marvel masterworks Uncanny Xmen

[2nd line g]

Is this a good spot to start for a 43 year old new to xmen?

[MrSinister]

Is this a good spot to start for a 43 year old new to xmen?

if you want to read the whole story you should read masterworks x-men first. If you want to read only the good stuff pick up just the first volume of x-men masterwoks and continue to uncanny x-men masterworks.

[Mike]

The best of the X-Men are X-Men Masterworks #1 and #6 along with Uncanny X-Men Masterworks 1-5 and the X-Men Days of Future Past trade.

[Hero]

Uncanny X-Men Masterworks volumes 1-9 represents my favorite run in comics. GSXM#1; UXM 94-175, MGN#5, Wolverine 1-4.

[SkaraBrae]

In case you haven't seen it yet this guide was invaluable to me. But you have it easy in the beginning. Just read those 17 years of Claremont, "Masterworks" is just one of the several forms they come in. You can kind of build your own strategy for reading after that if you want to (most people rec Morrison's then Whedon's run, but there's plenty of other material, too) -- but, unless you want to go all the way back to the middling-to-bad silver age "original five", then yeah, you have enough material to read for a while with Claremont!

[Grimsmack]

Is this a good spot to start for a 43 year old new to xmen?

Reading the very first issues of the X-Men may not be the best way to go if you are trying to get into them. Once you have established a fondness for the X-Men, going back to read those issues from the 1960's may be easier.

I've always thought the best way to get into the X-Men is collect "Classic X-Men" or (or X-Men Classic, depending on the year). It picks up right when the All-New, All-Different team joins the X-Men - i.e. Storm, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Banshee, Thunderbird, and Colossus all join the X-Men for the first time. The cool thing about the comic is it comes CHEAP. Issues can be found for their cover price and there is an original story at the back! The first several issues are cover-to-cover art, with no ads.

Things really pick up in Classic X-Men when John Byrne starts drawing for the series around issue #12 (when the X-Men meet the Imperial Guard for the first time!).

These stories live up the the "classic" in the title and the early issues contain some of the most iconic X-Men adventures, including "Magneto, Triumphant", the X-Men as sideshow freaks at a circus (via Mesmero), the X-Men World Tour storyline, Jean Grey becomes Phoenix. Dark Phoenix comes about starting issue 30ish... very good stuff and top notch books all around, considering they are reprints of early issues!

The art, the writing, the presentation - all of it is stunning and can be found mostly for the cover price. Start digging through those comic bins at the local shop or find them on EBay... it's worth it.

[SkaraBrae]

OP did specify that they are looking at the Uncanny Masterworks collection, which only includes the Claremont team you describe. I'd say it's worth the price hike from bargain bins for that fiiiiiiiine glossy printing, too!

(the "Classic" re-prints do stick to the highlight story arcs, though, so I guess it depends if you want all 17 years of goodness-- in which case it's time to start thinking Omnibuses ... if you don't mind black and white, I started reading X-Men with the cheap "Essential" reprints as a kid)

[2nd line g]

Thanks for the replies. I ordered Masterworks Uncanny x-men vol 1&2. Can't wait to start!!