“Agent Mulder? I’m Dana Scully. I’ve been assigned to work with you.”
These words launched one of the most famous television shows of all time – The X-Files. The show helped carry the fascination with conspiracy theories out from dank, dark basements and dusty libraries and into the mainstream consciousness. The fun and terror of the X-Files can now be relived with the X-Files magazine Vol 1
The X-Files Vol. 1: The Agents, The Bureau, and The Syndicate is published by Titan Comics and was in advance of the much anticipated miniseries revival of The X-Files. This very special publication collects some of the best interviews, articles and profiles from the popular X-Files Magazine (1993-2002) and presents them to new audiences as well as those who wish to revisit the mysterious and sometimes terrifying world of The X-Files.
The X-Files was not the first supernatural-themed show of its kind, but it was the first to combine themes of horror, comedy, science fiction, and fantasy all within a world that was very believable. It also tackled themes of science and religion and wasn’t afraid to withhold answers to the questions it presented. For example, when Agent Scully was dying of cancer the episode left it up to the viewer to decide if she was cured by alien tech, advanced chemotherapy or by a religious miracle. This was the beauty of The X-Files, you could be from any walk of life and enjoy it. This excellent publication from Titan is much the same way, with something for everyone within its pages.
The X-Files magazine vol 1 book itself is jam-packed with X-Files related content – from interviews with the cast and crew, to informative articles such as “How to be the next Agent Scully or Mulder” and set breakdowns that include interesting facts about the placements of items. The interviews are interesting and include lots of information from the subject as well as fun related facts about the production of the show. I especially enjoyed how its Coolest Moments feature was laid out to look like clippings from an X-file.
This X-Files book was very nostalgic for me as a reader and a reviewer. The book is drenched in the 1990’s, and that being the decade I grew up in, it brought back a lot of memories of days gone by. The photos are all very dated (as they should be) and add to that 90’s neo-noir feel thatThe X-Files brought to life so well. There are photos from the sets, red carpets, and scenes from the show itself. The photos are all washed with color and have a very 90’s color splash feel to them – it definitely took me back. The layout for the Episode Guide was outstanding and mixed well with the photos by its side. However, some of the interviews and features could have been laid out better and were slightly jumbled, and this added a bit of work to the reading and left me minorly confused at times.
Since the majority of The X-Files Magazine Vol 1 is written content was produced in the 90’s it would be inappropriate for me to review its style for this publication. As stated before, this is a well put together book and is very entertaining. That being said, this is a book for X-Files fans as it contains far too many spoilers for a casual fan or new fan to pick up and enjoy. This is is hardly a criticism as that is the book’s purpose – this is a collection for fans to enjoy and delve deeper into the rich universe of The X-Files. Perhaps a better title for the work would have included the word “guide” to better distinguish it as being a fan book and not something for those still going through the show (Thanks to Netflix for the slew of new fans.)
I greatly enjoyed this book as I am a big fan of The X-Files and its expansive universe populated with colorful, weird and scary characters. I would definitely recommend this book to those who have enjoyed the show and missed out of the X-Files Magazine Vol 1 in the 90’s. It was enjoyable read and I really did learn a lot about The X-Files from going down this wonderfully nostalgic path.
After reading The X-Files Vol. 1: The Agents, The Bureau, and The Syndicate you will say as I did the famous words of Agent Mulder, “I want to believe.”
