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A Little Help For an Old X-Fan

MaximumMaximum Registered User regular
edited March 2007 in Graphic Violence
Almost a decade ago I was a serious Marvel Comics nut, collecting pretty much every monthly at my local comic book shop. As I got older real life got in the way of my hobby and I gave it up, sold off the thousands of books I had and I thought that was the end of it. But recently I've had a jonesing to get back into it, to a lesser extent (I hope). Back in the day crossovers were king, special issues were coming out on a seemingly monthly basis, and I know how hard it is to just jump in and understand the continunity.

So my question is this, after browsing the Marvel website for subscription information (comic book stores are out of the question, can't find one to save my life) I've decided to just focus on the various
X-Men, and related titles. Is it possible to maintain this hobby through subscriptions, I've never subscribed to a monthly before, seems like a good idea, but I'm not sure. These are the titles I'm looking at UNCANNY X-MEN, X-MEN, ASTONISHING X-MEN, NEW X-MEN, X-FACTOR, and WOLVERINE. Is the quality of these titles right now up to snuff, will my brain explode trying to comprehend them after being away for so long, any current monthlies in the X-Men line I'm missing? I'd have no problem picking up a couple trades to fill me in on major storylines if, I knew what to look for, and where to look for them.

Any responses would be greatly appreciated, I'd rather not throw $100+ away on subscriptions if it's really not worth it.

Maximum on

Posts

  • ScooterScooter Registered User regular
    edited March 2007
    Astonishing and X-Factor are two of Marvel's best books, and New is good too. Definitly recommend getting back issues/trades.

    Scooter on
  • TransporterTransporter Registered User regular
    edited March 2007
    I know next to nothing about subscriptions, but, I am caught up with what you need and need not read.

    First of all, get every Astonishing X-Men trade you can get your hands on. that's priority, since they are the core X team.

    X-Factor should be second on your list. It's a fucking awesome monthly, even though it's probably the least "significant" X-team.

    Third is a tie with Uncanny and X-Men. Just back order to the start of the current arcs, and you'll be fine.

    New X-Men is the hotsauce, but optional.

    Wolverine and all his solo books can go die in a fire.

    Transporter on
  • MaximumMaximum Registered User regular
    edited March 2007
    Thanks for the start guys, any online shops you reccomend for picking up trades, or is Amazon an option?

    Maximum on
  • SonosSonos Registered User regular
    edited March 2007
    i just subscribed to moon knight and the new avengers. important only in how things have changed. when i was a kid subscriptions caqme with a brown wrapper which more or less guarunteed that the end product looking like it rode to your house underneath a lawnmower.

    now they come in plastic with a cardboard backing. i'm not a collector anymore but it certainly is a very nice change.

    i'm like you just got back into them after many years of being a comic freak. the more casual pace of subscriptions is nice.

    Sonos on
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  • SalmonOfDoubtSalmonOfDoubt Registered User regular
    edited March 2007
    New X-men has really been going south since HoM.

    SalmonOfDoubt on
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  • DJ EebsDJ Eebs Moderator, Administrator admin
    edited March 2007
    I really like New X-Men the way it is now.

    DJ Eebs on
  • DMACDMAC Come at me, bro! Moderator mod
    edited March 2007
    Yeah, I think the change in New X-Men was actually one of the best things to come out of House of M. They really "upped the ante" by showing they aren't afraid to kill off characters. I don't know if it was necessary to thin the herd quite so much, but it did put the focus back on the core group.

    They've also been really good at touching on elements of the X-Men's history without just rehashing it. It's one of the best teen team books I've ever read.

    DMAC on
  • BlackjackBlackjack Registered User regular
    edited March 2007
    I really, really liked the New X-Men stuff right after House of M, right up to the end of the Nimrod arc. Mercury Falling was mostly crap, though.

    If you only get one X-title, I suggest X-Factor. But Astonishing is the main team, so you should probably pick that up, too.

    Blackjack on
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  • ZeromusZeromus Registered User regular
    edited March 2007
    Speaking of House of M, the OP's probably going to want to pick it up, as despite its criticisms it continues to have a pretty major effect on the mutant world of Marvel.

    Zeromus on
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  • HooraydiationHooraydiation Registered User regular
    edited March 2007
    Killing all those characters screamed wasted potential to me, but I suppose HoM forced their hands. Icarus was still treated terribly for no reason at all, though.

    Hooraydiation on
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  • BlackjackBlackjack Registered User regular
    edited March 2007
    Icarus was still treated terribly because he was whiny and emo and retarded, though.
    Fixed that up for you.

    Blackjack on
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  • ScooterScooter Registered User regular
    edited March 2007
    My main dissapointment with Icarus is that I was hoping for a future team made up entirely of Guthries (wasn't there another young one who got depowered in HoM? And I forget whether or not Husk made it).

    Scooter on
  • BlackjackBlackjack Registered User regular
    edited March 2007
    The Guthrie that was depowered was Melody (she could fly. Called herself Aero.).

    Husk is still around and has her powers, though she's not being used much.

    Blackjack on
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  • HooraydiationHooraydiation Registered User regular
    edited March 2007
    Blackjack wrote: »
    Icarus was still treated terribly because he was whiny and emo and retarded, though.
    Fixed that up for you.

    Even if you thought that was the case in a book with someone like Wither in it, it's not as though they couldn't have changed the fact or at least written him out in a more appropriate manner. Hell, dying with everyone else would have been preferable to proving to be the most gullible idiot in the world.

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  • DondumsDondums Registered User regular
    edited March 2007
    If you find yourself lost on something once you get a few issues, Wikipedia can solve all your problems. Unless you start mid-arc or something, which is just frustrating on many levels.

    That said, First Class (which I've yet to get any of for myself) got upped to an ongoing after the current mini ends, so you might want to look at that too. (The 8-mini series finishes next month, too, I believe)

    Dondums on
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  • Toji SuzuharaToji Suzuhara Southern CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    edited March 2007
    Hey, dude, it's expensive, but it's the best X-Men of the decade:

    http://www.amazon.com/New-X-Men-Omnibus-Grant-Morrison/dp/0785123261

    Bar none.

    Toji Suzuhara on
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  • SentrySentry Registered User regular
    edited March 2007
    New X-men has really been going south since HoM.

    That could not be more of a lie then anything I have ever heard.

    New X-Men was absolute garbage before HoM... now it is one of the best X-books out.

    Sentry on
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  • FencingsaxFencingsax It is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understanding GNU Terry PratchettRegistered User regular
    edited March 2007
    Sentry wrote: »
    New X-men has really been going south since HoM.

    That could not be more of a lie then anything I have ever heard.

    New X-Men was absolute garbage before HoM... now it is one of the best X-books out.

    I don't like Hellion, so I'm kind of happy that this arc is over, but I think that the current lineup still has a bunch of potential.

    Fencingsax on
  • MaximumMaximum Registered User regular
    edited March 2007
    Thanx for all the suggestions guys, I took a trip out to the mall today and found a copy of the first X-Factor trade and some various singles from all the other core type books. Read the trade and it was quite good (confusing since 99% of all mutants lost their powers?, convenient since the 1% left is probably every mutant worth a damn). Peter David knows how to write, I remember reading his Hulk stuff when I was a kid (grey Hulk FTW!!!). I think I may be one of the only people in the world that actually liked his Spider-Man 2099 stuff but I digress.

    Seems like I'll have to pick up House of M for sure, I've seen quite a few different HoM trades, do all of them matter, or just the ones with X in the title? What about Civil War, did that effect the X-books in any signifigant way. I guess things don't change all that much, eight years later and Marvel loves it's crazy ass crossover events.

    Maximum on
  • TerrorbyteTerrorbyte __BANNED USERS regular
    edited March 2007
    Get Morrison's New X-Men, Whedon's Astonishing X-Men and PAD's X-Factor. Oh, and the current New X-Men if you were into Generation X or whatever that book was called. Personally, aside from...
    killing off half the cast

    ...I think that title comes off as a Young Avengers or Runaways Lite.

    The rest of those titles range from terrible to disposable. Brubaker is currently shitting the bed with Uncanny, while Carey has devolved Adjectiveless into a meandering mess. You should probably pick up the House of M trade so you can understand the current clusterfuck that is Mutantdom in the MU.

    Terrorbyte on
  • DJ EebsDJ Eebs Moderator, Administrator admin
    edited March 2007
    Don't buy any of the House of M tie-ins. I did when they came out. The only really good one is the Captain America issue. And none of them really tie into the main story at all.

    Civil War didn't really affect the X-Men all that much at all. There was a Civil War: X-Men miniseries, but it wasn't very good.

    Also, Uncanny really has improved over the last couple of issues. I didn't really like the opening part of Brubaker's run, but I think he's getting his feet under him now.

    And yeah, I haven't really been able to figure out what's going on in adjectiveless. There are some neat moments though.

    DJ Eebs on
  • TerrorbyteTerrorbyte __BANNED USERS regular
    edited March 2007
    Civil War: X-Men Cash-In Extravaganza

    Terrorbyte on
  • DJ EebsDJ Eebs Moderator, Administrator admin
    edited March 2007
    I'm sure that's part of it, but I'm pretty sure it was more a problem with David Hine having a hard-on for obscure mutants. Plus I think he wanted to tie up District X loose ends.

    I've never actually read those, but after reading his little run of miniseries that follow the characters from it (Mutopia X, X-Men: the 198 and Civil War: X-Men), I'm kind of glad I didn't. At least the covers for the last two series were cool.

    DJ Eebs on
  • TerrorbyteTerrorbyte __BANNED USERS regular
    edited March 2007
    198 was so awful. I want to know who greenlit the tentacle stomach and eggs with tiny people dude. If I were an EiC and someone pitched that character to me, I'd toss them out a window.

    Terrorbyte on
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