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roannasylver's review
4.0
I’m a complete sucker for all things Lone Gunmen so me loving this was a foregone conclusion. I really liked the art variety actually; seeing these guys portrayed in wildly different styles was interesting and just hits a very specific happy-nerd spot for me. (I’d love the covers as posters!!) And the sheer wackiness/campy awesomeness of crossing over with all these other universes that apparently share one, which I had never considered, Transformers and The Crow existing in the same continuity and... well now I’m going to be thinking about that for a long time.
4 stars only because there were some clunky moments (some odd panel progressions and story jumps, and some disjointed dialogue; also, call it a nitpick but I have to believe someone mixed up Frohike and Langly’s lines a few times, since “dude!!” Fits the latter so much more than the former lol) and not nearly as much explanation as I would have enjoyed, but all in all, super fun. And Lord knows I love seeing my boys get the spotlight.
(Only thing I could have gone without seeing is on the very last page, which is a personal issue of mine re: deep-seated pain about dead Gunmen, particularly in a really nightmarish body-horror way, EVEN IF THE BAD TIMELINE was reversed! They’re still fine. Shut up.)
Points for Byers and Frohike actually calling Langly “Ringo” at several points. Yes, yes, use the adorable nickname we never really got to hear in either TV show!
I would read endless adventures with the Gunmen and more crossovers (or just them on their own! You think I’ll get bored with them? It won’t happen. I love the Lone Gunmen... a very normal amount. Very normal.) I want more already. Which I guess is the best thing a comic can do!
4 stars only because there were some clunky moments (some odd panel progressions and story jumps, and some disjointed dialogue; also, call it a nitpick but I have to believe someone mixed up Frohike and Langly’s lines a few times, since “dude!!” Fits the latter so much more than the former lol) and not nearly as much explanation as I would have enjoyed, but all in all, super fun. And Lord knows I love seeing my boys get the spotlight.
(Only thing I could have gone without seeing is on the very last page, which is a personal issue of mine re: deep-seated pain about dead Gunmen, particularly in a really nightmarish body-horror way, EVEN IF THE BAD TIMELINE was reversed! They’re still fine. Shut up.)
Points for Byers and Frohike actually calling Langly “Ringo” at several points. Yes, yes, use the adorable nickname we never really got to hear in either TV show!
I would read endless adventures with the Gunmen and more crossovers (or just them on their own! You think I’ll get bored with them? It won’t happen. I love the Lone Gunmen... a very normal amount. Very normal.) I want more already. Which I guess is the best thing a comic can do!
stephen_arvidson's review
1.0
There's something inherently fun in mashing together elements that really shouldn't go together. Conspiracy contains a number of fictitious crossovers—some strange mashups, at that—pitting legendary The X-Files characters with those from Ghostbusters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, and even The Crow. The stories are so over-the-top and outlandish that it could only work in this medium. The characters of the Lone Gunmen are always at the forefront of these bizarre goings-on, which serves to complement the increasingly ridiculous and exaggerated stories. Since their conception in 1994, Frohike, Langly, and Byers have constructed their own secret history of Americana, with the U.S. government as an omniscient and sinister force with malevolent designs for the general population; this is especially evident in their short-lived spinoff. While Mulder and Scully have always managed to keep The X-Files anchored in realism, the Lone Gunmen, on the other hand, are the ideal protagonists for this wacky farce.
Conspiracy feels like the sorry by-product of the comic industry's shifting trends, with greater fixation on concepts like shared universes—yet the crossovers seen here are inorganic, lackluster, and fail to deliver on the premise. Perhaps if Paul Crilley & Co. had written Conspiracy with more straight-laced ethos, X-philes like myself wouldn't be so markedly disappointed by this sprawling book. It's a bad parody of The X-Files, and worse, it's a naked attempt by IDW Publishing to capitalize on the commercial success of the critically successful series. As with other X-Files graphic collections released by IDW, the artistic styles vary greatly and gives the volume an absurd, mismatched look. The ham-fisted dialogue does little to help matters, either. In the end, not even the quirkiness of The Lone Gunmen can hold together this abomination.
Conspiracy feels like the sorry by-product of the comic industry's shifting trends, with greater fixation on concepts like shared universes—yet the crossovers seen here are inorganic, lackluster, and fail to deliver on the premise. Perhaps if Paul Crilley & Co. had written Conspiracy with more straight-laced ethos, X-philes like myself wouldn't be so markedly disappointed by this sprawling book. It's a bad parody of The X-Files, and worse, it's a naked attempt by IDW Publishing to capitalize on the commercial success of the critically successful series. As with other X-Files graphic collections released by IDW, the artistic styles vary greatly and gives the volume an absurd, mismatched look. The ham-fisted dialogue does little to help matters, either. In the end, not even the quirkiness of The Lone Gunmen can hold together this abomination.
geekwayne's review
3.0
'X-Files: Conspiracy' is an IDW crossover book and it's a strange one pitting the characters in X-Files with those from Ghostbusters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers and The Crow. It works mainly because the characters used in all the books are The Lone Gunmen.
When The Lone Gunmen start getting pictures from the future about a deadly virus about to wipe out humanity, they start investigating. They have crossover adventures with the Ghostbusters, where they inadvertently set a ghost loose, with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, where they need to collect some turtle blood. The Transformers help with to find a suspect and a couple cops protect them, and then are avenged by The Crow.
It's all over the map, and the art styles vary, but the loopiness of The Lone Gunmen hold it all together through this strange mismatched worlds. I ended up enjoying it and while the framing story worked, it wasn't as strong as it could have been. Still, it's nice to see The Lone Gunmen at it again.
I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
When The Lone Gunmen start getting pictures from the future about a deadly virus about to wipe out humanity, they start investigating. They have crossover adventures with the Ghostbusters, where they inadvertently set a ghost loose, with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, where they need to collect some turtle blood. The Transformers help with to find a suspect and a couple cops protect them, and then are avenged by The Crow.
It's all over the map, and the art styles vary, but the loopiness of The Lone Gunmen hold it all together through this strange mismatched worlds. I ended up enjoying it and while the framing story worked, it wasn't as strong as it could have been. Still, it's nice to see The Lone Gunmen at it again.
I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
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