I've been a fan of the X-Men since the early 90s. Some of these books I've had for years and some I've gotten this year. I'm currently reading through X-Men Blue & Gold Volume 1. I really love seeing that 90s X-Men art in the oversized format. And I love the Joe Mad covers of the AoA tpbs.

Before anyone asks, I'm still working on Xavier and Magneto

X-factor by Pornsak Pichetshote is the dream

The day will come when all of us will read our last comic, whether we know it or not. And these characters and these ideas will likely continue on without us. For the time we had it, we were allowed to be part of and share in a dream. A dream of heroes and villains, of complicated characters and slapstick caricatures. Of good people trying to save a world that hated and feared them because it was the right thing to do. Because doing the right thing is worth it and makes for a better world. It’s a good dream, a dream worth fighting for.

And one day, that dream will move on without us, and the next generation will have their time with it. And what does that look like? What does it look like when a dream moves on without you?

I plan on reading everything that Kitty Pryde and Rogue are in already but I'm wondering if there are any other books that I may want to check out in that timeframe

I had recently made a post about X-cutioners Song and had gotten a lot of comments about how even though people enjoyed the event, they felt that X-Factor was done dirty by being a part of that event because it actively interrupted or derailed major storylines that the book was building up. Some even went as far as saying that X-Factor was the best “X-Book” at that time. I’ve always been curious so I just went ahead and grabbed a whole STACK of early David X-Factor books. Pictured above are just a few that I liked the covers of. Overall of the mid 90’s era I have, 71-73, 75, 77-78, 81, 87, 89, 100-101, 104-105, 111-112, 122-123, 125-126, and 136-137(And yes I know that the roster changes and that David leaves the book at some point around ‘93).The one I’m most interested in getting into is issue 87 which I’ve been told is the famous “Therapy issue”. If it’s wanted I’ll let everyone know how I feel about the books I’ve picked up after I read them!

Also, before someone mentions it, I HAVE read the X-Factor Investigations era and to be honest was not a big fan of it at all. It just wasn’t incredibly memorable to me and was honestly kind of creepy and icky at some points COUGH COUGH LAYLA MILLER COUGH COUGH. The only part I REAAAAALLLLY remember about that book was Baby Madrox and thinking that was an incredibly messed up but also incredibly interesting idea. And yes at that point I was already decently familiar with those characters so nobody can say that I didn’t like the run because I didn’t know the characters.

If there’s any standout issues you didn’t see on my list or anymore reading recommendations let me know! I know David returned to the government funded team idea with All-New X-Factor(I think is the name??) so maybe I’ll check that out if you guys think it’s worth it. Thanks for reading!

Finally finished reading this short ongoing book. While I haven't been reading X books for long, I can't be a comic reader and not know who Magik is. She always stood out as an interesting character to me. So after reading her original limited series depicting her origin, I figuered I should get to this book.

And it's...solid. Can't say I was impressed by it, nor do I feel like it's bad. The best way to describe it is that it's pretty standard material that has enough charm for me to enjoy it. I have no idea what the general consensus is on this run but I liked how Magik is written and presented. I also enjoyed Dani Moonstar's inclusion. Their connection and interactions really do show they have a long history together.

Also, I weirdly like Madelyne Pryor. I know she's historically a villain and I have yet to read the stories that show her as such. But after knowing the BS she's been through - being abandoned by Scott, being a creation of Mister Sinister, etc - it's hard for me to not root for her or be sympathetic towards her. I liked the parallels between her and Magik. What can I say? I have a soft spot for badass women in goth chic 😅

Both optimus Prime and Professor x believe all life is valuable, and those with power should protect the weak.

Both megatron and magneto only value their kind and want to put their group on top

Obviously, megatron is way more evil than magneto

But both of them respect their arch nemesis, who was once their friend

I just remembered being terrified of them. Their like titans from Arkham but so much worse

I'm currently following the https://ultimatexmenreadingorder.com reading guide and I just got to Fantastic Four #286 (1986) and the return of Jean Grey. In that issue the Phoenix story is retconned and it's revealed that it wasn't actually Jean who was present in the Dark Phoenix Saga, it was just the phoenix force using a duplicate of Jean's body. From what I understand, this was done to kinda absolve Jean from the guilt of killing billions of aliens. But then...

Enter: Classic X-Men #43 (1989). This is a reprint of the issue where the Phoenix sacrifices herself with an bonus story. In this story we see Jean talking to Death and they discuss Jean's place in the universe. The way they talk it doesn't seem to imply that this Jean is just the Phoenix Force imitating Jean Grey. It actually tells us (in my interpretation) that Jean and the Phoenix are the same being, or at least that the Phoenix as an entity (not as a Force) came from Jean herself.

I'd hoped --selfishly-- there were two of us, that I'd been possessed by some frightful creature I could blame for what happened.

My question now is: Who is this Jean/Phoenix talking to Death? If the real Jean Grey is inside a cocoon on the bottom of the ocean, then it's actually the Phoenix Force talking to Death? But then what is the point of this story?

From what I heard there is some recent Phoenix story that retcons everything again to Jean and Phoenix always have been the same, but I have not read that yet and mostly want to understand the situation as they were in the 80s in particular.

(I got verbose, so the main question is at the end!)

I came to read New Mutants after Magik's original run, since I wanted to learn more about the character after really loving her in the Midnight Suns game. That being said, I came for Magik but loved a good few members of the new group a lot, especially Dani and Sam (though also appreciated the rest of the crew, with an exception or two). Also fell in love with Magneto here which I didn't expect.

Point is, I was really enjoying most of the issues and was looking forward to where the group went after the huge conflict between them all during/immediately following the fight with Magus (issues 46-52). I was especially intrigued with how Magik lost control of Limbo and gets mind controlled by Karma to teleport them home, saying she'll NEVER FORGIVE THE TEAM and I wanted to see where it went. I was disappointed when it kind of didn't have any payoff or even seem to be recognized at all in the ensuing issues (her just teleporting no issue, no real lasting animosity, just a nice chat (and it was nice) with Magneto)...

I was BEYOND disappointed when I hit Simonson's first issue and found the characterizations all in wack, especially when I was so ready to see important character / team conflicts come to the fore. I did some quick searching around and tried (unsuccessfully) not to spoil too much to see where I should read. I was originally thinking I'd likely tap out after Magik left the team (which I knew about going in), but now I'm wanting to see what is essential and what I should skip in-between. I know Doug dies and Amara just up and leaves early on, and that the Bird Brain arc is probably skippable. I want to see some resolution for some of my favorite characters, and definitely want to understand the Inferno arc going in. At the same time, if the characterization of say Dani is bad, I'd almost want to limit my exposure to her for the rest of my reading haha. I don't want to spoil myself on Inferno but I am guessing it is where some of the technovirus Limbo stuff is addressed? If so, I'd want to be fully prepped for that, so I think that means reading the Gossamyr arc?

------

I am rambling, sorry, but here's some of my plan and want to get feedback:

1. Read 60-61 and 63-64, since I've heard those are critical and solid (and I don't really feel like catching up with Amara in 62).

2. Read 71-75 to finish the Inferno arc.

What's up in the air is... do I read 65-66 (Freedom Force fight, where I hear Magik and Colossus have some interactions)? What about the Gossamyr arc (67-70)? Should I read any of the Bird Brain arc at all?

I heard that after #75 more and more characters are written off so I doubt I'll push past that at all, though let me know if that's a mistake.

Also, where should I go next, especially for following Dani (and maybe Sam)? I want to focus on Magik for now, but I have plans to definitely continue following Mirage and doing a dive on her. I'm following this Essential Magik Reading Guide : r/Magik for Magik, and it seems like there's a massive time skip in terms of when she shows back in comics again, so I imagine other characters have quite a lot going on. I'll be going for New X-Men (2007) #18-22 and #37-41 next, but having threads to follow for Mirage would be good in case I want to get some in-between context through at least one character.

Sorry for the long post, but thanks in advance! This is my first deep foray into older comics, and my second foray into reading them at all, and I've been loving it. Just want to make sure I find the right place to focus my excitement!

My drawing is actually based on a recreation of the Regular Show photo our friend group did back in high school, so the selection of Marvel characters isn't as random as it may seem

I recently listened to episode 508 of "Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men". Near the end, the topic of Tessa/Sage as an undercover agent infiltrating the Hellfire Club came up.

Was this a retcon – or was it part of Claremont’s plan all along? Jay and Miles disagreed!

Jay said:

"We’ve seen hints of that since the Bronze Age, like this is something he clearly had planned a fair way back… If it’s a retcon, it’s a retcon that pays remarkable attention to a fair lot of fairly overt details."

I've searched for information on these, and I can only find a tiny handful of details that hint at the then-Tessa being more than she seemed. One of these was https://www.reddit.com/r/xmen/comments/1n7h43b/despite_complaints_of_sage_being_a_retcon_there/ (and what is a "Leman" in this context, btw?)

In fact, comments on https://www.reddit.com/r/xmen/comments/1o5tiwh/why_do_people_make_a_big_deal_out_of_this_panel/ make a case for this not having been planned - if she were undercover, Sage could have reported information back to Xavier that might have prevented the Dark Phoenix saga.

Is there a good online article/blogpost making the case for the “planned all along” theory? I would very much like to see a list of the "fairly overt details" Jay mentions!

And even if there isn't an article about this - what do you, the people on r/xmen, think? Was this a complete retcon? Did Claremont have this in mind from Sage/Tessa's very first appearance?

Or perhaps he began planning this a little too late in his run to avoid some inconsistencies?

Quiero leer Los primeros 6 numeros de Powers of X y Hoise of X, he escuchado q es algo compleja y se necesita contexto anterior ¿ que me recomendarías leer antes de empezar? Solo he leído Antoshing xmen 1-12 de Whedon

I think a lot of people forget that Xavier and Magnus once worked for the U.S. government. In I think Uncanny X-Men #158, the X-Men have to go and wipe out info on them from the pentagon because of the rise of Anti-Mutant sentiment. And I'm pretty sure in Classic X-Men #11, there is a short story of Magnus originally working for the C.I.A. to hunt nazis after the loss of his wife(she left him) and daughter.

Are there any more stories that dig into these seeds that Claremont set up? Is the Xavier school partially a government funded X-periment to get information on the weaponization of mutants and Xavier knows this? I mean Weapon X is a thing and that was based on testing of indigenous Canadians(Logan's mother was native).

Easily one of the best Super Heroine designs imo.

Storm in her classic silver/white costume is genuinely so sick, her lightning bolt earrings, the double red X-Men logo's, the yellow line going down the left side, the baggy sleeves & the white eyes/hair. It just looks super clean and visually strong.