X-Men TPB Reading Order

06/04/2010

X-Men TPB Reading Order

TPB COLLECTS ISSUES COLLECTS ISSUES FROM MONTHS
Essential X-Men v. 1 Giant-Size X-Men #1, UXM #94-119 AUG 75 – MAR 79
Essential X-Men v. 2 UXM #120-144, UXM Annual(1) #3-4 APR 79 – APR 81
Wolverine WOLV(1) #1-4 Essential X-Men v. 3 UXM #145-161, UXM Annual(1) #5-6, Avengers Annual(1) #10 MAY 81 – SEPT 82
Essential X-Men v. 4 UXM #162-179, UXM Annual(1) #7, X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills OCT 82 – MAR 84
Essential X-Men v. 5 UXM #180-198, UXM Annual(1) #8, X-MEN/ALPHA FLIGHT #1-2 APR 84 – OCT 86
Essential X-Men v. 6 UXM #199-213, NM Special Edition #1, UXM Annual(1) #9, X-Factor(1) #9-11, NM(1) #46, Thor(1) #373-374, Power Pack(1) #27 NOV 85 – JAN 87
Essential X-Men v. 7 UXM #214-228, UXM Annual(1) #10-11, Fantastic Four vs. The X-Men #1-4 FEB 87 – APR 88
Essential Wolverine v. 1 WOLV(2) #1-23 Essential X-Men v. 8 UXM #229-243, UXM Annual(1) #12, X-Factor(1) #36-39 MAY 88 – APR 89
Essential Wolverine v. 2 WOLV(2) #24-47 Essential X-Men v. 9 UXM #244-264, UXM Annual(1) #13 MAY 89 – JUL 90
Essential X-Men v. 10 UXM #265-272, UXM Annual(1) #14, Fantastic Four Annual(1) #23, NM(1) #95-97, NM Annual(1) #6, X-Factor(1) #60-62, X-Factor Annual(1) #5 AUG 90 – JAN 91
X-Men: Crossroads UXM #273-277 FEB 91 – JUN 91
Mutant Genesis XM #1-7 OCT 91 – APR 92
Essential Wolverine v. 3 WOLV(2) #48-69 The Coming Of Bishop UXM #282-285, 287-288 NOV 91 – MAY 92
X-Men And Ghost Rider: Brood Trouble In The Big Easy XM #8-9, Ghost Rider(2) #26-27 MAY 92 – JUL 92
X-Cutioner's Song X-Factor(1) #84-86, UXM #294-296, X-Force(1) #16-18, XM #14-16 NOV 92 – JAN 93
Essential Wolverine v. 4 WOLV(2) #70-90 Fatal Attractions Excalibur(1) #71, UXM #304, WOLV(2) #75, X-Factor(1) #92, X-Force(1) #25, XM #25 JUL 93 – NOV 93
Avengers/X-Men: Blood Ties Avengers(1) #368-9, Avengers West Coast #101, XM #26, UXM #307 NOV 93 – OCT 94
The Origin Of Generation X X-Factor(1) #106, X-Force(1) #38, Excalibur(1) #82, UXM #316-317, XM #36-37, WOLV(2) #85, Cable(1) #16, Generation X #1 SEPT 94 – NOV 94
Legionquest UXM #320-321, XM #40-41 JAN 95 – FEB 95
X-Men Visionaries: Joe Madureira UXM #325-326, UXM #329-330, UXM #341-343 OCT 95 – NOV 95
FEB 96 – MAR 96
FEB 97 – APR 97
Dawn Of The Age Of Apocalypse X-Men: Alpha #1, Cable(1) #20, Age of Apocalypse: The Chosen FEB 95 – APR 95
X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic Book 1 X-Men Chronicles #1-2, Tales From the Age of Apocalypse: By the Light, X-Man #1, X-Man ’96 Annual, Tales from the Age of Apocalypse: Sinister Bloodlines, Blink #1-4 MAR 95 – JUN 95
DEC 96
DEC 97
MAR 01 – JUN 01
X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic Book 2 X-Men: Alpha, Age of Apocalypse: The Chosen, Generation Next #1, Astonishing X-Men(1) #1, X-Calibre #1, Gambit and The X-Ternals #1-2, Weapon X(1) #1-2, Amazing X-Men #1-2, Factor X #1-2, X-Man #1 FEB 95 – APR 95
X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic Book 3 X-Calibre #2-3, Astonishing X-Men(1) #2-4, Generation Next # 2-3, X-Man # 2-3, Factor X # 3, Amazing X-Men # 3, Gambit and The Externals # 3, X-Universe # 1 MAR 95 – MAY 95
Essential Wolverine v. 5 WOLV(2) #91-110, WOLV 1996 Annual, UXM #332 X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic Book 4 Generation Next #4, X-Calibre #4, X-Man #4, 53-54, Factor X #4, Gambit and The X-Ternals #4, Amazing X-Men #4, Weapon X(1) #4, X-Universe #2, X-Men: Omega, Blink #4, X-Men: Prime JUN 95 – JUL 95
JUL 99 – AUG 99
JUN 01
X-Men: Prelude to Onslaught XM #50; UXM #333; X-Man #15-17; Cable #32-33 MAR 96 – JUL 96
X-Men: The Complete Onslaught Epic Book 1 XM #53-54, UXM #334-335, Avengers(1) #400-401, Onslaught: X-Men, X-Man #18, X-Force #57, Cable(1) #34, Incredible Hulk(2) #444 JUN 96 – AUG 96 NOV 96
X-Men: The Complete Onslaught Epic Book 2 Excalibur(1) #100, Fantastic Four(1) # 415, X-Factor(1) #125-126, Generation X #18, WOLV(2) #104, XM #55, UXM #336, Cable(1) #35, X-Force(1) #58 AUG 96 – OCT 96
X-Men: The Complete Onslaught Epic Book 3 Incredible Hulk(2) #445, Iron Man #332, Avengers(1) #402, Punisher(3) #11, X-Man #19, Amazing Spider-Man #415, Green Goblin #12, Spider-Man #72, Fantastic Four(1) #416, WOLV(2) #105 SEPT 96
X-Men: The Complete Onslaught Epic Book 4 Fantastic Four(1) #416, XM #56-57, Onslaught: Marvel Universe, Cable(1) #36, UXM #337, Onslaught: Epilogue, Iron Man(2) #6, X-Men: Road to Onslaught SEPT 96 – OCT 96
FEB 97
Wolverine: Not Dead Yet WOLV(2) #119-122 X-Men: Zero Tolerance XM #65-69, WOLV(2) #115-118, Cable(1) #45-47, X-Force(1) #67-69 JUN 97 – NOV 97
Magneto: Rogue Nation Magneto Rex #1-3, X-Men: Magneto War #1, XM #85-87, UXM #366 - 367 MAR 99 – JUL 99
X-Men: The Shattering UXM #372-375, XM #92-95, AXM(2) #1-3, X-Men 1999 Yearbook SEPT – DEC 99
X-Men vs. Apocalypse v. 1: The Twelve UXM #376-377, Cable 73-76, XM 96-97, WOLV(2) 145-147, X-Men 1999 Yearbook. DEC 00 – FEB 00
Wolverine: Blood Debt WOLV(2) #151-154 X-Men vs. Apocalypse v. 2: The Ages of Apocalypse X-51 #8, UXM 378, UXM Annual(1) #23, Cable(1) #77, WOLV(2) #148, X-Men Unlimited #26(1), XM #98, X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #1-4 MAR 00
OCT 00 – MAR 01 JAN 99
X-Men: Powerless UXM #379-380, Cable(1) #78, X-Force(1) #101, WOLV(2) #149, XM #99 APR 00 – MAY 00
Avengers/X-Men: Maximum Security UXM #387, XM #107, Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet #1-3, Captain America(3) #36, Thor(2) #30, Bishop: The Last X-Man #15, Iron Man(3) #35, Avengers(3) #35, Gambit(3) #23, X-Men Unlimited #29 OCT 00 – JAN 01
X-Men: Dream's End UXM #388-390, Cable(1) #87, Bishop: The Last X-Man #16, XM #108-110 JAN 01 – MAR 01
Wolverine/ Deadpool: Weapon X WOLV(2) #162-166 X-men: Eve Of Destruction UXM # 391-393, XM #111-113 APR 01 – JUN 01
Uncanny X-Men: Poptopia UXM #394-399 JUL 01 – DEC 01
New X-Men v. 1: E is for Extinction XM #114-117, New X-Men Annual 2001 JAN 01
JUL 01 – OCT 01
New X-Men v. 2: Imperial XM #118-126 NOV 01 – JUL 02
New X-Men v. 3: New Worlds XM #127-133 AUG 02 – DEC 02
Uncanny X-Men: Hope UXM #410-415 OCT 02 – JAN 03
Wolverine Legends v. 3: Law of the Jungle WOLV(2) #181-186 New X-Men v. 4: Riot at Xavier’s XM #134-138 JAN 03 – MAY 03
Wolverine v. 1: The Brotherhood WOLV(3) #1-6 Uncanny X-Men: Dominant Species UXM #416-420 FEB 03 – MAY 03
Uncanny X-Men: Holy War UXM #421-427 JUN 03 – SEPT 03
New X-Men v. 5: Assault on Weapon Plus XM #139-145 JUN 03 – SEPT 03
Uncanny X-Men: The Draco UXM #428-434 OCT 03 – JAN 04
Wolverine v. 2: Coyote Crossing WOLV(3) #7-11 New X-Men v. 6: Planet X XM #146-150 OCT 03 – FEB 04
Uncanny X-Men: She Lies With Angels UXM #437-441 MAR 04 – MAY 04
Wolverine v. 3: Return of the Native WOLV(3) #12-19 New X-Men v. 7: Here Comes Tomorrow XM #151-154 MAR 04 – MAY 04
Uncanny X-Men: Bright New Mourning UXM #435-436, 442-443, XM #155-156 FEB 04
JUN 04
X-Men: Day of the Atom XM #157-165 JUL 04 – FEB 05
Avengers Disassembled Avengers(3) #500-503, Avengers Finale JUL 04 – JAN 05
Astonishing X-Men v. 1: Gifted AXM(3) #1-6 JUL 04 – DEC 04
Uncanny X-Men - The New Age v. 1: The End of History UXM #444-449 JUL 04 – DEC 04
Wolverine: Enemy of the State v. 1 WOLV(3) #20-25 Uncanny X-Men - The New Age v. 2: The Cruelest Cut UXM #450-454 DEC 04 – MAR 05
Astonishing X-Men v. 2: Dangerous AXM(3) #7-12 JAN 05 – AUG 05
Wolverine: Enemy of the State v. 2 WOLV(3) #26-32 X-Men: Golgotha XM #166-170 MAR 05 – JUL 05
Uncanny X-Men - The New Age v. 3: On Ice UXM #455-461 APR 05 – AUG 05
X-Men: Bizarre Love Triangle XM #171-174 AUG 05 – OCT 05
House of M House of M #1-8, Pulse House of M Special Edition Newspaper AUG 05 – DEC 05
JUL 05
House of M: Uncanny X-Men UXM #462-465, Secrets of the House of M SEPT 05 – DEC 05
House of M: World of M, Featuring Wolverine WOLV(3)#33-35, Black Panther(4) #7, The Pulse #10, Captain America(6) #10 X-Men/Black Panther: Wild Kingdom XM #175-176, Black Panther(4) #8-9 NOV 05 – DEC 05
X-Men: Deadly Genesis X-Men: Deadly Genesis #1-6 JAN 06 – JUL 06
Wolverine: Origins & Endings WOLV(3) #36-40 Uncanny X-Men - The New Age v. 4: End of Greys UXM #466-471 JAN 06 – MAY 06
Decimation X-Men: The Day After Decimation: House of M - The Day After, XM #177-181 JAN 06 – MAR 06
Wolverine: Blood & Sorrow Wolverine(3) #41, 49, Giant-Size Wolverine #1, X-Men Unlimited(2) #12 Decimation: X-Men - 198 X-Men: The 198 #1-5, X-Men: The 198 Files MAR 06 – JUL 06
JAN 06
Civil War Civil War #1-7 MAY 06 – FEB 07
Astonishing X-Men v. 3: Torn AXM(3) #13-18 APR 06 – DEC 06
X-Men: Blood of Apocalypse XM #182-187 APR 06 – AUG 06
Wolverine: Civil War WOLV(3) #42-48 Uncanny X-Men - The New Age v. 5: First Foursaken UXM #472-474, UXM Annual(2) #1 JUN 06 – AUG 06
Civil War: X-Men Civil War: X-Men #1-4 SEPT 06 – DEC 06
Civil War: X-Men Universe Cable & Deadpool #30- 32, X-Factor(3) #8-9 AUG 06 – NOV 06
Uncanny X-Men: Rise & Fall of the Shi'ar Empire UXM #475-486 SEPT 06 – JUL 07
X-Men: Supernovas XM #188-199, XM Annual #1 SEPT 06 – JUL 07
Astonishing X-Men v. 4: Unstoppable AXM(3) #19-24 FEB 07 – MAR 08
Wolverine: Evolution WOLV(3) #50-55 X-Men: Endangered Species X-Men: Endangered Species #1-17, X-Men: Endangered Species AUG 07 – DEC 07
JAN 07
Uncanny X-Men: The Extremists UXM #487-491 AUG 07 – DEC 07
Wolverine: The Death of Wolverine WOLV(3) #56-61 X-Men: Blinded By The Light XM #200-204 AUG 07 – DEC 07
X-Men: Messiah Complex X-Men: Messiah CompleX, UXM #492-494, XM #205-207, New X-Men #44-46, X-Factor(3) #25-27, X-Men: Messiah CompleX - Mutant Files DEC 07 – MAR 08
Uncanny X-Men: Divided We Stand UXM #495-499 APR 08 – AUG 08
Wolverine: Get Mystique WOLV(3) #62-65 X-Men: Legacy - Divided He Stands XM #208-212 APR 08 – JUL 08
Wolverine: Old Man Logan WOLV(3) #66-72, Giant-Size Old Man Logan #1 X-Men: Legacy - Sins Of The Father XM #213-216, X-Men: The Unlikely Saga of Xavier, Magneto and Stan, X-Men: Odd One Out AUG 08 – NOV 08
Uncanny X-Men: Manifest Destiny UXM #500-503, X-Men Free Comic Book Day #1, X-Men: Manifest Destiny #1-5 SEPT 08 – MAR 09
MAY 08
Astonishing X-Men v. 5: Ghost Box AXM(3) #25-30, Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Boxes #1-2 DEC 08 – AUG 09
X-Men Legacy: Original Sin XM #217-218, Wolverine: Origins #28-30, X-Men Original Sin DEC 08 – FEB 09
Uncanny X-Men: Lovelorn UXM #504-507, UXM Annual(2) #2 JAN 09 – MAY 09
X-Men Legacy: Salvage XM #219-225 FEB 09 – AUG 09
X-Force/Cable: Messiah War The Times and Life of Lucas Bishop #1-3, X-Force/Cable: Messiah War, Cable(2) #11-15, X-Force #14-16, X-Men: Future History - The Messiah War Sourcebook APR 09 – AUG 09
Uncanny X-Men: Sisterhood UXM #508-512 JUN 09 – AUG 09
Dark Wolverine v. 1: The Prince WOLV(3) #73-77 Dark X-Men: The Beginning Dark X-Men: The Beginning #1-3, XM #226-227 AUG 09 – OCT 09
Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia UXM #513-514, Dark Avengers #7-8, Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia, Utopia Finale SEPT 09 – NOV 09
JUN 09
X-Men: Legacy - Emplate XM #228-230, X-Men Legacy Annual #1 DEC 09 – FEB 10
SEPT 09
Dark Wolverine v. 2: My Hero WOLV(3) #78-81 Uncanny X-Men: Nation X UXM #515-518, Dark Reign: The List - X-Men NOV 09 – FEB 10
X-Necrosha X-Force(3) #21-25, NM(3) #6-8, XM #231-233, X-Necrosha one-shot DEC 09 – MAY 10
Dark X-Men Dark X-Men #1-5 JAN 10 – MAY 10
Astonishing X-Men v. 6: Exogenic AXM(3) #31-35 JAN 10 – APR 10
X-Men: Second Coming Second Coming: Prepare, X-Men: Second Coming #1-2, UXM #523-525, NM(3) #12-14, XM #235-237, X-Force(3) #26-28 FEB 10 – JUL 10
X-Men: Second Coming – Revelations Cable: Hope, X-Men: Second Coming Revelations: Blind Science one-shot, X-Men: Second Coming Revelations: Hellbound #1-3, X-Factor(3) #204-206 APR 10 – JUL 10
Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis #1-5 MAY 10 – DEC 10
X-Men: Curse of the Mutants XM(2010) #1-6 JUL 10 – DEC 10
X-Men: Curse of the Mutants Oneshots X-Men: Curse of the Mutants - Storm & Gambit, X-Club, Blade, Mutants vs. Vampires AUG 10 – OCT 10
Uncanny X-Men: The Birth of Generation Hope UXM #526-529, Uncanny X-Men: The Heroic Age One Shot JUL 10 – OCT 10
Wolverine v. 1: Wolverine Goes to Hell* WOLV(4) #1-5 X-Men Legacy: Collision XM #238-241 JUL 10 – OCT 10
Uncanny X-men: Quarantine UXM #530-534 NOV 10 - MAR 11
X-Men: Age of X Age of X Alpha, XM #245-247, NM(3) #22-24, Age of X Universe #1-2, Age of X Historical Logs JAN 11 – APR 11
X-Men Legacy: Aftermath XM #242-244, XM #248-249 NOV 10 – MAY 11
X-Men: With Great Power XM(2010) #7-11, Marvel Team-Up Annual #1 JAN 11 – MAY 11
DEC 76
Wolverine v. 2: Wolverine vs. the X-Men WOLV(4) #5.1-9 Astonishing X-Men: Monstrous AXM(3) #36-37, AXM(3) #39, AXM(3) #41; Strange Tales(1) #89 FEB 11 – AUG 11
OCT 61
Uncanny X-Men: Breaking Point UXM #534.1-539 APR 11 – JUN 11
Astonishing X-Men: Inside Pandora's Box ASM(3) #38, ASM(3) #40, ASM(3) #42-43 MAY 11 – OCT 11
X-Men: First to Last XM(2010) #12-15, X-Men: Giant Size #1 MAY 11 – JUL 11
X-Men: Prelude To Schism X-Men: Prelude to Schism #1-4; X-Men First Class Spotlight MAY 11 – JUN 11
X-Men Legacy: Lost Legions XM #250-253 JUN 11 – AUG 11
X-Men: Schism X-Men: Schism #1-5, Generation Hope #10-11, X-Men Regenesis JUL 11 – OCT 11
Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Men UXM #540-544 JUL 11 – OCT 11
X-Men Legacy: 5 Miles South of the Universe XM #254-260 AUG 11 – DEC 11
X-Men: FF XM(2010) #15.1, #16-19 AUG 11 – OCT 11
Wolverine and the X-Men by Jason Aaron v. 1 WATXM #1-7 OCT 11 – FEB 12
X-Men: War Machine XM(2010) #20-23 NOV 11 – JAN 12
Astonishing X-Men: Exiled AXM(3) #44-47 NOV 11 – FEB 12
Uncanny X-Men by Kieron Gillen v. 1 UXM(2011) #1-4 NOV 11 – FEB 12
Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha & Omega Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha & Omega #1-5 JAN 12 – MAY 12
Uncanny X-Men by Kieron Gillen v. 2 UXM(2011) #5-10 JAN 12 – APR 12
X-Men Legacy: Back to School XM #260.1-265 JAN 12 – APR 12
X-Men: The Curse is Broken XM(2010) #24-29 FEB 12 – MAY 12
Wolverine and the X-Men by Jason Aaron v. 2 WATXM #5-8 FEB 12 – APR 12
Avengers vs. X-Men Avengers vs. X-Men #0-12 MAR 12 – OCT 12
Uncanny X-Men by Kieron Gillen v. 3 UXM(2011) #11-14 APR 12 – JUN 12
Wolverine and the X-Men by Jason Aaron v. 3 WATXM #9-13 APR 12 – JUL 12
X-Men Legacy: AVX XM #266-275 MAY 12 – OCT 12
X-Men by Brian Wood v. 1: Blank Generation XM(2010) #30-33 JUN 12 – AUG 12
Astonishing X-Men: Weaponized AXM(3) #52-56 JUL 12 – NOV 12
Uncanny X-Men by Kieron Gillen v. 4 UXM(2011) #15-20 JUL 12 – OCT 12
Wolverine and the X-Men by Jason Aaron v. 4 WATXM #14-18 JUL 12 – OCT 12
X-Men by Brian Wood v. 2: Reckless Abandonment issues AUG 12 – FEB 13
Uncanny Avengers v. 1: The Red Shadow UA #1-5 (Marvel NOW!) OCT 12 – MAR 13
Wolverine and the X-Men by Jason Aaron v. 5 WATXM #19-24 (Marvel NOW!) OCT 12 – JAN 13
AVX: Consequences AVX: Consequences #1-5 OCT 12 – NOV 12
X-Men Legacy v. 1: Prodigal XML #1-6 (Marvel NOW!) NOV 12 – FEB 13
All-New X-Men v. 1: Yesterday’s X-Men ANXM #1-5 (Marvel NOW!) NOV 12 – JAN 13
All-New X-Men v. 2: Here to Stay ANXM #6-10 JAN 13 – APR 13
Wolverine and the X-Men by Jason Aaron v. 6 WATXM #25-29 FEB 13 – MAY 13
Uncanny X-Men v. 1: Revolution UXM(2013) #1-5 (Marvel NOW!) FEB 13 – APR 13
X-Men: X-Termination Age of Apocalypse #13-14, X-Treme X-Men(2) #12-13, X-Termination #1-2, AXM(3) #60-61 MAR 13 – APR 13
Uncanny Avengers v. 2: Ragnarok Now UA #6-11 APR 13 – AUG 13
X-Men Volume 1: Primer XM(2013) #1-5 (Marvel NOW!) MAY 13 – SEP 13
Uncanny X-Men v. 2: Magik UXM(2013) #6-11 13 – AUG 13
Wolverine and the X-Men by Jason Aaron v. 7 WATXM #30-35 MAY 13 – AUG 13
All-New X-Men v. 3: Out of their Depth ANXM #11-15 13 – AUG 13


ABBREVIATIONS:
UXM = Uncanny X-Men
XM = X-Men
AXM = Astonishing X-Men
NM = New Mutants
WOLV = Wolverine
WATXM = Wolverine and the X-Men
XML = X-Men Legacy (2012 series)
ANXM = All-New X-Men
UA = Uncanny Avengers


NOTES:

Items in RED likely to be out of print

* Before reading Wolverine Goes To Hell, it is recommended that you read the following:
  • Wolverine: Weapon X, Vol. 1: The Adamantium Men
  • Wolverine: Weapon X, Vol. 2: Insane in the Brain
  • Wolverine: Weapon X, Vol. 3: Tomorrow Dies Today

All information sourced from uncannyxmen.net, comicvine.com, Wikipedia, Marvel wiki, Amazon and various other sites.

05/04/2010

Download the X-Men TPB Reading Order PDF!

You can download the X-Men TPB Reading Order list as a PDF file by clicking here. You will be sent to my box.net account, where you will find the option to download the file.

Don't care about Wolverine? Get the Wolverine-less version!

Reading Order FAQ

What does TPB stand for?
TPB stands for trade paperback. Many comic publishers will release collected editions of comic story arcs to make it more convenient for readers to assemble their collections. The format in which these collected comics come is called a trade paperback.

Why does this table exist?
As a new reader of X-Men comics, I found it difficult knowing which books to pick up and when to read them. All I was looking for was a simple list of the chronology of collected comics Marvel has released. Upon finding few really useful sources, I decided to make my own list in the form of a table, the result of which is what you see above.

This website sucks, why didn't you make a better one?
With the few website-creating skills I possess, I managed to piece together the information I have in the simplest form. I don't really care about this enough to make a pimped-out webpage, so this is all you get.

Some of the information posted is wrong, what can I do about this?
If you notice a mistake in the table, please leave a comment stating the problem and it will be fixed as soon as possible.

How can I get out-of-print books?
Unfortunately, publishers only produce a certain number of books at a time, and sometimes these go out of print. These are indicated by being written in RED on the table. The books have been checked on multiple online bookstores to verify whether they are in print or not. If a title is not red, it generally means that the book will be available somewhere (i.e. not worldwide). The obvious way to avoid this is to buy books as soon as possible after the date they're released. If you missed your chance, however, let the hunt begin. The easiest place to obtain out-of-print books is Amazon Marketplace or AbeBooks, or any one of the hundreds of other sites like that, as well as eBay. Alternatively, you can wait for a new printing, although that might never happen.

What reading material does this table actually contain? Is it all vital?
My main intention when making this thing was to have a basic skeleton of X-continuity that can be padded out later on. That is it contains basically all the main X-books and crossovers that have had some effect on the X-universe. Some of these books are vital material, others not so much. It's really up to you. The list is by no means exhaustive, nor is it a prescription of what you have to read. It really is just a guide.

Why are there Wolverine books at the side of the table?
This was really more for my own purposes than anything else. As a reader of Wolverine comics, I like to know when abouts in the mainstream X-continuity the events in those books happen. It's just good to know.

Why are books like Avengers Disassembled included? They aren't really X-Men related.
There may be books up there that aren't vital reading but might offer some insight into what's going on in the contunuity. For example, Avengers Disassembled is the precursor to House of M, which had massive effects on the X-continuity we know today. Therefore, it might be in your interest to have this background knowledge. The same goes for a book such as Uncanny Avengers, which is by no means a definitive X-Man book, but nonetheless prominently contains X-Men characters and also sets the tone for a lot of other books in the Marvel Universe.

What do the numbers in brackets mean after some of the comic titles?
Every so often, comic publishers like to spice things up a little and restart the numbering. This might be because it's the dawn of a new comic books era, a new creative team, a special occasion, a relaunch, or they just got bored and like to mess with our heads. Therefore, various comic series have multiple volumes. On the table above, these are indicated by the numbers in brackets, e.g. if you see X-Force(1) #28, it means the 28th issue of the first volume of X-Force (as opposed to the 28th issue of the second volume).

What is the difference between Uncanny X-Men (UXM) and X-Men (XM)?
This is where it gets (even more) complicated. Back in the day there was one X-Men comic book - Uncanny X-Men (actually there's more to it but for the sake of this question, I'll leave it at that). The book eventually became so popular that they decided to release another book in 1991, which they called, just plain-and-simple, X-Men (often referred to as Adjectiveless X-Men or X-Men [2nd series]). The books contained two different teams (Blue and Gold), and interacted at varying levels. The X-Men title would eventually go through some name chages, making the whole thing yet more complex (see next question).
UPDATE: As of September 2010, Marvel released a brand new adjectiveless X-Men book, starting with issue #1. Outside of this reading list, this is known as X-Men volume 3. To avoid confusion, I am referring to this series as XM(2010).
UPDATE: As of  October 2011, the long standing Uncanny X-Men book was relaunched with a new #1 issue. Additionally, the team once again split into two, creating another book, Wolverine and the X-Men. Subsequent issues of Uncanny X-Men will be referred to as UXM(2011) to avoid confusion with other books. Wolverine and the X-Men is referred to as WATXM.
UPDATE: Starting in October 2012, Marvel relaunched a number of its titles as well as introducing some new ones. Uncanny X-Men was relaunched with a new #1 and is referred to as UXM(2013). X-Men (2010 series) was also relaunched with a new #1 and this is referrred to as XM(2013). X-Men Legacy also got a new #1 but rather than complicating things even more, I've decided to just call this XML. A new X-Men book, All-New X-Men (ANXM) has also been released, as has Uncanny Avengers (UA).

Why do X-Men, New X-Men, and X-Men Legacy all share the same numbering?
As you now know, the second X-Men book was first published in 1991. In 2001, the name changed to New X-Men, then in 2004 to 2008 it went back to its original X-Men title. As of 2008 it has been published as X-Me: Legacy. Throughout all this crazy name-changing, the series has kept its original numbering. So basically X-Men, New-X-Men and X-Men Legacy are the same book.

What are crossovers?
Crossovers are generally story arcs where characters from different books come together in one continuity (for example Messiah War was a crossover between Cable and X-Force). Crossovers are often large events (such as the Age of Apocalypse crossover) which affect mainstream continuity in a big way (which is why they've been included on this list).

What is Marvel NOW!?
Marvel NOW! is a relaunch of sorts that began in 2012 and involved a number of books being relaunched, as well as new books being introduced to the line up. It's not really a reboot but a kind of re-jigging of the Marvel Universe to simplify the reading process and attract new readers (mostly through an abundance of #1 issues). The Marvel NOW! relaunch issues have been marked on the table for readers who are interested in those books. Marvel NOW! is happening in 'waves', so look out for new developments.

Why don't you update the table more often?
Because I have a life.
Quite honestly I kind of fell off the comic book radar for a lot of last year and for some time before that so I missed out on a lot of great books and stopped keeping track of trades. But I aim to keep more of an eye on comics now and in the future. This doesn't mean that real life won't get in the way, so in the mean time, if you have a trade and don't know where it belongs chronologically, follow this system to get a rough idea:
  1. Look up the name and issue number of the first and last issues in the trade (for example on marvel.wikia.com).
  2. Make a note of the release dates of the issues.
  3. Go back to the table and use the issue dates column to find some other trades that contain issues from around that time.
  4. Enjoy your trade!


If you have any questions not answered above, please leave a comment.