So as far as X-Men comics go...

[Mozgus]

The main problem I've always had is the insanely complicated amount of series, side-stories, alternate universe series, and the general naming structures. I've never really been big into comics, primarily for this reason, and the overall cost. Before the internet, it was pretty much impossible to acquire these things completely, and the thought of missing out on chunks of story was enough to repel my interests.

But I want to at least give it a shot, so I might as well start with X-Men since I loved the cartoon, games and recent movies so much. To start with, I just want to confirm, is this the "main" story?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_X-Men

I guess there's over 500 issues and counting in this main series. I'm also checking out Ultimate X-Men, since the X-Men Legends games and the movies seem to be based on this series.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_X-Men

So if I get through all this, are there any other series that are essential reads?

[jfrost]

[Niode]

Oh man, love the Big Bang Theory.

I wish I had decent access to comic books in this country. They're all hideously expensive in the 2 comic book stores that are near me. I can't justify paying £5 for a 12 page comic book, not when you guys get them for a couple of bucks each. I used to be into them a lot when I was younger, but it was mainly reading my friends vast collection (he went to America a lot and his dad brought him loads back whenever he went). I just don't have the space for them, not with my ever expanding collection of video games!

[superlarz]

Good luck getting into it. I tried before and failed. To follow the main story of X-Men I was getting several books a month, since if you just got one monthly, say Uncanny X-Men, you would miss big chunks of story for not getting X factor and whatever else nonsense they were putting out. They wonder why people dont read comics anymore.. Well for one, its impossible to get into.. and secondly, if you manage to have access to all of the different titles and the highly secretive algorithm for the order in which you were supposed to read them, it would be impossible to have a life doing anything else.

I would love if there was just one comic, called X-Men, and it followed the story of the X-Men.. It pretended there wasnt another character called Spiderman in New York, or and of the Avengers. I wish it was contained within itself. And every month there was a new book, which continued the story of the last book... with no side reading required. If they want to put out more side books have them in their own universe so I can just read my one book every month. If I want other stories I will go into the other "universe." The problem isnt Marvel specific either. Also used to love Batman and Superman comics, but they became to hard to follow. And that was about 16 years ago. Now its mayhem. And it is seemingly impossible to get into for newbs because there is too many titles.

Good luck Moz

[kingdomheights777]

Oh man, love the Big Bang Theory.

OH MY GOD dude! its the best show I have seen in a long time next to arrested development.

[Niode]

Oh man, love the Big Bang Theory.

OH MY GOD dude! its the best show I have seen in a long time next to arrested development.

Time to change your underwear methinks.

[Pullmyfinger]

Perhaps you would be better off reading trade paperbacks of some of the main storylines. I don't follow X-Men but I'm sure a listo won't be hard to find

[Hateshinai]

I would suggest skipping the main Marvel Universe totally and just reading the Ultimate books. The main X-men books have 40 years of back-stories and are insanely convoluted. I tried getting into X-Men and found it almost impossible because of the number of different titles, characters and alternate timelines, etc. The Ultimate books are much more contained and have less continuity problems. They are also all available as TPBs which are reasonably priced overall. So, Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimates - and you'll be set for Marvel. That's what I do at least - and I'm a rabid DC fanboy!

[chupon]

Good for you for taking on this task - but as you know its a huge one. I've got about 200 of the uncanny x-men from about 170 to just before 400. Definitely some of the most fun reading I've had in comics. Uncanny is the way to go but gets expensive quick. Even trades get expensive.

I'd recommend starting as close to the beginning as possible. Start with where John Byrne began - just after about issue 100 I think.

I don't want to trash the newer x-men stuff - from year 2000 on but the 80's and 90's x-men are where it's at. trust me.

[nickfil]

The ultimate line is self contained. It is it's own thing totally separate from the marvel universe. Which is probably a good thing for you steve. You don't need to know all the random facts about every character to know what is going on. I love comics, but often there are a slew of mainstream comics that confuse the shit out of me. Most of the time you just roll with it, hit wikipedia and can figure it out. It just sucks that because of so much back story you have to hit another source of information to understand the full picture. The only thing i would worry about is that if you do know about comics the ultimate line might be a little boring. It rehashes a lot of history with an updated twist or slightly different take. I kinda found it boring, but i seem to be in the minority.

You should look for trades that can be self contained. Here are some x-men stuff off the top of my head that doesn't look too dated and you don't need to know a whole lot to understand.

The new xmen while grant Morrison was writing it. Any character you don't understand is probably new, so it'll be explained.
Astonishing xmen written by joss whedon. From wikipedia's mouth: many large scale events in the Marvel Universe such as House of M, Decimation, Civil War and other Marvel crossovers have been ignored almost completely during the run, due to the long delays between issues and Whedon's own stated desire to remain away from big cross-overs, which he personally dislikes, and what he saw as hectic and unfollowable X-men continuity." Since it is all out you don't have to wait for it, and can jump in and read the whole thing.
Weapon X by barry winsor-smith. A little more dated, but you'll find it is worth the read. I think it still holds up. It is about when wolverine got his metal skeleton and memory implants/alterations put in by the government. Bascially trying to turn him into less of a man and more of a weapon. It does this in a really beauitful way that neither the movie or game did. A bloodbath of a book where you never know if wolverine is aware of his actions or biding his time to excape or is under complete control. Really fantastic.

Those are probably the best places to start IMHO. You could always go into your local comic shop. If it is a decent place just say that you're looking for a couple xmen books for a new reader and they'll point you in the right direction. It is kinda why they are there. I have yet to meet a comic shop guy who wouldn't want to talk about xmen.