In September of 1998, millions of kids were racked with a decision. Pokemon Red or Pokemon Blue. The difference was 11 exclusive monsters to each version. You could still catch 139 unique little buggers, but those last few were lost to you. Cleverly, the marketing folks sold the game with a call to action for the kiddos, âGotta catch âem all!â It tapped into a collectors compulsion to have everything that exists, even if you donât really want it. That fear of missing out led to some consumers double dipping, picking up Red and Blue no matter how necessary it was. Now family, I tell you that tale to let you know that just as a young Zack survived without catching a Scyther, you too will survive by not picking up every X-Men title.
Itâs a common refrain on message boards, or Facebook pages, or the void of Twitter. âThere are too many X-Books, my wallet canât take it!â or âGreat job diluting the line Marvel, no one can keep up with all of this.â While I can empathize with the first complaint, and can roll my eyes at the backseat driving of the other, they are both born from a lie, a misplaced assumption that you have to buy everything. While there is more attention and cohesiveness on the X-Line then since the Age of Apocalypse, my fellow mutants are fooling themselves into thinking âitâs all connectedâ.
The fact is, you donât actually have to buy every individual title to get a full picture. The books connect in such a way that shows the titles are aware of each other, but not dependent on each other. For all the pomp around the assassination of Xavier in X-Force #1, the repercussions to the rest of the line were inconsequential. Other books mentioned that Xavier was shot and that security was tight because of that. It informed the tone and actions of some characters, but the writers made sure that anyone who wasnât reading X-Force still got everything they needed to not be confused.
These references are akin to Agent Coulson in Iron Man 2 mentioning he has business to attend to in New Mexico. Itâs a neat nod to a larger world but audiences donât need to have watched Thor to understand what Coulson is doing in Avengers. He had a thing in New Mexico, he did it, now he is here. Much in the same way, Cyclops grouses that he let Cypher go into space in New Mutants. You donât need to know what Cypher is doing up there with his space drinks and bird law, just that he isnât around. Itâs a simple way to present the illusion of connectivity or importance without hurting readers who are only pulling one title.
Price on the other hand, can be a challenge. However, for many readers, it will be less of a challenge than they think. This January, thanks to double shipping, there will be 12 âDawn of Xâ books released over six indiviual titles. While some folks my scoff at double shipping when solicits comes out, they tend not to notice when itâs check out time at their local comic shop. They count the titles they are following, not the dollars they are spending. Senior Editor Jordan D White has been clear in multiple places (including this very site) that the double shipping will slow down once the rest of the line is released. As we see more and more books come out, this holds true, there are about 12 individual issues of X-Books released each month, less than we saw at this point last year. If someone went all-in on the initial rollout of Dawn of X, they are already paying as much as Marvel expects them to pay for everything X-Men every month, just with more variety.
I am sympathetic to those who canât afford to read all the comics they want the week they come out. Marvel Unlimited, digital code swapping, and Comixology sales will be your friend here. However, the fact remains that purchasing the entire X-Line this Spring will likely cost the same as doing so at the start of Dawn of X. Itâs 12 issues, roughly $48, just spread over more titles. The upside of this is that budget conscious readers will be able to exercise more discretion. A New Mutants fan will only have to invest $4 a month, not $8. If that fan isnât interested in Wolverine, they can just skip it, opening their limited dollars on books they would rather read.
There is one thing you will be missing out on, and thatâs the conversation around these books. Since the launch of House Of X last July, more folks are more excited about X-Men than they have been in ages. This has energized a community to talk about these titles in both long form writing and 240 character tweets. #XSpoiler has somehow become ubiquitous every Wednesday, letting folks opt-in to an all or nothing stream of thoughts and spoilers for the week. The honest truth is that, if you drop X-Force or Marauders, you are going to miss out on your friends talking about those books. You probably will end up spoiled about certain developments. It might not be fun for you.
There are two real options here for those suffering from mutant FOMO. You can read recaps and articles about the books you are missing, keeping yourself both informed and spoiled. Itâs a limited knowledge, no replacement for the real thing, but it will keep you in the conversation. The other option is to accept it and move on with your day. There are many options on how to spend your time or what to talk about with friends. Family, Iâm telling you that there are demonstrably better things to chat about than Hellions. For many, itâs worth stepping back and accepting that thereâs more to the world than X-Men. No matter how much you love them, they are just comic books, theyâll still be there waiting for you when you finally get around to them.
As a big X-Men fan, I love having a bunch of books. As a site that wants to highlight the voices of writers, I love that we have a variety of books that allow me to feature a variety of writers. But I understand wanting to be part of the conversation, Iâve felt the pressure of keeping up with a massive, connected universe.I too, have heard that little voice in my head saying âbut what if you miss something important?â With all this, I just want to remind folks that you donât have to buy everything. Support what you enjoy and donât worry about the rest. I promise, it will all be OK.
Zachary Jenkins runs the Xavier Files Media Empire and is a co-host on the podcast âBattle of the Atom.â Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside of X-Men.
Zachary Jenkins co-hosts the podcast Battle of the Atom and is the former editor-in-chief of ComicsXF. Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside all this.
