The eXtra Files: The Humor is Out There

by Jeffrey Brown

You know The X-Files . Now, for the first time, here are The eXtra Files .

Acclaimed cartoonist and fellow X-Phile Jeffrey Brown revisits classic X-Files episodes for weird, bizarre, and funny takes on both fan favorite cases and overlooked gems. He'll rejoin Mulder and Scully as they investigate the unexplained incidents, paranormal events, and extraterrestrial encounters, and show that not only is the truth out there, the humor is as well.

The eXtra Files will ask—and even attempt to answer—questions about Mulder and Scully's cases and their history, providing a fresh and funny take on both that will be accessible to casual fans but also engaging for X-Philes.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Humor, Comics

64 pages, Hardcover

First published November 7, 2023

About the author

Jeffrey Brown was born in 1975 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and grew up reading comic books with dreams of someday drawing them, only to abandon them and focus on becoming a 'fine artist.' While earning his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Brown abandoned painting and began drawing comics with his first autobiographical book 'Clumsy' in 2001. Since then he's drawn a dozen books for publishers including TopShelf, Fantagraphics, Drawn & Quarterly, McSweeney's and Chronicle Books. Simon & Schuster published his latest graphic memoir 'Funny Misshapen Body.' In addition to directing an animated video for the band Death Cab For Cutie, Brown has had his work featured on NPR's 'This American Life' His art has been shown at galleries in New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles and Paris. Jeffrey's work has also appeared in the Best American Comics series and received the Ignatz Award in 2003 for 'Outstanding Minicomic.'
He currently lives in Chicago with his wife Jennifer and their son Oscar.

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up on a whim, and while I don't feel the short amount of time it took me to read it was a waste of time, it really wasn't that great. Only adults are X-Files fans, so this book doesn't have the crossover appeal that Brown's Star Wars comics do. Plus, many of the jokes were very specific towards certain episodes, and not many people have just recently watched old episodes, so many of the jokes fell flat. However, it was amusing to revisit Mulder and Scully and a series that I loved for years.

[Casey Halvorsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a funny short and sweet book, reminding me of the inside jokes I've had with my Phriends for almost 15 years, and now I want to rewatch this series for the first time since the atrocity of Season 11 lmao

[Erica Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mixed bag. Some are funny, some are meh. But still… X-Files.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

The humor, as the secondary title says, is out there. This is true because it sure as hell isn’t in this book.

[Sesana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really excited to see this, but disappointed in the execution. The problem is that almost all of the comics are directly based on specific episodes, so you need to remember what happened in that episode to get the joke. Not all of the episodes are iconic and easily recognized from the title alone, so unless you've been binging recently about half of the book will lead you cold. Which is a shame, because there's fertile ground for jokes in the basic premise of the show.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this!

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw this at the library and snatched it up, as a person who has seen each episode pf the X Files at least once, and during the pandemic, all the way through all the seasons. And I like the early auto-bio Jeffery Brown, but less so the wildly popular Star Wars stuff for which he is now best known, and even less so this. I realized as I paged through that I am not the fanboy nerd I imaiined myself to be, as I didn't get many of the inside jokes, alas. I found very little of it all that amusing at all, though for X Files fans it may be worth 15 minutes of your wry smiling, I guess.

[Travis Duke · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a huge x-files fan and this comes across as meh. I like what Brown has done in the past with the Vader and son series, somehow that is just funnier. I am familiar with all the episodes he refers too but a single page for every episode is stretching the jokes a bit much, just too thin. I got a chuckle here and there but I was expecting more.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short. It could have been longer. There are funny strips and just meh. It’s a mix. But yeah. It could have been longer and instead of choosing episodes, it could have been just a fun take on them by adding that little X-tra files.

But it’s quite enough for an X-Phile.

[✮Octjillery✮ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This only took a few minutes to read, but I enjoyed it.

I think this will have more of an impact if you've recently watched the show (which I have) or if you've seen it a million times and can remember all of the episodes that the comics are referencing/parodying.

[Mathea Mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, short read. Made me want to turn on the show, the nostalgia is real! Some of them were more funny than others but still overall enjoyable

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

So fun! I’m here for any and all XFiles content and you can tell Jeffrey Brown is a true fan.

[Patricia Q · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gave me a couple of laughs.

[Bookwormgyrl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and humorous book abut the X-Files. Fun read for any fan of the show. 4.0 Folios

[Todd Hindmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love the X-Files then this book is fun. you have to have a real understanding of the show to get a lot of the jokes though.

[Tally · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is excellent - I wish there was one for every episode!

[Citlali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved every page

[Simone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love his style .... Some good humor at times.

[Jess Stratmeyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Very hilarious and spot on for the X-Files.

[Jonathan Jakobitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect read for any x-phile

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny quick read. Perfect for anyone who's a fan of The X-Files

[Lizzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and kinda funny, very specific to certain episodes. Not a waste of time but wouldn’t reread.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are DEEP cuts! I lol'd

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are some deep cuts in here that I highly appreciate.

[Heather Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made me want to rewatch the series

[Dani Kass · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh man, i need to rewatch the x files. these are gold.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting, more mature-themed book by Brown. Although the comic images are similar to his usual creations, you can tell that the humour in the book is meant for older fans and not kids.

[Cathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Worth paging through for fans, especially with the structure of giving a page to named episodes, relying on canon familiarity for the jokes to land. More than a little silly, but that's rather the point.

[Abbey S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was ok it didn’t really have a straight storyline but it was funny it was like a different scenario on each page