Hey guys. So, I like the concept of the X-Men and what they represent. I watched the movies and I've been trying find some kind of jumping on point in the comics for a while. I read House of M because it sounded interesting, but it's so interrelated with other storylines that I had to read a good deal of background information to really get the impact of what was going on. I'd like to avoid repeating the same mistake, so I'd like to ask X-Men comic veterans for advice. The way I understand it, X-Men storylines seem to be all set within a continuity that requires me to acquire background knowledge every time. Someone with more in-depth knowledge can surely name more than enough storylines for which that is not true and probably prove me wrong entirely.

Recently it's been Scarlet Witch took the powers of mutants away after going a little crazy and killing some Avengers, then came House of M, AvX, Cyclops goes Magneto-style crazy and is the new a-hole (that is how I understand the recent events). It's all so inter-related and I couldn't stand Hope or Cyclops at all, so none of that please.

Can you guys name any good newer storylines that are stand-alones and don't require hours of background reading? I'm not too fond of campy artwork, so I'd prefer newer (90s onward?) storylines. I would be really grateful to find a starting point.

(I apologise if this topic already exists.)

Even though it is from the 80's the most essential reading is and always will be God loves Man kills.

@kraya: Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men Vol. 3 (he worked on issues #1-24 and giant sizes 1-2) is extremely good. You can read all 26 issues (which I highly recommend) or you can pick and choose the few story arcs in there.

I'm not really sure. I love the X-Men but the newer storylines are all connected. X-Men First Class Volumes 1 and 2 don't require any background. All I can think of are series. If you want story arcs and crossovers, almost all of the major storylines require background information, unfortunately.

You can also check out Wolverine stories, if that counts. Enemy of the State and Old Man Logan are great

@batmannflash: I read many good things about the Joss Whedon run. I just didn't know if it was set in a continuity that would make it difficult to fully understand it without reading other stuff. Good to know that it isn't. I have the collected 2 volumes on my list now. Thanks.

Good thing I know a little bit about the 5 main characters of First Class, but can you tell me which other mutants make memorable appearances in those volumes?

As much as I like Wolverine, I don't necessarily want a story completely centered on him, but I'll read about the ones you suggested and see if they are interesting to me.

@tupiaz: Thank you for the suggestion. I read the summary just now, however, and it seems to contain too much religion for my taste (at least judging from the summary; correct me if it doesn't). I try to avoid that as much as possible :/

@kraya: Yeah it has religious themes. You could also pick up Ultimate X-Men it is the X-Men stories set in a alternative reality. Most Stories from the 90's and onwards are regarded as rather bad. You could pick up where the Grant Morrison run starts (it is collected in trades and in an omnibus.

Age Of Apocalypse

God Loves, Man Kills

Joss Whedon run on Astonishing X-Men(Gifted, Dangerous, Torn and Unstoppable)

Mutant Massacre

Messiah trilogy(Messiah Complex, Messiah War and Second Coming)

Stand alone X-Men stories are the only ones I still have in my collection. Astonishing, AoA and God Loves Man Kills.

@kraya: Here's what you were asking for. The links tells you how many issues each character appears in.

X-Men First Class Vol. 1&2: http://www.comicvine.com/x-men-first-class/4050-18941/characters/

Outside of the main 5, there's Professor X who is in most issues. Outside of those 6, none of the characters really show up much. It's supposed to be when the X-Men started, so there's obviously no background info needed

avengers x-sanction pt1 man named cable youtube and part 2

messiah complex on youtube

@cheesesticks: Thanks, I'll read up about Age of Apocalypse and Mutant Massacre (never heard of it before).

@batmannflash: Well, that does make sense. Thank you.

Pretty much what everyone else suggested, especially:

Joss Whedon's run on "Astonishing X-Men," which was pretty much self-contained throughout the mid 2000s even when House of M was going on.

Also, Rick Remender's run on Uncanny X-Force was pretty self-contained for the most part.

Also, Peter David's X-Factor run was pretty self-contained.