Review: The X-Files Season 11 #3

(IDW 2015)

Writer: Joe Harris

Art: Matthew Dow Smith

Colors: Jordie Bellaire

The X-Files Season 11 #3 continues to build on the IDW series all new status quo, with Fox Mulder’s ongoing quest to investigate the X-Files, despite his work being discredited and his current fugitive status. Now the latest leg of Mulder’s journey across the highways and byways of America has brought him to a remote farm in Garden County, Nebraska, which also happens to be the new homestead of the notorious Peacock family.

IDW’s X-Files series continues to go from strength to strength, with Mulder forced to carry on his work alone, while Scully remains at the FBI, where she is closely monitored by their common enemy, and one-time ally, Gibson Praise, who now possesses incredible powers far beyond anything Mulder or Scully have encountered before. Gibson Praise is also responsible for Mulder’s fall from grace; he continues to use his powers to manipulate Mulder, while Scully tries to prevent the government falling under Gibson’s influence and clear Mulder’s name.

Beginning with a dark and brooding glimpse into the origins of the Peacock family, The X-Files Season 11 #3 quickly reintroduces us to Mulder’s current plight in the present, where he has inadvertently been captured by the Peacock family after investigating a gas drilling operation near in their new home in Nebraska. Surrounded by fracking sites on three sides, the Peacock’s are as reclusive as ever, but their means of continuing the family line has effectively run out of vigor. Now Mulder is trapped, seemingly with no way out, and Mrs. Peacock has some rather unsettling designs for him to become a part of the family.

Screen shot 2015-10-06 at 10.11.10 PMThe Peacock family originally appeared in the fourth season of The X-Files TV series, in the episode Home (1996), often been cited as one of the best episodes of the X-Files - despite its controversial themes and violent scenes. Now in this issue of The X-Files Season 11, writer Joe Harris offers further insight into the Peacock family. Mulder’s conversation with Mar Peacock certainly proves to be as disquieting and stomach churning as we might’ve expected, and the heightened tension here is almost palpable.

Screen shot 2015-10-06 at 10.10.58 PMMatthew Dow Smith’s art captures the tone of the X-Files series perfectly. This is gloriously dark and atmospheric issue, from the brooding menace of the Peacock’s household, to the unsettling series of events in Scully’s home, there is a stark bleakness that really conveys the threats Mulder and Scully are now facing on all sides. The Peacock’s are as skin crawlingly effective here as they ever were in their TV episode, they don’t trust outsiders or feel pain, and they exude a menacing presence throughout the entire issue. The combination of Mathew Dow Smith’s pronounced artwork with Jordie Bellaire’s dark color palette works so well together, earthy hues accentuate the grimness of the Peacock’s farmhouse, while the electric blue tones in Scully’s house give events there an almost supernatural feel, and you’d swear you could hear the wind whistling across the shadowy vista of the field where the antenna has been hiding in plain sight all along.

Gibson’s influence is never far from the surface either. Scully’s attempt to access secrets on a flash drive and discover what Gibson is hiding, wreaks havocs with the technology in her home, and leaves her disillusioned by what she finds. Meanwhile, the fragment of high-tech salvage that Mulder previously recovered has suddenly become active. Mulder and Edmund go out to one of the drilling rigs close to the Peacock’s farm, where Mulder beings to realize just where Gibson’s uncanny machination have brought him, and in a fateful turn of events Mulder discovers that the Peacock’s are beyond control as danger strikes.

I’ve been really enjoying The X-Files Season 11; it’s a dark, engaging, and thought provoking new direction for the series. Home Again Part 2 is another great issue from Joe Harris, events in the story arc are taken to a whole new level, and the excellent art by Matthew Dow Smith makes this IDW series look every bit as good as the TV show was at the height of its popularity. The X-Files Season 11 #3 is a spooky and unsettling new issue in this IDW series. This book is an absolute must for X-Files fans - highly recommended!

PaulBowler-ProfilePic1Paul Bowler is a self-Confessed Sci-Fi Geek, Doctor Who fan, and Zombie Disposal Expert. He likes movies, comic books, and all things PS3. He likes to write about his interests, would love to write a novel one day, and also enjoys chatting to the many people he has gotten to know on Twitter. When he’s not busy being an Impossible Astronaut, he likes to take a break from his adventures in time and space to enjoy some of his favorite TV shows and movies, preferably with a nice cuppa tea & a sandwich! You can follow him on Twitter @paul_bowler, or find him at his website, Sci-Fi Jubilee.Revierw

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