There were a lot of mixed feelings about the first issue of this series here at Comic Bastards and because of that we decide it wasn’t a series that we would continue to follow as a group. That put it on me to review and well… I think a lot of this issue has the same strengths and weaknesses of the first issue. The biggest problem with the comic is that it relies on you being very familiar with the ninth season of the show. Here’s the thing, the ninth season had a 30% drop in viewership compared to the eighth season and basically got the show cancelled. I get that Carter wants to stay the course with the way the show left off in order to please the fans that stuck with it, but what about all those fans that tuned out? I was one of those fans that called it good sometime during the eighth season and I was really hoping to come back to this and rekindle the love I once had. Instead I find myself struggling to keep afloat and waiting for a life-preserver that I’m not sure is going to be thrown my way.
For instance, I know from the comic that twelve years ago Scully gave up her alien/human hybrid baby for adoption and that the FBI helped make sure that the baby was never found by anyone other than them. I’m sure some of you just said, “Okay, wait what?” and you’re right to say so. I have no idea when this happened in the time line I’m currently reading and frankly it seems as if that may have been something that either happened before the show started or near the beginning which has me more confused. An editor’s note would be nice or clarification of the sequence of events even. Hell I’m not even sure if this is happening in 2013 or if it’s literally picking up where the show left off and working its way forward.
The writing itself isn’t bad and I rather enjoy the dialog, but it spends a lot of time telling me nothing and being very familiar with Harris’ writing style from Great Pacific I’m fairly certain that this is not originating from him. This issue is more of a 1.5 than a true second issue because it doesn’t actually accomplish anything other than reintroducing the shows characters back into the series and feels 100% connected the first issue.
The actual events of the issue are pretty short. Scully has been kidnapped and even after being injured is magically healed. Then she’s saved by a human alien hybrid that is more than likely her son who has accelerated growth. Also the dudes on the cover play a role in this issue… yup.
The art is great in my opinion and really the best thing about the comic. I really enjoy Walsh’s style and if he wasn’t on the series I would probably be gone after this issue. His visuals keep it interesting and while they don’t capture the look of the show, they also don’t try to. He does however capture the look of the characters which is a rarity considering how protective actors are of their likenesses.
All this series had to do was show up and tell me whether Mulder had found out about his sister or not (since I don’t know) and then gotten the band back together again to investigate weird shit. Instead the weird shit came to them and strangely forced the band back together that way and for me it just doesn’t work. I’m going to stick with the first story line in the hope that it will place the series in a better place than it began, but I hope that it gets through this story arc quickly. It’s a very rough start that is quick to turn fans off as was apparent in our group review for the first issue. It’s a shame because the creative team (minus Carter because I’m referring solely to the comic industry) is incredible, but they feel held back and that’s not fun for a reader.
Score: 3/5
Story: Joe Harris with Chris Carter
Writer: Joe Harris
Artist: Michael Walsh
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Price: $3.99
Release Date: 7/17/13