Last on my X-Men Reading Project I featured the mega event Age of Apocalypse. The next major event chronologically is Onslaught, and this 3 volume collection bridges the gap between the two.

I’ve been collecting the Trade Paperbacks on my reading journey, and unfortunately the prices I found on Amazon for these collections were pretty high. I found mine for really good deals on eBay. The alternative would be to grab the digital editions which are also way cheaper, if you don’t mind reading on a device.

Volume 1 is ISBN 978-0785188254 and collects X-Men Prime, Uncanny X-Men (1963) #322-326, X-Men (1991) #42-45 & Annual ’95 and X-Men Unlimited (1993) #8.

Volume 2 is ISBN 978-0785188308 and collects X-Men/Clandestine #1-2, Uncanny X-Men (1963) #327-328 & Annual ’95, X-Men (1991) #46-49, X-Men Unlimited (1993) #9 and Sabretooth (1995) #1.

And lastly, Volume 3 is ISBN 978-0785190059 and collects Uncanny X-Men 329-332, Archangel #1, X-Men/Brood #1-2, X-Men Unlimited (1993) #10, X-Men #50-52, Wolverine (1988) #101, and the Xavier Institute Alumni Yearbook.

For easy reference, the collection covers X-Men #42-52 and Uncanny X-Men #322-332 along with most of the other stuff going on at the time with the main teams.

The books themselves are really nice quality, the stories and art good. I think my favorite thing about this run is that it’s nice to get back to “normal” after the crazy Age of Apocalypse. I always loved seeing the daily lives of the characters.

While the content is very good, I can’t recommend these three volumes at the prices they currently go for on Amazon, and would instead do digital or eBay, as mentioned above.

Like other “span-the-gap” collections (such as Dissolution & Rebirth, for example), this one goes much the same as far as recommendations: if you’re only reading major storylines to catch up quickly, I’d say that these volumes aren’t critical and could be skipped. On the other hand, if you’re looking to keep up with the teams on a closer, more day to day level, you’ll enjoy them.

3/5

-Clint