Jerk Jerkington III esq. (12/7/2009)
Civil War X-Men, X-Men Universe, and Wolverine - Terrible story with no real impact, and certainly nothing worth reading for a new reader.
Marvel Masterworks: X-Men vol. 1 & 2 - There's a reason the series didn't become trully popular until Giant Size X-men. These volumes are good reads for established fans, but not new readers. The material is simply to dated.
X-Men Origin of Generation X: Tales of the Phalanx Covenant - Considering Generation X lasted only a few years and was largely a 90's creation complete with charactors most people don't care about, this one is worth skipping. Read the current issues of New Mutants instead.
Secret Wars - Not an X-men story, but a decent story none the less.. If your a spidey fan it's a better read.
Ultimate Origins: Wolverine - Since the Ultimate Universe is pretty much cancelled and done for, this will just confuse any new readers.
Wolverine: Origin - Good read for long time x-men fans or fans of Wolverine, but again, if you're new to comics, then the impact this tpb had will be FAR less meaningfull. Read this after you've read alot of other X-men stories.
Wolverine: Evolution - Besides the Death of Sabertooth this one is forgetable. Besides that, again, if you aren't up to speed on the whole history of Wolverine and the x-men and how sabertooth fits into all of that, then this book will be of little interest.
X-Force - This has been one of my favorite reads since the re-launch, however it requires that you have an understanding of the past issues the x-men went through as well as reading Messiah Complex before it'll make much sense. Awesome book though with great art if you know enough to follow it.
Essential X-Men vol. #1-9 - These are in black and white though and may not be everyones cup of tea... Plus not all the stories are worth reading to be honest. Buy these if you can't afford the marvel masterworks volumes or single issues but want to see where the x-men came from.
X-Men Days of Future Past - Worth a read only because it's been referenced so many times over the years and continues to still be referenced. The story itself though isn't really anything that interesting by comparison to more modern stuff. Because of when it came out, and how original it was at that time though, it continues to be a fan favorite, but for me personally it's only a moderately good story.
X-Men: Fatal Attractions - Decent story with good art, but it's significance has been reduced to almost nothing now, and again without some backstory it's impact is meaningless.
X-Men: The Age of Apocalypse the Complete Epic vol. #1-4 - If you don't know much about the x-men then avoid this or you'll be confused for months.
X-Men: Onslaught the Complete Epic vol. #1-4: This signalled the begining of the end for the x-men polulaity in the 90's. Ok story, ok art, but by this point the stories were becoming more and more deluded. Not a worthwhile read on it's own, but if you read Fatal Attractions first, then it's a great followup.
House of M vol. #1-8 (Scarlet Witch decrees, "NO MORE MUTANTS!" There is a prelude to this series in Excalibur, but good luck finding it in TPB for less than $100! VERY HARD TO FIND COMPLETE) - If you want to know what got things in motion to where the x-books are today, then it's worth eading, but really the story is rather lame. I'll sell you all 8 issues in mint/nm condition for $10 shipped (cheaper then the TPB) anywhere in the lower 48 U.S. states if interested.
Decimation vol. #1-5: Decent art, forgettable story.
Astonishing X-Men vol. #1-4 - Personaly I've never understood what the big deal is about Joss whedon, and I have found his work on Astonishing particularly boring, however I do own every known variant and issue so it is worth at least one read. The first four issues are really the only issues worth reading, and I do agree that this is probably a good choice.
X-Men vs. Apocalypse: The Twelve - Skip
X-Men vs. Apocalypse: The Ages of Apocalypse: SKIP!
The New X-Men vol. #1-3 - I loved the New x-men series but it deals with b and c class charactors you rarely see anymore... worth a read as it'll probably be cheap, but it shouldn't be your focus if you enjoy x-men.
Uncanny X-Men: The New Age vol. #1-5 - Skip
Uncanny X-Men Deadly Genesis (My absolute favorite X-Men Graphic Novel! Introduction of Vulcan, the baddest villain in the history of the X-Men) - Great stand alone story and one of my favorites as well.
X-Men Rise and Fall of the Shi'Ar Empire (continues from Deadly Genesis) - If you like Deadly genesis this is a must read.
X-Men Emperor Vulcan (concludes Rise and Fall storyline) - kind of a let down, but worth reading if you read rise and fall...
X-Men Supernovas - Skip
X-Men Blinded by the Light - Skip
Uncanny X-Men Die by the Sword - LAME, Lame, Lame, SKIP!
X-Men First Class vol. #1-5 (Early adventures of the first team!) - Skip, these don't even really fit with continuity
X-Men Manifest Destiny (The X-Men move to San Francisco!) - Worth reading if you're going to read current issues, other wise skip.
X-Men Phoenix Endsong - AWESOME!
X-Men Phoenix Warsong - AWESOME!
X-Men Legacy: Sins of the Father - New reader? then skip.
X-Men Legacy: Divided He Stands - New reader? Then skip
X-Men The End Trilogy - Interesting idea, poor execution.
This is a rough estimate of all of the trades I have in my possession, not counting an entire run of the New Mutants and various back issues I have accumulated in the last year. I've read them all, and I loved every page of them!
Most of these are decen reads, but only after youve read the trully earth shattering/defining stories first.
