tangeriner: A red-haired woman, tilting to the right, smiles widely. (x-factor: siryn 200)
Promotional banner depicting a snow-covered green bench in a snowy park. Text: Snowflake Challenge: 1-31 January.

Challenge #9

In your own space, promote at least one canon that you adore (old, new, forever fandom).


Since I am bursting to the brim with feelings right now, I'm gonna talk X-Men Comics. I realize the Comicverse can feel a little intimidating -- the first issue was published in 1963 -- but I think having such a large canon offers a lot of flexibility. Because there are a lot of X-Men and a lot of titles, and you can basically pick and choose based on your interests. I buy and read all team books, but for solo characters, I only read the ones I love, for instance. This works well for me.  My only recommendation on how to start is basically jump in feet first and enjoy the ride.

I've been reading long enough that I have a lot of favourite runs. To name my top five:
  • 80s X-Factor. Why? It has the original five X-Men (Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Angel and Iceman) trying to do good and basically failing, while also rescuing a bunch of kid mutants, who are basically left to their own devices, because the O5 are dealing with their own drama.
  • 90s X-Force. Why? You get the slowburn development of Rictor and Shatterstar's relationship (which would not be confirmed, officially, for another 10 years) and a bunch of moody teenagers doing the jobs the X-Men can't or won't do. The art is terrible for the first dozen issues (Rob Liefeld) but then it improves ten fold.
  • Claremont and Davis Excalibur. Why? It's just fun. So much fun. The Cross Time Caper holds a special place in my heart. The art is incredible, and the team blends a bunch of established X-Men (Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Phoenix, Lockheed) with the British heroes Captain Britain and Meggan.
  • Outback X-Men. Why? This is a very odd lineup of characters (Havok, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Rogue, Psylocke, Dazzler, Longshot) and maybe shouldn't have worked, but man, did it ever. It didn't last very long either, but it's rare I get so many favs on one team.
  • Remender's Uncanny X-Force. Why? Basically the whole run culminating in the Dark Angel Saga, which was just. Yes. Like a kick to the gut. This is a pretty dark story, and the team (Archangel, Deadpool, Deathlok, E.V.A., Fantomex, Psylocke, Wolverine) fits it perfectly. And the art is moody and gorgeous.

The 90s mega-events I always recommend are The X-Tinction Agenda and the The X-Cutioner's Song for background information.

I also recommend Age of Apocalypse, once you're more familiar with the characters, because I love an AU setting done well. More recently, Age of X-Man did something similar, and it was equally as cool. AU settings are basically canon in X-Men, and pop up from time to time, and they're great. And this is probably the best time to get into modern X-Men, because House of X and Powers of X just ended and launched a bunch of books (referred to as Dawn of X) that are only 5 or 6 issues in. It basically reset the X-Men universe, so you don't need the history.

The canon is also so giant it doesn't really matter if you have gaps in your knowledge. You'll notice I basically skipped over the 2000s. Because I was busy, but you know what? It just doesn't matter! There's so many X-Men, and so many stories, that basically it's just like a soap opera where you can stop watching and come back months/years later and the same turkey is still sitting on the dining room table.

The way I have always read the X-Men: figure out who my favourite characters are and love them forever. Complain to whoever will listen that those characters don't show up in the books enough. Write fic to soothe that pain. Lose my mind when they finally show up after months/years/decades away. Enjoy the good stories and promptly forget the bad ones. Reread The X-Cutioner's Song on a regular basis.

tl;dr: The X-Men are great, and I love them.

Edit: Also, the Marvel Database is basically my go-to for filling in the blanks. The character pages are incredibly detailed.

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