Comics Getting Started

If you are an X fan then the clear choices are All-New X-Men, Wolverine and the X-Men and the new Uncanny X-Men. You cover most of the bases in the X-Universe with those three.

 

The best place to start is a Tpb called WE ARE THE X-MEN. After that read, Dark Pheonix Saga, Days of Future Past, God Loves Man Kills and Mutant Genesis. Also check out the Whedon run on ASTONISHING!

 

What are the current lineups in all the books please?

 

All-New X-Men: The original five X-Men brought to the present, plus various members of the staff at the Jean Grey School, including Wolverine, Storm, Kitty, and Rachel.

Wolverine and the X-Men: Rotating cast of the various school staff like above and others, as well as the various students in the school.

Uncanny X-Men: Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magneto, Magik, and new mutants they've recruited to their new school.

Astonishing X-Men: Wolverine, Gambit, Iceman, Karma, Cecelia Reyes, Warbird.

X-Men: Legacy: Legion and Blindfold.

X-Factor: Multiple Man, M, Rictor, Shatterstar, Layla Miller, Darwin, Wolfsbane, Polaris, Longshot

Uncanny X-Force: Psylocke, Storm, Puck, Spiral, Cluster, Fantomex

Cable and X-Force: Cable, Domino, Forge, Colossus, Dr. Nemesis, Boom Boom

X-Men (upcoming): Storm, Psylocke, Rogue, Kitty, Rachel, Jubilee

 

Awesome, thanks mate.

 

I would say read peter davids x-factor run (I think its out in 4-5 tpbs called peter david visionaries x-factor) then i'd read other x-men tpbs from around that time (x-cutioners song, fatal attractions etc) if that's what you grew up with. I also grew up around that time and liked those x-men stories and good ones from before that (days future past, dark phoenix saga, mutant massacre, inferno) but im not a fan at all of ANY of the new x-men titles, I think marvel has destroyed the x-men entirely

 

I remember not opening some sealed special edition of X-Cutioner's song set with trading cards inside for about 10 years after buying it. Then I decided F all this investor ********, I want to read my comics!

 

yeah don't feel too bad, those cards aren't really worth anything, I have all of them too. That's the thing about comics in the 90's, they made so many of them, same with the trading cards, that they really aren't worth much, better to just enjoy it

 

Yeah. I also have a lot of original old X-Men comics, everything from about Uncanny 70/80 onwards & some random ones before that going back to 13. Those early ones are not in great condition though but I made sure to read them at least once properly getting my fingerprints all over them.

The other thing is I'm never going to sell any of this stuff anyway so it doesn't really matter what it's worth...except to whoever sells them when I'm dead and they will probably know nothing about comics and make a massive loss on them anyway. t:

 

If you're interested in what's going on in the X-universe nowadays, there are some incredibly good stories that are easy to find and self-contained to set up everything that's happening.

Honestly, without a shadow of a doubt, I would start with Grant Morrison's "New X-Men" run. INCREDIBLE. But the omnibus collects about 50 comics so it's a pretty penny. It features Wolverine, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Jean Grey, Beast, and Professor Xavier. With an incredibly expansive less-known supporting cast.

After that, Joss Whedon's entire "Astonishing X-Men" is essential. One of the best, tightest stories/arcs, just like Morrison's run. This title involved Wolverine, Cyclops, Shadowcat, Emma Frost, Beast, and Colossus.

One of (I think) the coolest books that created and grew some AMAZING characters was "New X-Men: Academy X" by Phillips & Weir, that eventually morphed into just "New X-Men" by Kyle & Yost. Elixir, Anole, Pixie, X23, Surge, Hellion, Mercury, Dust, and Rockslide were put through hell and back (literally) and the great thing about this title was that it ACTUALLY felt dangerous. Characters died, and it showed that being a young mutant is not easy at all. I'd say they went rhough more S***t than the X-Men did during that time.

The last year of New X-Men actually lead into the huge event Messiah CompleX incredibly well. Messiah CompleX was a 13 issue crossover that introduced Hope, a character who has been fundamental in further stories, such as (in order) Second Coming, Schism, and Avengers vs X-Men. I would say these events are the best way to understand what's currently happening in the X-Men universe. And it's really cool to read how Cyclops treated the entire Messiah CompleX events, now knowing where he is after the events of AvsX, it's felt like his "derailment/rise/whateveryouwanttocallit" has been slowly happening over the last few years in a really concrete way. Other major players in all these series included Rogue, Nightcrawler, Angel, Psylocke, Jamie Madrox, Layla Miller, Beast, and even some of my favorites from the young X-Men cast.

Lastly, there are great books that don't tie too heavily into the main continuity, like X-Factor (Jamie Madrox, Layla Miller, M "Monet", Siryn, and many others) - this title though has been going on for a VERY long time. Other good books were Kyle & Yost's "X-Force" (X23, Elixir, Warpath, Wolfsbane, Archangel, Wolverine) and Remender's "Uncanny X-Force" (Wolverine, Fantomex, Psylocke, Nightcrawler, Archangel, Deadpool). Neither is needed to understand the other, and each is a clear and cohesive unit.


In summation, for anyone wanting to get into CURRENT X-Men comics / get up to speed (yes, there are MANY good stories from the 70s/80s/90s but thats not what I'm talking about here), these should be good places to start.


If you want to know why Cyclops/Magneto/Wolverine is the way he is lately, read Messiah CompleX, Second Coming, and Avengers vs X-Men.

If you want an incredible expansive and self-concluding story, read Morrisons New X-Men or Whedons Astonishing.

If you like books like New Mutants or Generation X, read New X-Men Academy X (which turns simply into Kyle & Yost's New X-Men). Kyle & Yost also were heavily responsible for Avengers: EMH and Wolverine & the X-Men, so if you liked those series, you might like this. And be ready to cry and throw things.

If you want darker, grittier stories, read either recent X-Force (Kyle & Yosts has been collected nicely into two large omnibus versions - we're still waiting on that for Uncanny).

Hope that helps!!!