Back in the old days (I say, settling into my rocking chair to dream dreams of VHS tapes and floppy disks), getting into a new superhero universe was largely a matter of cracking open an issue — or borrowing a few favorites from a friend — and catching what you could as you went. The Internet has brought with it the possibility of previously near-impossible completism, and with it, the overwhelming implicit weight of years of continuity and the necessity of “catching up” before you dive in.
Among the already forbiddingly convoluted worlds of shared-universe superhero franchises, X-Men continuity is legendary for its density. It’s complicated — clones, time travel, and retcons galore — but it’s also just really, really big. I pay my rent podcasting about X-Men continuity, which should be a pretty good indication of both how much of it there is, and how confusing readers find it.
The upside of the breadth and variety of the line is that there’s a custom point of entry for pretty much anyone interested in reading X-Men. Read on for a guide to the core stories of X-canon, and where to go next.
If you want to begin at the beginning, try
by Dennis Hopeless and Jamie McKelvie
Okay, look, you could start with X-Men #1. But for readers who want a more modern take on the early days of the team, Dennis Hopeless and Jamie McKelvie’s graphic novel provides a great self-contained introduction to the original five X-Men, distilling down the first half dozen issues of the often-overwrought Silver Age. Hopeless and McKelvie’s teen X-Men read like actual teenagers — in particular, the historically underwritten Jean Grey, who serves as the book’s primary point-of-view character — and the story itself is fun, heartfelt, and deftly crafted. There’s no single X-Men title I’ve recommended more to readers looking for an inroad to the series.
Next, try
by Jeff Parker and Roger Cruz
No, there’s no relation to the film of the same title. X-Men: First Class is a modernized retelling of — again — the Silver Age adventures of the first team of X-Men. Unlike Season One, First Class was serialized — and is collected in multiple volumes. Writer Jeff Parker’s extensive knowledge of and affection for the weirdness of the Marvel Universe is matched only by his skill at rendering that weirdness digestible to readers of all ages. If the main stories aren’t enough, the series also features a string of ludicrously adorable back-up stories drawn by Colleen Coover.
If you like long, intricate stories, try
And onward (starting with Uncanny X-Men #94) by Chris Claremont and various artists
In the fast-moving world of shared-universe superhero comics, Chris Claremont has spent a staggering 17 years shaping the X-Men. While his run technically starts a few issues after this, Giant-Size X-Men #1 lays the foundation for a decade and a half of intricate long-form storytelling, interwoven plotlines, and the kind of slow-burn soap opera for which the X-Men are famous.
Next, try
by Chris Claremont and Alan Davis
Spinning out of both Claremont’s X-Men and Marvel U.K.’s Captain Britain, Excalibur teamed up Chris Claremont and artist Alan Davis, who went on to write the title after Claremont’s mid-series departure. Excalibur has plenty of X-Men-style soap opera, but the long-game storytelling here veers further into the realm of the weird; and Davis’s run deftly weaves Claremont’s spiraling plot threads into surprisingly poignant tapestry.
If you want high-stakes operatic drama, try
by Chris Claremont and John Byrne
Ask any fan to pinpoint the classic, iconic X-Men story, and most will send you straight to Uncanny X-Men #129-138: the issues that chronicle the corruption and fall of the cosmically empowered Jean Grey. It’s also the story that has seen by far the largest number of (attempted) adaptations over the years, including the upcoming Dark Phoenix. All of that is because The Dark Phoenix Saga is the X-Men at their best: fighting as and for their found family and the fate of the world, backs to the wall, in the face of impossible odds. It’s got pretty much everything that makes the X-Men great: not just high-stakes superpowered fights, but also high drama, found family, and some pretty spectacular science fiction.
Next, try
by Chris Claremont and Paul Smith
It borders on sacrilege to say this, but I think that The Brood Saga, published in X-Men #161-167, is better than the more iconic Dark Phoenix Saga. From iconic X-writer Chris Claremont’s first steps into first-person narration to Paul Smith’s elegantly bizarre alien landscapes, it’s a technical and narrative tour de force, both a harrowing sci-fi horror story and a great introduction to a troubled team in the midst of turmoil.
Bonus read:
New Mutants #63
by Chris Claremont, Louise Simonson, and Bo Hampton
If you like the Brood Saga, and if deeply weird forgotten Marvel continuity floats your boat, pick up this weird little one-off for both a direct epilogue to the Brood Saga and the somewhat mind-boggling revelation that none of the stuff in this issue has ever been mentioned since, including — well, you’ll see. It’s the kind of thing you’ll like if you like that kind of thing.
If you like dystopias and time travel, try
by Chris Claremont and John Byrne
If you’ve watched the eponymous 2014 feature film or the 1993 arc from the animated series, you’ll recognize a lot of the motifs in X-Men #141-142, which have been adapted almost as often as The Dark Phoenix Saga. On the screen, Days of Future Past tends to get mashed up with other X-Men time travel stories, but it was the first and remains one of the best — and it sowed decades worth of the seeds for the varyingly coherent split and tangled X-Men timelines.
(And once you’ve read the original, you can join me in my annoyance that Fox made a comic centered around two women into a story that managed to be about the same three men twice.)
Next, try
by Alan Davis
The dystopian timeline of Earth-811 plays a cameo role in Days of Future Past, but one of its residents would go on to become a refugee in the main Marvel Universe. Rachel Summers, the daughter of Earth-811’s Cyclops and Jean Grey, served first on the X-Men, and then on the British superhero team Excalibur. Even in her adoptive world, Rachel never quite gave up on fixing her own broken universe; and her final attempt to do so — chronicled in Excalibur #66-67 — is a remarkably poignant and satisfying resolution to both the Days of Future Past storyline and Alan Davis’s superlative Excalibur run.
If you like meaningful intersectional allegories, try
by Chris Claremont and Brent Eric Anderson
If you want to read a book that examines just about all of the main themes of X-Men, you’re not going to find a more on-brand option than God Loves, Man Kills. Published in 1982 as the fifth installment of Marvel’s fledgling graphic novel line, God Loves, Man Kills takes on anti-mutant sentiment through the lens of bigotry in an evangelical megachurch, juxtaposing the “monstrous” mutant X-Men with the inhumane doctrine of a man perceived as a moral force.
Next, try
by Cullen Bunn, Gabriel Hernandez Walta, and Jordie Bellaire
A good superhero franchise is defined as much by its villains as by its heroes; and Magneto — the X-Men’s first antagonist — is one of the best in the game. Over the more than half a century he’s been appearing in comics, Magneto has gone from a one-dimensional supervillain to a strikingly nuanced and sympathetic figure who more than once has put aside ideological differences to aid X-Men in need. Cullen Bunn, Gabriel Hernandez Walta, and Jordie Bellaire’s 2014 serial adds even more depth to Magneto’s complex legacy as a Holocaust survivor, mutant activist, and first and closest friend of X-Men founder Charles Xavier.
If you like world-building and world-shaking, try
by Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly
Don’t let the high numbers fool you: The beginning of Grant Morrison’s seminal run on New X-Men is one of the best jumping-on points — maybe the best — of the last twenty years. After the comparative chaos of the mid-to-late 1990s, Morrison swept in and established a brave and world-shaking new status quo, setting the stage for pretty much every X-Men story of the 21st Century. Morrison’s run isn’t for everyone: For every fan who sings its praises, another will tell you to skip it altogether. But they’ll all agree that it’s interesting — and if that’s what you’re after, there’s no better place to start.
Next, try
by Greg Pak and various artists
There have been a lot of reality-hopping X-books over the years, but few so substantial and deft as this series, which spun off from writer Greg Pak’s single arc on Astonishing X-Men. Instead of shifting the main status quo, Pak and a series of spectacular artists reimagine the X-Men’s corner of the Marvel universe over and over, building a fascinating and unlikely cast of heroes in the process.
If you like classic superheroes and explorations of legacies, try
by Joss Whedon and John Cassady
It’s always a gamble to give a long-time fan the keys to the kingdom. Buffy: The Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon and artist John Cassady’s heartfelt love letter to the classic Claremont years was a welcome surprise, tempering nostalgia even while celebrating the comics on whose shoulders Whedon built his run.
Next, try
by various artists
By 1986, the original five X-Men had mostly gone on with their lives when Marvel editorial decided to reunite the team under the banner of X-Factor. While the series initially struggled to find its footing, it soon became a compelling exploration of trying to build an adult life — and relate to the world — when you spent your teen years in tights, fighting evil.
If you like genre-breaking artwork, try
by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz
Ask a long-time X-Men fan about which comics have blown their minds and stretched their definitions of the genre, and almost all of them will point you to New Mutants #18, the first issue drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz. Sienkiewicz’s run on New Mutants was relatively short — he stayed with the book for just over a year — but the ground it broke redefined what superhero artists could do, and inspired generations of up-and-coming talent.
Next, try
by Walter Simonson, Louise Simonson, Jon J. Muth, and Kent Williams
I think of Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown as one of the X-line’s lost icons. By right of quality, it should have been an instant classic; instead, it’s frequently forgotten, rarely (if ever) collected, and a royal pain to find in hard copy. (Ed. note: A new collected edition hits shelves on July 17!)
Husband-and-wife writer team Walter and Louise Simonson’s surreal, noir-tinged story of Cold War paranoia, and artists Jon J. Muth and Kent Williams’s lush painted art, combine into a strange, elegant, and intricately built series that spotlights both one of the more rarely explored dynamics between X-Men team members and the breathtaking potential of comics as a narrative medium.
Bonus read:
Wolverine: Killing
by Kent Williams and John Ney Reiber
Kent Williams returned to the X-line with Wolverine: Killing, a one-shot comic that’s even harder to track down than Meltdown: it’s never been collected, and it’s not available digitally. But once again, it’s worth the work. Williams and writer John Ney Reiber craft a work that falls somewhere between traditional comic and visual tone poem, and a lyrical exploration of some of the quieter parts of Wolverine’s story.
If you want kid-friendly stories, try
by Marc Sumerak and GuriHiru
This miniseries teams up a series of X-Men with the Power Pack, a team of siblings who balance superpowers with school and family life. With appealing art by Gurihiru, the Power Pack crossover series are generally great kid-friendly introductions to Marvel’s adult superheroes. They’re long out-of-print, but available digitally.
Next, try
by Skottie Young
Skottie Young’s adorable kid-cartoon versions of Marvel’s superheroes finally get their own feature in this four-issue miniseries, which chronicles inter-team rivalries in the tiny superhero town of Marville. It’s silly and fun enough to hold the attention of even fairly young kids; and seeded with enough layered humor and continuity gags to keep adults engaged at the same time.
Jay Edidin was named comicbook.com’s 2017 Comics Person of the Year for his investigative coverage of harassment issues at D.C. Comics and his work to foster diversity and inclusion in comics culture. Jay writes and edits comics, prose, and games; and is marginally Internet Famous as half of the podcast Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men.
