The Exiles comic books definitive issue-by-issue collecting guide and trade reading order for omnibus, hardcover, and trade paperback collections. Find every issue and appearance! Part of Crushing Krisis’s Crushing Comics. Last updated June 2020 with titles scheduled for release through March 2021.
The launch of Exiles in 2001 by writer Judd Winick with author Mike McKone was Marvel’s first long-running ongoing with a continuously-told story combining reality-hopping and alternate versions of heroes.
Prior to the launch of Ultimate Comics in 200o, Marvel Comics had a slim list of ongoing titles that lived permanently in alternate continuities – and Exiles was nothing like Ultimate Comics. Ultimate had the goal of the alternate universe as verisimilitude – the environment started the same as the main Marvel Universe only more modern, and the fascination was watching it splinter.
McKone’s pitch for Exiles followed the debut of Ultimate Comics and swiped the title of a 1990s Malibu series, but it had much more to do with Marvel’s classic series What If. What If never told a consistent story – in fact, there were hardly ever two issues which focused on the same tale! Each one-shot take hopped to a new reality to imagine the most twisted possibilities.
Exiles combined that reality-hopping approach with a consistent team, much like Chris Claremont’s classic Excalibur story The Cross-Time Caper. Instead of starting with a team of known 616-reality heroes, McKone drew inspiration from Age of Apocalypse. That event presented four months of an alternate reality full of X-Men reimagined to take advantage of their best and worst qualities. Exiles would do the same, only with a palette of infinite realities from which to choose.
Lead by the short-lived but hugely-popular X-Men character Blink, this collection of alternate-reality X-Men had little impact on the main X-continuity. Despite that, the book is regarded highly by fans – at least, it was when it was helmed by creator Judd Winnick. By contrast, any issues penned by Uncanny scribes Chris Claremont and Chuck Austen aren’t as popular with fans.
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- Exiles, Vol. 1 (2001 – 2008)
- New Exiles (2008 – 2009)
- Exiles, Vol. 2 (2009)
- X-Treme X-Men, Vol. 2 (2012 – 2013)
- Exiles, Vol. 3 (2018)
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Exiles Vol. 1 (2001 – 2008)
Begins August 2001, a month after Grant Morrison’s relaunch of New X-Men, and parallel to Uncanny X-Men #395. However, for all intents it begins directly after Age of Apocalypse.
Marvel collected this series into large “Ultimate Collection” books; six volumes cover the entire run. At discounted online prices these represent the most affordable away to collect the series.
#1-19: Exiles Ultimate Collection Book 1 (ISBN 0-7851-3887-0)
#20-37: Exiles Ultimate Collection Book 2 (ISBN 0-7851-3888-9)
Also collects X-Men Unlimited #41.
#38-58: Exiles Ultimate Collection Book 3 (ISBN 0-7851-3889-7)
#59-74: Exiles Ultimate Collection Book 4 (ISBN 978-0-7851-3890-7)
Also collects Age of Apocalypse Handbook 2005
#75-89: Exiles Ultimate Collection Book 5 (ISBN 0785138919)
Also collects Annual #1
#90-100: Exiles Ultimate Collection Book 6 (ISBN 0785138927)
Also includes Days of Then & Now; X-Men: Die by the Sword #1-5
Alternately, there are slimmer volumes of the series as originally released, which are now harder to find.
#1-4: Vol. 1: Down the Rabbit Hole (ISBN 0-7851-0833-5)
#5-11: Vol. 2: A World Apart (ISBN 0-7851-1021-6)
#12-19: Vol. 3: Out of Time (ISBN 0-7851-1085-2)
#20-25: Vol. 4: Legacy (ISBN 0-7851-1109-3)
#26-30: Vol. 5: Unnatural Instinct
Also collects X-Men Unlimited #41
#31-37: Vol. 6: Fantastic Voyage (ISBN 0-7851-1197-2)
#38-45: Vol. 7: A Blink in Time (ISBN 0-7851-1235-9)
#46-51: Vol. 8: Earn Your Wings (ISBN 0-7851-1459-9)
#52-58: Vol. 9: Bump in the Night (ISBN 0-7851-1673-7)
#59-61: Vol. 10: Age of Apocalypse (ISBN 0-7851-1674-5)
Also collects Age of Apocalypse Handbook (2005)
#62-68: Vol. 11: Timebreakers (ISBN 0-7851-1730-X)
#69-74: Vol. 12: World Tour, Book 1 (ISBN 0-7851-1854-3)
Issues #69-70 intersect with House of M – see Marvel Universe Events.
#75-83: Vol. 13: World Tour, Book 2 (ISBN 0-7851-1855-1)
#84-89: Vol. 14: The New Exiles (ISBN 0-7851-2236-2)
Also collects Exiles Annual #1
Here, Psylocke joins the title, having been shunted into alternate realities after her recent appearance in Uncanny X-Men (also by Claremont).
#90-94: Vol. 15: Enemy of the Stars (ISBN 0-7851-2390-3)
#95-100: Vol. 16: Starting Over (ISBN 0-7851-2391-1)
Also collects Exiles: Days of Then and Now
Additionally, Exiles issues have been reprinted in some other collections, including:
#77-78: Squadron Supreme Classic Omnibus Oversized Hardcover
Collects Avengers #69-70, 85-86, 141-144, 147-149; Thor #280; Defenders #112-114; Squadron Supreme #1-12; Captain America #314; Squadron Supreme: Death Of A Universe OGN; Quasar #13-16 & 51-52; Avengers (1998) #5-6; Squadron Supreme: New World Order (1998) #1; Exiles (2001) #77-78; Ultimate Power (2006) #7-9
New Exiles (2008 – 2009)
Begins April 2008, parallel to Uncanny X-Men #495 and the transformation of X-Men to X-Men Legacy with issue #208.
This Chris Claremont run on Exiles disposed of AOA Blink as a main character in favor of actual-reality Psylocke. The volume isn’t well-loved by the fan community.
X-Men: Die By The Sword #1-5: X-Men: Die by the Sword
This series wrapped up both Claremont’s New Excalibur and acted as a launch pad for a new run of Exiles.
#1-6: Volume 1: New Life, New Gambit (ISBN 0-7851-2619-8)
#7-12: Volume 2: Soul Awakening (ISBN 0-7851-3416-6)
#13-15: Volume 3: The Enemy Within (ISBN 0-7851-3875-7)
Also collects Annual #1.
#16-18: Volume 4: Away We Go (ISBN 0-7851-3961-3)
Also collects Psylocke Special AKA X-Men: Sword of the Braddocks (2009)
Exiles, Vol. 2 (2009)
A six-issue limited series beginning June 2009, parallel to Uncanny X-Men #508 and X-Men Legacy #223.
#1-6: Point Of No Return (ISBN 0785140441)
X-Treme X-Men, Vol. 2 (2012 – 2013)
While this series carried the X-Men name, it was Exiles at heart – with the 616-reality Dazzler traipsing through a series of alternate dimension to stop the plans of a series of evil Xaviers. See X-Treme X-Men for collection information.
Marvel Fresh Start: Exiles, Vol. 3 (2018 – present)
Launched by Saladin Ahmed hot off of his acclaimed run on Black Bolt and Rod Reis from the hit Damnation limited series. This new Exiles iteration is still anchored by Blink, but with an all-new supporting cast: an old version of Kamala Khan, a movie-esque version of Valkyrie, a cartoonish Wolverine, and more.
#1-5: Vol. 1: Test of Time
#6-12: Vol. 2: Trial of the Exiles
Didn’t find what you were looking for?
Check Amazon for Marvel’s newest Exiles titles.
There’s a new Exiles: The Complete Collection Vol. 1. TPB
https://www.amazon.com/Exiles-Complete-Collection-Vol-1/dp/1302913999/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1549880267&sr=1-1&keywords=exiles+complete+collection
Thanks for the catch, Imre! I guess this was opportunistically motivated by the new Exiles series.
You site is invaluable. Thank you! Interestingly, the Exiles Ultimate Collections are expensive (~$60) and hard to find, with the exception of the first one that’s readily available For under $20. However, I’ve been able to find the slimmer volumes, often for $3-$6. It’s a bit more work but I like the covers—and saving money is good too.
Again, thanks for your efforts. Really helps someone like me who only reads collections and isn’t tight with the comics shop folks.