Getting to Grips with X-Men (my head may explode)
Following on from my last post (My Pull List | Coming Full Circle) the updating and change to my pull list has begun, DC titles have now been trimmed to just the ones i love and Marvel titles have been added.
If indeed you did read my last post mentioned above you will have seen that i mentioned two titles from the X-Men range (the new Uncanny and Wolverine titles born out of Schism). I want these titles because i had enjoyed Schism and decided to see the outcome of what had happened.
I started to dig around on the interweb to see if i could find out more about the X universe so as to perhaps not feel like i was as much as a noob as i felt around the X-Men titles.
HOLY GEESUZ, what a mind bend trying to get through X-Men in an afternoon or two, trying to read the history and timelines as well as studying up on the titles of past, present and future.
First things first i thought, lets go and see what titles are on the market NOW so i can see where my boys are if indeed they are anywhere. My boys being Gambit and Iceman, I have loved Iceman ever since Spiderman and his Amazing friends cartoon as a young kid and Gambit from X-Men: The Animated Series which i used to watch at dinner time when i went home from school, i must have been 3rd year perhaps and Gambit was my main man in the show, screw your Cyclops or Wolverine.
I wasn’t naïve enough that i thought these were the only titles as i was well aware of a couple others from being in my comic book store. I do admit though that i had no clue there was so many titles, solo titles, peripheral titles, 1shots and mini series. After a few hours on Comic Book Resources, Marvels webpage and ComicVine i was starting to think there was as many X titles as DC had released with the new 52 or that Marvels titles a month consisted of 50% X titles and 50% everything else.
As mentioned already i watched the cartoon from the 90’s and i have seen all five films also (hasn’t everyone) but after my X study its hard to fathom how many X-Men members/Mutants etc there are, i reckon i must have read about or seen at least 70+ members, i couldn’t give you an exact figure though. On top of all that there is the comics, GESSUZ the comics…….
Astonishing X-Men
Uncanny X-Force
Wolverine and the X-Men
X-Factor
Uncanny X-Men
X-Men Legacy
Deadpool
New Mutants
Wolverine
Wolverine: The Best There Is
X23
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!11!!!1!111!1!1
There are probably more coming out or even some of these finishing or i probably haven’t even mentioned some but it seems never ending. Recently we of course had Schism (which i read, GO ME!!!) and Regenesis 1shot as well as the event of 2012 incoming, Avengers vs X-Men which will no doubt have a stupid amount of tie is, mini series and 1shots, isn’t that what normally happens?
The big question next was, WHERE THE HELL DO I BEGIN???????
It is so unbelievably daunting for someone to try and get into the X universe, want to read the books etc without feeling totally lost.
I knew that i was going to get Uncanny X-Men and the Wolverine title to continue on from Schism, i also knew that after this ALL X-Men would choose sides (as i seen the article here from Gav),so what other titles could i read and what sides would my boys choose???
Quick check on Marvel website told me Iceman was in the Wolverine title that i was already getting so good news there, it also told me Gambit was in a title called X-Men Legacy which just happened to have a point one issue 261.1 out last week so that’s good news (or so i thought). Three X titles decided but is there anymore?
Well yes as it goes, because as every X fan knows Uncanny X-Force is the greatest title or at least the one most of my comic book pals think so that has to be on the list too, “Swap it for Legacy because that is crap” were the cries, but i can’t do that Gambit no way so that is four titles im on now, surely no more i thought.
Then i read that from issue 48 of Astonishing X-Men both Gambit and Iceman would be in it as team members so that’s now down on my list as well from issue 48 that doesn’t come out until May sometime.
So this Friday, the 20th of January, i will be picking up the following from my store:-
X-Men: regenesis (1shot)
Uncanny X-Men 1 through to 5
Wolverine and the X-Men 1 through to 4
Uncanny X-Force 19.1 (have been told to get 19 if its there)
X-Men Legacy 261.1
All of which will be kept on my pull list along with Astonishing X-Men when it starts.
Not only is this all hurting my head now but my wallet too!
I do admit i had a look at the teams and i am not ashamed to say that i have no clue who half of the characters are. Namor, Magik, Cannonball WHAT!!!! Husk, Havok, Deathlock WHO??? And there are many many more.
When i thought of X-Men before this week i imaged Professor Xavier leading a team of Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, Storm, Beast, Gambit, Jubilee and Jean Grey and perhaps that all down to the cartoon from my childhood.
My point is and i suppose the point of this whole article is how difficult it can be getting into the X universe, bear in mind i started to collect and read comics 21 years ago so just imagine how hard it must be for someone totally fresh to comics, also realising that i haven’t even mentioned about how some books are based at school with the young future x-men, where others are tougher more aggressive teams that would kill in a heartbeat and to top that off i haven’t even touched on time travel and alternative universes (house of M etc)
I genuinely don’t think it matters how many point one issues Marvel take out or how many titles they restart with new volumes the X universe is a head melt for any new fan wanting a piece, FACT, especially the neurotic obsessive types like me that feel they need to know everything.
Im sure that through time and in reading these titles i will learn everything that’s happening and stuff from the past too but ill leave you with one question that is annoying the hell out of me now.
All the X-Men/Mutants/Homosapiens etc choose sides between Wolverine and Cyclops, all the books i believe had possibly some kind of tie in to do with Schism and choosing sides, so what they hell is going to happen for Avengers v X-Men????
Are they going to just forget about everything that happened to fight the Avengers?
Anyway’s my head is about to melt over my desk so its time to finish up but ill be sure to let you know how i am getting on.
Please feel free to leave your recommendations comments or sympathies in the comments below or on twitter.
Regards
About the Author
Alex Giles Family man but quite possibly more childish than his two kids, loves Sci-Fi and is a renowned Whovian of over twenty years, collects comics (OCD about having first prints), poet and writer or randomness.
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Ok, as the Sidekicks resident X-phile I wuld recommend picking up a couple of older books, by that I mean the big stories, for hints on which ones to get i once wrote a 10 of the best X-men crossovers. alternatively, if you just want character histories and story summaries, i would whole heartedly recommend checking out WWW.Uncannyxmen.net. these guys have been around for ages and do regular profiles on the characters and update them semi-regularly, in addition to this they also do the big crossovers and issues summaries for all the X-titles past and present.
In other words its hard work getting into X-men, and at times they will infuriate you as some of the writers can be terrible, but when its good its very very good.
By the way Deadpool looks to be finishing, as does X-23 so we are now down to 9 X-titles, I trade wait for some of them, it just makes it easier as what happens in Astonshing X-men rarely has an impact on the main titles (or at least not for a while anyway, it took months for Colossus to appear in regular books after his appearance in Astonishing).
One last thing, I love that X-family chart you used at the beginning.
Thanks for the reply dude, i would like to read some older stuff once i get my head around it specifically the Grant Morrison and Joss Wheadon stuff.