by Anna Josephson and Jeff Michler
Anna: Jeff, how much do we love The X-Files?
Jeff: Probably more than is healthy for us. My very first contribution to The Stake was jumping all over Andrew DeYoung in the comments section of his piece “Did Real Life Ruin The X-Files?” The answer is, “No.” Mulder is not a kook like birthers or those who think 9/11 was an inside job. Truth is not truthiness and Mulder was searching for the capital T Truth.
A: I’ve only ever watched The X-Files since meeting you, so Mulder has only ever been a contemporary character for me. And I don’t think he plays any more wacky than he would have when the show was originally airing in the 90s.
J: In re-watching The X-Files over the last year Mulder seems to me ever more the idealist – the type of idealist that appears every half dozen years or so only to be exposed as naive. Think of Clinton fans before the Lewinski scandal broke, anti-war protestors before the Surge, and Obama supporters before the drone program. Our heroes and villains always end up more human than we at first thought.
A: We see Mulder’s idealism cracked several times throughout the show. But in the end the aliens turn out to be less benign and the government less wicked.
J: Is that the Truth Mulder was searching for?
A: Probably not. But it is the Truth he finds.
J: Which is why the final Mulder episode is called Requiem. His search is for the Truth and when he finds it he finds rest.
A: Well, Mulder appears more restless then at rest in the new X-Files, Year Zero from IDW.
J: Yep. The front matter tells us that Mulder and Scully have been living a “life together in peaceful anonymity.” But, something has happened that prompts them to return to the FBI and reopen the X-Files.
A: I think you’re overthinking it, Jeff. I suspect that the reason they’ve “reopened” the X-Files may be that a comic is being made about them; no deeper reason necessary…but we’ll see, I’ve been wrong (once, or so) before. But of course, it does give us the obvious question – where are we going from here? This first issue does what a lot of first issues do: sets up a story and introduces a few characters. In addition to Mulder and Scully, we get the first two agents to ever work an X-Files case: Bing Ellinson and Millie Ohio. I don’t think I’m overstating when I say that Millie Ohio is the worst name for a character ever.
J: Not an overstatement! Bing Ellinson doesn’t have a great ring to it. But it combines the first name of Bing Crosby with a last name just a letter off from Ralph Ellison. This could hint at a really interesting and complex character combination. Or it could be just a fun reference like Scully is to the great Dodgers’ announcer Vin Scully. But Millie Ohio is just a painfully bad name with none of the nom de guerre timbre of Fox Mulder.
A: Regardless of their ridiculous names, Ohio and Ellinson do seem to have a story to tell – which I am sure will connect to our modern story told with Mulder and Scully. At this point we’re not sure if the story is part of the broader mythology or if it’s a stand-alone tale. Any thoughts? I’d tend towards mythology, the mythology being the founding of the X-Files.
J: I’m hoping it doesn’t connect to the mythology. While I loved the mythology leading up to Mulder’s requiem, the mythology during Doggett’s time and in some of the comics left me really cold. I think the final Mulder season of the show has made it so the mythology and any subsequent TV shows, movies, or comics only really excel when they develop new stories.
A: I haven’t seen any of Doggett’s mythology yet, so it’s hard for me to give an opinion on anything beyond the lines of Mulder and Scully’s stories. That said, I think that a story that tells the foundation of the X-Files could be a lot of fun. Winding together a story that uses these new characters, and then connects to our old favorites? I’d be into that. What do you think of the characters? Do you want to spend time with old friends, or meet some new folks?
J: As is probably obvious by now, I’m not sold on the first issue. As of now, Ellinson and Ohio are drawn in very broad strokes. Ellinson is a hard ass who doesn’t play by the book. Ohio is the anachronistic post-women’s libber in a pre-women’s lib world. And the art seems like a second thought. That said, I’m a sucker for a crazy mystery and this one has me hooked. People who turn into cats?!? A schlubby animal control guy who acts as a conduit for the mysterious Mr. Zero!?!
A: Or is it Mr. Xero?
J: I don’t know! But if the dames keep talking fast, the gents keep socking bad guys in fedoras, and Mulder and Scully keep up the banter, I’m in.
A: I’m hoping for even more cats.
J: I wish the comic was like the TV show; with the next installment next week.
Anna and Jeff will return next month to continue their conversation about comics, culture and all things X-Files with the next installment of the 5-part series: The X-Files Year Zero
