100 Things X-Men Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die

by Brian Cronin

Whether you've read the earliest X-Men comics from the silver age or never miss a big screen release, these are the 100 things all X-Men fans need to know and do in their lifetime. Comic Book Resources' Brian Cronin has collected every essential piece of mutants knowledge and trivia, as well as must-do activities, and ranks them all from 1 to 100, providing an entertaining and easy-to-follow checklist as you progress on your way to fan superstardom!

306 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2018

About the author

Brian Cronin is an internationally known illustrator whose work has appeared in the The New Yorker, The New York Times, Rolling Stone and many other publications. He won the Society of Illustrators’ Founders Award for his first book, The Lost House and a New York Times Best Illustrated Award for The Lost Picnic.

Brian lives with Doreen Cronin in Brooklyn, New York, and the two have previously collaborated on the picture book Lawrence & Sophia.

Reviews

[Paul Dinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have broken my comic book collecting into two phases, Marvel and DC. The Marvel phase was about Daredevil and the X Men. This book reminded me why I loved that comic, of which I have hundreds of, but no where near a complete collection of. It was Marvel's worst title in the sixities even though it showed promise. It became the powerhouse book it was due to Chris Claremont, who I recently met and really like, Dave Cockrum, Len Wien, John Bryne. It has been done by some the great talents of comics like Grant Morrison, Matt Fraction, and Ed Brubaker. It has also been done by mediocre and terrible writers, I'm looking at you Chuck Austen! And by otherwise brilliant authors who slummed, Yeah Bendis I'm looking at you too! This is a book for fans, if you love the XMen, you won't put this down. For a while it was the best book out there. Lately, I did look thru those older issues, it is incredible how they hold up in this world, how they still influence comics of the day. Every super team from Marvel now looks to these books as inspirational. I have heard that a lot of readers don't read this book as much anymore. It sadly does at times rest on it's laurels and provides the wolverine story or the gambit story it thinks we want, despite having already read those stories, but then they can surprise. There was once a great party going on, you never knew what was going to happen next, and sometime they will bring that party back. One can only hope.

[Jim Lang · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is fast read for any X-nerds like me. I grew up with the X-Men, and Brian Cronin created a fast-moving, entertaining look at all things X-related, including characters, writers, artists, movie rights, cartoons -- everything. My favorite parts were revisiting famous storylines and learning behind-the-scenes facts about writers and artists who brought Marvel Comics' favorite mutants to life over the decades. I loved every page of 100 Things. It was -- dare I say? -- X-cellent.

[Justin Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brian Cronin is one of my favorite columnists on Comic Book Resources, especially when he explores hidden histories and myths of comic book lore. As an avid X-Men fan for about 30 years, I found a lot of nostalgia reading these 100 factoids, but I admit I already knew many of them, including from earlier Cronin articles. However, it was fun to read one or two of these entries every now and then over the past few months and I think this should have a place on any Marvel collector's bookshelf.

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

For fans, a good summary of the history of the creators that worked on the comics, as well as of storylines and various character arcs over the last 50 odd years. Better than surfing wiki articles or the web, and a decent summary of the issues of various creators on the X-men related books during that time. For fans only.

[David Macpherson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good overview of many X-Men things, though I must say that reading the plot descriptions makes me realize how ridiculous super hero plots are. Soap opera with a body count and a lot of back from the dead appearances. No one stays dead. Everyone has three ulterior motives. Cronin is a good writer about comics.

[Matthew Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is perfect summer reading for an X-Men comic book nerd like I am. Bite sized nuggets of gold about the history of the X-Men and the writers and artists around this modern mythology. Completely enjoyed it. Any fan should buy this

[RJ Bates III · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great content for X-Men fans

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a nice book if you're a comic fan. If you're just really fond of the movies and animated series this book contains a lot of irrelevant (and even a bit dry) information.

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Brian Cronin’s blog and I’ll read just about any comic book related stuff he writes.