I confess that I was starting to get a little discouraged about the current X-Files comic arc, which is why I didn’t even bother writing about Issue #4. Thankfully, this issue is better.
Let me start by saying that I recently met Matthew Dow Smith, the comic’s artist, at the Asheville Comic Expo. I discussed the comic with him and was honest about my concerns regarding the seeming lack of direction. He shared something interesting with me that shed some light on things. The creative team had a plan on the direction the story would take, but then when the decision was made to move forward on the TV reboot, they were told they had to change the story and the timeframe. That explained a lot. With this in mind, there was a line in this issue that seems to hint at the struggles the creative team were dealing with.
Outside factors have sped up my plans. You’re no stranger to taking decisive action.
This issue also has a theme to it that I feel is both true and powerful—that key events in our lives and how we respond to those events has a significant impact on the course of our life. I can point to key events that have changed the course of my life and contributed to defining who I am as a person. So I want to conclude this post with two quotes that tie into this theme. The first appears early in the issue and the second appears toward the end.
You need to understand, it isn’t any one tragedy—or some single set of events—that makes someone who they are. It’s how we process them, rolling all of our experiences together—that informs the transformation and tests the measure of what we’re truly capable of.
It’s never one tragedy that defines us. We are each the product of myriad experiences—good, bad, and life-altering. While what we’re capable of is something we only learn in our worst moments. And which we save for our finest hour.
Stuff Jeff Reads 
You must be logged in to post a comment.