
IDW Publishing 2018
Written by Delilah S. Dawson
Pencilled by Elena Casagrande
Inked by Silvia Califano
Coloured by Arianna Forean
Lettered by Shawn Lee
The Story so far
Scully and Mulder have found their way to the small Florida town of Halpadalgi to investigate a series of strange occurrences, all conveniently attributed by the sheriff to the hallucinatory effects of bath salts. But when Sculy kills a man attacking a pregnant woman, and Mulder finds a mysterious brand on his chest, it becomes clear to them both that there’s much more to this situation than meets the eye.
I love the way that Delilah tells this story! Yes she has their personalities down pat and how they not only react to one another but to the circumstances that they find themselves in. the dialogue here is extremely well done and it’s easy to see the fandom and appreciation for the show in the way it all comes across. I am also impressed by the fact that with just two issues she’s able to tell a complete story.
The way this is structured is wonderful to see we pick where we left off where that guy who seemingly was a beggar attacked the pregnant woman and Scully ended up shooting him. So with the brand on the man’s chest and the EMT’s saying they see a lot of this and notify the sheriff who we already know what he thinks. Still I like the way that after this the two of them have their own ideas about what leads to follow up on. It feels right as if this could’ve been a script right out of the televisions rotation of episodes.
The revelation of what is actually going on in this town is something is kind of fascinating and I wish we’d learned how an Egyptian and esoteric symbols were combined in the brand on his chest and made it’s way to this Florida hamlet. That is the real story that I'm wondering about since it seems to permeate my thoughts because I get why the locale and Alligators and Crocodiles are cousins so it makes a warped sense in some ways and dying to know more.
Elena lays down the pencils here beautifully I love seeing her linework and how she is able to manipulate it using varying weights. The utilisation of page layouts and the angles and perspective we see in the panels shows off this lovely eye for storytelling. Then there are the backgrounds here which just send this work over the moon in terms of mood setting and the tone and feel of what is occurring. It so integral the storytelling, the interiors that is, that what this team is able to accomplish is amazing.
So while Scully finds herself immersed in the proceedings of the cult and Mulder is off figuring out that the Sheriff has sent them on a wild goose chase to the RV park. The way that things happen and how the work iinto the same story it’s really rather fascinating to see unfold. The whole idea behind this is what brought them here and finding things that well excite Mulder and make Scully shake her head that’s what it’s all about.
I love the way that this has been told right down to the ending. There is only so much going on and with they’ve found they think that this is the end of it. However we know differently and that part drives me nuts since I want more, I want to see how this will continue to play out and if the sheriff is what we think he is, aside from a total bogus piece of you know what.
Y’all can have the show I will gladly follow their adventures at the hands of these women and Shawn. This is stylish, sassy and completely within what it’s supposed to be about.