Collection: X-men

The X-Men have always been about something bigger than superpowers. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1963 at the height of the American civil rights movement, the premise was transparent and intentional: a group of people born different, feared and hated by the society they protect, led by two men who share the same love for their people and a profound disagreement about how to secure their future. Charles Xavier believes in integration and patience. Magneto — a Holocaust survivor — has learned that the world does not grant dignity to those it has decided to fear. That argument has never been resolved, because it can't be. It's the argument at the center of every civil rights struggle in history.

What makes the X-Men remarkable is how many great writers have found new dimensions in that core premise across six decades. Chris Claremont's sixteen-year run (1975–1991) is the foundation — an unparalleled achievement in long-form serialized storytelling that gave the world the Phoenix Saga, the Dark Phoenix Saga, Days of Future Past, and God Loves Man Kills, while building one of the deepest ensemble casts in comics history. Claremont didn't just write the X-Men; he essentially created the modern version of every character in it, from Storm to Wolverine to Rogue to Gambit. Grant Morrison then blew the entire mythology open in New X-Men (2001), dragging the concept into the 21st century with a ruthless conceptual intelligence. Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men with John Cassaday brought cinematic clarity and emotional warmth. Jonathan Hickman's House of X / Powers of X (2019) is among the most ambitious and dazzling reinventions of any superhero franchise in recent memory.

No corner of comics has produced more essential reading. The collections here span the full history — start with Claremont, add Morrison, and build from there.