The trading cards in the early 90's were my introduction to Marvel in general, but I fell in love with the X-Men based solely on the character designs. I had no context to who they were at all, but when I discovered the animated series I was hooked. Then from then on out I started picking up the collected editions in the library, Barnes & Nobles or Walden Books.
I also learned a lot more about the characters with the DK Encyclopedias.