And more news from THE X-FILES Season 10 panel.

As you probably already know, IDW has begun publishing The X-Files: Season 10 comic book series, written by Joe Harris with Chris Carter's full cooperation. Today I sat in a panel with Harris, Carter, Gillian Anderson, illustrator Joe Corroney, and IDW execs Chris Ryall and Denton Tipon. Yeah, no Duchovny, but Anderson was cool and funny enough for both of them. She has a very laidback, hip way about her. "Y’all, come to the booth where I’m signing shit. Come say hi and buy some stuff!” I love her.

The panel was moderated by Dean Haglund, who played good ol' Ringo. Haglund's moderating style is pretty goofy, which made for some fun non sequiturs. For instance, on her likeness in the books (which look beautiful, by the way), “It’s a little odd, because I feel quite removed from the whole process. I’m not really involved other than saying ‘Yes, this drawing looks okay. No, that nose is too big.’ When I approved Scully’s head, I didn’t know I’d see her later in a slinky dress with exposed breasts. I would have liked to approve the breasts.” To which Carter gravely added, "I approved the breasts."

But don't worry, Scully hasn't become a tart in the ensuing years (the book is set in present day). She's still pantsuit-lovin' Scully, as far as I can tell.

Other tidbits:

* Of course everyone wants to know about The X-Files 3, and while there's been no movement on that, no one seems averse to it. It would definitely be a movie before a reunion series.

* Carter had a conversation with a guy from Fox yesterday and "they're pushing for the Blu-ray release." Also he's working on a new project and "with any luck there will be an announcement soon."

* When asked about Amazon's new fan fiction business, Carter said he's definitely thought about it. But "it requires someone to spend money. And whenever you ask someone to spend money, especially 20th Century Fox, there’s a tussle. So I think we’d have to see."

* Carter maintains that the comic book series is definitely canon and that he's wanted to be involved as much as possible. Although, “it’s got its own comic book life. It’s got its own mythology. Joe has come up with great ideas, great twists and turns on the characters. We’re bringing a lot of characters back, as you’ll see.”

* Like who? Well, the fact that Dean Haglund's even here should tip you off. This issue came out this week, so it doesn't count as a spoiler (although there's a spoiler for issue #3 below, so this is your warning to turn away): the Lone Gunmen are returning!

But how, right? Harris, Carter and Haglund were all quick to remind us that the guys died offscreen and, as Harris said, "Whenever anybody dies offscreen, anything's possible."

* That was starting to sound like a bit of a lame cop-out, especially when the cover for the third issue was revealed:

But just when it seemed like they're going to retcon every death on the show, Carter assured us that there's more to the story. "That’s actually one of my favorite things about what Joe’s doing, that you can’t take anything at face value. Noting is as it seems.”

* As you can tell, Carter's a fan of Harris and his work. He said it became immediately apparent when he met Harris that he was a huge fan of the series and knew it inside and out, and it's "inspired great confidence."

* When Haglund said that he's a "no-romo guy" and was bummed that Mulder and Scully reunited, Carter warned, "Like the Lone Gunmen, no romance lasts forever."

* Carter originally wanted Roseanne Barr and Cher to guest star in "The Post-Modern Prometheus," but as it turns out, "It actually worked out better with the Cher impersonator. And it actually worked out better without Roseanne’s participation.”

* The fate of Samantha Mulder changed throughout the course of the series, because Carter never expected the show to last nine seasons. "When you're doing a TV series, you expect - and you're expected - to fail." And in the second season, things began to change because "we realized we had a story that was more interesting to tell with the mythology.”

* When someone asked how Carter feels about 'paranormal activity,' he replied, "It's a pretty good movie." After the laughter died down, he said he's never had any experiences with that, and Anderson chimed in that she has, but "if I talk about them, that will be the only thing that will be printed about this press conference.”

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The panel ended with an auction for the very shirt off Anderson's back (which she was wearing the hell out of, might I add) to benefit her many charities. It got up to $360 and would have gone higher if they hadn't been ushered out of the room for the next panel. She and Carter will be around tomorrow, too, for signing and pics, and while that's cool, the main thing I took away from this panel is that I need to read The X-Files: Season 10 immediately.