X-Files: Case Files #1 REVIEW

Penciller: Elena Casagrande

Inker: Silvia Califano

Colorist: Arianna Florean

Published by IDW

 

Right off the bat, the reader is sucked into the world of Mulder and Scully in X-Files: Case Files. Readers not already familiar with the franchise should have no reservations about picking up the comic because we are instantly introduced to the relationship between the two agents: Mulder's complaining, Scully's annoyed, it's like it's 1996 all over again!

 

But, being based on a well known franchise, this comic can do something that others can't--have a really good first issue that isn't bogged down by trying to introduce a new world to the audience. The comic is well paced. As Mulder and Scully search for the Florida Man, they leave no stone unturned, which introduces us to interesting situations and characters. Also, the action and suspense are enough to keep you turning the pages. Another thing the comic did right was the ending. Usually in these multi-issue arcs, I get to the last page and feel cheated. Like, it ends abruptly and I don't feel like I was given a whole story. That wasn't the case here. The story stopped at a good spot to make readers excited to come back for issue number two.

 

I did enjoy the art. It was nice, it was bold, it was colorful, but, it wasn't the most consistent thing in the world. Scully didn't really bother me too much. She appeared as an accurate depiction of a red-headed Gillian Anderson around the time the original TV series aired, but Mulder was a different case. Sometimes he looked just like David Duchovny at the beginning of the TV series. Sometimes, he looked like David Duchovny now. A couple of frames he bore more than a passing resemblance to circa nineteen-ninety-Wings Tim Daly, and there were a few times he was just Archer. Straight up Archer. The bold lines. The colors. Archer's face. Everything. He was Archer. So, yeah, it wouldn't be wrong to say Mulder's face was a bit of a distraction.

 

If you want a well done adaptation of a classic franchise, are a fan of good suspense and mystery, and don't mind if every once in a while the protagonist's face turns into Archer without explanation, I definitely recommend The X-FIles: Case Files.