Getting Started

[TedderX]

I recently started reading a novel I have titled Generation X by Scott Lobdell and Elliot S! Maggin.

I want to start buying comics to read, were do I start? I don't even know where to buy them. I've been told previously it's best to start with a new series and stick with it. Any advice?

I grew up on X-Men, I like X-Factor, X-Force, and learning Generation X. I'd like to stick in this world.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Comic books are relegated to specialty comic shops at this point. You can find a shop near you by typing your zip code into this website:

http://www.comicshoplocator.com/Home/1/1/57/575

If you're into the X-Men, I would highly recommend trying Wolverine and the X-Men. Best X-comic Marvel's publishing right now, and it's similar to Generation X in that it focuses on the school and its students a lot.

There are a couple X-Force comics being published now. One is Uncanny X-Force, which is a new take on the title that features a group of morally ambiguous X-Men characters doing morally ambiguous things and killing a lot of people. The other is Cable and X-Force, which is a bit more similar to the old-school X-Force in concept but features a distinctly different roster from any of the earlier X-Force incarnations. If you're looking for X-Force characters, X-Factor currently features Rictor and Shatterstar and is a good read, but it's about X-Factor Investigations, a private detective company founded by Jamie Madrox, a.k.a. Multiple Man.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Well, the X-Men line just got a revamp with All-New X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, and a new X-Men book launching. Wolverine & the X-Men is also awesome.

 

[Mr. Dent]

^ Pretty much that line up right there will have you set with X-Men. What other Marvel/DC character are you into?

 

[TedderX]

^ Pretty much that line up right there will have you set with X-Men. What other Marvel/DC character are you into?

Not much into DC but Green Lantern (Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner), Green Arrow, and War Machine are decent.

Hawkeye and Captain America are alright as well.

But, none of the aforementioned I like enough to throw cash at. X-Men is where it's at for me.

Alright, so I've done some reading and reseaching and have made my mind up on what to buy.

1. Uncanny X-Men, Volume 3, Issues 001 & 002. I'm doing that because it's the "main line" of X-Men and I can keep up with the new issues as they come out. Maybe as I get more into this endeavor I'll go back to Volumes 1 and 2 for collectibility and cool stuff I find.
2. Cable and X-Force. I have Issue 004 (which, I seriously enjoyed this issue. Funny, because I never really liked Cable). I'm going to buy the first three issues and again keep up with this volume as it moves along.

I pulled the trigger on those five comic books last night on the internet. I don't think I'm going to get into all the variant covers and such; they seem to get pretty expensive so I'll just stick with the regular issues. Hopefully later on I can find a comic book store that can give me the hookup. I figure meeting people in person will be another great way to talk about these things; just have to find 'em first. I am curious about All New X-Men though. How is this series? Worth the read? Is it an ongoing series? It seems that there are only seven issues of it so far (is that correct?).

-Are people doing AR? I thought it was pretty neat. I just found out the covers have AR as well (for anyone who didn't realize that).

-What is "Marvel Now" and "Join the Reevolution" I keep seeing here and there?

-Are 1st/2nd publishings anymore valuable/collective than the other?

-Is Morph alive and kicking in any comics?

Thanks so much for everyones help! I'm really looking forward to getting to read these comic books and discussing them!!!

 

[Mr. Dent]

-All-New X-Men is my favorite new X-Men book and it works great as a companion book to Uncanny-X-Men (written by the same author and Cyclops' group overlaps with the book a lot). So yes, All-New is worth a read. And yes, it is an ongoing.

-I'm not using AR personally. I thought it would be cool at first but all it really does most of the time is show you line drawings and such, which isn't worth me pulling out my phone every couple pages.

-Marvel NOW is Marvel's latest initiative, which the new Uncanny X-Men volume and All-New X-Men are tied into. It's basically a company wide reshuffle of talents onto different books and a slew of new #1s. It was meant to be a jumping on point for new readers after the events of Avengers vs X-Men. It's been going on for about 5 months now.

-Generally yes, 1st printings end up more valuable than 2nd printings, just like certain variants end up more valuable than regular covers. 2nd printings also use lesser materials.

-Don't know what Morph is lol.

 

[TedderX]

-All-New X-Men is my favorite new X-Men book and it works great as a companion book to Uncanny-X-Men (written by the same author and Cyclops' group overlaps with the book a lot). So yes, All-New is worth a read. And yes, it is an ongoing.

-I'm not using AR personally. I thought it would be cool at first but all it really does most of the time is show you line drawings and such, which isn't worth me pulling out my phone every couple pages.

-Marvel NOW is Marvel's latest initiative, which the new Uncanny X-Men volume and All-New X-Men are tied into. It's basically a company wide reshuffle of talents onto different books and a slew of new #1s. It was meant to be a jumping on point for new readers after the events of Avengers vs X-Men. It's been going on for about 5 months now.

-Generally yes, 1st printings end up more valuable than 2nd printings, just like certain variants end up more valuable than regular covers. 2nd printings also use lesser materials.

-Don't know what Morph is lol.

Thanks for the info. That was very helpful!

But... You don't know who Morph is?!? Ahh!!! Lol

When I was a kid they came out wit a series of X-Men cartoon movies. I still have them all. I think Fox produced them. The first one I got as a toy at Pizza Hut. Man, they used to have quality toys! Lol

Beast and Morph got captured by FOH (I think) and jailed. Beast spent alot of the rest of the movie series in jail, and Morh was killed. Wolverine was slated to be Morph's best friend so Wolverine was livid at Cyclops for not going back after them. Hence Wolverine's bad attitude for the rest of the movies. Cyclops said he couldn't risk the whole team for two members.

Later Morph came back as Evil Morph via some bug implant looking thing Sinister cooked up. In the end he was killed again (I think) by turning on Sinster and doing the right thing.

Morph was a shapeshifter (that's how he got his name) and pretty well the class clown and played pranks.

Morph:

Evil Morph:

 

[JewishHobbit]

Morph was a creation of the cartoon that wasn't actually in the comics. They later said that a character from long ago called the Changeling was who Morph was in the comics but he died back in, like, the 60s or 70s. A very minor character.

There was later a storyline called the Age of Apocalypse where thy created a Morph character (Changling who lived) who looked nothing like he did in the cartoon or old comics. Here he is:

The Age of Apocalypse was an alternate world created when Xavier's son went back into the past and accidentally killed Xavier before he formed the X-Men. Jump forward in time and we see what life would have been like without Xavier, and Morph is one of the X-Men, led by Magneto. Oh, and Apocalypse rules the world, which is pretty much a nightmare. I highly recommend getting the trades. Great run!

Anyhow, after that, there was another Morph created (just like the Age of Apocalypse Morph) and he joined a team called the Exiles. He was plucked from another timeline. The Exiles jumped from one world to the next, fixing problems to save the universe and Morph was a mainstray on that team for years. The series was fantastic for the first 50 issues or so. Sadly, since that series ended he's not really shown up anywhere.

So as of now, there is no Morph anywhere.




Oh, and my opinion is if you want to follow X-Men (as I am a hardcore X-Men fan) you should read Uncanny X-Men and All New X-Men for the main X-Men stuff. They're the core titles. Wolverine & the X-Men isn't quite as important but still enjoyable. There's also a new book, "X-Men" coming out very soon staring a team of X-Women that looks really good. I'd recommend that.

I wouldn't recommend Astonishing X-Men or X-Men Legacy. They aren't that great or important overall, but if you want to try them then there's no harm in that.

Outside of the core X-Men book, Cable & X-Force sounds like something you'd enjoy. Uncanny X-Force is just alright so far. I don't know if I'd recommend it. X-Factor has characters from the comics you mentioned like Shatterstar, Rictor, and Monet (from Generation X). I get bored with it but most people like it. It might be worth picking up. Uncanny Avengers is a team of Avengers and X-Men mixed (the X-Men being Wolverine, Rogue, and Cyclops' brother Havoc... the Avengers being Captain America, Thor, and Scarlet Witch) and they're taking on threats from both Avengers and X-Men worlds. They just finished up an arc with the Red Skull and next will be Apocalypse. It's been delayed badly due to the artist so it's only on issue 4 but they're getting a new artist so it should be coming out more regularly soon. It's been decent, worth the pick up.

 

[TedderX]

I'm considering All New X-Men for sure.

I may have to check out Exiles if I can find it.

 

[JewishHobbit]

It's definately a good read for the most part. It was fantastic for most of the run. It eventually hit a story called "World Tour" and, while a good story, it killed the rest of the book for me. I won't ruin why but that's when I stopped enjoying it and dropped it before too long after that.

Morph's actually a really cool character in the book but my favorite is a character named Mimic. Both are mainstray members of the team from issue 1 onward.