REVIEW: The X-Files: Season 11 #5

STORY BYÂ Joe Harris,Â ART BYÂ Matthew Dow Smith,Â COLORS BYÂ Jordie Bellaire,Â LETTERS BYÂ Chris Mowry,Â COVER BYÂ menton3,Â PUBLISHERÂ IDW

Albert Einstein has been quoted to say: “Insanity: doing the same thing and expecting different results.”Â That pretty much sumsÂ up The X-Files for me.

There was a time when The X-Files was the hottest property in town. The chemistry between believe anything Mulder and believe nothing Scully, the will theyÂ won’t they, the monsters of the week and the conspiracy of the Smoking Man drew a huge amount of viewers, spinning into comics, novels and the movies.

IDW have brought back the comic series with Mulder and Scully back on the files, then off them andÂ Mulder being disenfranchised from the FBI.Â See what I mean about insanity?

Fans of the show may well like this comic, especially as writer Joe Harris has brought back one of the more popular characters from the show. Harris has written a number of books, from a gauntlet of publishers. This body of work certainly helps as Harris is adept at getting the voices for the FBI two right, each sounding as you would expect.

Also on song is the art from Matthew Dow Smith who produces work that actually resembles the cast. This is no mean feat as many artists fall into the potential trap of photo referencing, which can only work as long as the panel requires an already established shot. Here the work is moody and claustrophobic which helps sell the situation that Mulder finds himself in, again. Aiding the mood of the book is coloristÂ Jordie Bellaire, whose work I have seen and appreciated on other books.

If there was ever a show that outplayed its welcome, some would argue The X-FilesÂ would be that show. To an extent, I would agree. The first three seasons were great television, with the first season arguably the best first season of any show.Â Â Unfortunately,Â the weight of its own continuity and the lack of anyÂ real conclusion, coupled with the loss of its lead, left many fans adrift.

The fact that Harris and Bellaire have worked on the previous Season 10 run, shows that they know what they like and how to get their story told. If you are a fan of the show and don’t mind having seen all this before, than I’m sure you will like this book. For me however,Â I prefer theÂ thought-provoking elements from the earlier TVÂ series rather than the rehash that this book appears to be.

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Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network