The biggest obstacle to enjoying X-Men comics is that there are so many X-Men comics. They’ve been around in some form since 1963 and there have been myriad iterations of the X-team, as well as several spinoffs. How do you know where to start or what to read? I picked this 2013-2015 run simply because it has a “Volume 1” on it, and it seemed like as good a place as any to get back into the X-world.
In this iteration of the X-Men, Wolverine may or may not be in charge of the team. However, he’s not present in the book save a cameo. As you can see from the cover, it’s a women-centric cast. Storm is the de facto leader of the team. Someone called Rachel Summers is also towards the top in term of rank, but I don’t know who Rachel Summers is. She has Jean Grey-like powers so I assume she’s related to Scott and/or Jean. Psylocke seems to be in charge of tactical ops. (I love Psylocke in this book. She’s good-looking, hypercompetent, and uses very few words. I wish I was Psylocke.) Rogue is the muscle. Kitty Pride is the heart.
Plotwise, the book features standard aliens vs earthlings fare. In short, an alien force uses electronic technology to try and take over the planet. It’s up to an X-team made up of veterans and students to stop it. Along the way, Jubilee finds a baby.
While I couldn’t quite keep up with all the new characters, I did enjoy the book. It had the classic X-book staples of intrateam tensions, explorations of what makes a family, and cool powers and action. I thought the action was paced and drawn very well.
Can someone recommend some good X-books? I’ve read a lot of the 1960s X-books, but beyond that and the Fox animated series I’m a novice.