X-Files: Year Zero by Vic Malhotra is part of the continuing adventures of Agents Mulder and Scully. I remember when Sunday evenings were a time to look forward to. I never missed an episode of the X-Files, even the reruns. It is also the only series I own all the DVDs.
I usually don’t read graphic novels, but seeing it was the X-Files I decided to give it a read. Mulder and Scully remain true to character. Mulder is pushing the boundaries of what is believable and Scully remains his reality check. It is nice to see both have made the transition into the twenty-first-century technology. The old brick phones have been replaced with current technology, and the characters, though the magic of the printed word, have not aged.
There is a parallel story that runs and converges with Mulder and Scully’s story. It also involves a male special agent and a female “special employee” (since women could not be agents) in 1946. There are similarities and cross similarities between the pairs of agents that were fun to discover. The Mr. Zero/Xero character is the keystone tying together the two plots.
The story is very well done and the artwork was particularly interesting. The artwork for the present is standard fare, but the artwork for the part of the story that takes place in the 1940s is very different. It actually looks like it was pulled for a 1940s comic book. A very nice touch and tribute to the past. The difference also helps separate the stories. I am sure some die hard fans can nitpick points to no end here, but for me the X-Files was fun and escapism. I had no problems following along with the story or with any new or different explanations in the X-Files mythology. I loved the X-Files and Year Zero fell right into place with me. It was like seeing an old friend again.
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