Comic Book Collecting: Millennium #1

I loved the X-Files and its spinoff, Millennium.  Yet, they both had a major flaw if I remember correctly.  They played on Friday nights.  Friday nights in the fall in Louisiana are reserved for prep football.  I tried to keep up with the X-Files as much as I could in these pre-DVR days.  I did watch every episode of the 1^st season for Millennium.

Millennium’s first  and second seasons to me were perfect.  It had a great lead in Lance Henriksen.  It had a wonderful atmosphere that always reminded me of The Cure’s Seventeen Seconds.  It pushed the boundaries of what could be shown on television.  I hate conspiracy theories, but the Millennium group was just plausible enough for me to show interest.  At the ending of the second season was just brilliant, so much so that I did not want to watch the third season, which I still have yet to watch.
I had no interest in further exploring that universe because I thought the ending was so brave.  Well, until I visited a local comic store the other day.  I could not help myself so I picked up Millennium #1 by IDW publishing.
I’ll write a full review when I’m finished the series, which is scheduled for short run.  First impressions are good.  There was the right amount of dread and creepiness in the episode.  The hardest thing to accomplish in my opinion was Frank’s visions because moving pictures always allowed for them to be unsettling, yet the artists did a good job of coming close to the same feeling.  There is not real plot to the first book except that a serial killer is freed and soon is visited by a mysterious woman, but really, this issue is there to setup the premise. The artists capture Frank Black as I picture him today perfectly but I think Mulder should have a little more weathering on his face, but that’s just a minor problem.
This is truly the first comic book I’ve read since I was kid.  Sure, I’ve read V for Vendetta, The Watchmen, Maus, Persepolis, and Blankets but in their long form. I’m not even sure all those titles were released in comic form.  I realized that I loved the medium.  This has the makings of a complex story that slowly draws you in, yet you have to wait for the next episode.  Luckily for us, we have some excellent comic book stores in the New Orleans area.  We have purchased a few other titles, such as the new Marvel Star Wars and the IDW Start Trek Meets Planet of the Apes.
Finally, I’m looking forward to what happens next in this new Millennium.