Comic Book Herald

A Comic Book Reading Order Guide For Beginners & Fans

X-Men

The Complete X-Men Reading Order Guide: Chris Claremont Era

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Chris Claremont turned a failing comic about mutants into one of the most successful comic book franchises of all time.  Though, often criticized for being too wordy or having wooden dialogue, Claremont helped create a more literary medium bringing comics into the modern era.  Claremont wrote X-men comics for 16 years!  Those 16 years form one of the greatest epics ever created.  All modern X-men comics use Claremont’s run as a foundation.  You won’t be able to truly understand X-Men: Messiah Complex without reading these books first.  The good news is a lot of these comics hold up pretty well.  In this guide I’ll try to differentiate the *required reading* from the *just for fun*. [Read more…] about The Complete X-Men Reading Order Guide: Chris Claremont Era

X-Men Chronology: Duane Swierczynski’s CABLE

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In 2008, the X-Men universe was turned upside-down.  A child was born – the first mutant since M-Day, who would come to be known as Hope Summers.  This birth kicked off the events of ‘Messiah CompleX’, and ultimately led to Cable travelling to the future with the baby.  The idea was to keep her safe; but Marvel chose to ensure the story continued, and passed responsibility for the arc to experienced novelist Duance Swierczynski. [Read more…] about X-Men Chronology: Duane Swierczynski’s CABLE

X-Men Chronology: Paul Cornell’s first Wolverine run

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When Paul Cornell returned to Marvel, it was with a pitch that would transform Wolverine’s life.  With the benefit of hindsight, this series began an arc that would culminate in Wolverine’s death; and yet, when you read through interviews from the past few years, you don’t get the sense that this was always as inevitable as it now seems.  Cornell’s aim was not to kill Wolverine, but rather to change his status quo; to introduce an element of ‘threat’ to Wolverine’s life that had always been missing. [Read more…] about X-Men Chronology: Paul Cornell’s first Wolverine run