Nice list, Richard - does this mean you read a lot of X-Men growing up?

Oh, yeah, we've spent a lot of years together.

I see. I did not grow up with comics and have never really read any X-Men (apart from the first one or two Silver Age Essential volumes), but I want to check out Astonishing X-Men and some of that Claremont stuff - do you think you would still like it if you read it today for the first time?

Ah... that is a tough one. I know that I still enjoy those books today, but they are impossible to separate from my youth. I'd definitely recommend Astonishing for Whedon's run, and I think the Claremont/Byrne run on the original title is really solid - if you like the straightforward superhero adventures of those days. There's no doubt that they're dated, but they're also goofy and sweet and free of most of the angst that is so cliche in superhero books today. Claremont broke a lot of ground as far as strong female characters go, and that has always been a big part of the appeal there for me.

Yes, exactly, those less angst-ridden days is what I'm looking for, plus Astonishing. Did you ever read Morrison's run?

Sorry, I just realized there was a question here I never answered. Didn't mean to be rude. Yes, I did read it, and there were things I liked about it - but I'm really, really not a Morrison fan.

No worries, Richard - and thanks!