X-Men

This is Part #6 of our tentative to compile a comprehensive X-Men Reading Order using the collected editions – You can find the first part here (The Silver Age & Chris Claremont, 1963-91), the second part here (Age of Apocalypse & Onslaught, 1991-2001), the third part here (From the Grant Morrison era to Civil War), the fourth part that leads us to Avengers Vs. X-Men, the fifth part (from Marvel NOW Reading Order to ResurrXion Era).

After the Age of X-Man event, Marvel decided to bring back the X-Men to the front and recruited Jonathan Hickman to take charge of the launch. He started with the House of X/Power of X miniseries that introduced an ambitious new conjecture. Here is the official synopsis: “While you slept, the world changed.” With those words, Professor X announces to the people of Earth the new mutant nation of Krakoa. It is a safe haven for all Homo superior, with its own rules and its own language. In return for international recognition, Xavier will offer humanity great scientific advancements, borne of Krakoa’s unique flora. But the time for integration has ended. Xavier’s old dream is dead -and now a new one begins. But is mutantkind’s greatest enemy the prejudice of humans or the cold artificial intelligences that await a hundred -even a thousand years -from now?

After that, Marvel started to relaunch more and more x-series, introducing new teams and new challenges.

Read More »X-Men by Jonathan Hickman Reading Order, Part. 6: Dawn of X & Reign of X (2019-2022)

In Marvel Comics, Wolverine is one of the most popular characters. So much that there is more than one! We are not speaking about X-23, maybe the most famous Wolverine after the Original, but about Old Man Logan today. But be careful as there are actually three versions of the older and grimmer Logan!

The original Old Man Logan made his first appearance in Fantastic Four (1998) #558 before appearing in Wolverine #66. Created by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, he lives in a dystopian future where the villains won — Earth-807128, aka the Wastelands timeline. He is mostly the star of a famous storyline and made a few other appearances.

Another version of the character was introduced in Secret Wars and found its way into Marvel’s main continuity after his Earth-shattering events. If you thought that the two characters were the same Old Man Logan, nobody could blame you! It was first suggested as such, with the character blending elements from the original dystopian story with elements from 616 Wolverine. It was later explained that this version was this was another Old Man Logan. And, let’s not forget that an alternate version of the second Old Man Logan was introduced in Edge of Venomverse #4.

Today, we’re taking a closer look at both versions of Old Man Logan—to avoid any confusion—starting with the story that began it all, then moving on to the second Old Man Logan’s many adventures across the Marvel Universe.

Read More »Old Man Logan Reading Order

With Chris Claremont at the helm, the X-Men became big business for Marvel Comics in the ’80s. Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter decided to expand the franchise with a spin-off call The New Mutants. Claremont was a bit reluctant to do it at first, but the series will soon—with the arrival of artist Bill Sienkiewicz (Bob McLeod was the artist at the beginning)—become something different and a real success.

But what New Mutants is about? Here is the official synopsis of the beginning of the series. Meet the future of the X-Men! Karma. Wolfsbane. Sunspot. Cannonball. Moonstar. They’re teenagers, thrown together by the X-gene that makes them different. Follow the adventures of these young mutants from Karma’s first meeting with Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four to their early days at the Xavier School!

The New Mutants’ on-the-job training begins in earnest with battles against Sentinels, the Silver Samurai, Viper, and the Hellfire Club; a team-up with Spidey and Cloak and Dagger — and the team gets a taste of life as X-Men in a disturbing encounter with the Brood! Plus: Meet fiery new recruit Magma, and discover how Colossus’s sister, Illyana, became the demon sorceress known as Magik!

Being part of the X-Men Universe, you can find how to read the New Mutants with the other X-series in our complete X-Men Reading Order.

Read More »New Mutants Reading Order (The X-Men)

Created by Roy Thomas, Len Wein, and John Romita Sr., Wolverine is a fierce Canadian mutant known for his animal-like senses, enhanced physical abilities, a remarkable healing factor, and three retractable claws in each hand.

But I’m sure none of this is new to you. After all, Wolverine is one of the most iconic X-Men—one of the coolest characters in the franchise—who captivated readers and secured his place in pop culture with his unforgettable role in X-Men: The Animated Series and Hugh Jackman’s portrayal in the X-Men movie franchise. He’s also the only X-Men character to have maintained a solo comic series consistently since his debut in 1988.

Over the years, many writers have written celebrated stories for the character, from Claremont and Miller’s first mini-series to Barry Windsor-Smith’s Weapon X, Jenkins’ Origins, Millar’s Enemy of the State, and more. Today, we take a closer look at Jason Aaron’s run on the iconic mutant, written before his epic run on Thor. It’s hard to think of Jason Aaron’s time at Marvel without Wolverine, as his journey started after winning a writing contest, which helped launch his significant run on the character.

Read More »Wolverine by Jason Aaron Reading Order Guide

Our exploration of the ever-expanding world of the X-Men comics is continuing. The following reading guide covers the comic books published between 2012 and 2019, before Jonathan Hickman’s House of X/Power of X. This era includes major events like Battle of the Atom, The Trial of Jean Grey, AXIS, The Last Will and Testament of Charles Xavier, Death of Wolverine, Inhumans vs. X-Men, the Terrigen Mist Crisis, Apocalypse Wars, Civil War II, Phoenix Resurrection, Hunt for Wolverine, and Extermination.

After the event of the Avengers vs. X-Men crossover event and the relaunch of the Marvel Comics Universe under the banner “Marvel NOW!,” most X-Men titles were either concluded or restructured. Wolverine and the X-Men continued, while All-New X-Men was launched, featuring the original five X-Men—brought to the present day by Beast—who eventually formed a separate team under the leadership of Kitty Pryde. Astonishing X-Men also continued but was later canceled, and in its place, Amazing X-Men was launched, initially focusing on the return of Nightcrawler. Meanwhile, Uncanny X-Men was relaunched with Cyclops leading a faction of mutant revolutionaries.

Then the All-New, All-Different Marvel era introduced a major relaunch for X-Men comics following Secret Wars (2015). This era was defined by the Terrigen Mist crisis, which made Earth inhospitable for mutants, leading to tensions between mutants and Inhumans. Many X-Men went into hiding, while others took a more aggressive stance to protect mutantkind. And finally, the ResurrXion era, a soft relaunch of X-Men comics following Inhumans vs. X-Men, marked the end of the Terrigen Mist crisis and was focused on the mutants rebuilding their future.

This is Part #5 of our tentative to compile a comprehensive X-Men Reading Order using the collected editions–You can find the first part here (The Silver Age & Chris Claremont, 1963-91), the second part here (Age of Apocalypse & Onslaught, 1991-2001), the third part here (From the Grant Morrison era to Civil War), the fourth part that leads us to Avengers Vs. X-Men, and the sixth part here.

This is a massive reading guide, so here is a menu to help you navigate. Some parts are under construction for now. I’ll keep updating this article regularly.

Read More »X-Men Reading Order, Part. 5: Marvel NOW, All-New, All-Different Marvel & ResurrXion (2012-2019)

This is Part #4 of our tentative to compile a comprehensive X-Men Reading Order using the collected editions – You can find the first part here (The Silver Age & Chris Claremont, 1963-91), the second part here (Age of Apocalypse & Onslaught, 1991-2001), and the third part here (From the Grant Morrison era to House of M).

In 2007, the “Messiah Complex” storyline redefined the world of the mutants, first with the destruction of the Xavier Institute, then with the disbanding of the X-Men. This time, X-Men was renamed X-Men: Legacy. That said, The X-Men reformed in Uncanny X-Men #500.

More major events follow with “Messiah War”, the new New Mutants volume, “Second Coming”, the new series Young X-Men and Generation Hope, and more. Later, there was  “X-Men: Schism” that led to “Regenesis” and the new main series titled Wolverine and the X-Men.

This is a massive reading guide, so here is a menu to help you navigate. Some parts are under construction for now. I’ll keep updating this article regularly.

Read More »X-Men Reading Order, Part. 4: The Messiah trilogy, Dark Reign, Schism, Avengers Vs X-Men (2007-2012)

This is Part #3 of our tentative to compile a comprehensive X-Men Reading Order using the collected editions – You can find the first part here (The Silver Age & Chris Claremont, 1963-91) and the second part here (Age of Apocalypse & Onslaught, 1991-2001). Welcome to the Marvel Modern Era.

After the chaotic ’90s, Chris Claremont came back to put the X-Titles in order. He didn’t stay long on the main series but started to write a new spin-off, X-Treme X-Men. As for X-Men, it was renamed New X-Men and Grant Morrison took over.

He revamped almost everything and introduced new concepts, new villains, and new disasters. It’s known as the Morrison Era for a good reason, his work on New X-Men is massive and important for the future of the mutants. During that time, Chuck Austen wrote Uncanny X-Men, but it was not as successful. During that era, spin-offs were limited, but there were a number of short-lived solo series and other miniseries.

After that came X-Men ReLoad, or when Marvel decided (again) to revamp the X-Men titles with new looks for the characters and fresh plot points. More on that later.

This is a massive reading guide, so here is a menu to help you navigate. Some parts are under construction for now. I’ll keep updating this article regularly.

Read More »X-Men Reading Order: The Modern Era (2001-2007) – Part. 3: From the Grant Morrison era to House of M

This is Part #2 of our tentative to compile a comprehensive X-Men Reading Order using the collected editions – You can find the first part here (The Silver Age & Chris Claremont, 1963-91). Now, it’s the ’90s!

A new decade full of events. Yes, it’s when Marvel almost perish under the weight of its commercial ambitions and gave us too many events and series to follow. For the mutants, it was a period of big storylines, some of them became iconic, others are almost forgotten today. But first, there was the launch of a new X-Men series. Xavier and the original X-Men are back. As a result, we got two teams, two books: Storm’s “Gold Team” (in The Uncanny X-Men) and Cyclops’s “Blue Team” (chronicled in X-Men). Also, new spin-offs joined the line-up: X-Force, Generation X, and numerous solo series like Deadpool, Cable, Bishop, X-Man, and Gambit. At one point, Excalibur and X-Factor ended and the latter was replaced with Mutant X.

This is a massive reading guide, so here is a menu to help you navigate. Some parts are under construction for now. I’ll keep updating this article regularly.

Read More »’90s X-Men Reading Order (1991-2001) – Part. 2: Fatal Attractions, Age of Apocalypse, Onslaught, Zero Tolerance, and more