Ultimate X-Men, Volume 1: Tomorrow People Book

Ultimate X-Men represented Mark Millar's version of a franchise distilled from the cream of its rich history. The launch of the Ultimate line of Marvel Comics afforded the writer a unique opportunity to tell stories unencumbered by almost four decades of continuity. The result was a product still recognizable because of the iconic nature of the characters. This way, the older readers were not alienated and familiar enough that the new readers that were introduced to the mythos through Bryan Singer's X-Men movie would pick it up.

Millar tells a cinematic, widescreen, action blockbuster and is ably abetted by the Kubert brothers with their kinetic art. The action flows smoothly like a decent summer flick, as Millar establishes this Ultimate version of the mutant team with familiar X-Men tropes like the Xavier-Magneto philosophical disagreement and conflicting methods and a new yet similar take on the heroes that protects a world that fears and hates them. The new here is that the heroes have become media savvy, like actual reality show celebrities.

With no continuity baggage, this is an excellent entry point for any new or lapsed reader to be interested in comics.