Last month the title got back on track with a fantastic opening chapter to the current story arc. Does this tale continue its creepy momentum… and is it good?
The X-Files: Season 10 #17 (IDW Publishing)
Mulder and Scully investigate the aftermath of a massive town shooting, which is even more horrifying and bizarre than it would be under “normal” circumstances. To makes matters even more complex/awesome, Frank Black from the show Millennium shows up! (If you have no idea what I’m talking about, just trust me that this is a very good thing).
“First one of you jackasses to call me ‘Bishop’ gets kicked in the teeth.”
Meanwhile, bomber girl’s hastily formed cult has been busy taking impromptu flying lessons off a nearby cliff. One of the members is totally not okay with this, so she goes to find Mulder and the rest of the FBI task force… who arrive just in time to see what we’d all assumed to be this story arc’s main villain take a swan dive off the cliff herself.
Back in town, Scully is discovering some things that add even more religiously sinister undertones to the case. Add in Frank’s usual ramblings about some sort of apocalyptic force at work (which is definitely not aiming for a 2000 A.D. target date this time), and this story just got a whole lot more gruesome, terrifying, and confusing.
Is It Good?
While Frank Black showing up is cool, he didn’t really shed much light on the plot beyond “This is even more terrible than you know!”
We’ve already established that the threat is supernatural and not being influenced by the good guys upstairs, so that really only leaves one other option. Maybe Joe Harris will everyone for a loop with the final reveal, but as it stands now, the issue’s cliffhanger feels more lame than anything else.
That being said, the atmosphere, dialogue, and fantastic art by Colin Lorimer still make this a fine issue. Harris also does a great job handling the dynamic between Mulder and Black, two believers in the supernatural with very different dispositions.
The story is beginning to head a little bit off the rails, but the appearance of a long forgotten (and great) television character along with Harris’ well executed scenes of supernatural horror more than earn a thumbs up on picking up this book along with the next chapter in November…which will hopefully explain just what the hell is going on a bit more.
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