After nine seasons on television and two movies, The X-Files have moved to the printed page, with IDW Publishing bringing us the next “season” of adventures for FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. Written by Joe Harris with art by Michael Walsh and Jordie Bellaire, the new comic follows in the footsteps of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Smallville, telling new stories “in canon” about characters we thought we might not see again after the show was cancelled or the films ended.
So how does the first issue stack up? Here area few thoughts from around the web:
*****
James Hunt, Comic Book Resources: “Against those odds, X-Files Season 10 #1 turns out to be a surprisingly good read. Harris” introduction to the characters and their situation is on-point, containing only the information necessary to establish the current story, avoiding a lot of needless exposition that would”ve been easy to insert. As a result, readers are quickly brought up to speed with who the characters are, what their current situation is and what they”re doing now, allowing the plot to get rapidly under way.”
Alison Baumgartner, ScienceFiction.com: “Character-wise, I”m not entirely sold. Mulder”s sense of humor seems too jokey, and this jokiness permeates in everything he says. Yes, Mulder had some great one-liners in the series, in almost every episode, but he didn”t spout them off as if they were the only language he knew. Scully cries about wanting to find William again, which also seems oddly out of character. I do not doubt that Scully still has profound feelings about her son, but it”s distinctly un-Scully-like for her to actually cry instead of looking deeply troubled with slightly glistening eyes. As for Skinner, I felt he was pretty spot on.”
Patrick Hayes, SciFiPulse: “This is a sketchy job by Michael Walsh. He moves the point of view around excellently. Page 1 is a perfect example of this. The first panel is a black for the message, the second establishes a chase, the third the setting and our wounded protagonist, and the final the proximity of the antagonist to our hero, her obvious distress, and her signature cross necklace. Turn the page and an unfinished, rushed look begins: panels two and three; the phone on Page 3. It gets worse3: Page 4, panel three; the man on Page 5, the children on Page 6 (the mitt has more detail!), and Mulder”s first full appearance on Page 7. This style will not help sales of this book. Walsh knows how to lay out the book, but more details/finishing is needed.”
Richard Gray, Behind the Panels: “Michael Walsh”s clean and simple style may not have the macabre and grainy filter that fans might be expecting, but there is something grounded and real about it, making the more outlandish elements of the story more palatable. The look of the lead characters are spot-on, unlike other licenses that get the names and not the likenesses. Colourist Jordie Bellaire, who is doing wonderful things with Ming Doyle for Brian Wood”s Mara, provides a similarly restrained palette to this title, almost giving it a retro feel not too distant from Matt Hollingsworth”s Hawkeye.”
Joey Caswell, Read Comic Books: “Overall, the story for X-Files Season 10 is off to a good start. It is definitely interesting and most fans will probably be looking forward to finding out just what is going on. Those who weren”t already long-time fans of the franchise may not be as willing to wait out the plot given the relatively lackluster dialogue and artwork. Hopefully the mysterious conspiracies the main characters become involved in are enough to maintain an enjoyable book. “The truth is out there”… at least in small snapshots once a month.”
Roileigh Ollson, X-Files News: “We have been waiting for these comics since January. The anticipation kept building and building, and Issue #1 lived up to some very high expectations. Season 10 isn”t just an adaptation of The X-Files; like its name implies, it attempts to be a worthy continuation of the series. We are really pleased with what we have seen so far. The ‘Believers” storyline is intriguing and there are some important tie-ins to the show”s mythology that have us anxious to see what happens next. It is clear that the creative team behind these comics has great respect for the history of The X-Files and its fanbase. We highly recommend that you pick up a copy of Issue #1.”