consisted almost entirely of a chart titled “Holocaust Gas Chambers = ZIONIST JEWS HOAX.” After all, you’re not going to wake up the American people with subtlety. And according to Dees, they have a lot to wake up to.

I first became aware of his work while doing some research on anti-vaxxers. As I browsed the multitude of evil-vaccine manifestos, one of his more popular pieces caught my eye. Because if nothing else, Dees has certainly succeeded in making sure his work manages to stand out.

Compelled to follow the calling card plastered across the bottom of nearly every image he creates, I found myself mesmerized by what appeared to be a vast, outlandish amalgam of every possible conspiracy theory ever wrought. I had to probe further, if simply for the fact that the number of fringe (and often conflicting) beliefs Dees subscribes to is admirable in his ability to withstand the cognitive dissonance alone.

After attempting to audit his entire artistic back catalogue and giving up about a tenth of the way through, these are just a few of the major injustices as I understand them to exist in the world of Dees: Chemtrails, Obama is causing famine, the Euro is killing the EU, GMOs are killing our children, aspartame is poison, TSA is molestation, TSA’s x-rays cause cancer, Wal-Mart is killing commerce, America is dead in general, the government is hiding the truth about tower 7 and also everything, Earth Day is a Marxist/Zionist conspiracy, Microsoft is using vaccines to kill African children, every major politician is in on every conspiracy, the Charlie Hebdo shooting was a Zionist false flag, Ron Paul is a god, Hitler was an OK guy—etc.

Perhaps it’s this attempt to hit every potentially offensive idea conspiracists have ever cooked up that makes the notion of David Dees as sincere so difficult to fathom: Surely no one man can truly believe all this? Maybe he’s in it for money.

But that’s where it gets interesting. David Dees truly, wholeheartedly believes in everything he draws, and what’s more, he doesn’t make a dime off nearly half the work he puts out. Instead, he does it all for the sake of Truth with a capital T.

And, as he explained to me over email, because the Zionists own the media.

But before you delve into the depths of Dees’ work, take a glance at his home page. You’ll probably notice something (relatively) odd sitting on the sidebar. Amongst the menu options (holding the truths to mind control and holocaust hoaxes and poison in our food) lies a section dubbed “Kids World.” Whatever you might be thinking lies on the other end of that click, though (some sick attempt at childhood indoctrination?), is wrong. Incredibly, wonderfully wrong.

It’s Sesame Street—a giggly, wiggly testament to the days before Dees “woke up,” as he terms his introduction into the world of trutherisms. Yes, the heralder of the Holocaust hoax himself was drawing your child’s favorite cartoons—but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Because even before he was a children’s illustrator, David Dees harbored dreams of being an airbrush artist. You know those guys spraying gothic lettering onto t-shirts in the mall? Yes, those airbrush artists. Except Dees’ ultimate goal centered around painting pretty pictures onto custom vans and motorcycles.

That was the greatest thing I could imagine, having a fantastic painting driving around on wheels for all to see—what an audience.

Clearly, he was already aching to have eyes on his work. That desire (coupled with increasing competition from digital illustrators) eventually brought him into the world of cartoon animation sometime in the early 90s. And Dees was nothing if not prolific; you may very well have seen his handiwork in everything from Looney Tunes paraphernalia to Mickey Mouse to Disney book covers and, finally, in Sesame Street Magazine.

But while he was doing perfectly well for himself drawing middling cartoons for kids, he was in no way achieving the sort of fame and notoriety he so desperately craved. Then, in 2003, his commercial cartoonist career went to shit the minute David Dees saw this.

And this.

Photos of the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon that, according to Dees, incontrovertibly prove that the entire thing was a hoax—or at the very least, an inside job. As he explained to me over email:

[The photos] show an odd 15 foot hole, with all the windows intact around it, and no damage where the wings would have hit. And no plane inside the pentagon. I marked the pics attached with an arrow to where the ‘plane’ went in. Absurd.

Of course, as Purdue structural engineering professor Mete Sozen told Popular Mechanics, “A crashing jet doesn’t punch a cartoon-like outline of itself into a reinforced concrete building... What was left of the plane flowed into the structure in a state closer to a liquid than a solid mass.” But, you know—details.

The photos were evidence enough for Dees, who took it upon himself to “start down the rabbit hole of politics and exposing the international agenda of the Zionists.” A rabbit hole that his coworkers at Sesame Street magazine, however, were less than enthused about.

I was best friends with the editor of Sesame Street magazine for over ten years, she is a zionist jew. I used to ask her what the whole uproar about jews was because they seemed really nice and intelligent. She would say she did not know. Then when I found out about the massacres of Palestinians and stealing their land in 1948 I confronted her with it, she was not happy.

Then when I discovered that 9/11 was not the arabs at all, but a big black op by the zionist controlled government America has become, I confronted her with that. She was yelling that none of that is true. So I had to leave Sesame Street.

I attempted to contact some of the past editors of (the now defunct) Sesame Street Magazine who might have worked with him. But every one either declined to respond or claimed not to have known him at all. A current spokesperson for Sesame Street told me that, because Dees was a freelancer, very few people would have worked with him directly. So as far as the circumstances surrounding his departure go, Dees’ is the only word we have.

Then, out of job, jaded, and fed up with what he saw as an American people made entirely of zombies in fugue states, Dees fled to Sweden, where he believed that the government would be less “hostile towards its people.” Of course, it didn’t hurt that Sweden itself was less susceptible to the inevitable chaos of the upcoming global apocalypse. As Dees explained:

After a short time, I met an old Swedish man who explained how he worked on a top secret state project of a [series of] massive underground facilities stocked and large enough for the whole population of 9 million. He said the entrance was in a forest in an unpopulated area, and down a simple road that was guarded. Then you just drive right down into the entrance, extremely hidden. He said a bus would take them there, but he could not figure out where they were. He also talked about the special section for the Swedish royal family, although he said it was not particularly ornate.

In the USA you can be sure we will not be invited into the bunkers for protection if the earth convulses like predicted, those are for the elite asses that currently rule over us.

So Dees took his newfound animation skill and began to channel it into a different medium—what he calls “political satire.” Very little of it was for profit, with the ultimate goal simply being to jerk people our of their toxic bed of government-bred lies. Dees’ descent down the rabbit hole had darkened his world beyond repair, sure, but he was finally making a name for himself—which is all he ever wanted in the first place.

Before I woke up to 9/11, [my work] was 100 percent commissioned, I never ever did art for my own enjoyment, it was just a job. But now I have a massive audience who are interested in what I have to offer about world events. That is something I never dreamed could happen.

But apparently, even Sweden isn’t safe. Once Dees started finding house keys mysteriously missing and bikes stolen, he became convinced that Monsanto was after him. The only logical conclusion, then, was of course to move to Oregon, where he’s been churning out little bits of Photoshopped truth ever since.

Now, that’s not to say he’s currently safe from the people that wish to silence him, either because they’re hoping to hide the truth, as seen below.

Or because they’re simply too blind to see what’s right in front of their faces. As Dees explained:

Someone who cannot figure out 9/11 or chemtrails sprayed right over their heads are people I avoid and consider either remarkably stupid or have an emotional problem keeping them from confronting blatant evidence. It feels at times that I am in a cheap science fiction movie where the townspeople are unaware of the sinister lifeforms walking amongst us. And that being all the attacks coming in the form of silent weapons, GMO’s, vaccines, chemtrails, fluoride, Aspartame, Cell Towers, and on and on.

We are in big trouble, and a huge percentage of the population are so affected they cannot see the darts hitting them. No one is protesting, I think there is probably some sort of beamed weapon on all of us sedating the masses. That would explain the odd behavior of the obese american monsters that waddle through Walmart.

But at least, now, at home in Oregon, David Dees in the heart of the battle.

His entire back catalogue is currently fawned over by the coterie of conspiracy theorists that have made a name for themselves online—and over whom the bellowing, red-faced Alex Jones reigns king. But radio host Jeff Rense is perhaps his biggest fan, commenting during one show that “David Dees has no peers. He has taken the art of political art to a level never before achieved—I think never before imagined.”

Which is, perhaps, a bit of an overstatement. Dees’ work is eye-catching, certainly, but even to the inexperienced eye it looks amateur at best. Dees himself is the first to admit he’s no revolutionary when it comes to art:

My setup to work now could not be simpler, all I use is Adobe Photoshop and an Intuos Bamboo Pad and Pen. And my understanding of photoshop is horribly basic—mostly I am just doing fancy layering and airbrush. These pieces average around 100 to 200 layers, and they are just hammered together piece by piece. I see people who do outrageous art on photoshop, and I have not a single clue how it is done. I just do a cut and paste style that any pro can see right through.

I guess where I excel is in my color and compositions, the real meat of an illustration, the ability to tell a story and entertain the viewer. That is my strong point.

Whether or not Dees is confusing visual assault with entertainment is besides the point. As far as he’s concerned, all that matters is that his work gets noticed. And if nothing else, he has certainly accomplished that. Upon request, Dees sent me upwards of 100 recent emails he’s received from his fans. Some of whom are just glad to have an ally in their crusade for Truth:

Dear David,

I found you at some point in the Internet. I think there was a reference in a political blog. I woke up many many years ago. I am particularly interested in the incredible things that going on in the pharmaceutical industry (how vaccination, and mafia on cancer and organ donation). But all other topics such as chemtrails, Fema Camp, Mobile, HAARP, 9/11 and the dirty wars (now Ukraine) are known to me.

The truth is unbelievably bad and many people do not still believe. Your work is very incredibly well and very courageous.

Dear Mr. David Dees,

I am a fellow artist of the search for truth and, I just wanted to let you know how importantly inspiring your work is. All of it. Keep up the fantastic work that you do and always remember, you are inspiring the thirst for truth within the hearts and minds of all of those for whom view your work. You are a true master and may God bless you. In return for all the wisdom you have given me, I offer you these short clips of mind altering wisdom.

Thanks again for your work. I will send these links after this one because Facebook will not allow me to send them with this message. Facebook was created by CIA, Jewish Zionists to control humanity. Thank you sir, and again, well done to you and your courageous efforts to stand up to tyranny on behalf of mankind. You are a modern day revolutionary as well as an artistic savant. Its an honor to know you.

Some of whom practically worship Dees himself:

Without intending to sound mushy, you really are my hero. You are motivated solely by doing what is right, not by what is profitable. You are one of a kind, an absolutely fearless soldier, you are an army of one, that has already changed the world, and that continues to do so, one illustration at a time. There is nobody on earth like you.

This is unreal to me, David. Collaborating with you on these covers is a high-mark in my life. I really looked up to you right after I woke up in 2007. I immediately came across your art and thought that was the coolest shit I’ve ever seen in my life.

Lossa balls my friend. Fearless. Fucking genius—no other way to say it! You helped motivate me to want to get on my soapbox and yell out a warning. None of these other sheep are standing up, so you and I and others do because we’re the best-hearted people in the world. I’ve got a totally new respect for life and my fellow human after I learned we were on the same team, against the opposing Team NWO.

David,

You are a big part of the movement towards truth as your illustrations TELL us things we see and know but quite can’t put into words....

And others who are just thankful to have an artist on the side of Truth that’s willing to do his work for free:

Hey Dave,

Take a good look at yourself in the mirror. What do you see? Because from where I stand, I see one of the most decent, caring guys on this planet. A guy who dispenses his world famous art – and it truly IS world famous – absolutely for free. A guy who goes to old folks homes in order to provide them with some extremely needed entertainment and joy. How precious is that, I ask you?

And you’re afraid to ask for money??? Believe me, Zündel was never shy about asking for money, quite the opposite. Neither was Harold Covington, and a whole slew of other people who share our political opinions. Are the jews and those who oppose us reluctant to ask for donations? Anyway, I know exactly where you’re coming from. The problem with people like you and I is that we have a CONSCIENCE.

Because when it comes to his “political satire,” even money is an afterthought—according to Dees’ own estimates, only about half of his work is done for any sort of commission at all. Which, considering his pieces often make use of multiple stock art clips costing upwards of $10, $20, and $30 a piece, speaks to his dedication—or at the very least, his zealotry.

It’s a good thing Dees is mostly concerned with the message, too, because in terms of aesthetics, he comes up sorely lacking. I asked Paddy Johnson, art critic and current Editorial Director of Art F City, to take a look at Dees’ work. She noted that he is at least working somewhat within the realm of traditional social commentary through art. Johnson pointed to Llyn Foulkes semi-recent show at the New Museum, that featured one painting in which Mickey Mouse tears his way out of Walt Disney’s head, as something that might be vaguely akin to what Dees is trying to accomplish. Except that “that show worked because Foulkes was a virtuoso with materials.”

And a virtuoso, Dees is not. As Johnson explained:

Structurally, Dees uses a minimal number of elements and arranges them so they look right; they’re proficient compositions but not complex. Now take a look at the work of Cliff Evans or Kenneth Tin Kin Hung,both of whom use a similar aesthetic; the collages are vastly more complicated and even elegant in their design. None of that grace and ease with composition comes with this work, which is why ultimately, it’s not very sophisticated.

Which is not to say that Dees doesn’t have any redeeming qualities as an artist. He’s put out hundreds of images by this point (with each one taking just a few hours to create, on average). It’s inevitable that he’d eventually hit a spark—even if it’s entirely by accident. The piece below, at least for Johnson, seemed to hint at perhaps a modicum of self-awareness.

The campiness of this image really benefits the work. The corn covered in barbed wire with shark teeth, the screaming scientist, the beady eyed potato—all hilarious, mostly because they are so absurd. This is the one piece that made me wonder if was parodying sites like the Free Republic. In Dee’s case, that’s a positive quality; ordinarily his work doesn’t seem that distinguishable from most other conspiracy theorist.

But a quick request for response from Dees kills that theory straightaway. A general sense of humor in the image was definitely intentional—that, Dees assured us, is how you reach everyone, both true believers and otherwise. But the underlying message of fear is very much in earnest. Dees believes that by creating GMOs, we are effectively weaponizing our own food against us, or what he calls a “silent weapon for quiet wars.” Where we find ourselves sick and wounded but without any real idea of where the poison is coming from. Unless, of course, you decide to finally start believing in his own personal gospel.

Put another way, the reason Dees’ imagery appears so wildly over-the-top is because the world in which he exists is exactly that—a place profound and monstrous in its excess.

And “don’t miss the chemtrails crossing the skies,” Dees added. “That is another key punch in their attack on us.”

Contact the author at ashley@gawker.com. Composite image by Jim Cooke, source art by David Dees.