• Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket

Comic Book Review – The X-Files #6

September 21, 2016 by Tony Black

Tony Black reviews The X-Files #6…

“Came Back Haunted,” Part 1 of 4: A thwarted attack puts a community of refugees at risk, but when a connection to a recent mall shooting is found, Mulder and Scully must determine the cause of the violent outbreaks, why the government is covering it up, and just what the connection to old secrets they’d believed dead and buried really is.

In playing within the sandbox of the revival series, The X-Files comics from Joe Harris and artist Matthew Dow Smith (and the team at IDW) have to tread a fine line when it comes to playing in the mythology sandbox, and ‘Came Back Haunted’, part one of a promised five-part epic, the first this new series has tackled, doesn’t play its cards too heavily up front; indeed if you didn’t know the story was touching on the ‘mytharc’, so named amongst X-Philes as concerning the labyrinthian alien mythology Chris Carter has crafted over the last near half-century, you wouldn’t necessarily think Harris’ issue here was existing in that sphere. This introductory tale establishes a strange, if not necessarily overtly paranormal problem, and places a few key pieces on the board before building to more of a creepy, unnerving cliffhanger than one you would associate with mythology. In doing so, it’s perhaps immediately the most intriguing tale in this run to date.

Much like almost all of the stories thus far in this revival series, Harris chooses to try and ground the narrative in a real-world concern, in this case the refugee problem surging across Europe and beyond from the Middle East. The opening mysterious death may have shades of the deeply problematic S10 episode ‘Babylon’, but suffers none of that episode’s hackneyed approach to the Islamic extremist issue; we have a case Mulder & Scully are placed on by Skinner which not only has strange elements, but also has a political angle given the presence of Firus Ben-Brahim, the CEO of a humanitarian corporation who have a vested interest in the dead man at the outset—Qasim Fayed—and the refugee issue as a whole.

Skinner, like in the good old days, is caught in the middle of an X-File and FBI appeasement of a political situation, but Mulder is less captivated by Ben-Brahim than he is the Eastern European mystery central to the enigma of why Fayed did what he did, and what it means. Not to spoil too much, but there’s a tether to the first issue, ‘Active Shooter’, which suggests Harris has been playing a long-game in his storytelling and may have a Carter sanctioned corner of the mythology his series will be playing in. If that’s true, it’s incredibly exciting in terms of where this story may go.

Though it is firmly an exercise in establishing the main players, the central mystery and connecting up to the new mythology Harris is playing with in his comic, ‘Came Back Haunted’ is an effective opening issue which blends a return for Dow Smith lending his own brand of edgy, grainy panels which add a real sense of dripping atmosphere to The X-Files world (after the colour & brightness of ‘Ishmael’), mixed with a creepy mystery loaded with a real-life connective to global geopolitics and the humanitarian crisis which, like many good X-Files, keeps it with one foot in the real world. A solid beginning for a story that, certainly judging by the cliffhanger, is going to some exciting places.

Rating: 7/10

Tony Black

. url=”.” . width=”100%” height=”150″ iframe=”true” /]

https://youtu.be/b7Ozs5mj5ao?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng

Filed Under: Comic Books, Reviews, Tony Black Tagged With: IDW, Joe Harris, Matthew Dow Smith, The X-Files

FMTV – Watch Our Latest Video Here

WATCH OUR MOVIE NOW FOR FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

Rooting For The Villain

The Essential 1990s Superhero Movies

10 Great 1980s Sci-Fi Adventure Movies

10 Great Forgotten Erotic Thrillers You Need To See

The Prisoner: The Classic British TV Series Revisited

American Psycho at 25: The Story Behind the Satirical Horror Classic

Back to the Future at 40: The Story Behind the Pop Culture Touchstone

Underrated Modern Horror Gems That Deserve More Love

Nowhere Left to Hide: The Rise of Tech-Savvy Killers in Horror

PM Entertainment and the Art of Rip-offs With Razzmatazz

Top Stories:

7 Underrated World War II Romance Movies

Great Tarantino-esque Movies You Need To See

Whatever Happened to the Horror Icon?

The Rise of Paul Thomas Anderson: A Living Legend

Movie Review – Jurassic World Rebirth (2025)

Movie Review – The Shrouds (2025)

Comic Book Preview – Marvel Swimsuit Special: Friends, Foes & Rivals

Back to the Future at 40: The Story Behind the Pop Culture Touchstone

STREAM FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

FEATURED POSTS:

10 Movie Franchises That Need To End

The Essential Modern Day Swashbucklers

An Exploration of Bro Camp: The Best of Campy Guy Movies

The Most Iconic Cult Classics of All Time

Our Partners

  • Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

© Flickering Myth Limited. All rights reserved. The reproduction, modification, distribution, or republication of the content without permission is strictly prohibited. Movie titles, images, etc. are registered trademarks / copyright their respective rights holders. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If you can read this, you don't need glasses.


 

Flickering MythLogo Header Menu
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket