The penultimate issue of The X-Files: Season 11 arrives with a whole lot guns, betrayal, and Gibson Praise.
Is it good?
The X-Files: Season 11 #7 (IDW Publishing)
The Plot
- This action scene is cool, but I’m a little confused about what’s going on. It’s like a Michael Bay movie with much better writing/dialogue.
- Oh snap, Scully. This thing’s even more entrenched than we realized.
- Lone Gunmen scenes should never feel like an especially talky episode of Law and Order.
- Still not sure what Mulder’s up to…
- Whoa. That’s going to be one awesome/awkward final battle.
Is It Good?
Unfortunately, The X-Files: Season 11 #7 suffers quite a bit from pre-finale/penultimate exposition bloat.
Don’t get me wrong—there some very cool scenes in this one, especially the opening and the excellent cliffhanger. But when I’m tempted to start skimming pages that feature the Lone Gunmen, who writer Joe Harris has always written perfectly, there might be a problem.
Also, to be completely honest, I’m a little confused about what the actual End Game is here. Maybe I’m just stupid (feel free to confirm in the comments section).
Matthew Dow Smith is good as usual, although he continues his bizarre trend of tighter/better pencils for flashback scenes when most artists do the exact opposite. And the muddy narrative is saved a bit by the ending, which hopefully it leads to Joe Harris closing out the series with what he does best: Turning the X-Files franchise on its head via fun action and pitch perfect dialogue.
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