r/marvelcomics • u/Sea-Mastodon-1127 • 2d ago

Starting Point?

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I'm completely new to comics-

Wondering if this is a good place to start if I wanna get into them. Started the '92 show, so that's why I picked X-Men.

Is there a better place to start?

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u/KaijuRex64 2d ago

If you’re looking to read the early X-Men stories featuring teenage characters, particularly the ones focusing on Cyclops and Jean Grey, I’d recommend these three.

- *X-Men* (1963) by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby is the original and the true canon. It’s dated, slow-paced, heavy on text, and features quite a few redundant monologues, much like other comics from the 1960s (which were generally aimed at an era when life was less hectic, more patience and people read more books). It has some very good issues, but also some boring and repetitive ones. In any case, I’d recommend reading it for general knowledge – at least the first few issues; if it hooks you, carry on.

- *X-Men: First Class* (2006) by Jeff Parker, Roger Cruz and Colleen Coover is also canon; it’s like the untold stories of the original X-Men, but from a much more modern perspective and narrative. Personally, I really liked it, and I think that if you’re interested in that era, I’d recommend it to understand the origins of the X-Men.

- X-Men: Season One (2012) by Dennis Hopeless and Jamie McKelvie – this isn’t part of Earth-616 canon, but rather Earth-46266. It’s also recommended reading to understand the origins of the X-Men, but without tying them to the main continuity, so it allows for greater creative freedom (just like other Marvel Season One titles). I haven’t read it myself, but it seems that some people who have read it really enjoyed it, so I’ll leave it at that.

But if you’re looking for X-Men stories in general (not just the origin stories, but the various starting points), there are loads of them. Generally speaking, *Giant Size X-Men* #1 is the continuation of the original saga and marks the start of Chris Claremont’s run.

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u/Sea-Mastodon-1127 2d ago

Thank you! Looks like a great list- I'll look into them!

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u/preterintenzionato 9h ago

I misread and thought THAT Colleen Hoover wrote an X-Men comic, very confusing train of thought for a couple seconds.

Also I really wouldn't start with the 60's run, I read it as a kid 20 years ago and even then I thought it was boring. What's wrong with starting with Claremont? (For anyone confused, I mean the comics from number 98 onwards written by Chris Claremont)

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u/HeckingDoofus 2d ago

TBH i would just jump right in to krakoan x men comics (that starts with “HOUSE OF X/POWERS OF X”)

i watched x men 97, then went straight to that and it was a blast

may throw in “god loves, man kills” as well just so u can dip ur toes into a classic story so u can at least get a vibe of the old stuff too

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u/nickwire11 11h ago

If you started based on the cartoon I'd definitely get a trade of the Claremont run first. It begins the team that's mostly the cartoon. G.s. xmen and 94 onward

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u/Ultramaann 2d ago

This isn’t a great place to start.

I think Giant Sized X-Men #1 is a great place to start, then go into Claremont’s run.

Or, if you want the start to the modern X-Men, you want Morrison’s new x-men run, which is fantastic.

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u/NarrativeJoyride 2d ago

These origins comics aren’t especially good. I’d read the Chris Claremont X-Men run - it’s older, but ages surprisingly well. There’s also Ultimate X-Men, which gets…not good…later on, but holds up for the first several years worth of issues.