What would you say are the most essential (not necessarily the best, but essential--the ones that matter most to the overall mythos) stories from all X-books?
What would you say are the most essential (not necessarily the best, but essential--the ones that matter most to the overall mythos) stories from all X-books?
The Claremont runs on Uncanny and New Mutants. I don't consider anything else essential.
More specifically, the Phoenix and Dark Phoenix sagas, Day of Future Past, Uncanny #150, God Love Man Kills, Life Death a Love story, The Trial of Magneto in Uncanny #200.
Claremont run. The best and the only essential story.
Claremont's run for sure. After that I would read Grant Morrison's New X-Men run.
I would also recommend Louise Simonson's X-Factor as well. It brought the original five back together after Jean was brought back, and if you're a fan of any of those characters its a very good read.
Absolutely Chris Chrismont's run... IMHO, one can skip Morrison's run as the majority of it was (thankfully) editorially retconned...
Top 25 X-Men Stories: Proteus Saga . Dark Phoenix Saga . Days of Future Past . God Loves, Man Kills . Mutant Massacre . Fall of the Mutants . Inferno . X-Tinction Agenda . Muir Island Saga/Mutant Genesis . X-Cutioner's Song . Fatal Attractions . Phalanx Covenant . Age of Apocalypse . Onslaught . Zero Tolerance . E is for Extinction . Riot at Xaviers . Planet X . Gifted . Phoenix: Endsong . Blinded by the Light . Messiah Complex . Necrosha . Second Coming . No More Humans
I was trying to do too much and not doing any of it as well as I could. But I've had a change of mind... though not everyone shall enjoy it. I will.
#midnightermonday #uglystepchildren #lolgbtcomedyshow
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Claremont's first run. Simonson's X-Factor. The Mutant Massacre, Inferno and X-Cutioner's Song crossovers. Fatal Attractions, Morrison's New X-Men. Whedon's Astonishing X-Men. The Messiah Trilogy. Also at least one Decimation story. (New X-Men Childhood's End is by far the best but I can't pretend it's essential)
Last edited by DurararaFTW; 08-30-2016 at 09:57 AM.
The way that most stories are written now there really isn't anything that's 'essential' or necessary to read. If a writer is building off of past continuity they usually explain what they need to for readers to understand the current story. There may be additional easter eggs for longtime readers, but they're not supposed to be necessary to enjoy whatever story a writer is trying to tell now. You would be better off not worrying about what is essential and just reading what you enjoy.
Even though question the quality of some stories they are essential to understand the chronology and how we got where we are.
As House of M, X-mens Second Coming, Generation Hope, X-mens Legacy, Messiah Complex, Schism and even for more incredible as it may AvX (as said we can discuss about quality).
Everything after Age of Apocalypse is mostly miss (Onslaught, Zero Tolerance) with some essential stories sprinkled in (New X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, House of M, Schism, etc.)
Prior to the inception of X-line crossovers (that started with Mutant Massacre): I'm going to say issues 1-12 (the first couple years of Stan Lee's run), Giant Sized X-Men, the initial Phoenix Saga, Dark Phoenix Saga, Days Of Future Past, The Brood Saga. Really the best of the best of Claremont's first half run. The first years of both New Mutants and X-Factor, and God Loves Man Kills.
After the Crossovers started, really those are the primary hit points, even though there may be some very good runs and stories, much of it becomes filler in between crossovers. Even the second half of Claremont's run, though I would still highly recommend checking it out. Not every crossover is a hit, but it's still likely essential to the mythos.
There are a few non-crossovers I would say is "essential" during the crossover era. Whedon's 24 issue run of Astonishing, and the first year of both Brubaker and Mike Carey's runs (though I realize I am in the minority of loving TRAFOTSE). I would honestly drop everything after Second Coming ends, it's mostly all filler trash IMO (though Peter David's X-Factor and Rick Remender's X-Force were good, I would not call them "essential".) Most importantly though I would strongly recommend the early Blue/Gold team issues of UXM and XM - say at least up through the X-ecutioner's song. At the very least Uncanny X-Men 281-283 and X-men 1-3.
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby... they started it all.
Roy Thomas and Neal Adams they were the blue print for...
Claremont with Cockrum, Byrne and Smith.
I was trying to do too much and not doing any of it as well as I could. But I've had a change of mind... though not everyone shall enjoy it. I will.
#midnightermonday #uglystepchildren #lolgbtcomedyshow
Tumblr: http://newmutantmayhem.tumblr.com/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/ginger_drew/
So after Second Coming, there's basically been nothing really *noteworthy* to the overall X-Men continuity?