Hi, I'm trying to play catch-up on all things X-Men, and I wanted to know if this is the order I should be reading in, and if there's anything important I'm forgetting. Note that I'm beginning with New X-Men, so anything before that is unnecessary unless it's EXTREMELY important.

1. New X-Men (Morrison)
2. Astonishing X-Men (Whedon)
3. House of M
4. Deadly Genesis
5. Decimation
6. Civil War
7. Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire
8. Messiah Complex
9. Manifest Destiny
10. Utopia
11. Nation X
12. Messiah War
13. Second Coming
14. Fear Itself
15. Schism

I'd like to focus on the X-Men as a whole, but my favorite characters are Magneto, Cyclops, Iceman, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Kitty, Madrox, and Gambit. Anything with a spotlight on those characters would be fantastic.

I would at least add Manifest Destiny, Utopia and Nation X to the list. If I recall correctly, Dark X-Men 1-3 is included in the Utopia TPB. They fit in after Messiah Complex and before Second Coming.

@VesKaGan: Are Manifest Destiny, Utopia and Nation X in that order? And are they before or after the Messiah War?

@Gambit1024: I found this link on CBR forums and used it myself, it might help :)

http://crushingkrisis.com/collecting-x-men-comic-books-as-graphic-novels/

@Gambit1024: As said, after Messiah Complex, before Second Coming. I don't know how Messiah war fits in, though ;)

If you read along the Uncanny X-Men Issues, it would be Messiah Complex (Uncanny X-Men 492-494) -> Divided We Stand (495-499) -> Uncanny X-Men: Manifest Destiny (500-503 - there is also "X-Men: Manifest Destiny", but I believe its a collection of one shots) -> Lovelorn (504-507) -> Sisterhood (508-512) -> Utopia (513/514) -> Nation X (515-522) -> Second Coming (523-525) -> Birth of Generation Hope (526-529) -> Quarantine (530-534) -> Breaking Point (535-539). Fear Itself would take place right before Schism, but you would have to buy single issues (540-544)

But you can skip some of these, of course ;)

@VesKaGan: Ok, I edited the list. Thanks for the info

@x35 said:

That is a chronological order, which I always count as different then a reading order.

I have been working on an X-Men Reading Order, It is only up to 92 at the moment, but still moving forward.

First: Thanks to linking to my X-Men Guide! I'm always happy when it can help other fans figure out what they need to know about X-books.

Second: TStarnes is doing a brilliant and difficult thing by cataloging things issue by issue, and I've definitely referred to his site many times!

Finally: My site does feature a Reading Order guide that goes from pre-X-Men #1 stories through the end of AvX. The key difference between it and many other reading orders is that it groups issues by story or arc, as I don't believe in splitting up stories and even single issues just to place a flashback or single panel appearance in the right place.

If you have suggestions on how to make it better or more useful, I'd love to hear them!

When I went through mine I also added the New age stuff right after New Xmen and I guess simultaneous to Astonishing. Something else that helped me with Cyclops' progression especially in New Xmen was I think The Twelve ( Im a bit fuzzy on the actual name). I didnt buy this but read it from a friend.

@gambit1024: Ohhhh man, best of luck with the whole sequential reading order thing. I went through that a few years ago, and it's really really hard to track everything down. I suggest filling in any blanks you come across with wiki entries and such.

Must reads are:

-The Dark Phoenix Saga

-New X-Men (Morrison)

-House of M

-Messiah Complex

(-Utopia/Nation X)

-Second Coming

-Shism/Regenesis

-Avengers vs. X-Men

-Wikipedia (to fill the gaps, if you want)

Then you are up to date for Marvel Now.

Should I be reading every thing of new xmen before going into astonishing xmen