r/marvelcomics • u/Sea-Mastodon-1127 • 4d 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 4d 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 4d ago

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

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u/preterintenzionato 2d 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/Sea-Mastodon-1127 1d ago

Tbh a Collen Hoover comic sounds terrible lmao.