Tag Archives: Louise Simonson

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Essential X-Men Vol. 10

xmen10First Published: March 2012

Contents: Uncanny X-Men #265 (Early August 1990) to #272 (January 1991); Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 (1990); New Mutants #95 (November 1990) to #97 (January 1991); X-Factor #60 (November 1990) to #62 (January 1991); and material from Fantastic Four Annual #23 (1990); New Mutants Annual #6 (1990), and X-Factor Annual #5 (1990)

Key Creator Credits: Chris Claremont, Jim Lee, Louise Simonson, Rob Liefeld, Jon Bogdanove, and others

Key First Appearances: Remy LeBeau/Gambit, Seraph, Ahab

Story Continues From: Essential X-Men Vol. 9 

Story Continues In: Essential X-Men Vol. 11

Overview: Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of future present for the X-Men and their extended family. Make no doubt about it, the X-Men title in this era is a full-blown daytime soap opera. You’re going to need a scorecard to keep up with everything going on here in Essential X-Men Vol. 10.

Let’s start with Storm, the one-time leader of the X-Men. She is suffering from amnesia, and her body has been reverted from adulthood to childhood. She is getting by with petty thievery on the streets of New Orleans, where she meets the Cajun mutant, Gambit. Will this charming rogue stick around?

Speaking of Rogue, she’s back in Australia from the Siege Perilous. But she has been split into two people, Rogue and Ms. Marvel, whose powers she absorbed so many years ago. The two women must fight each other as well as the Reavers for control of the headquarters and for control of Rogue’s body. Who will win?

Of course, we can’t tell an X-Men story without involving Wolverine. We get a great stand-alone issue, featured on the cover of the Essential, which tells a flashback story of Wolverine and Captain America saving a young Natasha Romanov, who would one day become the Black Widow.

But the highlights of this collection are the two large stories that take up most of the book.

The first is the Days of Future Present story, which ran across multiple annuals in 1991. Serving as a sequel to the original Days of Future Past story (check out Essential X-Men Vol. 2), a grown-up Franklin Richards travels from the future hoping to stop the events that lead to his current situation. This leads to fights between the Fantastic Four, the New Mutants, X-Factor and the various members of the X-Men. Adult Franklin meets young Franklin, Jean Grey meets Rachel Summers, and Cable spends time in the same room with infant Nathan Summers without things going wacky.

But the main story that takes up the last half of the book is the X-Tinction Agenda epic. The various teams (X-Men, X-Factor, and the New Mutants) must ban together to finally overthrow the Genoshan government. This storyline wrapped up so many ongoing storylines, with the most important conclusion being the reformation of the X-Men as an official team with a line-up featuring Storm (now returned to her adult form), Wolverine, Banshee, Forge, Psylocke, Jubilee, and Gambit. But the teams did not escape unharmed. Warlock was killed, and Wolfsbane finds herself trapped in her wolf form. She and Havok elect to stay behind on Genosha and help rebuild the government, one which will treat mutants and humans as equals.

What makes this Essential?: This is an interesting era for the X-Men, as the book (and the various related titles) truly become a large soap opera of sorts. While it’s always been a key component of any Chris Claremont X-Men story, the stories in this collection seem even more focused on the character interactions than the over-the-top superhero adventures. (Don’t get me wrong, you still get those stories, especially with the epic crossovers in this book.)

If you have been reading the X-Men since Giant-Size X-Men #1, then, by all means, pick up this book, if you don’t already have all of the issues. But if you are just getting into the X-Men, you might be better off just focusing on the big epic stories, many of which can be found in their own hardcover or trade paperback collection.

Footnotes: Material from Fantastic Four Annual #23, New Mutants Annual #6, X-Factor Annual #5, and Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 are also reprinted in Essential X-Factor Vol. 4.

Uncanny X-Men #270 to #272, New Mutants #95 to #97 and X-Factor #60 to #62 are also reprinted in Essential X-Factor Vol. 5.

If you like this volume, try: the X-Force series that started in 1991. Following the end of the X-Tinction Agenda story, the New Mutants book was due for a shake-up. Wolfsbane left the team to stay in Genosha and help rebuild the nation. Long-time member Warlock had been killed during the story. New members were joining the team, and the group was now led by Cable. Series artist Rob Liefeld had taken over the writing duties, and it made sense for Marvel to relaunch the title in a new direction with a new #1 issue. Along with co-writer Fabian Nicieza, X-Force #1 became one of the best-selling comics of all time, thanks to the issue being poly-bagged with collector cards. The first year of X-Force has been collected in an omnibus edition, so that might be the best way to track down these stories to read.

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Essential Web of Spider-Man Vol. 1

WofSM1First Published: September 2011

Contents: Web of Spider-Man #1 (April 1985) to #18 (September 1986); Web of Spider-Man Annual #1 (1985) and #2 (1986); and Amazing Spider-Man #268 (September 1985)

Key Creator Credits: Louise Simonson, Greg LaRocque, Danny Fingeroth, Peter David, David Michelinie, Ann Nocenti, Mike Harris, Marc Silvestri, and others

Key First Appearances: Kathryn Cushing, Chance, Foreigner

Story Continues In: Essential Web of Spider-Man Vol. 2

Overview: He’s back in black — or sometimes red & blue. It’s the Amazing ….. no, that’s not right …. let’s try the Spectacular …. no, still not working here. Guess we better give the Web of Spider-Man a try!

Web 0f Spider-Man replaced the previously canceled Marvel Team-Up on the stands. We were still getting three new Spider-Man titles each month, just with fewer guest appearances. That’s not to say we don’t see guest stars in this collection – from the New Mutants to Dominic Fortune to David Letterman, this book has a little bit of everything.

These issues take place a few months following the Secret Wars event. Spider-Man is still haunted by the symbiote that returned to Earth with him. The series kicks off with Spidey fighting the symbiote, long before it would attach itself to Eddie Brock. A host of other familiar Spider-Man foes, such as the Vulture, Doctor Octopus, and the Shocker, soon follow.

Two longer stories really stand out in this volume. The first is a crossover with Amazing Spider-Man (complete with interlocking cover images) that ties into Secret Wars II. The Beyonder has turned a New York City building into gold, and the government, aided by the Kingpin, is in a mad scramble to remove the building before it destroys the economy. Spider-Man is more concerned about the people trapped inside, and gets upset when he realizes that the Kingpin is going to profit from this event. Spider-Man swings off with a gold notebook, which leads to the ethical questions of what he should do with it while also trying to find a way to unload it too.

Another ongoing story that crossed multiple issues featured Peter Parker as a neighborhood hero. Peter stops a mugging at the laundromat, earning him praise from his neighbors and the media. But the thugs he stopped come back to target Peter, vandalizing his apartment before eventually firebombing his place. Peter struggles to deal with these problems without reverting back to his costumed identity.

What makes this Essential?: This is a title that I read sporadically as it came out. I just didn’t have much interest in Spider-Man at this time. The problem I have with this book, and I think Marvel has realized it at different times along the way, is that there is nothing unique to this book that distinguishes it from Amazing Spider-Man or PPTSS.  There are several issues or moments that stand out in this book, such as Peter’s conversation with Flash Thompson about the high school bullying in issue #11 or Spider-Man chasing Warlock through New York City in Annual #2. But the highs don’t offset the lows in this collection. Maybe low is too harsh. The better word might be pedestrian or average. For the Spider-Man fan, I’m sure you will like this book. For the casual Marvel fan, you might consider other volumes first before this collection.

Footnotes: Web of Spider-Man #replaced Marvel Team-Up on the newsstand. Marvel editorial took a good look at the sales figures and realized that the numbers for Marvel Team-Up rose or dropped based on the co-star. Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter surmised that Marvel would be better off publishing a third Spider-Man solo title, and work in guest-stars when they were appropriate for the story.

If you like this volume, try: the original Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars. This volume has the two-part story that was tie-ins to the Secret Wars II event going on. I am not recommending you go out and read Secret Wars II. Trust me, having read it as it was happening, I have no desire to revisit Secret Wars II anytime soon. But I do go back and revisit the original Secret Wars every couple of years. Yes, this book was created specifically to sell toys. Lots of comics got their start that way, such as G.I. Joe and Transformers. But Marvel took the opportunity to make it a meaningful story, one that would have impacts on the Marvel Universe for years to come. The way the timing happened, we knew what those changes would be as the heroes returned to Earth in the comics that were released one week after Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #1. The biggest change is that Spider-Man returned wearing that spiffy black costume that reacted to his thoughts. What he soon found out is that the suit was an alien symbiote, and the Fantastic Four helped Peter separate himself from the symbiote. In Web of Spider-Man #1, we see the symbiote on the loose, tracking down Spider-Man. At the end of this volume, in Web of Spider-Man #18, we see a mysterious hand push Peter into the path of a subway train. Peter’s spider sense did not warn him, which is one of the advantages that Venom would have over Spider-Man when he made his full proper first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #300. In addition to the Spider-Man costume, Secret Wars also gave us She-Hulk joining the Fantastic Four, and the Thing staying behind on the Battleworld. The Hulk returns with a broken leg and is slowly reverting more and more to his mindless monster mode. And within the Secret Wars series, we see the X-Men working side-by-side with Magneto, which will lead to Magneto taking over the responsibilities for the Xavier School in Uncanny X-Men #200. Give this series a revisit – it’s available in multiple formats (trades, hardcovers, and omnibus editions).

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Essential X-Factor Vol. 3

xfactor3First Published: December 2009

Contents: X-Factor #36 (January 1989) to #50 (January 1990); X-Factor Annual #3 (1988); and Uncanny X-Men #242 (March 1989) and #243  (April 1989)

Key Creator Credits: Louise Simonson, Walt Simonson, Chris Claremont, Kieron Dwyer, Marc Silvestri, Rob Liefeld, Arthur Adams, Paul Smith, and others

Key First Appearances: Alchemy

Story Continues From: Essential X-Factor Vol. 2

Story Continues In: Essential X-Factor Vol. 4

Overview:  This book has a little bit of everything for the mutant fan in all of us. Sit back and enjoy the read of Essential X-Factor Vol. 3.

First up is the Evolutionary War crossover in X-Factor Annual #3. From a chronology point of view, this should have been collected in the prior Essential volume, but there was a lot going on in that book, so we get it here. In the main story, we see X-Factor trying to stop the High Evolutionary from exterminating the Moloids and others that are at the end of their evolutionary development. It’s part of the big storyline running through the annuals that year. The big take away from the annual is the back-up feature, which features the various kids in training with X-Factor, such as Skids, Boom Boom, Rusty, and others, taking off in their own adventures, which would be told in the X-Terminators mini-series – sadly not reprinted in Essential form.

Next up is Inferno, which we have talked about previously with Essential X-Men Vol. 8. The big takeaway for the X-Factor team is the resolution of the Jean Grey-Scott Summers-Madelyne Pryor love triangle. Madelyne is killed, leaving Scott and Jean to resume their lives together raising baby Nathan. As the team all catches their collective breath, the X-Terminator kids return, only to break up their band. Many of the older kids would transfer over to the New Mutants title, becoming key members for the years to come.

But I need to focus on X-Factor here, because we are quickly caught up in the Judgement War. The team is kidnapped and sent across the galaxy to a planet facing judgement by the Celestials. On this planet, everyone is ranked on a perfection scale. Jean Grey is viewed as being perfect, while some of the guys (Beast, Archangel) tend to fall at the bottom of that ranking. The team members work independently before reuniting and stopping the Celestials.

What makes this Essential?: This is a transitional volume. We see Walt Simonson’s run on the book come to an end with the Inferno storyline. The art is handled by committee, with most of the work done by the criminally-underrated Paul Smith. We do experience Rob Liefeld’s first work for Marvel – you decide what to make of that! Through all of this though, writer Louise Simonson continues to provide a steady direction for the title.

My biggest issue with this collection is that the book gets highjacked by events going on in the other X-Men or Marvel Universe books at the time. The first half of this book is given over to tie-ins with the Evolutionary War storyline or the Inferno storyline. Considering that the Inferno story has been reprinted already (see Footnotes), you almost feel cheated by paying full price for half of a volume of “new” material.

Footnotes: X-Factor #36 to #39 and Uncanny X-Men #242 and #243 are also reprinted in Essential X-Men Vol. 8.

If you like this volume, try: the Acts of Vengeance storyline. After multiple summer events which focused solely on the Marvel mutants, this event crossed over across the Marvel Universe. Secretly organized by Loki, the villains unite and agree to change up their normal foes, in an attempt to surprise the heroes. So you have the odd combinations of the Punisher facing Doctor Doom, or Daredevil vs. Ultron. In typical fashion, the villains plans unravel due to infighting and personal agendas. Loki is revealed as the organizer, which leads to yet another face-off with the Avengers. Now, this may be a harder storyline to track down. There was an omnibus released which collected the main issues of the storyline. However, this omnibus has gone out of print, and the prices have skyrocketed in the secondary market (eBay). A second omnibus was released featuring more of the crossover issues, but not the main storyline. This omnibus is still readily found for cover price or less. This may be a case where the thrill of the back issue hunt is more fun, to track down all of the numerous crossovers, which should be noted by a triangle window in the upper right corner of the covers.

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Essential X-Men Vol. 8

Essential X-Men Vol. 8

First Published: December 2007

Contents: Uncanny X-Men #229 (May 1988) to #243 (April 1989); Uncanny X-Men Annual #12 (1988); and X-Factor #36 (January 1989) to #39 (April 1989)

Key Creator Credits: Chris Claremont, Marc Silvestri, Rick Leonardi, Louise Simonson, Walt Simonson, and others

Key First Appearances: Gateway, Reavers (Bonebreaker, Pretty Boy, Skullbuster), Tyger Tiger, Jenny Ransome, Tam Anderson, Philip Moreau, Genegineer

Story Continues from: Essential X-Men Vol. 7

Story Continues In: Essential X-Men Vol. 9

Overview: When we last saw the X-Men, the world had watched them die in Dallas during the Fall of the Mutants. Thanks to the goddess Roma, the X-Men were brought back, but their images could no longer be captured on film or video. Free to move about the world, the X-Men set up shop in the Australian Outback, in the former headquarters of the Reavers. There, we meet the mutant known as Gateway, who is able to transport people to any place at any time. Not one to say much, Gateway gladly welcomes the X-Men to their new home.

Following a way-too-short return of the Brood, we are introduced to the island nation of Genosha. Located off of the eastern coast of Africa, Genosha is a thriving nation built on it’s mutant slave labor force. The X-Men get wind of what is going on here, which leads Wolverine and Rogue to go in on a rescue mission. Over the coming years, Genosha would become a major focus in the mutant storyline, while serving as an allegory for the real-life issues of slavery and apartheid.

This volume concludes with the next crossover event known as Inferno. Demons are making plans to take over the Earth, and they plan to use Magik from the New Mutants (and younger sister of Colossus) as their gateway to our world. At the same time, Madelyne Pryor finds out that Jean Grey is alive and well, and that her missing husband has been hanging out with her doppelganger. Guided by Mr. Sinister, Madelyne’s mind slips over the edge, and she becomes the villainous Goblin Queen. During the final battle with the X-Men, the Goblin Queen commits suicide in an attempt to take Jean Grey with her, but fails on that point.

What makes this Essential?: Over his many years on the title, it’s very easy to make jokes about Chris Claremont’s run on the X-Men title. Yes, he can be very wordy – if it takes 15 words to describe a scene, expect Claremont to use 143 words. And don’t worry about any dangling plot points, as Claremont plans to return to them in three years. That said, the more I re-read his run, the more impressed I get with Claremont’s X-Men opus. For example, take the creation of Genosha. At the time of Genosha’s debut in the comics, political and economic pressures were mounting on South Africa, which had been maintaining a policy of apartheid for 40+ years, which treated colored citizens as second-class. Claremont took a real-life situation and incorporated those points into the book. While the Genosha story would continue for many years, the beginnings shown in this volume shows why Claremont is a master of his craft, and why Essential X-Men should be a must read.

Footnotes: Uncanny X-Men #242 and #243 and X-Factor #36 to #39 are also reprinted in Essential X-Factor Vol. 3.

If you like this volume, try: the Inferno omnibus collections from 2009 and 2010. OK, I really enjoy these Essential volumes. But when we get to these large crossover events, this format is not designed to collect the full story. As we saw with The Fall of the Mutants storyline, we miss out on one-third of the story by not having the New Mutants issues collected in the volume. In addition, there was a four-issue X-Terminators mini-series that ties in with Inferno. So in order to get the COMPLETE story, I recommend you track down the two omnibus collections for this story. The first collection from 2009 includes all of the main mutant books, such as Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, New Mutants, and X-Terminators. The second collection from 2010 includes all of the crossover issues across the Marvel Universe, including issues of Avengers, Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Power Pack, and issues from all three ongoing Spider-Man books.

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Essential X-Factor Vol. 2

Essential X-Factor Vol. 2

First Published: January 2007

Contents: X-Factor #17 (June 1987) to #35 (December 1988); X-Factor Annual #2 (1987); and Thor #378 (April 1987)

Key Creator Credits: Louise Simonson, Walt Simonson, Sal Buscema, and others

Key First Appearances: Rictor, Death, Infectia, Orphan-Maker, Nanny

Story Continues From: Essential X-Factor Vol. 1

Story Continues In: Essential X-Factor Vol. 3

Overview:  Get comfortable, friends! This is a must read volume of the original X-Men’s ongoing adventures as members of X-Factor. As you may recall, X-Factor appeared to be mutant-hunters, but they are secretly bringing in their captures to train them on how to use their powers.

When we left off, it appeared that Warren Worthington III, aka the Angel, had committed suicide in despair over the loss of his wings. In all actuality, Warren survived and was brought back to life by Apocalypse, who outfitted Warren with a new suit and a new attitude. Taking on the name Death, he joins up with the other minions (War, Famine, and Pestilence) to form the Four Horsemen serving Apocalypse. The Four Horsemen take on X-Factor, who are shocked to see their former friend and team-mate squaring off against them. Warren is eventually able to overcome Apocalypse’s influence, and rejoins his team. He uses a variety of code names such as Death or Dark Angel before settling on Archangel.

With Warren’s death, that left a hole in the team line-up, which was filled by the mutant Caliban, whose power is detect mutants. Caliban starts to despise his passive power, as he wants revenge against everyone who has done him wrong. Caliban takes advantage of the hole in Horsemen’s roster, and promises his loyalty to Apocalypse in exchange for the ability to gain the vengeance he seeks. Thus, Caliban becomes the new Death, once again replacing Angel.

As much as we like the Angel storyline, there are other members of the team in this book. Cyclops still has to deal with the emotions of Jean Grey returning to life while at the same time dealing with his estranged wife Madelyne Pryor. That entire storyline will come to a resolution in the Inferno storyline, so stick around for Essential X-Factor Vol. 3.

The Beast is really roughed up in this volume. During the battle with the Four Horsemen, Hank comes in contact with Pestilence, whose touch brings pain and infection. With the Beast, whose genetic formula is anything but normal, it reacts in the worst possible way, causing Hank to lose intelligence each time he uses his abilities. Bit by bit, Hank goes from the smartest member of the team to the dumbest, but his heart remains true to this friends. He protects Iceman from being kissed by the deadly Infectia, who can manipulate molecular structure through physical contact. However, given the previously mentioned screwed up genetics of the Beast, this causes adverse affects, eventually stabilizing his body into his blue beast form with his full intelligence returned.

What makes this Essential?: This is a really good volume. From the storyline, we finally have a set of core characters that run through the issues in this volume. All of the characters are put through the ringer physically and emotionally. Not to demean either format, but this really feels like a TV soap opera. The stories may seem outrageous, but the goal is to bring you back to read the next issue (or watch the next episode) and it works. Based on the creators, this is the Simonsons at their best. This is some of Louise (Jones) Simonson’s most solid writing, and Walt Simonson shows why he is a modern master of the comic art form.

If you like this volume, try: the Fall of the Mutants omnibus, which collects all of the issues of this “event.” Or maybe non-event. What makes this interesting is that even though the Fall of the Mutants banner was on the covers for X-Factor, New Mutants, and Uncanny X-Men, the events in the stories did not cross over with each other. We see the struggles that X-Factor goes through in this volume, and the “death” of the X-Men can also be read in the Essential X-Men Vol. 7. But to read the New Mutants story, you need to pick up this omnibus. While visiting their friend Bird-Brain, the New Mutants get into a battle between the Ani-Mator and the Right organization. During this battle, one of the New Mutants is killed. (As with all comic book deaths, you should add the words “for now” into the sentence.) This volume is a great way to read the events of the mutant books going on at one time, without the obligation of having to read all of the issues to understand the full story.

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Essential X-Factor Vol. 1

Essential X-Factor Vol. 1

First Published: October 2005

Contents: Avengers #262 (December 1985); Fantastic Four #286 (January 1986);  X-Factor #1 (February 1986) to #16 (May 1987); X-Factor Annual #1 (1986); Thor #373 (November 1986) and #374 (December 1986); and Power Pack #27 (December 1986)

Key Creator Credits: Bob Layton, Jackson Guice, Roger Stern, John Byrne, Louise Simonson, Walt Simonson, John Buscema, Sal Buscema, and others

Key First Appearances: Rusty Collins (Firefist), Cameron Hodge, Artie Maddicks, Tower, Frenzy, Apocalypse, Skids, Trish Tilby, Blockbuster, Prism, War, Famine, Pestilence

Story Continues In: Essential X-Factor Vol. 2

Overview:  It’s the original X-Men, reunited once again! Cyclops, Angel, Beast, Iceman, and Marvel Girl. No longer students at Xavier’s school, what do these five friends do to continue Professor X’s dream of humans and mutants living together as one? Let’s pose as mutant-hunters, and secretly bring in mutants to start training them on how to use their powers. Maybe not the soundest start to a team, but it works for X-Factor.

X-Factor started off with sincere intentions. The team did find mutants unable to control their powers, and a cast of characters developed around the X-Factor team. But once you’ve been an X-Man, you are an X-Man for life, which means you get sucked into what ever ongoing storyline is occurring in Uncanny X-Men.

In this case, X-Factor finds themselves right in the middle of the Mutant Massacre, as the Marauders go on a rampage in the Morlocks’ tunnels. While trying to defend Artie, Angel is pinned to a wall by his wings by Harpoon (X-Factor #10). Due to the extensive injuries and infection, doctors are forced to amputate Warren’s wings in X-Factor #14. Warren has a hard time coping with the loss of his wings, and (apparently) commits suicide at the end of issue #15.

What makes this Essential?: The original X-Men hold a special place in my heart. They were the first, and to see them reunited was an exciting moment in my comic reading history. While their desire to train mutants like Professor Xavier trained them made a lot of sense, and I liked that aspect of the title. The fact that they were posing as mutant-hunters just never sat well with me.

The early issues of the title seem a little stiff. It’s only when the Simonsons come on board – first Louise and then Walt – that the book seems to come alive and move forward. These are the issues that really matter, and make it an Essential read. However, if you are going to read this, you should also read Essential X-Men Vol. 6 in order to read the complete Mutant Massacre storyline.

Like a Phoenix Rising from the Ashes: Let’s flashback to Uncanny X-Men #137 (See Essential X-Men Vol. 2). The X-Men are battling the Imperial Guard for the life of Jean Grey, who is controlled by the Phoenix force. In her last moment of clarity, Jean professes her love to Scott (Cyclops) Summers, and then commits suicide. Or did she?????

Jump ahead a few years and the Avengers discover a cocoon at the bottom of Jamaica Bay in New York. The Avengers bring the cocoon to the Fantastic Four, because Reed Richards is the smartest guy in the world. During his examination of the object, it opens up and out walks Jean Grey, alive and well. Apparently when the X-Men were returning from space, they crash-landed their shuttle at JFK Airport in New York City, coming to a rest in the aforementioned Jamaica Bay. Prior to the crash, the Phoenix force placed Jean Grey in this protective cocoon, and created a new body in Jean’s image to inhabit. It was this host body that died in Uncanny X-Men #137. So now Jean is back, with no memories of what happened since the the shuttle crash

Footnotes: X-Factor #9 to #11, Thor #373 and #374, and Power Pack #27 were also reprinted in Essential X-Men Vol. 6.

If you like this volume, try: the All-New X-Men series by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen. As part of the Marvel Now campaign which launched several years ago, All-New X-Men brings the original X-Men team (circa Uncanny X-Men #9) from the past to the current day, in an attempt to make them aware of what their future would look like and try to get them to change. The original team is shocked by how their lives have played out, but choose to stay in the modern times to find out more. This is the perfect jumping on book for anyone afraid of how large the X-Universe has become, because the reader shares many of the same questions as the original X-Men. This is still an ongoing title, and the early issues have been collected in multiple trade paperbacks and hardcovers.