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Newly Announced: Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol. 5 (+ the problem with its mapping explained)

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This weekend, Marvel announced their most-anticipated omnibus via my friend and colleague Omar’s YouTube channel, Near Mint Condition: Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 5!

(That isn’t an exaggeration; the online omnibus community produces a yearly secret ballot to determine its most-wanted books and this one tops the list, as also reported by Omar.)

This is the last omnibus X-fans need to complete their oversized bookshelf of Uncanny X-Men (1963) #1-321. That means it’s time for the celebration to begin! Let the X-villagers rejoice!

Well… not quite.

The hesitation comes down to the initially-announced contents of the book, what fans assumed it would contain, what Marvel has recently reprinted, and how Marvel plans to continue collecting Uncanny X-Men in omnibus in the coming years.

(Note: Omar very kindly invited me to a discussion of this topic on his channel, but I couldn’t make it work across time zones. Plus, I’m trying to keep my X-Men X-Posure contained to CK, at the moment.)

Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol. 5 Contents

The contents of this volume, as announced by Omar on Near Mint Condition, are:

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #194-209 & Annual 9, New Mutant Special Edition (1985) #1, Nightcrawler (1985) #1-4, Longshot (1985) #1-6, and material from Marvel Fanfare (1982) #33.

I’ll explain why all of those issues are in the omnibus in just a moment. First, let’s talk about what’s missing. Or, should I say “missing” – since not everyone agrees.

What is Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol. 5 “missing”?

The initial solicited contents of Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol. 5 skips two runs that many buyers of all of the X-Men omnibus line anticipated it would include, for reasons I’ll cover below.

Here is what the contents do not currently include:

  • Uncanny X-Men (1963) Annual 10 and New Mutants (1983) Annual 2
  • Avengers (1963) #263; Fantastic Four (1961) #286; X-Factor (1986) #1-8 & Annual 1, and potentially some other related material

If you know your X-mapping well, you will immediately see the problem with these exclusions! By leaving Annual 10 out of this volume, Marvel has invented a difference between the mapping of the X-Men “Classic Omnibus” line that begins with Volume 1 and the X-Men “Event Omnibus” line that begins with Mutant Massacre. But, there’s no reason that difference has to exist!

If you’re not a X-Men mapping X-Pert yet, keep reading for a complete X-Plainer. [Read more…] about Newly Announced: Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol. 5 (+ the problem with its mapping explained)

X-Factor (2020) #5 – Resurrection Drama and The Krakoan Community | This Week in X!

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It’s “This Week in X” for X-Factor (2020) #5, released 2 December 2020! This is a full-spoilers post and episode.X-Factor (2020) #5

The premise set up by this issue is that The Five want X-Factor’s oversight on more than just proof of death. They’re asking them for the go-ahead to continue with resurrections after Rockslide’s troubled return at the beginning of X of Swords (the details which it doesn’t seem like Lorna has shared with the rest of this group).

X-Factor (2020) #5 really needed this episode all to itself to spread out, because there are a STAGGERING amount of characters for us to cover in this issue – so many we don’t quite mention them all (sorry Mercury!).

We discuss many of those characters; the post-X of Swords resurrection drama as it relates to Wind Dancer, Rockslide, and Gorgon; Leah Williams’ masterful Emma Frost; terrific and heartbreaking data pages; and how well Leah Williams and David Baldeon weave a complex sense of community on Krakoa.

Join Peter, Tyler, and Fariha’s specially-nominated guest New Mutant, Harry, for this epic discussion on “This Week in X,” the show where we cover every in-continuity X-Men comic book released by Marvel, every week.

Now that X of Swords has ended, we’ll be posting an individual video for each X-Men issue every week, with our combined conversation (plus our intro discussions!) presented as a single podcast episode.

Need help making sense of reading and collecting the X-Men? Crushing Comics can help!

Want to keep up with comics commentary all week long? Follow Crushing Comics on Twitter and subscribe to my channel on YouTube.

Recapping X of Swords, Week 2: X-Factor (2020) #4 and the politics of resurrection on Krakoa | This Week in X

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Join the former HiX-Men Report as we dive into the second week of the 22-chapter X of Swords crossover as it hits Leah Williams’ X-Factor (2020) #4.

In this episode we discuss the philosophy & bureaucracy of resurrection, the dissent inherent in community, the value of internal monologues, root cause analysis, my love for a certain rocky mutant, and more!

Want to relive the deepest dive into HOXPOX on the entire internet? In 2019 we recorded nearly 24hrs of content covering House of X and Powers of X (with me providing musical interludes for most of the episodes) on The HiX-Men Report.

Need help making sense of the X-Men? Visit my comprehensive guides to reading and collecting Marvel Comics or my definitive X-Men Reading Order.

Want to read more X-Factor? Visit my Definitive Guide to X-Factor!

Crushing Comics S01E055 – Why I can’t meditate + X-Men: Fall of the Mutants

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As I unwrap today’s book, I talk about my inability to meditate in the traditional “relaxed mind” version of meditation. For me, meditation comes from engaging my brain in something. For some people that’s a zen koan, but for me it’s more like alphabetizing books or organizing files.

The book I unwrap after all that musing is X-Men: Fall of the Mutants, the “crossover that was not.” I explain how it began the unravelling of the main X-Men team and how it marked the highlight of Louise Simonson’s run on X-Factor.

Want to start from the beginning of this season of videos? Here’s the complete Season 1 playlist of Crushing Comics.

Episode 55 features X-Men: Fall of the Mutants, covered in the Guide to Uncanny X-Men by Chris Claremont.