For all the good books they've produced, Checker Publishing really dropped the ball when they got their hands on The X-Files franchise. Fortunately, WildStorm has it well in hand now.

Writers Frank Spotnitz, Marv Wolfman and Doug Moench and artist Brian Denham join forces to create a book that, while it never exceeds the high bar set by Chris Carter's acclaimed television series, certainly finds its place within the framework of existing stories. Wisely, the stories collected here are set in the heyday of the series, before the final season and misguided second movie jinxed that magical TV chemistry.

That means Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are still headquartered in the basement of the FBI building in Washington, D.C. They're still investigating cases no one else at the bureau will touch. Even the Lone Gunmen are still hanging around, offering equal doses of paranoia and insight into the occasional puzzle.

Even more importantly -- and where the Checker books really missed the boat -- those familiar characters from the screen actually look like themselves on these pages. Hurrah, Denham, for using a reference photo or two!

The stories here, for the most part, would have fit well into the series, and that alone makes this book worth reading for starving X-ophiles.