Things are starting to get real.
Creative Staff:
Story: Joe Harris
Art: Carlos Valenzuela
What They Say:
The Acolytes are seeking Scully’s lost son, William, and Dana realizes there’s more than meets the eye to her abductor, known only as the Deacon. Meanwhile, Mulder uncovers more of the truth than he can handle when an old, cigarette-smoking “friend” pays him a visit.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The first two installments of X-Files in its tenth season have been interesting, but it’s also felt a little chaotic and uncertain in some ways with what it wants to do. Part of the problem is simply getting back into that mindset after being away for so many years and trying to reconnect with it and all the various parts in motion. When one of the characters here reflects on where they last saw someone else, since it was done as an ending of sorts, it certainly jiggers the memory since you can easily forget so many details like that. Adding in how everyone was surviving after the fact and before the series here kicked off just means there’s a lot of trying to piece it all together. Which, with a property like X-Files, is half the fun. so when it gets all its ducks in a row and starts revealing itself here, it’s exciting.
There’s several threads going on within it all, but we’re also seeing it all starting to zero in on Wyoming, where the pipeline is that we saw Doggett getting involved in previously. What I like about the book is that we can draw in on other areas to expand the story without breaking the budget, such as seeing a different pair of agents going to visit William’s adoptive parents to check in on him, which leads to them realizing that they’ve been taken over by this mysterious cult. It’s got some good tension and threat right from the get go and it works in a pretty threatening way as we see them get caught up in the trap. Similarly, we see Scully dealing with the hybrid that’s trying to rescue her and keep her from the other threats, though she’s resistant to it since he’s doing it in such a brusque way. But their encounter with the others leads to a nod towards what repels them as the pipeline and what Doggett discovered comes into play once again.
The most intriguing part of this book though is that the Smoking Man returns. This, for some, may be controversial considering his ending in the live action side and I’m almost falling on the side of wishing they had introduced some new element to it. But he allows a shorthand approach to things, which has him pulling Mulder aside and filling him in on how the world has changed. Rather than trying to cooperate and ease things with their would be conquerors from the stars, he’s now intent on fighting back and there’s some economic aspects to it that are coming into play, tying into events in Wyoming. The relationship between him and Mulder is definitely fun to watch, especially as Mulder is a bit more sarcasting and ready to let loose on him, but there’s this uncertainty about the Smoking Man at this point that’s even stronger than before since he’s being surprisingly direct. It’s either more subterfuge or things are getting real. And it does seem like it’s getting real when taken in conjunction with what Scully and others are facing with the newly named Acolytes.
In Summary:
While I’ve been enjoying the book and reconnecting with it, X-Files hadn’t hit that sweet spot to really make me feel it yet. This issue doesn’t truly change that overall, but it’s also doing what I had hoped it would by diving deeper into the mythology. The lengthier seasonal runs of the TV series worked for that medium, but here you need more to actually connect together and work, especially since your budget is your imagination. Events here are quickly picking up steam and there’s a lot of ideas that are moving about that tie to all that’s happened before, though I wonder just how much of it is what was supposed to happen if the show kept going. This is feeling more along the lines of how it would be if it actually did get made today in a continuous sense (yes, I know about the upcoming event miniseries, which will be its own beast). I’m definitely liking what’s here and am curious to see just how far they’ll go with the next two issues that bring this arc together. This installment is giving me some real hope for it though.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: IDW Publishing via ComiXology
Release Date: August 21st, 2013
MSRP: $1.99
