Your thoughts on the current status of the X-books

[JB]

It’s been a little while since we’ve had a general thread like this and with interesting conversations happening in different threads (cost of comics, importance of diversity, Beast, etc.) and possibly big announcements on the horizon, I’m curious to hear where everyone stands with the line as the boards seem to be steadily less active.

What are you reading/not reading, are you looking forward to what Fall of X may bring and the preceding Before the Fall mini era? What are you hoping for?
I’m enjoying Sins but I’m glad we’re at the halfway point because I’m ready for what comes after. I’m personally hoping for a very big shakeup.

[IN-a-Synch]

It’s been a little while since we’ve had a general thread like this and with interesting conversations happening in different threads (cost of comics, importance of diversity, Beast, etc.) and possibly big announcements on the horizon, I’m curious to hear where everyone stands with the line as the boards seem to be steadily less active.

What are you reading/not reading, are you looking forward to what Fall of X may bring and the preceding Before the Fall mini era? What are you hoping for?
I’m enjoying Sins but I’m glad we’re at the halfway point because I’m ready for what comes after. I’m personally hoping for a very big shakeup.

What are you reading/not reading?

Reading Immortal, Legion, X-men, Red, X-force and Wolverine. Bishop War College
All the Sins of Sinister


Not reading

Marauders i hate the lineup and the mission
New Mutants smh
is there anything else out there. I feel like the books are vanishing one by one.

I am looking for a major change of status quo in some books such as Marauders and Xforce.
I am looking to see if they can bring back a Uncanny X-men team, (not a Uncanny Avengers)

I hope the Gala will be good. I hope Nimrod is the classic Villain we all look for in a Comic book.

Certain storylines need to wrap up such as the Peter thing and Beast turning into a Villain.

I don't think I'm ready for Fall of X, I love Krakoa. It is inevitable to say the least.

And I wish Magneto (thought I never say this) would come back.

[JB]

I am looking for a major change of status quo in some books such as Marauders and Xforce.
I am looking to see if they can bring back a Uncanny X-men team, (not a Uncanny Avengers)

I hope the Gala will be good. I hope Nimrod is the classic Villain we all look for in a Comic book.

Certain storylines need to wrap up such as the Peter thing and Beast turning into a Villain.

I don't think I'm ready for Fall of X, I love Krakoa. It is inevitable to say the least.

And I wish Magneto (thought I never say this) would come back.

Haha it’s amazing how much I miss Magneto but I’m glad he received a great sendoff.

I don’t know how realistic this is but I’m really hoping the Fall is not the end of Krakoa entirely but rather big changes to the government structure and perhaps an honest look at the not so pleasant aspects. I still think mutantkind eventually spreading out into multiple nations would be interesting but their population is still small.

I’d like a change to X-Force too but it seems like Percy is marching towards issue #50 lol. I’m looking forward to hearing what Orlando, Williams (Steph), and Steven Foxe will be doing. I hope he’s getting a team book because I really enjoyed his X-Men annual. Also more female writers please. If Stephanie W. doesn’t get a main book then man I hope KT is brought in.

[cranger]

I am just getting back into the X-Books again since dropping off after X Lives/Deaths of Wolverine. X-Men, Wolverine and X-Force are the books I am reading for now.

While I have no interest in the prelude one-shots to Fall of X (sorry, Marvel, I have read too many 'important' lead-ins that were nothing but filler) my hope for Fall of X is that whatever gets done it we can get more of a separation between the (Earth-based) X-Men teams and Krakoa (particularly anything dealing with the QC).

[Kingdom X]

What are you reading/not reading?
Reading: Red, Immortal, X-Men, Sabretooth, Captain Britain. Also picking up the Rogue & Gambit + Bishop miniseries but those might get dropped if the quality doesn't pick up. I checked out issue 11 of Marauders and will pick up issue 12 because I'm interested in the Genosha plot and hope that it'll lead to a book more my taste from Orlando.

I've been picking up Spurrier's books because they've been important to the line, but I'll be fine if his run concludes for good with Sons of X. Also fine if Howard's current book closes out her time with Betsy and Otherworld, because I think both are ready for a new direction. Haven't touched Percy's X-Force in a long time, and it really doesn't contribute to the line.

Are you looking forward to what Fall of X may bring and the preceding Before the Fall mini era?
Yes and no. I'm excited for Red to reintroduce the Apocalypse family and for Immortal to shake things up post SoS, but I'm genuinely very nervous about Duggan leading the charge for Fall of X. Sometimes Duggan can be good and entertaining, but sometimes his writing REALLY lacks nuance and character depth. I think both of those things are absolutely necessary if we're actually seeing the fall of Krakoa. I've accepted that this status quo might be on it's way out with the 60th anniversary potentially leading to a more traditional status quo, but I at least want the conclusion to be something satisfying.

What are you hoping for?
I'll add my general feelings about the line/ X-Office here as well. I think that Destiny of X has done a lot more than Reign of X to move the line forward, and there's been some real hits but it also feels like the line has given up on true cohesiveness. Before it felt like each book was building a different part of the new status quo, whereas now a lot of the books are kind of just... there. The last 4 mini-series announced (Bishop, R&G, CB, and NM:LL) all seem like they're taking place in their own little corners and can absolutely be skipped. Also... it seems like the X-Office has somehow turned into more of a boys club than before, with only certain writers getting series that actually push the line forward and the rest being relegated to side books.

I usually don't like line-wide relaunches, but I'm genuinely interested in some new talent joining the office and getting more than mini-series handed to them.

[Krakoa]

In general, I think the overall line is at its best since Dawn of X in terms of having real momentum. I feel like the amount of plot that has been going in the last few months is huge compared to anything after those first 6-12 pre-XoS issues, everything is really coming to a head in most books. I also have liked the introduction of some lighter side books, like X-Terminators and Lethal Legion, though some books like Ayala's New Mutants are missed. I think the lead books are the best they've been in this era and have more going on than Hickman's X-Men did, but the side books are weaker than they were at their best overall. I've never been one who is like "where is the *main* story?". This era has a lot of stories that feel like main stories to me and I like that as long as they have momentum, which even some of the slowest series like Wolverine & X-Force finally some to have movement for the first time since Dawn. A lot of plots set up by Hickman are coming back in fun and new ways (see: Sins of Sinister, the Brood storyline, etc.). There have been misses (Vault Laura) but it's been a lot of hits too.

What are you reading/not reading?

Reading: Red, Immortal, X-Men, Sabretooth, Captain Britain, Rogue & Gambit, Bishop, Legion of X, Sins of Sinister, New Mutants: Lethal Legion, Marauders. The new minis are all tentative assuming they stay good. I wait on X-Force and Wolverine and mostly read on Unlimited if I'm feeling bored, but I've picked up some issues recently because of things actually moving (Peacock Man).

Are you looking forward to what Fall of X may bring and the preceding Before the Fall mini era?

I really like the way Fall of X is being described as similar but different to Reign and Destiny as having a clearer inciting incident. I think what the status quo change actually is will determine a lot of my feelings but they're doing a lot of things right (keeping the series that are good like Red and Immortal as far as we know, bringing back Genesis, etc.) so I'm really optimistic.

What are you hoping for?

The new incident should propel the story forward in a big way but not lose what's great about Krakoa in the process. And I want to see some fun new writers and stories as it seems we're losing some.

The last 4 mini-series announced (Bishop, R&G, CB, and NM:LL) all seem like they're taking place in their own little corners and can absolutely be skipped.

I thought this at first, but I actually am not so sure that's true anymore. There's clear common character crossover happening between Bishop, CB, and R&G so far in terms of villains in a way that is feeling really cohesive to me.

[Alex_Of_X]

Krakoan state-of-the-union, March 2023

The line...is good. Ewing, Duggan and Gillen are holding the ship steady; their output is stellar and a joy to read every month. Barring Lavalle's lovely Sabretooth, the rest of the book haven't been doing it for me, but that's more of a comment on my tastes, and not their quality. The X-office still gets the lion's share of my money.

Now, we don't know what Fall of X will be, but chances are it's going to be an outgrowth of either Ewing's or Duggan's work, same way that SoS is build on Gillen's Immortal X-Men. That excites me. I don't want Krakoa to wither anytime soon--there're bounds of untapped stories here.

What I do want is some new books, new creator, fresh ideas. With the promise of Uncanny Avengers\Steph Williams's unrevealed book, the future's looking bright.

[Krakoa]

Krakoan state-of-the-union, March 2023

The line...is good. Ewing, Duggan and Gillen are holding the ship steady; their output is stellar and a joy to read every month. Barring Lavalle's lovely Sabretooth, the rest of the book haven't been doing it for me, but that's more of a comment on my tastes, and not their quality. The X-office still gets the lion's share of my money.

Now, we don't know what Fall of X will be, but chances are it's going to be an outgrowth of either Ewing's or Duggan's work, same way that SoS is build on Gillen's Immortal X-Men. That excites me. I don't want Krakoa to wither anytime soon--there're bounds of untapped stories here.

What I do want is some new books, new creator, fresh ideas. With the promise of Uncanny Avengers\Steph Williams's unrevealed book, the future's looking bright.

Agree with everything you said.

[Kingdom X]

Krakoan state-of-the-union, March 2023

The line...is good. Ewing, Duggan and Gillen are holding the ship steady; their output is stellar and a joy to read every month. Barring Lavalle's lovely Sabretooth, the rest of the book haven't been doing it for me, but that's more of a comment on my tastes, and not their quality. The X-office still gets the lion's share of my money.

Now, we don't know what Fall of X will be, but chances are it's going to be an outgrowth of either Ewing's or Duggan's work, same way that SoS is build on Gillen's Immortal X-Men. That excites me. I don't want Krakoa to wither anytime soon--there're bounds of untapped stories here.

What I do want is some new books, new creator, fresh ideas. With the promise of Uncanny Avengers\Steph Williams's unrevealed book, the future's looking bright.

When was it announced that Steph Williams was getting a book?

[gonnagiveittoya]

What are you hoping for?
I'll add my general feelings about the line/ X-Office here as well. I think that Destiny of X has done a lot more than Reign of X to move the line forward, and there's been some real hits but it also feels like the line has given up on true cohesiveness. Before it felt like each book was building a different part of the new status quo, whereas now a lot of the books are kind of just... there. The last 4 mini-series announced (Bishop, R&G, CB, and NM:LL) all seem like they're taking place in their own little corners and can absolutely be skipped.

That's not a bad thing. Not everything needs to be worldbuilding. X Terminators was the most fun book of the last year and its no coincidence it's the one that has almost nothing to do with Krakoa whatsoever

[davetvs]

What are you reading/not reading?
Reading: X-Men Red, Immortal X-Men, X-Men, Sabretooth, Bishop: War College, X-23: Regenesis, Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain

Not Reading: Everything else. Solo books don't typically interest me, so Wolverine is out. X-Force is awful, and Spurrier's work is hard to follow/laden with daddy issues that make me uncomfortable. New Mutants started out strong with Hickman but has been on a steady decline since.

Are you looking forward to what Fall of X may bring and the preceding Before the Fall mini era?
It depends on what the Fall actually entails. I've been loving the new status quo of the Krakoan era, it's an interesting new direction for the franchise and absolutely reinvigorated it after years of aimless-to-downright-awful storytelling. I don't want to go back to the mansion.

What are you hoping for?
More Monet. More Krakoan worldbuilding. More diverse writing and editorial teams.

[Uncanny X-Man]

It’s been a little while since we’ve had a general thread like this and with interesting conversations happening in different threads (cost of comics, importance of diversity, Beast, etc.) and possibly big announcements on the horizon, I’m curious to hear where everyone stands with the line as the boards seem to be steadily less active.

What are you reading/not reading, are you looking forward to what Fall of X may bring and the preceding Before the Fall mini era? What are you hoping for?
I’m enjoying Sins but I’m glad we’re at the halfway point because I’m ready for what comes after. I’m personally hoping for a very big shakeup.

Fun topic and very good timing as we're about to enter the next phase of the Krakoan era. I'm still reading all the books and enjoying most of them - I think the core books (X-Men, Immortal and Red) have been consistently good/great and provide a good foundation for the X-line.

As for the rest... the Ben Percy corner of things gets a lot of flack and some criticism is certainly well deserved, but overall I've been enjoying both books lately, and with X-Force I haven't enjoyed it as much since the very beginning where the first couple of arcs blew everything else of the water.

Everything else has been frankly very average - I could leave or take Legion of X, Marauders and the recent bevvy of miniseries has been OK but mostly underwhelming.

In terms of what I'm hoping for, I've always maintained that less is more, so a smaller and more focused X-line is the way to go for me. I don't think you can maintain a consistent quality with a line of 10+ books and you always end up with a few good titles and a painfully average majority.

[Houseofhick]

With Fall Of X we might just get the end of the Krakoa era in the 616 universe but then continued in the Ultimate Universe.
We never got to see the Moira X book and I for one would of loved to see a more detailed look at some of those lives and I feel Ultimate X-Men can give us this.

[Winter_fury]

Currently it feels like the regenisis era after the messiah era when we only had on good x-book ironically written by gillen

[Frobisher]

I still like the Krakosn era. It took them a while to really delve into the implications of a mutant nation, but we definitely getting it more now with the Quiet Council book and an Arakko book; and this means we’re treading new ground instead of greatest hits replays.

It’s not all perfect, and frankly I have no clue what’s going on with the Percyverse, but I’m still enjoying the ride.