The X-Files: Season 10 #12 :REVIEW

After a years of checking out eeriness here at home, Mulder and Scully have arrived in Saudi Arabia to investigate a manifestation of the infamous Black Oil. And that’s not the only crazy shit they’ve found.

Here’s the official word from IDW:

The dreaded “black oil” has been tapped in the remote deserts of the Middle East, and divergent forces are massing to contain, control, and even assist the deadly, sentient essence of Earth’s once (and future?) alien colonists. But what does it want with Agents Mulder and Scully, what does a rising neo-Syndicate want with it? And why, where, and—most importantly—how is Alex Krycek involved?!

After a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia, Mulder and Scully are dispatched to the Middle East. While their subsequent investigation reveals Black Oil, the biggest oddity it uncovers is Alex Krycek, Mulder’s former partner and longtime frenemy, who (it seems) has returned from the dead just in time to save Mulder’s life. This cameo, however, is short lived, and most of writer Joe Harris’ script for issue #12 is dedicated to deepening the mystery surrounding a strange object tucked deep in the desert where the Black Oil was initially discovered. In what’s turned out to be some decent pacing on Harris’ part, issue #12 is not about answering questions raised in issue #11, but rather deepening the mystery at hand. Harris liberally dolls out one weird scene after another and most fans, I feel, will enjoy getting swept away with what feels like an old-school X-Files mystery.

Matthew Dow Smith, again, delivers pitch-perfect art for this particular series. His drawings are sketchy, but detailed, and nicely capture the frenetic energy of this particular issue which plays with flashback, and time lapses.

So far, issue #12 offers the second installment of what might be one of the most satisfying arcs yet. Go grab this thing today.