As an omnibus collector (and as someone with a bit of an obsessive streak, but let’s ignore that for now), there are few things more frustrating than a conspicuous gap between volumes of a collected line of comics. This is particularly vexing when it’s a matter of “orphaned” issues; that is, stories that were missed between existing compilations, which means they’ll likely never be collected in this oversized hardcover format. Other times, it’s just a matter of a line that’s yet to be finished, which isn’t so bad if one is patient. Unfortunately, “one” —that’s me— isn’t patient (see aforementioned “obsessive streak”), so I decided to inaugurate this column about mapping hypothetical omnibus volumes with The Big One: the next Uncanny X-Men omnibus… which I wouldn’t title Uncanny X-Men Vol. 5, for reasons that will soon become clear.
Uncanny X-Men Vol. 4 was released in 2021, taking us up to Uncanny X-Men #193 in the middle of Chris Claremont’s excellent run with John Romita Jr. This was, for me, when it became clear Claremont’s long run was something truly special: Rachel Summers; the Morlocks; Rogue; Selene and the Hellfire Club; and much more. This numbered volume almost took the X-Men from the Bronze Age to the first Dark Age self-titled collection in the line: X-Men: Mutant Massacre, which kicks off with Uncanny X-Men #210. There is, however, a gap to bridge between these two eras. [Read more…] about Omnibussin: Mapping The Next X-Men Omnibus (Vol. 5)