Tweet
Released by: IDW Publishing
Released on: March 18th, 2015.
Written by: Joe Harris
Art by: Colin Lorimer
Purchase From Amazon
Following hot on the heels of the first issue (reviewed here), Frank Black is using his 'gift' to see how Monte Propps died - he drowned, just as his victims did, but we learn that he wasn't pushed under the water but instead he was dragged. Agent Mulder is curious to learn more as Frank explains that the women they saw at Propps' hearing earlier that day is involved and that she 'let something free.' Neither man can decipher what the cryptic symbols painted in blood at the scene of the crime but before they call it a night, Mulder spots a young boy. He gives chase but the kid books it out of there fast.
They find him sitting atop a dumpster in an alley a few minutes later, a familiar looking female corpse at his feet. Mulder calls in the Feds to deal with the mess and as Black checks out the scene, the boy speaks to him in a demonic voice - it's Legion. Frank talks to the demon, they know that The Millennium Group killed Propps but Frank doesn't know why. Legion explains that to those who know, Propps was simply currency. As Frank gets more aggressive with his questioning, a cop sees what looks like a man roughing up a young boy and as he puts a stop to it Legion coyly lets slide that he knows where Black's estranged daughter is. By the time Mulder can get back to Frank, he's gone. He takes a cab to a house, lets himself in and discovers evidence that ties his daughter to a newly formed Millennium Group.
Dark and suspenseful, Harris' story builds really nicely off of the events laid down in the first issue of this new series and before that in the TV series that inspired it. Bringing Mulder in for the first issue seemed a bit gimmicky but Harris is going somewhere with this by this point. This isn't so much an easy way to bring X-Files fans into the series but rather an effective plot device. If Frank is going underground, as Frank tends to do, it makes sense that the Feds would want someone familiar with him on hand to help out and Mulder is very much the right man for the job in that regard. Giving Frank some alone time with Legion is a nice touch too, particularly when that ominous voice comes out of the mouth of a young boy. It's genuinely chilling stuff and Harris' writing definitely keeps the spirit of what made the show so darkly fascinating very much alive and well.
Colin Lorimer's artwork compliments all of this nicely. He's got a style all his own and it's just as dark and eerie as the story he's illustrating. That makes these two a good fit for a property like Millennium. Not content to just use simple medium distance 'straight on' panels to tell the story visually, Lorimer gets creative with his panel layout and angles. Though it's all in full color the series' look has a bit of a noirish style to it, it's very heavy on shadows and the colors employed by colorist Joana Lafuente definitely lean towards the macabre. Again, it all fits. The creative team behind this comic book revival of Millennium is firing on all cylinders and there's no signs that should change anytime soon. This issue ends on one Hell of a cliffhanger and like a good comic should, it very much leaves you wanting more.
