The X-Files/30 Days of Night #1 (of 6)
Written by Steve Niles & Adam Jones
Illustrated by Tom Mandrake
Colored by Darlene Royer
Lettered by Ed Dukeshire
Cover art by Andrea Sorrentino; Sam Kieth; or Tom Mandrake & JD Mettler
Published by DC/Wildstorm and IDW
30 Days of Night fans be warned: Niles and Jones use the vampires only in brief teases at the issue’s open and close, preferring to focus on the FBI agents’ investigation. Capturing the playful banter between Mulder and Scully, the issue reads like a lost episode of the X-Files series. But they leave little doubt that Mulder and Scully are headed into big trouble.
Tom Mandrake draws it up beautifully, providing creepy imagery and solid likenesses of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. If Mandrake has one shortcoming, he never seems to attempt that playfully wry grin of Duchovny’s, which is such a large part of Mulder’s charm and deadpan humor.
A nice solid debut issue, The X-Files/30 Days of Night #1 introduces its scenario – Alaska, after the sun is set for a month-long chunk of winter, inhabited by vampires – and its characters – FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully – so that readers of either franchise can quickly and easily leap into this crossover miniseries. It’s almost certain to fully entertain fans of either franchise.
