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 April 2023 with titles scheduled for release through August 2023.
The launch of Exiles in 2001 by writer Judd Winick with penciler 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. Exiles was nothing like Ultimate Comics.
Ultimate had the goal of the alternate universe as verisimilitude – the same main Marvel Universe only more modern, and the fascination was watching it splinter.
The 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 issue hopped to a new reality to imagine the most twisted possibilities.
Exiles combined that reality-hopping approach with a somewhat 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, Winick & McKone drew inspiration from Age of Apocalypse.
Age of Apocalypse had 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 (from Age of Apocalypse – not the main universe version!), the adventures of these alternate-reality X-characters had no impact on the main X-continuity (though Nocturne, a founding member, would briefly cross over to main 616 continuity).
Despite that, the book is regarded highly by fans – at least, it was when it was helmed by creator Judd Winick. By contrast, any issues penned by Uncanny scribes Chris Claremont and Chuck Austen aren’t as popular.
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- Exiles (2001) #1-100 & Annual 1 (Aug 2001 – Jan 2008)
- New Exiles (2008) #1-18 & Annual 1 by Chris Claremont (Jan 2008 – Marc 2009)
- X-Men: Sword of the Braddocks (2009) #1
- Exiles (2009) #1-6 by Jeff Parker (March – Sep 2009)
- Exiles Saga (2009) #1
- X-Treme X-Men (2012) #1-13 & 7.1 by Greg Pak (Jul 2012 – Apr 2013) – See Guide to X-Treme X-Men
- Exiles (2018) #1-12 by Saladin Ahmed & Javier Rodriguez (Apr 2018 – Jan 2019)
- Sabretooth & The Exiles (2022) #1-5 by Victor LaValle & Leonard Kirk (Nov 2022 – Mar 2023) – See Guide to Sabretooth
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Exiles (2001) #1-100 & Annual 1, X-Men: Die By The Sword (2007) #1-5,
and Exiles: Days of Then and Now (2008) #1 (Aug 2001 – Dec 2007 & Jan 2008)
Begins August 2001, a month after Grant Morrison’s relaunch of New X-Men (2001), and parallel to Uncanny X-Men (1963) #395. However, for all intents this story begins directly after Age of Apocalypse and the final scenes of Blink (2001) #4 for Blink.
Aside from Blink from Age of Apocalypse, all of the other initial cast members of this book are new characters – even the version of Morph who resembles his X-Men Animated Series iteration! However, Nocturne had previously cameoed at the end of Blink (2001) #4.
[Marvel Unlimited: main series, Annual, Die By The Sword, Days of Then and Now]
as recollected in a 2009-2010 line of Ultimate Collections…
#1-19: Exiles Ultimate Collection Book 1 (2009 paperback, ISBN 978-0785138877 / 2018 paperback, ISBN 78-1302913991 / digital)
#20-37: Exiles Ultimate Collection Book 2 (2009 paperback, ISBN 978-0785138884 / digital)
Also collects X-Men Unlimited (1993) #41, which fits between issues #17-18 in reading order for the team.
#38-58: Exiles Ultimate Collection Book 3 (2009 paperback, ISBN 978-0785138891
/ digital)
#59-74: Exiles Ultimate Collection Book 4 (2010 paperback, ISBN 978-0785138907 / digital)
Also collects Age of Apocalypse Handbook 2005 [AKA Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: X-Men – Age of Apocalypse (2005) #1]
#75-89 & Annual 1: Exiles Ultimate Collection Book 5 (2010 paperback, ISBN 978-0785138914 / digital)
Annual 1 fits between #88-89.
#90-100: Exiles Ultimate Collection Book 6 (2010 paperback, ISBN 978-0785138921 / digital)
Also includes X-Men: Die by the Sword (2007) #1-5 (which fits between #99-100) and Exiles: Days of Then and Now (2008) #1 (which is an epilogue to the series).
as originally collected…
#1-4: Vol. 1: Down the Rabbit Hole (20xx paperback, ISBN 978-0785108337 / digital)
#5-11: Vol. 2: A World Apart (2003 paperback, ISBN 978-0785110217 / digital)
#12-19: Vol. 3: Out of Time (2003 paperback, ISBN 978-0785110859 / digital)
Issue #19 is the first main-reality Longshot appearance after a lengthy absence; he is next in #74.
#20-25: Vol. 4: Legacy (2003 paperback, ISBN 978-0785111092 / digital)
#26-30: Vol. 5: Unnatural Instincts (20×3 paperback, ISBN 978-0785111108 / digital)
Also collects X-Men Unlimited (1993) #41, which fits between issues #17-18 in reading order for the team.
#31-37: Vol. 6: Fantastic Voyage (2004 paperback, ISBN 978-0785111979 / digital)
Judd Winick’s run as writer ends here. Chuck Austen, who had filled in on issues #26-30 during a gap in Winick’s run, takes over for the next arc.
#38-45: Vol. 7: A Blink in Time (2004 paperback, ISBN 978-0785112358 / digital)
Tony Bedard takes over writing duties from Austen.
#46-51: Vol. 8: Earn Your Wings (2004 paperback, ISBN 978-0785114598 / digital)
Nocturne departs this title with issue #48. She is next in X-Men (1991) #161-164 and Uncanny X-Men #460-461 & 463-465 before continuing into Chris Claremont’s New Excalibur (2005) #1.
#52-58: Vol. 9: Bump in the Night (2005 paperback, ISBN 978-0785116738 / digital)
#59-61: Vol. 10: Age of Apocalypse (2005 paperback, ISBN 978-0785116745 / digital)
Also collects Age of Apocalypse Handbook 2005 [AKA Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: X-Men – Age of Apocalypse (2005) #1]. Issues #60-61 revisits Age of Apocalypse for its 10th anniversary – see Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Age of Apocalypse for further collection information.
#62-68: Vol. 11: Timebreakers (2005 paperback, ISBN 978-0785117308 / digital)
#69-74: Vol. 12: World Tour, Book 1 (2006 paperback, ISBN 978-0785118541 / digital)
Issues #69-71 intersect with House of M – see Guide to Marvel Universe Events – House of M and kicks off “World Tour,” a trip through many well-known Marvel alternate universes.
Longshot joins the team in #74 and continues through #99 and Die By The Sword #2 & 4-5. He then returns to main Marvel-616 in X-Factor (2005) #35
#75-83: Vol. 13: World Tour, Book 2 (2006 paperback, ISBN 978-0785118558 / digital)
#84-89 & Annual 1: Vol. 14: The New Exiles (2007 paperback, ISBN 978-0785122364 / digital)
Annual 1 fits between #88-89.
Chris Claremont takes over as writer from Bedard. Along with him, Psylocke joins the title, having been shunted into alternate realities after her recent appearance in his mid-00s run on Uncanny X-Men.
#90-94: Vol. 15: Enemy of the Stars (2007 paperback, ISBN 978-0785123903 / digital)
#95-100: Vol. 16: Starting Over (2008 paperback, ISBN 978-0785123910 / digital)
Note that you need to read Die by the Sword (also by Claremont) between issues #99-110. Also collects Exiles: Days of Then and Now (2008) #1, which is effectively an epilogue to this series.
Exiles: Days of Then and Now (2008) #1: In addition to Vol. 16 and the Ultimate Collection line, above, see Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Age of Apocalypse. This issue resolves some lingering plot threads from that reality, so it has been collected with companion books to the main 1995 event.
X-Men: Die by the Sword (2007) #1-5: X-Men: Die by the Sword (2008 paperback, ISBN 978-0785127918 / digital)
This series wrapped up Claremont’s New Excalibur (2005) as well as acted as Exiles issues #99.1 – 99.5, continuing directly from the ending of issue #99 and publishing in place of Exiles before the series returned for a final issue #100 and Exiles: Days of Then and Now (2008) #1.
Additionally, Exiles issues have been reprinted in some other collections, including:
#5-6, 12-13, & 66-68: See Guide to Deadpool. All of these issues feature Deadpool of Earth-5021 and are are collected alongside alternate reality Deadpool stories.
#28-30: X-Men: Trial of the Juggernaut (2019 paperback, ISBN 978-1302920371 / digital)
This is effectively an “Uncanny X-Men by Chuck Austen Complete Collection,” which also gathers these fill-in issues from a break in Judd Winick’s run on Exiles. Actually, the cover of the collection is from issue #28! Collects Uncanny X-Men (1981) #425-436; Exiles (2001) #28-30; material from X-Men Unlimited (1993) #40 & 48.
#77-78: Squadron Supreme Classic Omnibus (2016 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302900656
Collects Avengers (1963) #69-70, 85-86, 141-144, & 147-149; Thor (1966) #280; Defenders (1972) #112-114; Squadron Supreme (1985) #1-12; Captain America (1968) #314; Squadron Supreme: Death Of A Universe (1989) OGN; Quasar (1989) #13-16 & 51-52; Avengers (1998) #5-6; Squadron Supreme: New World Order (1998) #1; Exiles (2001) #77-78; and Ultimate Power (2006) #7-9.
#79-80: See Guide to Hulk – Bruce Banner. These issues are sometimes recollected with Maestro Hulk stories.
#81-82: See Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Heroes Reborn.
New Exiles (2008) #1-18, 0 & Annual 1 by Chris Claremont
and X-Men: Sword of the Braddocks (2009) #1 (Jan 2008 – Feb 2009 & March 2009)
Begins April 2008, parallel to Uncanny X-Men (1963) #495 and the transformation of X-Men (1991) to X-Men Legacy with issue #208.
Chris Claremont continues his run on Exiles into a new series. Claremont disposes of team mainstay Blink from Age of Apocalypse in favor of actual-reality Psylocke and Sage (though he keeps Exiles Morph). Claremont writes the entire series, which isn’t well-loved by the fan community.
[Marvel Unlimited: main series, Annual]
#0: Not collected. This issue reprinted Exiles (2001) #100 and Exiles: Days of Then and Now (2008) #1, though it did contains some original “bonus material”
#1-6: Vol. 1: New Life, New Gambit (2008 paperback, ISBN 978-0785126195 / digital)
#7-12: Vol. 2: Soul Awakening (2008 paperback, ISBN 978-0785134169 / digital)
#13-15 & Annual 1: Vol. 3: The Enemy Within (2009 paperback, ISBN 978-0785138754 / digital)
Annual 1 fits between #13-14.
#16-18: Vol. 4: Away We Go (2009 paperback, ISBN 978-0785139614 / digital)
Also collects Psylocke Special AKA X-Men: Sword of the Braddocks (2009) #1.
After Sword of the Braddocks Psylocke is next in Uncanny X-Men (1963) #508. Sage next appears in Exiles (2009) #6 and then is in X-Treme X-Men (2012) #6-12, below.
Exiles (2009) #1-6 by Jeff Parker
and Exiles Sketchbook (2009) #1 & Exiles Saga (2009) #1 (Apr – Sep 2009 & Feb-Mar 2009)
A six-issue limited series beginning June 2009, parallel to Uncanny X-Men (1963) #508 and X-Men Legacy (2008) #223.
Writer Jeff Parker launches a new volume of Exiles just months after Claremont wraps his run on New Exiles (2009). Parker had the added push of bringing Blink back to the team (who had been unseen since Exiles: Days of Then and Now (2008) #1), but the series didn’t graduate from a limited to an ongoing with the end of its first arc. [Marvel Unlimited: Sketchbook, Saga, main series]
Exiles Sketchbook (2009) #1 & Exiles Saga (2009) #1: Not collected. An art preview issue and a recap issue explaining the plot of the first two volumes.
#1-6: Point of No Return (2009 paperback, ISBN 978-0785140443 / digital)
X-Treme X-Men (2012) #1-13 & 7.1 by Greg Pak (Jul 2012 – Apr 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 Guide to X-Treme X-Men for collection information. [Marvel Unlimited]
Exiles (2018) #1-12 by Saladin Ahmed & Javier Rodriguez (Apr 2018 – Jan 2019)
This series was launched by Saladin Ahmed hot off of his acclaimed run on Black Bolt. 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 (including Nocturne, starting in issue #7).
#1-5: Vol. 1: Test of Time (2018 paperback, ISBN 978-1302911652 / digital)
#6-12: Vol. 2: Trial of the Exiles (2018 paperback, ISBN 978-1302911669 / digital)
Sabretooth & The Exiles (2022) #1-5 by Victor LaValle & Leonard Kirk
This series is “Exiles” in name, but has nothing to do with the traditional cross-dimensional themes of this title. Instead, it’s about Sabretooth leading a crew of mutants condemned to Krakoa’s pit to a new life as exiles from the island nation. See Guide to Sabretooth for collection information.
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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.
Sean, it’s funny how the pendulum swings on these things. For a while those individual trades were each more expensive than the Ultimate Collections! I’m glad the guide helped you track everything down.