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From: [email protected] (Kate the Short)
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Subject: rec.arts.comics.marvel.xbooks FAQ: 1/7
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-= REC.ARTS.COMICS.MARVEL.XBOOKS =-
Frequently Asked Questions
Part 1

Version 2002.04, last updated December 2002
URL: http://www.enteract.com/~katew/faqs/racmxFAQ/faq1.html

------------------------------
Subject: Table of Contents

Part 1:

PURPOSE/INTRO

NEW (OR RETURNING) READER INFORMATION
* The current list of X-Titles and Teams (+)
* Hints for picking up back issues

WHAT ARE THE X-BOOKS?
* Philosophical Meanderings and Inspirations
* What is a mutant?

COMMONLY USED ABBREVIATIONS AND TERMS

------------------------------
Subject: PURPOSE/INTRO

This is the Frequently Asked Questions list for the Usenet newsgroup
rec.arts.comics.marvel.xbooks. FAQs for the rec.arts.comics groups in
general are posted regularly on rec.arts.comics.info. Not wanting to
flood the general rac.* FAQs with a huge amount of X-related subjects,
the FAQ keepers decided to start a number of separate FAQs, to be posted
as needed on rec.arts.comics.marvel.xbooks (racmx) itself.

Readers are still encouraged to read the main FAQs for the rac hierarchy
in rac.info. Newcomers should also read the many helpful articles in the
news.* hierarchy, especially those in news.newusers.questions. You
should also read the newsgroup news.announce.newusers before you start
posting regularly to the rac.* newsgroups.

X-title fans are energetic and creative people, and a number of them
have written their own FAQs or created their own webpages for topics
close to their hearts. You can find a list of those FAQs, pages, and
mailing lists on more specific subjects than these in the "Where Can I
Find It?" FAQ. Please note that almost all of the rac.* FAQs can be
found at the FAQ page: http://www.enteract.com/~katew/faqs/.

Please note: Background information on the creators and the X-titles
editorial offices is based on over a decade's worth of interviews,
articles, and personal questions, and as such is not directly
attributed here. Now that some of Marvel's staff members are on Usenet,
they are welcomed to correct and amend any of the answers listed below.

------------------------------
Subject: NEW (OR RETURNING) READER INFORMATION

--- The current list of X-Titles and Teams (+) (UPDATED 1202)

The current published monthly titles which tell the stories of the
interacting genetic soap opera which is the X-Men are as follows:

* Uncanny X-Men: The original book; covers one main team of X-Men.
Chuck Austen's Uncanny X-Men include Angel (winged flight),
Havok (energy blasts), Husk (shape changing), Iceman (ice
manipulation), Juggernaut (unstoppable strength), Nightcrawler
(teleportation), and Northstar (superspeed flight). Art duties
are split between Ron Garney and Kia Asamiya.

* New X-Men: The sequel and companion title to Uncanny X-Men.
Grant Morrison's New X-Men, mentored by Prof. Xavier (telepathy),
include Beast (strength and agility), Cyclops (eye blasts),
former White Queen Emma Frost (telepathy and diamond skin),
Phoenix (telepathy and telekinesis), Wolverine (enhanced senses
and self-healing), and Xorn (healing). Frank Quitely, Phil
Jiminez, and Ethan Van Sciver are artists on alternating stories.

* X-Treme X-Men: A newer, third core title; covers yet another set
of the X-Men characters. Chris Claremont's and Salvador Larroca's
X-Treme X-Men include Bishop (energy blasts), Lifeguard (armored
form, flight), Rogue (flight, strength, the ablility to steal
others' powers), Sage (memory, analysis, and the ability to "see"
others' potential mutant powers), Slipstream (teleportation),
Storm (weather), and Thunderbird (energy blasts).

* X-Statix: Features a team of corporate-sponsored mutants who are
also celebrities. It's likely the roster will change *often*.
Peter Milligan's and Mike Allred's X-Statix include Orphan (super
senses, athleticism), The Anarchist (acidic sweat), Vivisector
(bestial form), Phat (fat control, strength), Dead Girl (corpse
memory, spirit communication), Venus Dee Milo (energy form and
teleportation), and Doop (pocket dimension storage, cameraman).
Darwyn Cook will provide art on additional stories.

* Wolverine: Adventures with the most popular X-Man. Ninjas, the
military, fight scenes, and honor abound. Frank Tieri and Sean
Chen are the creative team.

* Soldier X: Adventures around the world with Cyclops' time-hopping
son. Darko Macan and Igor Kordey are the creative team.

* Agent X: Adventures in lunacy with Wade Wilson, assassin. Gail
Simone and Udon Studios continue the odd saga of the Merc with
a Mouth.

* Weapon X: Covert operations with a group of former X-Men allies
and villains. Frank Tieri and Georges Jeanty are the creative
team.

* X-Men Unlimited: One-shot stories going into more detail on a
small number of X-Men, or related characters, at a time. This is
a monthly title with a rotating creative team.

* Exiles: Blink and friends time-hop through alternate dimensions.
Judd Winnick's and Mike McKone's Exiles team features Blink (a
teleporter), Nocturne (alternate Nightcrawler's daughter), Mimic
(powered by his universe's X-Men), Mariko (alternate version of
Sunfire), Morph (shape-changing funnyman), and White Sasquatch
(alternate Heather Hudson with Sasquatch powers).

* Ultimate X-Men: A hip, alternate version of the team, created to
give new readers a continuity-free version of events. Mark
Millar's and Adam Kubert's Ultimate X-Men includes versions of
Professor X, Cyclops, Phoenix, Beast, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus
(living steel), and Iceman. David Finch provides fill-in artwork.

Obviously, these popular mutants have been featured as main characters
or guest characters in quite a few former and current titles. Even in
earlier decades Marvel was crossover happy, so it can be safely assumed
that the X-Men have made guest appearances in probably every Marvel
comic. Those interested in collecting them all should track down Aardy
R. DeVarque's Annotated Index to X-Men Guest Appearances and Exhaustive
Completist's Supplemental X-Men Checklist, both of which can be found at
http://www.enteract.com/~aardy/comics/index.html .

--- Hints for picking up back issues

If you're new to the X-Universe, the best way to learn where all these
people are and are coming from is from back issues. X-Men Classics and
X-Men: The Early Years reprinted old Uncanny issues, and are a cheap way
to pick up back issues without paying back issue prices (on the other
hand, you miss the letter columns, something desirable in back issues).

Essential Uncanny X-Men (only one volume) reprints issues 1-24 of the
original (Uncanny) X-Men in a large "phonebook-sized" black and white
paperback. The four volumes of Essential X-Men reprint Giant-Size
X-Men #1 and then Uncanny #94 through Uncanny #179, plus annuals through
Uncanny Annual #6. There are also three books of Essential Wolverine
reprints, which cover Wolverine #1 through #75 or thereabouts. Great
stuff for those just getting started.

Readers who left off before Giant-Size X-Men might appreciate the newer
stories in X-Men: The Hidden Years. Those stories are set during the
reprint years of the title. Although the title has been cancelled, you
should be able to find the issues in back issue bins.

Tons of color trade paperbacks (known as TPBs) exist that collect
various storylines and crossovers from the various titles, including the
Demon Bear saga of the New Mutants, the Asgardian Wars crossover
specials, the various yearly event crossovers, and so on. Your local
library may have some of them, or may be able to get them through Inter-
Library Loan. Just ask your local librarian--that person is there to
help.

As far as current ongoing comics to read, go to the core titles: Uncanny
X-Men, New X-Men, and X-Treme X-Men feature most of the characters from
the X-Men movie, cartoon, and older comics. Make use of your resources
here on the net (listed in copious detail in the "Where Can I Find It?"
FAQ) to get some headway for plot developments you can't follow.

For the truly adventuresome, the book "Marvel: Five Decades of the
World's Greatest Comics" offers a large history of not just the teams
and the characters, but also the company itself. It's surprisingly
unbiased, considering Marvel's usually corporate jitteriness, but it is
expensive. Your local library may have a copy.

Above all else, be patient. The comics are based on over thirty years of
comic book history. A lot of that history is, unfortunately, somewhat
presumed knowledge to read the X-Men titles. You'll figure out what's
going on soon enough. In the meanwhile, enjoy the comics.

------------------------------
Subject: WHAT ARE THE X-BOOKS?

--- Philosophical Meanderings and Inspirations

The basic concept of the X-Men titles is the mutant. From the first
issue of X-Men, in 1963, the creators of the X-Titles have used the idea
of the mutant as an analogy to the civil rights movement. The thing that
made the idea so compelling in the comic book field, however, was that
the Marvel world's concept of the mutant had no single real-life
counterpart, and no limit of real-life analogs. Thus, while there are no
superhuman mutants being persecuted in our society, any reader can
identify with the feelings of persecution and alienation (no matter how
well-deserved :-). The plight of the Marvel Universe mutants can
therefore be compared to the black civil rights movement, the womens'
movement, religious persecution, gay rights, and so on.

There's a book that may have inspired the X-men: "Children of the Atom"
by Wilmar Shiras. Wilmar H. Shiras was born in Boston (1908) and raised
there, but she did not start writing until she moved to California.
"CotA" originally was a series of stories published in 1948-1950,
starting with the November 1948 issue of "Astounding Science Fiction."
In the installments, a teacher gathers a group of intellectually
advanced kids who otherwise would be outcasts. Here we see the roots of
a teacher or mentor dealing with kids who are, essentially, mutants. The
chapters were collected in a paperback under the title "Children of the
Atom" (Avon Publications, New York, NY, 1953). Tilman Stieve provided
a ton of background information on the text, which I've summarized:

The children's mutation was caused by an accident in a nuclear plant in
1958 (the Helium City facility was there to make "a new type of bomb")
in which all workers were fatally irradiated, dying within 2 years. The
main part of the story is apparently set in 1972. In the first chapter,
"In Hiding," we meet Peter Welles, a psychiatrist/psychologist for the
city schools of Oakley, California. Peter meets the first of these
super-intelligent mutants, 13-year-old Timothy Paul, after he is
consulted by Timothy's teacher, Miss Emily Page, who a long time earlier
was Peter Welles's teacher.

In the second chapter, "Opening Doors", Peter and Timothy begin to look
for other mutants (orphans of other workers at the plant). Among the
first to reply to their cryptic ad "Orphans, b c 59, i q three star
plus" is one Jay Worthington(!!!). Elsie Lambeth is found in an asylum
run by Dr. Mark Foxwell. Peter Welles begins to organize a school for
these super-intelligent "Wonder Children." Miss Page becomes their
teacher, and Dr. Foxwell helps. The third chapter, "New Foundations,"
continues the organization and recruitment. Students Jay Worthington and
Stella Oates appear for the first time. In the fourth chapter,
"Problems," more and more children are gathered at the school and the
teaching begins in earnest.

In the fifth chapter, "Children of the Atom", the school stuff
continues, but then Tommy Mundy, a TV preacher, begins to rant against
the "inhuman monsters" and the mortal danger the Children of the Atom
supposedly pose to mankind "hidden under the disguise of a school for
gifted children." (This is pretty close to Xavier's "gifted youngsters,"
and Mundy is a character not unlike the villain in "God Loves, Man
Kills.") An angry mob shows up at the gates, but it can be pacified,
partly because some of the kids, such as Timothy Paul, are known by the
locals and regarded as non-threatening. Tim Paul then says he wants to
return to grade school and has this rather interesting bit (considering
some of the problems the X-teams would go on to have) to say about the
sudden fears of ordinary citizens:

None of this would have happened if we had not cut ourselves off
from the world and from almost everybody in it. As long as we lived
like other kids, nobody hated us, nobody feared us, nobody was
against us. Some of you said, and the magazines and things said,
that I saved us from real trouble by talking to the crowd. But it
wasn't what I said or what I did, it was that somebody knew me.
Some of them knew Miss Page and some knew Dr. Welles. But if you
strangers to town, and the other strangers who will come, shut
yourselves up here and live inside this fence, nobody will know
you.

And so, in the end, they decide to rejoin the human race.

The "nobody hated us, nobody feared us" line above sounds a lot like
the X-Men concept of defending "a world that hates and fears them." Even
if Stan Lee and Jack Kirby weren't inspired by the book, the "Children
of the Atom" tagline has been used by multiple X-Men writers to refer to
mutants.

--- What is a mutant?

The main focus of the X-titles is a specific type of character called a
mutant. Forget most of your basic biology when hearing the term "mutant"
applied to a Marvel comic, because the writers usually do. For Marvel
purposes, a mutant is a being who possesses a genetic structure not
present in his parents. While it's useless as a scientific definition
(otherwise, any "non-mutant" child would exactly resemble her parents,
like clones), it's mainly used as a tag for a specific group of
superhumans.

Really, the definition is a bit looser than that, since accurate biology
is usually not the top priority for the writers. For instance, Siryn, is
called a mutant, despite the fact that her powers are the same as those
of her father, Banshee. Some say that Siryn *is* a mutant, in that she
can talk and scream at the same time (it makes perfect sense if you know
the characters), but the main difficulty is bad writing, not bad genes.
The easier way to categorize mutants is to see whether have an active
"X-Factor", and that's really the main point of the whole definition.
You will see references stating that "a mutant has to have a different
power than his parents" in mutant comics, though, so it's mentioned here
just to get you acquainted with it.

So, what are mutants, exactly? They are superhuman because they were
born that way. They didn't need any gamma bomb blowing up, or spider
biting them, or magical formula recited. They're superhuman because
that's what they were born to be. They are mutants because of their X-
Factor. And what is an X-Factor? Read below, true believer!

The reason there are mutants on Earth comes from Marvel cosmology.
Large, alien gods, called Celestials (who some say are but the
incarnations of the dreams of Eternity), visit all planets that will
bear life, early in each planet's existance. They perform genetic
tinkering with the early lifeforms that will, if everything works out
right, leave the species with three distinct superhuman bloodlines:
Eternals (who never suffer random mutations), Deviants (who always
suffer mutations in each generation), and normal folks. In the "normal"
lifeforms, the Celestials left a genetic trigger. Some normals would
gain powers after exposure to odd "triggering" events (like the
Fantastic Four, the Hulk, or Spider-Man). Others could self-trigger when
exposed in the womb to sufficient background radiation. When it's self-
triggered, that genetic trigger is called the X-Factor.

Now the X-Factor only makes a mutant when it's self-triggered. Something
happens to it when it does so that it becomes different than the same
gene that allowed the Fantastic Four to gain their powers; mutants show
up on mutant detectors (which look for the unique signature of the X-
Factor), while Spider-Man doesn't. Mutants also give off unique brain
patterns due to the X-Factor that enable telepaths who know what to look
for (like Professor X) to detect mutants far more easily than normal
humans or non-mutant superheroes. Devices that nullify mutant powers by
negating the X-Factor are useless against non-mutants as well. On the
other hand, Ship (an old base of Apocalypse) had a force field around it
that would only open if it detected the X-Factor inside a visitor. So,
yes, mutants are different than the "normal" superhumans in a Marvel
comic. Aside from that, there's no real appreciable difference or
superiority for mutant superpowers over non-mutant ones. Prejudices,
however, still count most mutants as menaces and most non-mutant
superheroes as friendly (J. Jonah Jameson's views on Spider-Man
notwithstanding).

------------------------------
Subject: COMMONLY USED ABBREVIATIONS AND TERMS

Abbreviations for discussing the various titles are hardly standardized,
but if you need some the following are all serviceable and properly
behaved, well-suited to be inserted into any needful post:

AF = Alpha Flight
Excal = Excalibur
GenX = Generation X
NM = New Mutants
Ultimate / UltXM = Ultimate X-Men
Uncanny / UXM = Uncanny X-Men
XFac = X-Factor
XFor = X-Force
Unlim / XMU = X-Men Unlimited
X-Men / New XM = (New) X-Men
X-Treme / XXM = X-Treme X-Men

In general, the main confusion comes between Uncanny X-Men and X-Men.
Uncanny was originally called X-Men, then changed its title. Up until a
few years ago, Uncanny was just called "X-Men," there being no actual
title called "X-Men" to confuse it with. To make things even more fun,
X-Men was renamed New X-Men when X-Treme X-Men debuted. If you're
talking about Uncanny, use "Uncanny" or "UXM" consistently and clearly
in your post. Similarly, call New X-Men just "NXM," and call X-Treme
X-Men "X-Treme." You'll get used to it as you go along.

Another thing to remember is that xbooks is a newsgroup, while the X-
books are the comics. To help prevent confusion, this FAQ recommends
calling the comics X-titles, and calling the newsgroup racmx (pronounced
"rack-em-ex").

The Net is a place of lazy typists. Here, then, is a glossary of some
terms commonly used around the 'Net, as well as some more specific to
racmx:

* FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions. You're reading one. We hope you're
enjoying it.

* 616: This is an identifier from Alan Davis' stint on Excalibur.
Roma, in her role as the omniversal guardian, and the people
working under her adopted a numbering system for the multiple
parallel Earths that exist throughout crosstime. The mainstream
Marvel Universe and its associated continuity are numbered "616":
Earth 616, Captain Britain 616, and so forth. Often used when
comparing the mainstream Marvel continuity to that of alternate
timelines.

* AOA: Age of Apocalypse, Marvel's 1996 alternate-reality crossover
for the X-titles. You will sometimes see references to the AOA
versions of characters as AOA-Rogue or AOA-Jean.

* canon: A term taken from the humanities, meaning the approved
sources (or of them). The newsgroup considers only the comics and
the OHOTMUDE canon; other things like letters pages and Wizard
articles are considered enlightening but not Truth. Collectible
card games are considered extremely unreliable. Your milage may
vary, but that is racmx custom.

* Counter-X: A radical retooling of the titles X-Man, Generation X,
and X-Force that only lasted one year. Only X-Force survived, and
it was radically retooled a year later.

* dino: First used, puportedly, by the irascible Mike Ellis, "dino"
is a term that he supposedly borrowed from the mudding environment
of the Internet. It is now used as an identifier for X-readers who
feel more at home with X-titles the less grim, gritty, and pocket-
stuffed the costumes are.

* fanboy: One who must insanely consume all possible crossovers and
tie-ins to their dedicated icon, and who cannot accept that any
other comic company could be putting out characters as totally
cosmic as the ones they collect.

* DOFP or DOF*: Days of Future Past, and its related storylines Days
of Future Present, Days of Future Yet to Come, Days of Future
Tense, and Wolverine: Days of Future Past. The first DOFP was the
original (UXM #141-142), and it set up the others. DOFPresent was
an Annuals crossover, the next two were Excalibur stories, and the
last was a Wolverine limited series. All of them deal with a
dystopian future where Sentinels rule, and DOFP is where Rachel
Summers and the Hounds came from.

* IMHO: In My Humble (or Honest) Opinion

* IIRC: If I Recall Correctly

* LS: limited series, sometimes known as a mini-series.

* Lurker: An individual who reads the newsgroup, but for some reason
chooses not to post.

* nimbo: A person who is both a ninja and a bimbo. An invaluable term
in discussing any book drawn by Jim Lee.

* OHOTMU: Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. Once upon a time,
the OHOTMU was the penultimate source of Marvel trivia, history,
characters, and backgrounds. Unfortunately, its recent incarnation
skipped out on all the background stuff and just gave us fighting
stats, which sorely annoyed the old OHOTMU fans. The OHOTMU was the
Official Marvel guidebook on what characters could do what and why,
and is usually invoked as a reference to settle various arguments.
Very few long-time Marvel readers will accept the newest version of
the OHOTMU as more definitive than the older two, however. The
older one is also known as the OHOTMUDE (for Deluxe Edition).

* PAD: Peter A. David, writer of stuff, who was once the writer on
X-Factor (#70-#89). An infrequent poster on rac.misc, he no longer
hangs out on racmx.

* rac: rec.arts.comics, now broken into many smaller groups,
including rec.arts.comics.marvel.xbooks. Sometimes done as r.a.c.
"rac" is sometime used as an abbreviation of the term "rec.arts.
comics" in any instance; like "rac.marvel.xbooks". Often used the
same way as "rac.*", below. Newsgroups abbreviations are often
capitalized or not depending on the whim of the typist; "RAC" =
"rac" = "R.A.C.", for instance.

* rac.*: Used as a general abbreviation meaning "all of the
rec.arts.comics.* newsgroups".

* racmu: rec.arts.comics.marvel.universe, where Spiderman, FF, New
Warriors etc. belong.

* racmx: rec.arts.comics.marvel.xbooks.

* racx: Abbreviation of rec.arts.comics.xbooks, the original
incarnation of racmx.

* rac'ers: Netters who frequent any of the rac. groups.

* retcon: Short for "retroactive continuity." For the full story on
retcon, see the full rac.* FAQ, posted montly on rac.info. A retcon
is the act of a writer "squeezing" something into past storylines
when no evidence of it at all existed when those storylines were
written.

The best example of this in the X-titles is Cable. When Liefeld and
Simonson created Cable, he had never been seen, mentioned, or
listed in any Marvel comic before. Suddenly, he appeared, and every
mutant character who had been around forever was saying, "Ah,
Cable, haven't seen you around for a while." Well, duh, he hadn't
been invented yet. This mass infusion of history which had never
existed before is a classic retcon. racmx'ers also sometimes call
Jean Grey's "resurrection" in place of being Phoenix a retcon.

While "retcon" is usually used in a derisive, insulting sense, this
is more due to the fact that most retcons are the tools of
modestly-skilled writers working under deadline with an improper
grounding in continuity and thus end up being badly handled, as
opposed to any inherent fault in the idea of the retcon.

* troll: A newsgroup poster who posts trivial or inflammatory
material in order to irritate other posters and, hopefully, trick
them into making foolish spectacles of themselves. Avoid responding
to obvious trolls at all costs, no matter how tempting a target
they make themselves.

* xbooks: A common abbreviation of rec.arts.comics.marvel.xbooks. To
keep from being confused with the actual comics themselves,
racmxers are encouraged to refer to the newsgroup as racmx, and
the comics as the X-titles.

* X:TAS: A quick abbreviation for X-Men: the Animated Series. Can
also be used to set apart XTAS characters from their "normal" comic
counterparts: Rogue-TAS versus Rogue, for instance.

* YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary.

*** Continued in Part 2 ***

Compilation Copyright 2000-2002 by Katharine E. Hahn
SEND ADDITIONS / CHANGES / DEAD LINKS / MOVED LINKS / UPDATES TO:
Kate the Short, [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

--
Kate the Short * http://www.enteract.com/~katew/