| The X-Files | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Images from the comicThe X-Files Special byFrank Spotnitz | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Topps Comics Devil's Due Digital |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | January 1995 – September 1998 |
| No. of issues | 41 regular monthly issues 2 annuals 3 digests 1 graphic novel 1 book adaptation |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | Stefan Petrucha John Rozum Kevin J. Anderson Dwight Jon 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 1-883313-10-4 |
| Volume 2 | ISBN 1-883313-23-6 |
The X-Files was aspin-off from the television seriesof the same name, originally published byTopps Comics and, most recently,DC Comics imprintWildstorm.
The first series was published byTopps Comics and ran for 41 issues from January1995 to September1998, coinciding with the second through fifth seasons of the television program.
In 1996, Topps publishedX-Files #0, an adaptation ofthe pilot episode, in order to test the market for a series adapting the episodes of theX-Files TV series.[1] The issue was successful, andX-Files Season One ran for nine issues (August 1997 – July 1998). The series's name was provisional, and Topps in fact intended to adapt every episode,[1] but never got as far as season two. The series was written byRoy Thomas, who would create a first draft for each issue by working off of the episode's script, then watch the actual episode and modify his work to account for changes made on the set.[1]
Topps also publishedGround Zero, a four-issuemini-series (December1997 – March 1998).
Tony Isabella reported difficulties withThe X-Files creatorChris Carter over the Topps Comics' series:
"The main reason the comics fell behind schedule was because it took so long to satisfy theX-Files people. They went overeverything with a fine-tooth comb, including the letters columns... I rarely ran negative letters in these columns because the [Topps] editors were afraid that theX-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 theXena letters columns, but those were a lot easier to produce."[2]
Thedigest 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 fromRay Bradbury Comics.
There were also a number of one-offs like theHero Illustrated Special (March 1995), and thegraphic novelAfterflight (August 1997).
Wildstorm publishedThe X-Files Special in August2008. It was aone-shot timed with the release of thesecond film, written byFrank Spotnitz with art by Brian Denham.[3] The deal Spotnitz signed was for another two comics.[4] This became a six-part series that ran from November 2008 to April 2009 with Spotnitz writing the first two issues, Marv Wolfman for #3–4, and Doug Moench for #5–6. Wildstorm then teamed withIDW to publishThe X-Files/30 Days of Night[5] to positive reviews from July 2010. The six-issue limited series is written by30 Days of Night creatorSteve Niles andTool guitaristAdam Jones and follows Mulder and Scully to Alaska to investigate a series of grisly murders that may be linked to vampires.IDW then went on in July 2013 to begin publishingThe X-Files Season 10[6] as anongoing series reuniting Mulder and Scully with creator Chris Carter returning as executive producer. This was followed by the eight-issueThe X-Files Season 11 in 2015.
By the end of 2016, IDW Publishing has re-released all the previous Topps comics in collected form.
The three digests contained stories onBigfoot, theCount of St. Germain and theChupacabra, respectively.
Afterflight dealt with elements of themystery airship flap.
Fight the Future was the officialfilm adaptation, "Fight the Future" being the film's subtitle used to differentiate it from the television series.
Season One adapted some of the episodes from thefirst 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."[4]
The series has been collected intotrade paperbacks. In the U.K.,Titan Books did a near-complete run (which in the U.S. Topps Comics run stopped at #12) but recently Checker Book Publishing started publishing the rest (although they re-started the numbering again).
Other volumes include:
The Wildstorm comics are also being collected:
TheX-Files series is released digitally exclusively through Devil's Due Digital.
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".[9]
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