Nothing in Marvel comics is as vast and sprawling as the universe of the X-Men. What I’m trying to say is this reading order is immense (and stunningly impressive, likely created by a man of tremendous physical power). For those of you looking to catch up on X-Men comics from the 2000’s, or perhaps to get started for the first time after enjoying X-Men: The Animated Series as a lad/lass, this is the guide:

If you’re looking for more of a fast track to X-Men (aka gimme the good stuff and I’ll come back for the rest later!), I’ve picked essential starting places for each era of X-Men, neatly labeled with the Comic Book Herald logo next to the book title!

Index:

I) Classic X-Men – Chris Claremont Era Reading Order

Ii) Classic X-Men – Age of Apocalypse

Iii) Classic X-Men – Onslaught

Support For Comic Book Herald: Comic Book Herald is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a qualifying affiliate commission. Comic Book Herald’s reading orders and guides are also made possible by reader support on Patreon, and generous reader donations. Any size contribution will help keep CBH alive and full of new comics guides and content. Support CBH on Patreon for exclusive rewards, or Donate here! Thank you for reading! Become a Patron!

II) Modern X-Men Events Fast Track

III) Setting the Stage – Nov 1999 to June 2001

IV) Where to begin for modern fans! New X-Men by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely

V) Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon & John Cassaday

VI) Messiah CompleX and Hope

VII) Dark X-Men and Utopia

VIII) Second Coming to Schism

IX) Wolverine & The X-Men to Avengers vs. X-Men

X) Marvel NOW! X-Men

Before the Beginning – November 1999 through June 2001

For me, the logical starting point for a modern X-Men reading order is with Grant Morrison’s New X-Men . We’ll get there in a minute, but there are a handful of X-issues that you can read before New X-Men that will help set the stage for references to come.

Likewise, if you really want to run the clock back, check out Comic Book Herald’s complete guide to X-Men comics in the 90’s!

X-Men vs. Apocalypse: The Twelve

Issues Included: Uncanny X-Men #376-#377, Cable #73 – #77, X-Men #96 – #97, Wolverine #145 – #147

It’s worth noting here, these first two selections fit most appropriately within our full Apocalypse reading order.

X-Men vs Apocalypse: The Ages of Apocalypse

Issues Included: X-51 #8, Uncanny X-Men #378 and Annual 1999, Cable #77, Wolverine #148, X-Men Unlimited #26, X-Men #98, and X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #1-4. (The Search for Cyclops issues are the ones most referenced by Morrison)

Uncanny X-Men #388 – #390

The events of ‘X-Men: Dream’s End’ will play an important role in Joss Whedon’s upcoming Astonishing X-Men. You can also add issues Cable #87, Bishop #16 and X-Men #108-110 for the full experience.

Note that “Dream’s End” is diving in head first to the tail end of 90’s X-Men that is hot on the heels of the Onslaught Saga.

Uncanny X-Men #394 – #399

From this point forward Uncanny X-Men, Marvel’s flagship X-book, takes a back seat to the ‘New X-Men.’ You can approach this revelation in a few ways, one of which is to just bypass Uncanny X-Men all together. This is my recommended approach for anyone feeling a bit overwhelmed by the volume of all these X-options. Note, though, that a fair amount of questions can be answered during this period of Uncanny X-Men, such as “When did Juggernaut become a good guy?” and “When did Iceman get so frigid?”

Where to Begin: New X-Men by Grant Morrison

July 2001 through May 2004

Grant Morrison is likely the second most critically revered and influential comic book author of the last 35 years, trailing only Alan Moore in terms of recognition and output. While his Big 2 superhero work has been primarily with DC Comics (including Animal Man , The Doom Patrol , All-Star Superman with Quitely, and Batman: Arkham Asylum ), for a three year stint Marvel was able to convince the legend to revamp the X-Men.

And revamp them he did.

Morrison has this trick where he makes everything old new again. That’s why he was the perfect person to reboot the whole series. Grant’s run is both a “greatest hits” of important X-Men concepts and storylines, but is also filled with fresh new ideas. Honestly, filled.

And artist Frank Quitely has a field day on this arc. His art’s not to everyone’s taste, but I thought he was the perfect choice. Quitely’s work is clear and hyper-legible; meaning whether he’s drawing Sentinel attacks, drug-addled mutants, or time-skips that produce mutant hawks (yes), you can always read what’s happening… even when it’s Morrison-level craziness.

New X-Men refreshes everything about Marvel’s favorite mutants. The core characters and stories presented in the pages of New X-Men set the stage for all X-stories through today.

Necessary Reading From This X-Era:

New X-Men Omnibus

Collects: New X-Men 114-154, Annual 2001

Morrison starts strong introducing a number of ideas all at once, including creating an evil twin sister for Professor Xavier and then having her take control of a bunch of sentinels. This comes along with longer-threads, like having Emma Frost join the team for the first time and introducing the idea of “secondary mutations.” Somehow, this all feels like “classic X-men” while being brand new at the same time. This keeps going the entire run, more or less.

New X-Men, Vol. 1 – #114 to #126 + Annual #1

New X-Men, Vol. 2 – #127 to #141

New X-Men, Vol. 3 – #142 to #154

Issue by Issue Reading Order:

New X-Men #114 – #117 + Annual #1 + #118 – #133

Uncanny X-Men issues #400 – #415 occur during this same timeframe

X-Force #116 – #129 + X-Statix #1 – #26

Technically this X-Force series (retitled X-Statix after issue #129) occurs over a longer timespan, intersecting chronologically with New X-Men. That said, once you know the state of Morrison’s New X-Men you can largely read Milligan and Allred’s X-Statix all the way through. It’s one of my favorite Marvel comics series of all time. Not your father’s X-Men, but peripheral to that world.

Read X-Force #116 – #129

Origin #1 – #6

This is the long awaited origin of Wolverine.

Read Origin

Emma Frost #1 – #18

Emma’s first (and to my knowledge only) solo series, predominantly composed of flashbacks. Underrated early 2000’s comic expanding on the upbringing of the New X-Men’s most interesting addition.

Read Emma Frost (2001)

New X-Men #134 – #145

Uncanny X-Men issues #416 – #434 occur during this same timeframe

Wolverine #1 – #6 begins here

I won’t tell you how to live your life, but when Greg Rucka writes a comic, that’s typically a book you want to be reading, and the relaunched Wolverine is no exception.

Weapon X #1 – #13 + Weapon X One-Shots (Kane, Marrow, Sauron, Wild Child, Zero)

Read Weapon X (2002)

New X-Men #146 – #154

Uncanny X-Men issues #435 – 443

Wolverine #7 – #19

Weapon X #14 – #28

Mystique #1 – #13 (Brian K. Vaughn)

As suggested a moment ago with Greg Rucka and Wolverine, when Brian K. Vaughn is writing a Marvel Comic, that’s a book you probably want to check out. His thirteen issue run on Mystique is less clever and celebrated than, say, Runaways , but it’s still worth a read.

Read Mystique (2003)

Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon & John Cassaday –

July 2004 through March 2008

Following Morrison and Quitely’s mutant reinvention, the go-to X-title shifted from New X-Men to Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday. You may recognize Whedon from such works as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, and a little movie known as The Avengers . His 25 issues on X-men with Cassaday are arguably the greatest X-Men comics of the decade. Very arguably, but still, arguably. You can read the story straight through without continuity interruptions, but I include the various chronology of other books for reference.

New X-Men ended with a relatively clean slate. This let Joss Whedon and John Cassaday redesign the book from the ground up, forging a new line-up to take on new threats… like the world finding a genetic “cure” for mutants.

The primary threat of Whedon’s run (the genetic “cure”) is interesting for how seemingly small it is. It’s not a supervillain. It’s not the government. It’s not even an enormous robot. The threat is the very idea that mutants are “sick.”

For a team that classically “fights for a world that hates and fears them” the question becomes “what if mutants hate themselves? And what if they can change that that?” It’s almost like fighting assimilation.

Interspersed with all that you’ll find that Marvel’s era of events begins to impact the world of mutants in increasingly meaningful ways. From House of M through Decimation the status quo of being a mutant in the Marvel universe takes some major hits here. Factor in other classic storylines like Wolverine: Enemy of the State , X-Men: Deadly Genesis , and The Rise and Fall of the Sh’iar Empire , and you have a pretty great run of x-stories here.

Necessary Reading From This X-Era:

Collects: Astonishing X-Men #1-24, And Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1.

There’s a serious debate within the community whether these 25 issues are the best run of the decade. The character work is great, there are some truly clever ideas, and the pacing makes it all feel effortless. The only way it could possibly place second is if Grant Morrison were to… exist?

Astonishing X-Men #1 – #6

Uncanny X-Men #444 – #454 – Beginning with issue #444 Chuck Austen’s lengthy and generally frowned upon run ends and Chris Claremont – of “writer who basically invented the modern X-Men” fame – takes over.

District X #1 – #6

Read District X

Madrox #1 – #5

This 5 issue limited series starring Madrox the Multiple Man as a private eye is another underrated X-gem from the 2000’s. Good, fun read, and effectively launches Peter David’s run on X-Factor.

Read Madrox

Cable & Deadpool #1 – #18

The Mutant Odd-Couple. There’s a ton of action and comedy in this fan favorite series. But here’s also some great ideas, like when Cable is cured of the Technovirus, leading to him finally getting to use his powers at full strength for an extended period of time.

Read Cable & Deadpool

Astonishing X-Men #7 – #12

Nightcrawler #1 – #12

Read Nightcrawler #1 – #12

Wolverine: Enemy of the State #20 – #32

Technically the Enemy of the State story arc from Mark Millar and John Romita Jr occurs in two separate six issue chunks. The story reads best together, though, and also independent of Astonishing X-Men.

X-Men: Reload By Chris Claremont Vol. 1: The End of History

Collects: Uncanny X-Men (1981) 444-461, X-Men (1991) 165

Chris Claremont and Alan Davis return to the X-Men! Unfortunately, it was primarily to fix the absolute disaster Chuck Austen had made of things. Somehow, they managed to do this while also incorporating X-23 into the standard Marvel Universe! They really are wizards…

Rogue #1 – #12

Read Rogue (2004)

Gambit #1 – #12

Read Gambit (2004)

X Men / Black Panther: Wild Kingdom – X-Men issues #175 – #176, Black Panther issues #8 – #9

Buy X-Men/Black Panther: Wild Kingdom

X-Men: Phoenix – Endsong #1 – #5

Read Phoenix – Endsong

New X-Men: Hellions #1 – #4

Read Hellions

X-Men: Colossus Bloodline #1 – #5

Read Colossus Bloodline

House of M

(Alternate Timeline) After Scarlet Witch de-powered all mutants at the end of Avengers Disassembled, a pocket universe was temporarily born titled “House of M.” The universe basically acts like a “monkey’s paw” for certain key heroes.

Wolverine gets all of his memories back and they’re terrible. Steve Rogers got to age gracefully and is now an old man. Peter Parker married Gwen Stacy, because Marvel really hates Mary Jane. Like, so much.

The whole thing is somewhat similar to Age of Apocalypse, which Marvel has been somewhat obsessed with since it came out. The only difference is that this arc had positive character progression (because Bendis wrote this one.)

Necessary Reading From This X-Era:

House of M



Collects:

This collects all 8 issues of the main title, with none of the side stories. As ever, some of the side stories are great, some are not worth your time.

Check out the link above for the full Comic Book Herald reading order including all tie-ins.

Decimation

(Main Timeline) When House of M ends and reality returns to normal, it must finally contend with Wanda’s curse of “no more mutants.”

On “M Day,” thousands of mutants loose their powers instantly, making the whole of mutant kind into an endangered species.

The series really gives a sense of scale, and sets the starting tone on an anxious decade for the X-Men.

Necessary Reading From This X-Era:

The 198 (Decimation)

Collects: X-Men: The 198 #1-5 And X-Men: The 198 Files.

Don’t let the name fool you, The 198 is an X-Book. But instead of focusing on a particular time, this book gives a good, global view of the event.

Check out the link above for the full Comic Book Herald reading order including all tie-ins.

X-Men: Deadly Genesis #1 – #6

I wouldn’t miss this one. Six issue mini-series from Ed Brubaker and Travis Hairsine that occurs during Decimation and sets the stage for Professor X and many future X-stories, including Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar empire and even War of Kings.

Uncanny X-Men #462 – #471

X-Factor #1 – #6

Read X-Factor

X-23 (2005) #1 – #6

Read X-23

New X-Men #20 to #23

Read New X-Men

Astonishing X-Men #13 – #24 + Giant Sized Astonishing X-Men #1

Technically issues #19 – #24 and the Giant Sized conclusion are published after a few of the following issues, but this story is better read together and before Civil War.

Wolverine: Origins #1 – #15

Read Wolverine Origins

Cable & Deadpool #19 – #35

X-Men: Apocalypse/Dracula #1 – #4

Read Apocalypse vs. Dracula

Marvel Universe Event: Civil War

In Marvel’s big hero vs. hero slugfest, the mutants play an important role.

And that role is to act as even more of an allegory for racism than usual! (Fear not: there is some fun, like when Wolverine survives being hit by a nuke.)

Check out the link above for the full Comic Book Herald reading order including all tie-ins.

X-Men: Blood of Apocalypse #182 – #187

X-Men: Phoenix Warsong #1 – #5

Read Phoenix Warsong

X-Factor #7 – #17

Uncanny X-Men: Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire #475 – #486

For me, this is the point in X-continuity where Uncanny X-Men becomes required reading. Ed Brubaker takes over the writing reigns and Billy Tan is on art for this space epic.

Buy Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire

Cable & Deadpool #36 – #50

X-Factor #18 – #24

X-Men: Endangered Species #1 – #17

Wolverine #56

This is actually the start of a story arc continuing through issue #61. I include the issue 1) To give a sense of where we are in Wolverine continuity during this period and 2) Because issue #56 is one of my favorite Wolverine comics ever. The story is “The Man in the Pit” from Jason Aaron, one of his first forays into the character before becoming the primary writer.

Wolverine Origins #16 – #20 + Annual #1

X-Men: Messiah Complex and the Great Hope Summers

December 2007 through March 2009

The world of mutants gets some hope with the excellent Messiah CompleX crossover event.

Finally, after two years, the first mutant born since M-Day. It’s a race between the X-Men, Purifiers, Marauders, and other factions to recover this miracle.

Also, Cable makes a big return to play an important, poetic part.

Necessary Reading From This X-Era:

Messiah Complex

Check out the below Messiah Complex guide for the order of issues in this crossover event.

X-Men: Messiah Complex (one-shot) Uncanny X-Men #492 X-Factor #25 New X-Men #44 X-Men #205 Uncanny X-Men #493 X-Factor #26 New X-Men #45 X-Men #206 Uncanny #494 X-Factor #27 New X-men #46 X-Men #207

X-Factor #28 – #32

X-Force #1 – #13

After the horrible war of attrition to recover the baby called hope, Cyclops tasks Wolverine to form an off-the-books wetworks team. A group of dyed-in-the-wool killers who could find permanent solutions to the worst of mutantkind’s problems.

Read X-Force (2008)

Divided We Stand – Uncanny X-Men #495 – #499, X-Men #208 – #213

Buy Divided We Stand

Buy Divided He Stands

Wolverine: Get Mystique #62 – #65

Astonishing X-Men #25 – #30 + Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Boxes #1 – #2

Uncanny X-Men: The Complete Collection by Matt Fraction – Volume 1

Collects: Uncanny X-Men (1963) 500-511; Uncanny X-Men Annual (2006) 2

Cable #1 – #10

Read Cable (2008)

Wolverine: Origins #21 – #30

Marvel Universe Event: Secret Invasion

A fun little event where we discover that shape shifting aliens named the Skrulls have secretly replaced a non-trivial number of super heroes, leading to an eventual invasion.

Check out the link above for the full Comic Book Herald reading order including all tie-ins.

X-Men: World’s Apart #1 – #4

Read World’s Apart

X-Infernus #1 – #4

Read X-Infernus

Messiah War

Issues: X-Men: The Times and Life of Lucas Bishop #1-3, Cable #11-15, X-Force #14-16, X-Force/Cable: Messiah War One-Shot

Reading Order: X-Men: The Times and Life of Lucas Bishop #1-3, X-Men Messiah War One-Shot, Cable #13, X-Force #14, Cable #14, X-Force #15, Cable #15, X-Force #16

Old Man Logan – Wolverine #66 – #72 + Giant Size #1

X-Force #17 – #25 + X-Force: Sex & Violence #1 – #3

Dark X-Men & Utopia

April 2009 through December 2009

For a year following Secret Invasion, the Marvel Universe fell under the dark reign of Norman Osborn (aka the Green Goblin). This impacts the world of the X-Men in some important ways, including the Utopia crossover event with the Dark Avengers below.

Secret Invasion: Dark Reign #1

Dark Reign: The Cabal #1

Dark X-Men: The Beginning #1 – #3

Here’s the full Dark Reign reading order

Dark Avengers / Uncanny X-Men: Utopia

Reading Order: Utopia #1, Uncanny X-Men #513, Dark Avengers #7, Uncanny X-Men #514, Dark Avengers #8, Dark Avengers / X-Men: Exodus #1, X-Men: Legacy #226 – #227, Dark X-Men: The Confession #1

Dark Reign – The List: X-Men #1

Wolverine: Origins #31 – #40

Dark Wolverine – Wolverine #73 – #81

Dark X-Men #1 – #5

X-Men: Nation X

Collects: Uncanny X-Men #515-522, Dark Reign: The List – X-Men, Nation X #1-4

Wolverine Origins #41 – #45

X-Factor #39 – #50 + #200 – #203

X-Factor renumbers after issue #50 with a #200.

Wolverine: The Best There Is #1 – #12

Read Wolverine The Best There Is

Psylocke #1 – #4

Read Psylocke (2009)

X-Necrosha

A strange little x-book wide event that attempted to establish the undead as a major threat to mutants. It’s a little “monster of the week” for some… but it’s also got Kyle, Yost, Carey, Mann, Craine, and more on it.

Includes: New X-Men #32, X-Force #11, #21-25, New Mutants #6-8, X-Men: Legacy #231-234, X-Force/New Mutants: Necrosha One-Shot, X Necrosha: The Gathering

Reading Order: X-Necrosha: The Gathering #1, X-Necrosha #1, New Mutants #6, X-Force Vol 3 #21, New Mutants #7, X-Force Vol 3 #22, New Mutants #8, X-Men: Legacy #231, X-Force Vol 3 #23, X-Men: Legacy #232, X-Force Vol 3 #24, X-Men: Legacy #233, X-Force Vol 3 #25, X-Men: Legacy #234

X-Men: Second Coming

Jan 2010 to Oct 2011

Remember all that Hope talk way back in Messiah CompleX ? Well the Second Coming has arrived and it will bring about one of the biggest internal debates the X-Men have ever seen.

Hope Summers, the first mutant born since M-Day, returns from the future, resulting in a second struggle to obtain her. This time, it’s much, much worse.

Astonishing X-Men #31 – #35

Marvel Universe Event: Siege

Norman Osborn pushes the Sentry until he loses what’s left of his mind. Sentry goes and attacks Asgard, which retaliates by declaring all-out war on Earth.

Check out the link above for the full Comic Book Herald reading order including all tie-ins.

Wolverine: Origins #46 – #50

Cable #16 – #25

Necessary Reading From This X-Era:

X-Men: Second Coming + Second Coming: Revelations

Issues: Second Coming: Prepare, Second Coming #1-2, Uncanny X-Men #523-525; New Mutants #12-14, X-Men Legacy #235-237, X-Force #26-28

Reading Order: X-Men: Hope #1, X-Men Second Coming: Prepare, Second Coming #1, Uncanny X-Men #523, New Mutants #12, X-Men: Legacy #235, X-Force #26, X-Factor #204, Uncanny X-Men #524, X-Men: Hellbound #1, New Mutants #13, X-Men: Blind Science #1, X-Men: Legacy #236, X-Force #27, X-Factor #205, Uncanny X-Men #525, New Mutants #14, X-Men Legacy #237, X-Force #28, X-Factor #206, X-Men: Hellbound #2, Second Coming #2, X-Men: Hellbound #3

Daken: Dark Wolverine #1 – #4

Read Daken Dark Wolverine

Wolverine Goes to Hell #1 – #5

Uncanny X-Men #526 – #529 + Heroic Age One-Shot

Uncanny X-Men: The Complete Collection by Matt Fraction – Volume 3

Collects: Uncanny X-Men (1963) 526-534

Generation Hope #1 – #5

Read Generation Hope

Uncanny X-Force: Apocalypse Solution #1 – #4 + Uncanny X-Force: Deathlok Nation #5.1, #5 to #7

The beginning of Rick Remender’s incredible run on X-Force. Which I have written extensively about HERE. This is a must-read.

Read Uncanny X-Force

X-Men: Curse of the Mutants #1 – #6 + Curse of the Mutants One-Shots

Reading Order: Death of Dracula #1, X-Men: Curse of the Mutants – Blade #1, X-Men #1, X-Men #2, Namor: The First Mutant #1, X-Men: Curse of the Mutants – Storm & Gambit #1, X-Men: Curse of the Mutants – Smoke & Blood #1, X-Men Vol #3, Namor: The First Mutant #2, X-Men: Curse of the Mutants – X-Men vs. Vampires #1, X-Men #4, X-Men: Curse of the Mutants – X-Men vs. Vampires #2, Namor: The First Mutant #3, Namor: The First Mutant #4, X-Men #5, X-Men #6

Namor: The First Mutant #1 – #6

It’s not a well-publicized fact that Namor is a mutant. This brings the underwater king into the X-Men fold, giving him some well-needed character development.

X-Factor #207 – #224

X-23: The Killing Dream #1 – #6

Astonishing Spider-Man / Wolverine #1 – #12

Jason Aaron pens this timetraveling team-up book. This book winds up being important for Death of Wolverine!

Read Astonishing Spidey / Wolverine

X-Men: Age of X

(Alternate Timeline) A return to the Age of Apocalypse!

Issues: AGE OF X ALPHA, X-MEN LEGACY #245-247, NEW MUTANTS (2009) #22-24, AGE OF X UNIVERSE #1-2

Astonishing X-Men #36 – #43

Uncanny X-Men #530 – #539

X-Men: Schism

A mutant attack on the UN leads nations around the globe to mobilize their Sentinel armies. This leads to a tense stand-off as Cyclops wants to put all available mutants into battle… while Wolverine wants the children to be spared.

X-Men: Prelude to Schism #1 – #4

Necessary Reading From This X-Era:

X-Men: Schism #1 – #5

Generation Hope #6 to #12

Reading order:

Schism #1

Schism #2

Schism #3

Generation Hope #10

Generation Hope #11

Schism #4

Schism #5

X-Men: Regenesis #1

X-Men: X-Club

Read X-Club

Fear Itself is sorta “Siege Part 2: The Return of Stark’s Bad Ideas,” with Original Sin being “Part 3: The Return of Part 2”

Wolverine & The X-Men +

Oct 2011 to Oct 2012

After the events of Schism , Wolverine takes over the role of headmaster at a newly founded school for mutants. If that sounds absurd, you’re not wrong, but it also leads to some of the best X-Men comics of this whole era. Plus, Rick Remender’s Uncanny X-Force continues doing amazing things, including leading to an all new Age of Apocalypse series!

Magneto: Not a Hero #1 – #4

Read Magneto Not a Hero

X-Factor #225 – #232

Wolverine & the X-Men #1 – #3

Buy Wolverine and the X-Men Omnibus

Uncanny X-Force #8 – #19

Age of Apocalypse #1 – #12

Read Age of Apocalypse (2011)

Uncanny X-Force #20 – #24

Astonishing X-Men #44 – #47

Uncanny X-Men #1 – #4

Wolverine & the X-Men: Alpha & Omega #1 – #5

Daken: Dark Wolverine #20 – #22

Uncanny X-Men #5 – #10

Wolverine & the X-Men #4 – #8

X-Factor #233 – #240

Uncanny X-Force #25 to #35

Marvel Universe Event: Avengers v X-Men

Aaron, Bendis, Hickman, Fraction and Brubaker take Marvel’s two biggest teams to war. All in an effort to decide who should control one of the most powerful weapons in the universe: The Phoenix Force. This is also the birthplace of the Cyclops was Right meme.

Avengers: X-Sanction #1 – #4

Read Avengers X-Sanction

Necessary Reading From This X-Era:

Avengers vs X-Men

Collects: AvX #1 to #12

Check out the link above for the full Comic Book Herald reading order including all tie-ins.

Astonishing X-Men #48 – #56

Astonishing X-Men – Volume 11: Weaponized

X-Factor #241 – #258

Marvel NOW! X-Men + Uncanny Avengers – Oct 2012 to 2015

Below you’ll find a starting selection for X-Men books through Marvel NOW!. I recommend you check out:

Marvel NOW! Reading Order Guide

The Marvel NOW! guide will cover all X-Men comics from 2012 to 2015.

Uncanny Avengers #1 – #5

Buy Uncanny Avengers: The Red Shadow

AvX: Consequences #1 – #5

Buy AvX: Consequences

Wolverine & the X-Men #19 – #24

X-Men: Legacy #1 – #6

Buy X Men Legacy – Prodigal

All-New X-Men #1 – #5

Buy Yesterday’s X-Men

Uncanny X-Men #1 – #5

Buy Revolution

All-New X-Men #6 – #10

Buy Here to Stay

X-Men: Xtermination

(Alternate? Timeline) The X-Men have a lot of alternate versions of themselves. This story attempts to bring together three of the most popular: Age of Apocalypse, X-Treme, and Astonishing.

Issues: Age of Apocalypse 13, X-Treme X-Men 12, X-Termination 1, Astonishing X-Men 60, Age of Apocalypse 14, X-Treme X-Men 13, Astonishing X-Men 61, X-Termination 2

Reading Order: Astonishing X-Men #59, Age of Apocalypse #13, X-Treme X-Men #12, X-Termination #1, Astonishing X-Men #60, Age of Apocalypse #14, X-Treme X-Men #13, Astonishing X-Men #61, X-Termination #2

Astonishing X-Men #62 to #68

Uncanny Avengers #6 – #11

Buy The Apocalypse Twins

X-Men #1 – #4

Buy X-Men: Primer

Wolverine & the X-Men #30 – #35

All-New X-Men #11 – #15

Buy Out of Their Depth

Uncanny X-Men #6 – #11

Buy Uncanny X-Men: Broken

(Alternate? Timeline) Even more fun is had merging timelines!

Issues: All -New X-Men 16-17, Uncanny X-Men 12-13, Wolverine & The X-Men 36-37, X-Men: Battle of the Atom 1-2, X-Men 5-6

Reading Order: X-Men: Battle of the Atom #1, All-New X-Men #16, X-Men #5, Uncanny X-Men #12, Wolverine & the X-Men #36, All-New X-Men #17, X-Men #6, Uncanny X-Men #13, Wolverine & the X-Men #37, X-Men: Battle of the Atom #2

But seriously, you should check out Comic Book Herald’s Marvel NOW! reading order for every X-comic from this time period!

All-New All-Different X-Men (2015 – 2017)

The All-New All-Different dark ages are primarily driven through the lens of three core books (Extraordinary, All-New, and Uncanny).

Jeff Lemire – Extraordinary X-Men

Storm is team leader once more, this time with an altogether more positive group.

Extraordinary X-Men Vol. 1: X-Haven (Extraordinary X-Men #1 to #5)

Dennis Hopeless – All-New X-Men: Inevitable

An X-Men roadtrip book staring a time-displaced young Scott Summers, Kid Apocalypse, and X-23, and more

All-New X-Men: Inevitable Vol. 1: Ghost of the Cyclops (All-New X-Men #1 to #6)

Cullen Bunn – Uncanny X-Men: Superior

Magneto forms his own version of the wetworks crew.

Uncanny X-Men: Superior Vol. 1: Survival of the Fittest (Uncanny X-Men #1 to #6)

X-Men: Worst X-Man Ever (X-Men: Worst X-Man Ever #1 to #5)

X-Men ’92 Vol. 1: World is a Vampire (X-Men ’92 #1 to #6)

X-Men: Apocalypse Wars

Civil War II: X-Men #1 to #4

Extraordinary X-Men Vol. 3: Kingdoms Fall (Extraordinary X-Men Annual #1, Extraordinary X-Men #13 to #16)

All-New X-Men: Inevitable Vol. 3: Hell Hath So Much Fury (All-New X-Men #12 to #16, Annual #1)

Uncanny X-Men: Superior Vol. 3: Waking From the Dream (Uncanny X-Men #11 to #15, Uncanny X-Men Annual #1)

Death of X (Death of X #1 to #4)

Inhumans vs. X-Men

The terrigen mists are the source of all Inhuman powers and are a necessary step in their evolutionary process. Unfortunately, the mists are deadly poison to all mutant kind. So when a cloud of terrigen is somehow let loose on Earth, it sets these two factions up to battle. This is a great core idea, but unfortunately this event didn’t review well (and did not resolve into a greater editorial vision, for that matter.)

X-Men ResurrXion!

After the better part of a decade, mutant kind has been on the brink of extinction. This story seeks to ratchet back the crazy stakes a little, brings back a few members thought dead, and soften up the dynamics. It also splits the group into multiple teams again, some breathing room to the characters. It is for that reason and that reason only that we forgive it’s awful, awful name.

X-Men ResurrXion reading order

Weapon X Vol. 1: Weapons of Mutant Destruction Prelude

Collects: Weapon X 1-4, Totally Awesome Hulk 19

Jean Grey Vol. 1

Collects: Jean Grey 1-6

Generation X (New Series Launch)

Collects: Generation X #1 to #6

All-New Wolverine Vol. 4

Starting with All-New Wolverine #19.

Old Man Logan Vol. 5

Starting with issues Old Man Logan #21 to #25

Astonishing X-Men (New Series Launch)

Collects: Astonishing X-Men #1 to #6

Cable (New Series Launch)

Iceman (New Series Launch)

X-Men Gold Vol. 2

Collects: X-Men Gold #7 to #12

Includes tie-ins with Marvel’s summer Secret Empire event.

Weapons of Mutant Destruction

Collects: Weapon X 5-6, Weapons Of Mutant Destruction, Totally Awesome Hulk 20-22

Wolverine: Old Man Logan Vol. 6: Days of Anger

Collects: Old Man Logan #26 to #30

Weapon X Vol. 2

Collects: Weapon X #7 to #12

Generation X Vol. 2

Collects: Generation X #6 to #11

X-Men Marvel Legacy!

Iceman Vol. 2: Absolute Zero

Collects: Iceman 6-10

X-Men Gold Vol. 3: Mojo Worldwide

Collects: X-Men Blue 13-15, X-Men Gold 13-15

X-Men Blue Vol. 3: Cross-Time Capers

Collects: X-Men: Blue 16-20

All-New Wolverine Vol. 5: Orphans of X

Collects: All-New Wolverine 25-29

Deadpool Vs. Old Man Logan

Collects: Deadpool Vs. Old Man Logan 1-5

Cable Vol. 2: The Newer Mutants

Collects: Cable 150-154

Jean Grey Vol. 2: Final Fight

Collects: Jean Grey 7-12

Generation X Vol. 2: Survival of the Fittest

Collects: Generation X (2017) #7-9, 85-87

Wolverine: Old Man Logan Vol. 7

Collects: Old Man Logan 31-36

Weapon X Vol. 3

Collects: Weapon X 12-16

Astonishing X-Men by Charles Soule Vol. 2

Collects: Astonishing X-Men 7-12

Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey

Collects: Phoenix Resurrection: The Return Of Jean Grey 1-5

Rogue & Gambit

Collects: Rogue & Gambit 1-5

X-Men Red Vol. 1

Collects: X-Men Red #1 to #5, Annual #1

Weapon H Vol. 1

Collects: Weapon H 1-6

X-Men Gold Vol. 4: The Negative Zone War

Collects: X-Men: Gold 16-20

X-Men Gold Vol. 5: Cruel and Unusual

Collects: X-Men Gold 21-25

Venom & X-Men: Poison-X

Collects: X-Men Blue 21-22 And Annual 1, Venom 162-163

X-Men Blue Vol. 4: Cry Havok

Collects: X-Men Blue 23-28

X-Men Blue Vol. 5

Collects: X-Men Blue 29-34

Wolverine: Old Man Logan Vol. 8

Collects: Old Man Logan 36-40

Wolverine: Old Man Logan Vol. 9

Collects: Old Man Logan 41-46

Cable Vol. 3

Collects: Cable 155-159

Weapon X Vol. 4

Collects: Weapon X 17-21

All-New Wolverine Vol. 6: Old Woman Laura

Collects: All-New Wolverine 31-35

The X-Men continue in Marvel Fresh Start!

The X-Men continue in Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men, including House of X & Powers of X!