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The X-Files Comics: A Reading Guide to Mulder and Scully’s Comic Book Adventures

Not many live-action TV shows have expanded their stories into comic books. Star Trek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Firefly are the most successful examples, of course. Science fiction is a genre that lends itself perfectly to the medium. So it’s no surprise that The X-Files, the biggest sci-fi sensation on TV during the 1990s, expanded into the world of comics. 

Since the first issue was published in 1995 by Topps Comics, multiple comics have starred the famous FBI agents Mulder and Scully. Some are based on actual episodes of the show created by Chris Carter, while others are original stories that run alongside or continue the series after its cancellation. And now that there are talks about reviving the X-Files comics at Marvel, let’s take a look back at the long history of the franchise in print.

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“The X-Files Comics” got Mulder and Scully right

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The X-Files Comics From Topps

Launched on the TV network FOX in 1993, The X-Files ran for nine seasons and comprised a total of 202 episodes during its original run. Although it was not an immediate success, the series quickly gained a loyal fan base, who were hooked on the paranormal investigations led by special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). When they weren’t hunting down the monster of the week, they were investigating a major conspiracy aimed at preparing the world for an alien invasion.

One of the fans was none other than writer Stefan Petrucha. He immediately saw the potential of a comic book spin-off and “called the editor of Topps, Jim Salicrup and suggested he try to get the rights.” (source) People at Ten Thirteen Productions, Chris Carter’s company, and Fox were convinced by Petrucha and Salicrup’s knowledge about the show, and Topps Comics got the licensing rights.

Published in January 1995, The X-Files #1, written by Petrucha with art by Charlie Adlard, immediately sold out. This first series would eventually run for 41 issues, the last one coming out in September 1998 (ending before Season 6 of the show started). After two years working on the book, Stefan Petrucha was fired as his work, while liked by the fans, didn’t satisfy the demands of the people at Ten Thirteen Productions— they were famously hard to work with.

During all those years, Topps Comics published multiple series:

The X-Files Classics – the 41-issue original run, which has been reprinted by IDW in 4 volumes (in 2013-14) under the title The X-Files Classics. Those were similar to the show in tone. It was a blending of paranormal investigations, conspiracy theories, and government cover-ups, mixing “monster-of-the-week” cases with occasional elements of a larger mythology.

Stefan Petrucha wrote the first 16 issues and an annual. The other main writer on the series was John Rozum. These comics were in part collected by Topps, reprinted by Checker, and by Titans, but only IDW reprinted the 41 issues.

Not collected in these editions are The X-Files Annual #1 “Hallow Eve” (1995), The X-Files/Hero Illustrated Special “Trick of the Light” (1995), Wizard Presents: The X-Files #0.5 “Tiptoe Through the Tulpa” (1996), and The X-Files Annual #2 “E.L.F.s” (1996).

The X-Files Comics Digest – There were three “digest” issues published. This quarterly publication featured a 65-page X-Files comic and reprints of three stories from Ray Bradbury Comics.

The X-Files: Afterflight – This was a graphic novel published in 1997, parallel to the original series, and also written by Petrucha, but with art by Jill Thompson, which became a problem with the people at Ten Thirteen Productions and Fox who didn’t like the artwork, especially the character design. Artist Alex Saviuk had to redraw the faces and figures to be closer to the likeness of the actors. The story follows an elderly inventor on a quest to rebuild a lost flying machine, which draws Mulder and Scully into a mystery involving alien sabotage and buried family secrets.

The X-Files: Ground Zero – This 4-issue miniseries is not part of the original series, but an adaptation of the novel of the same name written by Kevin J. Anderson (who wrote three X-Files novels in total). This standalone story follows the investigation of the mysterious death of a renowned nuclear weapons researcher. Mulder and Scully are called in, and soon other apparently unrelated victims are found in different parts of the country.

The X-Files: Season One – Also published by Topps Comics in 1997–98, these comics are direct, faithful adaptations of episodes from the first season of the TV series. They were written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Claude St. Aubin, with painted covers by Miran Kim. Only nine episodes were ultimately produced.

The X-Files: Fight the Future Movie Adaptation – Topps Comics also published an adaptation of the original screenplay of the first X-Files feature film, Fight the Future. It was done by John Rozum and John Van Fleet.

The Lone Gunmen #1 – A one-shot comic based on the short-lived Lone Gunmen TV Show spin-off written by Jane Espenson with art by Paul Lee was published by Dark Horse Comics in 2001. It was an original story.

The X-Files Special – With the release of the second feature film (The X-Files: I Want To Believe) in 2008, writer Frank Spotnitz penned a comic book (with art by Brian Denham) that was published by Wildstorm. Spotnitz stayed on board for two more issues, then Marv Wolfman and Doug Moench took over. This became a 6-issue miniseries set chronologically in the 1990s era of the show.

The X-Files/30 Days of Night – This six-issue limited series, written by Steve Niles, creator of 30 Days of Night, and Adam Jones, and drawn by Tom Mandrake, came about through a collaboration between Wildstorm and IDW. It follows Mulder and Scully as they travel to Alaska to investigate a series of grisly murders that may be linked to vampires.

The X-Files Comics Season 10 and 11 From IDW

In 2013, IDW Publishing got the exclusive rights to produce X-Files comics. Unlike before, the new stories were considered canonical. They are not anymore. But back then, there was no new TV Show or movie in sight, and the new The X-Files Season 10 comics served as a continuation of the television series, picking up some time after the events of the second movie.

Written by Joe Harris (with Chris Carter) with art by Michael Walsh, Matthew Dow Smith, Elena Casagrande, Silvia Califano, and more. The main series is composed of 25 issues and was complemented with several miniseries and one-shots. The story quickly brings back to life The Lone Gunmen and other characters, and introduces new elements to the mythology of the show. Like the TV series, it starts the season by putting Mulder and Scully back where they belong at the FBI before delivering Monster of the Week-type stories. One in particular is a sequel to the season 2 episode 2 “The Host.” And of course, it ends on a cliffhanger as the conspiracy is bigger than ever.

Parallel to The X-Files Season 10, IDW published The X-Files: Year Zero, a 5-issue miniseries written by Karl Kesel with art by Vic Mahlhotra and Greg Scott, which digs into the origins of The X-Files, exploring story elements alluded to in season 1 episode 19 “Shapes” and following an investigation led by Bing Ellington and Millie Ohio in 1946, while Mulder and Scully do their own work in the present.

Ellington and Ohio came back in another story published in The X-Files X-Mas Special 2014. This time, they are after a communist saboteur and a gremlin.

There was also a 6-issue miniseries titled The X-Files: Conspiracy written by Paul Crilley with art by John Stanisci, which followed The Lone Gunmen in a series of crossovers with popular IDW comics like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, Ghostbusters, and The Crow.

The X-Files Season 11 picked up where Season 10 ended, but only for 8 issues and another X-Mas Special, as the line of comics was canceled due to the official comeback of The X-Files on TV. As a result, these two “seasons” lost their canonical status.

The X-Files Season 10 has also been collected in a 5-volume series of trade paperbacks.

Once The X-Files Season 11 concluded, IDW Publishing didn’t launch another ongoing title in the franchise, but continued publishing miniseries. First, there was the 2-issue “The X-Files – JFK Disclosure” by Denton J. Tipton and Menton3 in which Mulder learns the real reason behind President Kennedy’s murder and discovers an explosive personal secret. Then came The X-Files – Case Files, two monster-of-the-week stories in a four-issue limited series launched in parallel to the new season of the TV Show. The first was by Delilah S. Dawson and artist Elena Casagrande, while the second was from Joe and Keith Lansdale and artist Silvia Califano.

In another style, The X-Files – Origins by Jody Houser and artist Chris Fenoglio are two 4-issue stories set during Mulder and Scully’s teenage years (they are not adaptations of the YA novels of the same title).

Finally, there is the one-shot The X-Files – Deviations, a what if? story in which Fox Mulder was abducted as a kid, and his sister Samantha became an FBI agent working with Dana Scully. And for a strange adventure, The X-Files Funko Universe is a one-shot comic book following Mulder and Scully in Funko style.

The Truth Is Out There…

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