Before anyone gets too excited, the release of IDW’s X-Files: Season 10 #1 – Director’s Cut is NOT an in-depth look at the web browser history of special agent Fox Mulder’s FBI-issued laptop . . . unfortunately.
Instead, IDW has provided X-philes and all yet to become X-fans alike with a re-release of Issue #1 from their wildly popular, new X-Files: Season 10 serialized comic book series. For the devout fans who have read through the first print of this issue already, there are no new surprises with regard to content of the storyline itself.
To quickly recap – and I mean quickly – special agent Dana Scully, now posing as a pediatrician by the name of Dr. Blake, has been abducted yet again. (For the amount of times she’s been abducted, you’d think her blood was made of 24 karat gold, but I digress.) This only ends up being just the first attack in a chain of events targeting all former FBI employees that were connected to the infamous X-Files division at one point or another. The mystery starts off what ends up being a 5-issue story arc to re-kick the franchise back off from where it was left off after nine seasons and two films.
As a fairly avid X-Files fan (I would sacrifice several appendages to see more episodes or movies made.), I was extremely impressed with this first issue, as it truly seemed to capture the darker elements of the show and probably one of the most important aspects of the series, Mulder’s humor. Looking back at the TV series, I think I underestimated just how much humor Mulder brought to the show, and the comic does a great job in making you feel as if Duchovney is on the pages, delivering his witty dialogue without missing a beat. Lest not we forget, the excellent artwork by Michael Walsh plays an important role in bringing the two distinctive-looking agents back to life, thus completing the package.
While the story itself is no different from its initial run, what this new re-release does provide is a detailed look at the planning process that led up to the production of the first issue, including every cover variant from Issue #1, sketches, pre-production communications, a full-length copy of the first issue’s script, and a special letter from Joe Harris basically explaining how he screamed like a school girl after being presented with the opportunity to bring the property back to life. I don’t blame him either, as I’d probably yell like a little girl too, once I awoke from completely fainting and doing a happy dance.
Usually, I’m not big on the whole reprint thing when the only change involves a new cover. I get the idea behind it, but, in the end, collectors end up filling their comic boxes with a bunch of the same issues with some different artwork on the front. (I should know as I invested what seems like more than a paycheck’s worth of funds trying to accumulate one of every X-Files variant cover released thus far.)
However, here IDW is offering fans a little extra content for their $4 with all of the additional production material and cover images in one book. In lieu of the Director’s Cut not providing us access to Mulder’s computer archives of adult-related materials, it does allows those that missed out on the first issue of Season 10 to grab a nice collectible of the X-Files‘ return to pop culture, while also giving good reason for die-hard fans to get a little something extra for their hard-earned money.
