Why Do You Read/Follow X-(fill in the blank)

[Daymare]

(I did not see another thread regarding this particular topic so apologizes if this is duplicated)

With so many X-men titles including solo titles I find it interesting to find out why certain titles appeal to fans. I have noticed as I have collected titles for a double digit years (not including a 5 years break) my reasoning and tastes have absolutely changed. I have also known that there is quite a divisive nature to the titles currently with fans typically falling on the dubbed "Blue" and "Gold" sides of the X-men, which I find I also fall into. This is to find out why others follow or read (I do not want to use the work collect as it is not wholly accurate as many I do not collect myself but I read on Marvel U or follow on boards such as this). It may enlighten myself on titles I am overlooking (and may do the same for other readers).
Here is my rundown and reasoning starting with what I follow:

All New X-men: Honestly, I follow it for the art. Immonen is a master (IMO). I enjoyed the book in the beginning but it has been moving at a snails pace and I find the writing to be only decent, although Bendis, for all of his faults, is a great dialogue writer. I do appreciate there is a consistent voice from issue to issue and the characters (O5) are pretty insulated within the title itself barring "events". I do not think this will have a long -term effect on present day X-men and I have a fondness for the original five (although they are short one now). I will stop following the title most likely if Immonen leaves (unless Pichelli takes over).

Uncanny: I am a fan of Cyclops and Magik. I like the characters. Again though, I follow it for Bachalo, but even I admit that his technique seems to be getting sloppy in the last few issues, the current issue was bad. Of all the X-titles I find this one to hold most true to the original concept of the X-men. Seeking out new mutants, fighting against prejudice and danger, and trying to be accepted by mutants and humans alike. I also enjoy the attempt at redemption Cyclops and Magik seem to be attempting (Emma DGAF).

X-men: Loved the concept and the characters included. Psylocke, Rachel, Jubilee...yes please. Good start to the series but I do not feel it has lived up to the expectations at all. Hoping for the best from the Guggenheim arc but I feel the title may not be long in the tooth or restarted after this, which is why I am holding on.

X-force: Great characters for the most part. More than half the team only represented in this title. Superior writer. Art was a turn-off, great fill-in artist. Sounds as if Kim may have been getting his feel for the title though so I am hoping the art upon his return does not detract from the story.

Cyclops: Unique setting in the X-verse currently, and the Starjammers. The writer is great, the art is above standard. I am a fan of Cyclops. Probably one of the best first issues I have read in a long while.

Magneto: Good concept. Interesting to follow Magneto's story and path. Walta has a different style than in his last Astonishing run and it fits the title better.

Uncanny AvengersOnly included as it does have some X-men), I think Remender is one of the better planners I the business today, although he does not always stick the landing, and his long-form way of writing can get a little tedious. I followed the title up to 12 but it felt to me it would read better once the whole Apocalypse Twins 20+ issue story was completed. I will pick up the trades from here on out. He wiped out Wonder Man (one of my favorite characters) and it does not appear he will be returning along with SW and Rogue, but a plus is that Wolverine should disappear during his temporary death.


Titles not currently read or followed (I did give them all a shot, not just discounting their worth because they mostly happen to be part of Wolverine's X-men).

Wolverine and the X-men: I do not care for the characters in the book. The students are not of interest, starting with yet another future-timeline story when so many titles have rotating time-based stories seemed like a poor choice. Every "teacher" in the title has at least one other title they are featured in. Art is ok. First issue was enough for me.

Amazing X-men: I like some characters in the title but the "meh" factor of the cast made me drop the title, I can get my Iceman fix with ANXM. Art was fine, story was ok but it seems redundant with WATX. Personally I have little interest in Storm, Wolverine, Beast in the current divided state of the X-men.

Wolverine: The restart is what it is, leads to his death (odd way to promote a new series). Read the first issue, didn't care for the concept and knew he was not "turning evil", plus it did not match up time-wise to any other title on the stands.

All New X-factor: I know I am going to regret not reading this one. I waited until the last X-factor volume was almost done to read the first few on Marvel Unlimited and then did a weekend binge on all the issues. Great writer, the art did not grab me and the character choices are what made me forgo the title at this point. I will try the first trade and see if it is worth following monthly for me.

Nightcrawler: I like NC, just not near enough to follow in a monthly, especially when Marvel did not have enough faith in the title to give it more than a six-issue start but market it as an "ongoing". They should have kept his story in Amazing to give the title a real focus.

Storm: ZERO interest. Don't care for her in the current age, the writer has done nothing to sell the concept (IMO), and I like the character design by the artist but I am familiar with his interiors and do not care for his panel to panel work.

I did not start the thread to cause fighting or defense on why people read certain titles so please do not use this as an excuse to flame the most polarizing 3 characters (Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm) or to attack fellow posters.
This is not an appreciation thread so all should be welcome to share why they enjoy or what they do not and be respected which seems to be an issue with some of the character specific threads.
Thank you for responding and thought sharing if you choose to do so.

[Kieran_Frost]

READING
Amazing X-men. So much better than I thought it would be, Storm is bad-ass, Northstar has never been more fun. A real surprise. Won't be getting Iceman/Firestar/Spiderman issue (dull, dull, dull cast) but when Kyle/Yost come I'm 100% back on. Their New X-men was incredible, probably my favourite X-series ever, in-fact.
Uncanny X-men. When Bendis is good he is very, very good... and when he is bad he's lazy. I didn't know if we'd get "Dark Avengers Bendis" or "mid-way through New Avengers Bendis". THANKFULLY we got the former. Bendis gets the minority metaphor, he embraces it, and gives everyone time to shine. He gave us wonderfully diverse X-kids, and his cast sold me: Emma, Magento, Magik and Scott. SOLD! Add to that the art is perfect for the tone. Love it, my favourite X-book on the stands right now.
X-men. Brian Wood's previous X-run gave us a bad-ass Storm and a nearly all female team, so I knew we were in good hands. When someone asked him "why not call it X-women", and he responded "because they are X-men" I knew it would be sinfully good. And it has been. Really the only fault was Dodson's art (but anyone put between Coipel and Mann would look poor); and even then Dodson did some great moments. Love Wood's Storm, his Psylocke, his Rogue (sniff) and his X-kids. It's been brilliant.

EXCITED FOR
Storm. a) a Storm solo series is a must buy for all fans, b) it's by Greg Pak. Sold! Take my damn money, Marvel!!!

TRIED
All New X-factor. David writes an AMAZING Gambit, and I like the art a lot. Polaris and Quicksilver are spot on... but outside of Gambit I just don't care for the cast (and I would have liked a little more diversity, if I'm being honest, esp. considering how diverse David's previous work was). When Warlock and Doug came along I left (seriously, I don't get the interest in those two AT ALL).
Uncanny Avengers. Tried it, dropped it (Remender clearly had no interest in making a fair debate from issue #1), again tried it when the Apocalypse Twins and Daken came in... Remender (as before) writes great villains, but his "heroes" are all just so unlikeable (minus Thor, he writes a great Thor). Alex's speech is offensive on so many levels, and Remender's response took away any good will he had earned from his excellent Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural, Uncanny X-force and Venom. Plus... killing off the first ever LGBT solo star by drowning him in a puddle... not cool!
Wolverine and the X-men. I like what Latour is doing with Storm, but the combination of Quentin AND more Phoenix silliness... I dropped it issue #3.
X-force. After one issue I dropped it, Marrow was AWFUL! Made me instantly dislike the character. Terrible, terrible work.

NOT TRIED
All New X-men. I just don't care for the 05. Though the art is beautiful and Kitty's speech was brilliant.
Cyclops. Eh! Revolutionary Cyclops is awesome, old young, idealistic Scott... less so. Plus space stuff is silly for X-men.
Magneto. Eh! I'm gonna probably get the first TPB, but I'm really not sold on it. I like Cullen, but his other work (Venom and Fearless Defenders) both had great concepts and ideas that ultimately fell flat. So I gave this a pass.
Nightcrawler. More meh. I like the character on team books, but as a solo... nah. Not for me.
Wolverine. Pur-lease! I doubt I'll ever pick up his solo series.

[Cold Water]

Reading:

Amazing X-Men: I haven't read #7 yet, but I am behind on this week's releases because of work. LOVE IT. Read it mainly for Nightcrawler, but love Northstar and would love to see him play a bigger part in the book. Also: guest/appearance/addition/whatever of Alpha Flight? I am sold. Keep my Alpha Flight in this, and I will read it forever.

All New X-Factor: The entire cast of this book is fantastic.

Nightcrawler: FUZZY and CLAREMONT.

I will be getting Storm's ongoing when it comes out.

I tried UXM and ANXM, and while I love the characters being used in those books, I don't care for how they are being written.

[Sundowhn]

Of the X-Men line:

I read Amazing for the cast and the fact that they act like X-Men again -- a group that cares about one another and act like heroes (also for the art). I'm more partial to gold side because I think they actually get the notion behind coexistence -- acceptance never comes by force. The propaganda and threats that Cyke and crew make down will have a spiraling effect on the future of mutants as far as how they are perceived in the world going forward. I like that the guys in AXM act like good guys.

I read UXF and sometimes ANXF for the writing. I like both Spurrier and PAD.

I enjoy Magneto for the story and the character.

I read Nightcrawler for the character and also for Claremont -- I want this book to be successful so maybe he gets another title added.

I will read Storm for the character. I picked up Cyclops to support solo titles and because I've always been fond of boy-scout-clops.

Dropped:
UXM -- it's an interesting premise, but the pacing is awful and I can't stand the dialogue and lack of unique voices. I also perceive this group as very much anti-heroes, going down a much more Magneto-esque road.
ANXM -- no interest in the roster, don't care for the rewriting of iconic characters, didn't like the teen drama nature of it
UA -- loved the premise of this book beforehand, but have intensely disliked the execution

[cwatz]

Primary
ANXM: Jean was my intro to comics and my favorite character, so its pretty obvious to follow. Issue to issue its frustrating with the slow pace, but the overall content is better than any of the other titles. Immonen is unreal.
Uncanny: A core title, also linked with ANXM (I find the Bendis side more entertaining). Inconsistent, and had some pretty damn bad periods, but the future is extremely promising. Good chance it becomes the strongest in the roster.

Secondary
Amazing: Was hoping this would be the big book from the JGS side. Mostly been dumb fun so far. Not exceptional, but never poor.
Cyclops: Natural continuation from ANXM, sounded interesting so I gave it a go. First issue was quite strong and has its hooks in, though I question if it can keep the quality.
Mags: When written well, one of the most entertaining/interesting character in the x-books, so that got me interested. Been decent so far.

Still read, but wouldn't miss
X-men: It seemed to have a lot of promise early on, but the book in general has done nothing but get less interesting.
Watxm: Jumped on at the start of this new run, merely looking to expand. Not particularly good.
X-factor: Trying to expand x-universe reading. Its ok, but im not really invested.

[just another user]

Read:

All New - for Bendis
Uncanny - for Bendis
Nightcrawler - for Claremont
I'll read that Spurier book too when the trades come out or if it goes cheap on comixology

[autbey]

X-Factor: Loved the last run, liking the current one so far. Cypher is a favorite of mine.
X-Men: I love that they are using the students that actually have a personality and have been developed, no random girl with antlers or a giraffe boy to annoy me.

Dropped everything else, haven't really enjoyed the last few years of X-Men. However AXIS could be a changing point, if it reboots X-Men into their own universe it would make it very easy to quit completely.

[Perfection/Emma 2]

X-Men: I LOVE Brian Wood's Monet and his use of the younger generation X-Men. Very sad he is leaving

Original Sin: Emma Frost serving Queen B realness. Aaron is doing a great job so far

X-Force: Patiently waits for Domino

[sifighter]

All-new X-men-I actually really like reading about the exploits of these young heroes in modern day. The characters are a lot of fun, especially Iceman, I even like Kitty and Laura on this team. I also enjoy how they interact with the heroes of today such as the Avengers, Spiderman, Hulk, and etc and would even like to see more of that. But more importantly I finally get to read Jean grey in a series that is currently running, I started reading comics when she was dead, so it's kind of cool to be able to read her as she first started out.

All-new X-factor- I regretted not picking up PAD's last volume of X-factor, seeing how well it was received and decided to jump on when it was relaunched, and I'm glad I did. While I would never read any of these characters on their own or maybe I just didn't know all about them but together they make a fun oddball group of heroes. I hope it continues to be great.

Uncanny X-men- I like what Bendis is doing here, setting up Cyclops and his new band of X-men post AvX. While I'm interested in his revolution and his war with SHIELD, I'm much more interested in the characters. Magik, Tempus, Ben, Triage, Goldballs, and the Cuckoos are really cool, interesting characters and I love their interactions.

Uncanny Avengers-I really like a lot of what Remender writes, I like the characters on the team, but more importantly I really like the message Remender is trying to leave, the the X-men, the Avengers, and other heroes shouldn't be fighting each other and should be working together to better the world.

Wolverine and the X-men- I like the crazy weirdness that comes with the X-men that Aaron and Latour have put into this series and how much I've enjoyed characters like Kid Omega, Idie, Genesis, Eyeboy, Broo, Karoka, Armor(glad she's back in an ongoing I'm reading again) and everybody else. It may not have much of a purpose but I like it.

What I want to try(Trade Wait)

Magneto
Cyclops-Read first issue, it was great but I can't afford to put it on my pull.

[Valeficent]

all x-Men titles: because they have X-Men on their cover. end.

[Super-Cyke]

I read/follow the X-men for Cyclops. If he didn't exist, or if he died, I think I'd spend far less time following the x-side of the Marvel universe.


Oh I misread the title. I thought you were asking why do you, in general, read/follow the x-men stories

[useridgoeshere]

Reading five.

All-New X-Men: I was dead set against this one, but the massive amount of previews enticed me to try it. I really like what Bendis has done with the characters and their journey, as they’ve learned not all is what it seemed at first. This book shows how perfectly executed character moments can be more impactful than so-called epic events, like blowing up Earths or killing billions of people. Of course the art is great, although becoming somewhat repetitive lately. Never read much Bendis before this, only Ultimate Spider-Man, but really like his X-book work.

Cyclops: I tried it because I read ANXM, but loved the first issue a ton. Great characterization and fun, promising direction.

Magneto: Not usually a fan of vigilante/violent books, but it works for me here. I like how the story has woven past and present. I like how they’re handling Magneto with reduced power levels.

Uncanny X-Men: I bought for the four main characters, but stick with it because I’m enjoying the story a lot. I genuinely don’t understand the complaints that this book is slow, as I think a lot has happened. The art is often challenging, but it’s been worth the effort. I especially like the new characters – they’ve been given their moment in the sun and feel real.

X-Men: Bought this and have stuck with it for the characters. Only book I’ve considered dropping, but I’ll stick it out through Guggenheim to see who picks it up afterwards.

Haven't tried and dropped any of the other current books, as they've not interested me, in premise, character and/or creative team. I do usually read all the review threads to see if I want to jump on, but so far, nothing I've read has inspired me to add a book.

[cc008]

Pulling:

Deadpool - One of the best books on the shelf these days.
Amazing X-men - Iceman. A lighthearted book (so far) where the X-men can be heroes.
All-New X-Factor - Gambit, PAD. Even though I started reading this because of Gambit, PAD has made me care about characters like Doug, Warlock and Danger, who I had very little knowledge about prior to this book.
X-Force - Spurrier. Hoping Deadpool will join one of these days.

On the fence:

Wolverine - I enjoy solo titles and aside from Deadpool, this is the only one I'm interested in.
All-New X-Men - I was pulling it up until issue #25, there art is great, and Iceman is great, but he's not as involved as much as I would like him to be and it feels like it's getting a bit repetitive.
Uncanny X-Men - reviews have gotten progressively better for this book, but I care very little for the "new" students Bendis has created

[Purplevit]

Only X-Factor. Because of Gambit and PAD.

[MYCMTSC]

Reading:
X-Force, because Spurrier makes it a unique read. I don't always love his ideas or his execution of said ideas, but under his pen its guaranteed to be something I don't read everyday, certainly not from the X-Office. This title features the best Psylocke and Spurrier's take on Fantomex and Marrow are intriguing.

Magneto, because its a dark tale featuring the most tortured and layered mutants of all mutantdom. We're getting into the head and heart of one of the most iconic characters who has never really had a platform to be seen as in-depth as he is now. I'm glad we're not taking the Genoshan Excalibur/Xavier's lesbian librarian pal approach neither. Its Magneto taking a deliberate stance against something.

X-Men, embarrassingly because of the cast. I don't care that its all-female X-Men, but its an X-Men team with some of the strongest personalities. Wood doesn't seem to be capitalizing this in a satisfying way, but I'm holding on to see if he can pull through (and last issue was a remarkable improvement). This is the title where I choose to use my blind fandom and thankfully I've limited it to just one.

On-the-fence:

Wolverine and the X-Men: Asar's work is worthy of being a Young Gun and Latour isn't doing bad, but the story is not impressing me. I'm at a loss for the fascination of time travel stories and the Phoenix, which are two concepts the X-Men has done to death and hasn't found fresh ground with yet. I don't think ten years would be long enough of a rest period for those concepts at this point and they just keep on coming. I think the line would do well to jump forward in time rather than constantly allude to these future events.

Stopped reading:
All-New X-Men, because ridiculous title is ridiculous. I'd rather pull fan fiction from tumblr and I rather like Bendis otherwise.

Uncanny X-Men, because mediocre title is mediocre. The new characters are so interchangeable (except for the ridiculous Goldballs, who at least sets himself apart). I think the revolution has a lot of promise and Bendis in his way has set some threads up well, but there are too many cringeworthy moments. I'd rather not totally ruin my perception of either the X-Men or Bendis' writing by continuing forward with this title.

All-New X-Factor, because its boring.

Amazing X-Men, because for some reason Firestar and Iceman really irritate me. I don't think they belong in the X-Men, but in like a relaunched Champions title. Firestar, Iceman, and Angel are characters that bewilder me when I see them continue on in publications.