| The X-Files | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Images from the comic, The X-Files Special by Frank Spotnitz |
|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Topps Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | Gothic science fiction |
| Publication date | January 1995 – September 1998 |
| Number of issues | 41 regular monthly issues 2 annuals 3 digests 1 graphic novel 1 book adaptation |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Stefan Petrucha John Rozum Kevin J. Anderson Dwight John Zimmerman Frank Spotnitz |
| Artist(s) | Charles Adlard Brian Denham |
| Penciller(s) | Gordon Purcell Alex Saviuk |
| Inker(s) | Josef Rubinstein Rick Magyar Larry Mahlstedt |
| Collected editions | |
| Volume 1 | ISBN 1883313104 |
| Volume 2 | ISBN 1883313236 |
The X-Files comics was a spin-off from the television series of the same name, originally published by Topps Comics and, most recently, DC Comics imprint Wildstorm.
Contents |
Publication history
The main series was published by Topps Comics and ran for 41 issues from January 1995 to September 1998, coinciding with the second through fifth seasons of the television program.
There were also two limited series: Ground Zero was a four-issue mini-series (December 1997 - March 1998) and Season One which ran for eight issues (August 1997 - July 1998).
The digest consisted of three issues published at five month intervals beginning December 1995 through September 1996, each featuring separate titles: "Big Foot, Warm Heart," "Dead to the World," and "Scape Goats." All included stories from the Ray Bradbury Comics.
There were also a number of one-offs like the Hero Illustrated Special (March 1995), and the graphic novel Afterflight (August 1997).
Wildstorm published "The X-Files Special" in August 2008. It was a one-shot timed with the release of the second film, written by Frank Spotnitz with art by Brian Denham.[1] The deal Spotnitz signed is for another two comics.[2]
Creative contributors
Original series
Writers
- Issues 1 - 16
- Annual 1
- Digests 1 and 2
- Afterflight
- Issues 17 - 19, 22 - 39, and 41
- Annual 2
- Digest 3
- Issues 20 and 21
- Ground Zero
- Dwight John Zimmerman
- Issue 40
Artist
- Issues 1 - 16, 18, 19, 22, 23, and 27 - 29
- Annual 1
- Digests 1 - 3
Pencillers
- Issues 17, 20, 21, and 24 - 29
- Annual 2
- Ground Zero
- Issues 30 - 41
- Afterflight
- Ground Zero
Inkers
- Issues 17, 20, 21, and 24 - 29
- Annual 2
- Rick Magyar
- Issues 30 - 41
- Afterflight
- Larry Mahlstedt
- Ground Zero
Cover Artists
- Miran Kim
- Issues 1 - 32 and 34 - 41
- Annuals 1 and 2
- Digests 1 - 3
- Afterflight
- George Pratt
- Issue 33
- Ground Zero
Plot
The three digests contained stories on Bigfoot, the Count of St. Germain and the Chupacabra, respectively.
Afterflight dealt with elements of the mystery airship flap.
Fight the Future was the official film adaptation, "Fight the Future" being the films subtitle used to differentiate it from the television series.
Season One adapted some of the episodes from the first season: "Pilot", "Deep Throat", "Squeeze", "Conduit", "Ice", "Space", "Fire", "Beyond the Sea" and "Shadows". Two others, "The Jersey Devil" and "Ghost in the Machine", were solicited but never published.
Despite coinciding with the film, "The X-Files Special" will not be an adaptation but is set in what the writer calls "the classic period of the X-Files" - between Season 2 and Season 5. While this is a stand-alone story, he will be writing two more which fit into the broader conspiracy theory that developed, saying "the next ones that I am going to write tie into the mythology of the show not in a way that changes the path but deepens it a little bit."[2]
Problems
Tony Isabella reported difficulties with The X-Files creator Chris Carter over the Topps Comics' series:
"[W]hoever was approving the comics over in Chris Carter Land were the poster kids for anal retentiveness. Although it's possible that they were so picky because they never wanted the comics out there in the first place. The main reason the comics fell behind schedule was because it took so long to satisfy the X-Files people. They went over everything with a fine-tooth comb, including the letters columns. ... I rarely ran negative letters in these columns because the [Topps] editors were afraid that the X-Files people would want even more changes in the material. Almost from the start, there were never enough usable letters for our needs. That's why I started including the "Deep Postage" news items — and making up letters completely. I also wrote the Xena letters columns, but those were a lot easier to produce." [3]
Collected editions
The series has been collected into trade paperbacks. In the UK, Titan Books did a near complete run but in the US Topps stopped at #12, but recently Checker Book Publishing started publishing the rest (although they restarted the numbering again).
- The X-Files Collection (Topps Comics):
- Volume 1 (collects The X-Files #1-6 and The X-Files Heroes Illustrated Special, Berkley Publishing Group, February 1996, ISBN 1883313104)[4]
- Volume 2 (collects The X-Files #7-12 and Annual #1, 180 pages, February 1997, ISBN 1883313236)[5]
- Checker Book Publishing:
- Volume 1 (collects #13-17, Squeeze and #0 Pilot Episode, May 2005, ISBN 1-933160-02-0, Titan Books, July 2008, ISBN 1848561288)
- Volume 2 (collects #18-22, #1/2 and Digest #1, May 2005, ISBN 1-933160-03-9, Titan Books, July 2008, ISBN 1848561296)
- Volume 3 (collects #23-26, Fire, Ice and Hero Illustrated Special "Trick of the light", December 2005, ISBN 1-933160-39-X)
- Titan Books:
- Firebird (by Stefan Petrucha, with art by Charlie Adlard, collects The X-Files #1-6, and The X-Files/Hero Illustrated Special, 1995 Trick of the Light, 160 pages, November 1995, ISBN 1900097087)
- Project Aquarius (by Stefan Petrucha, with art by Charlie Adlard, collects The X-Files #7-12, 151 pages, August 1996, ISBN 1900097176)
- The Haunting (by Stefan Petrucha, with art by Charlie Adlard, collects The X-Files #12-16, 160 pages, March 1997, ISBN 1900097230)
- Night Light (by Kevin J. Anderson and John Rozum, with art by Charlie Adlard and Gordon Purcell, collects The X-Files #17- 21, 128 pages, March 1997, ISBN 1852868082)
- Internal Affairs (by John Rozum, with art by Charlie Adlard, collects The X-Files #22-23, 128 pages, August 1997, ISBN 1852868090)
- Remote Control (by John Rozum, with art by Charlie Adlard, collects The X-Files #24-29, 160 pages, November 1997, ISBN 1852868406)
- Skin Deep (by John Rozum, with art by Alex Saviuk, collects The X-Files #30-33, 128 pages, April 1998, ISBN 1852869518)
Other volumes include:
- Dead to the World (by Stefan Petrucha with Charlie Adlard, collects Digests 1-3, 208 pages, Titan Books, April 1996, ISBN 1900097249)
- Afterflight (by Stefan Petrucha, with art by Jill Thompson, Alexander Saviuk and Rick Magyar, graphic novel, Topps, August 1997, Titan Books, October 1997, ISBN 1852868600)
The Wildstorm comics are also being collected:
- The X-Files (176 pages, Wildstorm, November 2009, ISBN 1-4012-2527-6)
Reception
A review of the first Checker Book volume is complimentary about the writing and art but scathing about the production values of the book itself, stating that "this collection from Checker reflects a lack of editorial control, poor workmanship, and generally shoddy values".[6]
Notes
- ^ 'X-Files': Sneak Peek at New Comic Book!, Entertainment Weekly
- ^ a b Spotnitz Wants to Believe in Wildstorm's "The X-Files Special", Comic Book Resources, June 12, 2008
- ^ Coville, Jamie (May 2000). "An Interview with Tony Isabella" (HTML). collectortimes.com. http://www.collectortimes.com/2000_05/Clubhouse.html. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
- ^ The X-Files Collection Volume 1 at the Comic Book DB
- ^ The X-Files Collection Volume 2 at the Comic Book DB
- ^ Review of The X-Files Vol. 1 from Checker Book, Comics Bulletin
References
- The X-Files at the Comic Book DB
- The X-Files: Comics Digest at the Comic Book DB
- The X-Files/Hero Illustrated Special at the Comic Book DB
- The X-Files: Season One at the Comic Book DB
- The X-Files: AfterFlight at the Comic Book DB
- The X-Files: Ground Zero at the Comic Book DB
- The X-Files: Fight the Future at the Comic Book DB
- The X-Files Comics Checklist
- Fantastic Fiction listing for the X-Files
External links
- Digest 1, The X-Files #0, 0.5, 1-28 at Wowio
- Interview with Stefan Petrucha
- The X-Files Comic Book Archive
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