Hey you fans and experts.
I'm a long time comics reader but never got round to the X-Men.
I'd like to know what are the 5 main tpb I should read.
I don't necessarely whant to have a full knowledge of the X-Men timeline, but I would like 5 excellent books to read.
I did some researches of my own and I came up with a pretty long list of must reads, so help me shorten it up:
For the X-Men origins
- X-Men Epic Collection: Children of the Atom <-- lee and kirby's work is not concidered that awsome on X-Men, so this is skippable I think.
- X-Men: First Class <-- too much tpb so probably not a good choice
- X-Men Season 1
Then for the pre-Chris Claremont era
- X-Men Visionaries: Neal Adams
The comes a big, long and good run by Chris Claremont
What to really really read ?
- Second Genesis
- The Dark Phoenix Saga
- Day of Future Past
- God loves, Man Kills
- Mutan Massacre
- Mutan Genesis
Then comes the 90's
I read that it's a pretty skippable era
- X-Cutioner’s Song
- Age of Apocalypse
1st part of the 00's
- New X-Men: E Is for Extinction - start of a new serie with new muttans and Grant Morisson is writting
- Astonishing X-Men: Gifted - A good comeback to the basics for the X-Men by Joss Whedon
- X-Statix: X-Force - a fun indepentant story
- Uncanny X-Force vol.1 by Rick Remember
2nd part of the 00's
a big load of crossovers that should all be read as one big story, so I might skip this era
- House of M - maybe this one can be read alone
- Messiah compleX
- Second Coming
- Schism
- Avengers vs. X-Men
- Wolverine & the X-Men by Jason Aaron - this is appart from the big crossovers
1st part of the 10's
- All-New X-Men: Yesterday’s X-Men - all new X-Men's
- Uncanny X-Men: Revolution - the comeback of the Uncanny X-Men
- Batle of the Atom
- The Trial of Jean Grey
2nd part of the 10's
- Inhumans vs. X-Men - not available as one book, so I might skip this
- Old Man Logan - at least read the first story by Mark Millar
- X-Men: Worst X-Men
- All-New Wolverine
- All-New X-Men: Inevitable
2017 to now
the ResurrXion and Legacy event seem complex to follow, so is any thing worthy ?
- X-Men: Gold and X-Men Blue - not available as one book so I might skip
- Phoenix Resurrection
Upcoming
Should I instead wait for this
- X-Men: Grand Design
Other reads
- Ultimate X-Men - too many books (10)
I also read that there are interresting Cable comics:
- Cable Volume 1: Shining Path
- Cable Volume 2: End
- Cable: The Nemesis Contract
I also read that Wolverine by Frank Miller is not bad, as well as New Mutans by Sienkiewicz.
Help me pick 5 to read (and only 5).
Other suggestions are welcomed.
What do you think of these books ?
Marvel Platinum: The Definitive X-Men
- X-Men - Uncanny X-Men #1
- Second Genesis - Giant Size X-Men #1
- Day of Future Past - Uncanny X-Men #141-142
- God loves, Man Kills - Marvel Graphic Novel #5
- Fresh Upstart - Uncanny X-Men #281
- Mutan Genesis - X-Men vol.2 #1
- E is for Extinction - New X-Men #114-116
Marvel Platinum: The Definitive X-Men Reloaded
- Avengers vs. X-Men - Uncanny X-Men #45 + Avengers #53
- The Dark Phoenix Saga - Uncanny X-Men #137
- Genesis & Apocalypse - Fantastic Four #286 + X-Factor #1
- Fall of the Mutants - X-Factor #25
- Age of Apocalypse - X-Men: Omega + X-Men Vol. 2 #98
- The Blood of Apocalypse - X-Men Vol. 2 #186
Results 1 to 15 of 17
Thread: Essential Reading
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01-07-2018, 11:42 AM #1Mighty Member
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Essential Reading
Last edited by jb681131; 01-07-2018 at 12:08 PM.
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01-07-2018, 12:34 PM #2Spectacular Member
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If you just want to read 5 then -
X-Men Season One
The Dark Phoenix Saga
Day of Future Past
God loves, Man Kills
Astonishing X-Men: Gifted
Edit: I think the 3 in the middle are very much 'essential' .
You could potentially swap out the first and last with alternatives like -
X-Men Epic Collection: Second Genesis (Start of Claremont's run, shows how Jean became Phoenix plus introduction of the Shi'ar)
Collects Giant-Size X-Men (1975) #1, Uncanny X-Men (1963) #94-110, Marvel Team-Up (1972) #53, 69-70, Annual (1976) #1, Iron Fist (1975) #14-15 and material from FOOM (1973) #10.
Demon Bear Saga
New Mutants (1983) 18-20
etc ...Last edited by gotunandan; 01-07-2018 at 12:43 PM.
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01-07-2018, 03:04 PM #3Mighty Member
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Thank you.
Originally Posted by gotunandan
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01-07-2018, 04:27 PM #4Master of Magnetism
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1. God loves, Man Kills (so good).
2. Days of Future Past.
3. The Dark Phoenix Saga.
4. Age of Apocalypse.
5. Messiah CompleX.
But, these are really worth it too:
Second Genesis
Mutant Massacre
Mutant Genesis
New X-Men: E Is for Extinction
Astonishing X-Men: Gifted
Uncanny X-Force vol.1 by Rick Remember (Dark Angel Saga is better, but Vol. 1 is still good)
Second Coming
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01-07-2018, 10:58 PM #5Ultimate Member
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I can easily recommend All-New Wolverine.
Just a thought:
If you want to read the Messiah trilogy stuff, I think you'll want to read Craig Kyle and Chris Yost's X-Force run, since the two are interconnected (the simplest way to do things is to read Messiah Complex, X-Force: The Complete Collection Vol. 1, Messiah War, X-Force: The Complete Collection Vol. 2, and Second Coming). I also liked it in general (and I'm not one of those people who like dark, graphic stuff in the first place).Doctor Strange: "You are the right person to replace Logan."
X-23: "I know there are people who disapprove... Guys on the Internet mainly."
(All-New Wolverine #4)
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01-08-2018, 04:34 AM #6That's what makes it fun!
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Five only? Ufff...
Short answer: CLAREMONT
5 TPBs (I don't know how are they really collected):
Days of Future Past
God Loves, Man Kills
UXM by Claremont, Paul Smith & John Romita Jr.
The New Mutants by Claremont & Bill Sienkiewicz
Excalibur by Claremont & Alan Davis
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01-08-2018, 07:54 AM #7Mighty Member
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Thanks for trying Originally Posted by Ricochet Rita
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01-09-2018, 04:08 PM #8Mighty Member
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I guess recent stuff is not that much recommended.
I think I will get the following books:
Marvel Platinum: The Definitive X-Men
X-Men - Uncanny X-Men #1
Second Genesis - Giant Size X-Men #1
Day of Future Past - Uncanny X-Men #141-142
God loves, Man Kills - Marvel Graphic Novel #5
Fresh Upstart - Uncanny X-Men #281
Mutan Genesis - X-Men vol.2 #1
E is for Extinction - New X-Men #114-116
Marvel Platinum: The Definitive X-Men Reloaded
Avengers vs. X-Men - Uncanny X-Men #45 + Avengers #53
The Dark Phoenix Saga - Uncanny X-Men #137
Genesis & Apocalypse - Fantastic Four #286 + X-Factor #1
Fall of the Mutants - X-Factor #25
Age of Apocalypse - X-Men: Omega + X-Men Vol. 2 #98
The Blood of Apocalypse - X-Men Vol. 2 #18
Marvel Platinum: the Definitive Wolverine
Born in Blood 2: Assault on the White House - Wolverine: Origins #2
Weapon X - Marvel Comics Presents #79
And Now...The Wolverine - The Incredible Hulk #181
Wanted Wolvering Dead or Alive - The Uncanny X-Men #109
Spider-Man vs Wolverine #1
Wolverine Vol. 1 #1-4
Fatal Attractions Part 4: Dreams Fade - X-Men vol.2 #25
Her Aid - Wolverine Vol. 2 #25
One the Edge of Darkness - Wolverine Vol. 2 #145
Marvel Platinum: the Definitive Wolverine Reloaded
Scarlet in Glory - Uncanny X-Men #172-173
Lost in The Funhouse - Uncanny X-Men Annual #11
24 Hours - Wolverine vol.2 #10
Acts of Vengeance - Uncanny X-Men #256-258
Death in the Family! - Wolverine vol.2 #57
Born in Blood 5: Logan vs. Captain America vs. the X-Men - Wolverine Origins #5
Logan Dies: the Conclusion – Soul Survivor - Wolverine vol.3 #61
From the Cradle to the Grave: Final Execution - Uncanny X-Force #34
What do you guys think of these Marvel Platinum collections ?
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01-09-2018, 08:01 PM #9Ultimate Member
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Never heard of them. [googles them] Okay, not for me. Hope you like them. Originally Posted by jb681131
Doctor Strange: "You are the right person to replace Logan."
X-23: "I know there are people who disapprove... Guys on the Internet mainly."
(All-New Wolverine #4)
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01-09-2018, 08:12 PM #10Astonishing Member
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Originally Posted by jb681131
If you want to read a few of the best of the X-Men my recommendation is
Uncanny X-Men 108-141 , the collaboration of Byrne and Claremont
New Mutants 18-31, the collaboration of Sienciewicz and Claremont
The 1995 Age of Apocalypse event
Morrison's New X-Men
Remender's Uncanny X-Force
Milligan's X-Force and X-Statix is some of the best, but it is a spin off with original characters that don't survive the book. It's experimental.
House of M event + Messiah Complex, Second Coming, Necrosha, Carey's X-Men Legacy, Avengers vs X-Men (this one is bad but important) to understand X-Men from 2005 to the present
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01-10-2018, 01:25 AM #11Mighty Member
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Why "not for you" ? Why did you "google" them, I juste posted the contents right above ?? What's wrong with them ?? Originally Posted by WebLurker
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01-10-2018, 03:47 AM #12Extraordinary Member
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Those Marvel Platinum collections sound pretty bad, IMO. Looks like they're basically samples of larger stories. What's the point of reading only one issue of the Dark Phoenix Saga?
I think the best way to go if you want to read the X-men is start with the ANAD era. Start with Marvel Masterworks Uncanny X-men #1 and go from there.
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01-10-2018, 04:11 AM #13Mighty Member
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I agree that the Wolverine ones seem to have lots of sampling. But not really for the 2 X-Men ones. It's more the tpbs that have fillers to make them sellable books. For exemple the Day of Future Past story is indeed issues #141-142. Originally Posted by Factor
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01-10-2018, 07:10 AM #14Ultimate Member
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I'd never heard of the series before, so I googled so I'd know what you were talking about. Originally Posted by jb681131
It's not for me given that the only comics that they covered that I like is ASM and I'm getting those through a different book series. (Everything else I like in Marvel comics wasn't represented in the Platinum series).
That's all. Like I said before, hope you enjoy them.Doctor Strange: "You are the right person to replace Logan."
X-23: "I know there are people who disapprove... Guys on the Internet mainly."
(All-New Wolverine #4)
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02-08-2018, 10:07 AM #15THE NEW X-MEN SQUAD
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The Go-To Trade I always gift friends is
X-MEN - SUPERNOVAS by Mike Carey and Chris Bachalo.
It is still as fresh today as when it came out, and the Children of the Vault are
some of the more interesting, underused villains in the X-Universe. Plus Rogue
finally leading her own team, what is not to love?
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