The vast majority of X-Men reading recommendations will start you with 1975’s X-Men Second Genesis (including right here on CBH!), but as the name implies, there is of course an original genesis! It’s funny because for the vast majority of Marvel characters created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee (or Steve Ditko and friends!), the 60s origins are a great place to start and see how Marvel Comics began. This is true for Fantastic Four, Amazing Spider-Man, Thor and so on. But for the X-Men, there immense success and popularity wouldn’t come until their second act.
Still, there’s a lot created in the early days that’s worth reading – Magneto and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants! Sentinels! Professor X acting sus! – and I’ve cataloged the reading order and how to collect those first X-Men Comics here. [Read more…] about 60’s X-Men Comics Reading Order (The Silver Age Origins!)
universe, in which he (and many, many artists) created a reimagining of the DC Universe by feeding Lee a basic premise and letting him go his own weird direction with the idea.
at some point). Still, most things Lee was ever even remotely involved in are being recollected today, and so we’ve got a two-part trade that collects these wacky, wacky stories. We’re talking about the second volume of 
here. 
. The insanely detailed biography covers the complete insider history of Marvel, from Captain America punching Hitler to present. I’m still making my way through the book (Jim Starlin and Steve Gerber are wreaking havoc on Marvel’s 70’s comics at the moment), but as I do so I’m finding that the book is providing a ton of inspiration to go back and enjoy early, iconic marvel story-lines. And you don’t get much earlier or more iconic than Fantastic Four #1.