Must-read comics are futuristic classics that shouldn't be missed. Of course, not every must-read is perfect. That's why we've rated them 1-5 on the patented "crunchy goodness" scale.

Title: New X-Men Omnibus

Date: 2007 (reprinting material from 2001 - 2004).

Vitals: Given the task of refocusing Marvel's X-Men franchise in the wake of the first movie, Scottish writer Grant Morrison twisted the formula around 180 degrees - What if mutations were becoming the norm and the human race was faced with extinction? What would that do to culture, to the role of the X-Men themselves, to their former villains? His answer came in a three-year run on the comic - now collected in one massive hardcover - that worked both as highbrow intellectual piece and mass-audience thriller.

Famous names: Writer Grant Morrison, artists Frank Quietly and Phil Jiminez. And Magneto who was, apparently, right.

Crunchy goodness: 4

Design breakthrough: Morrison's first issue of the series was spent partially taking the characters out of their superhero outfits, with the characters talking about the change: "Suddenly I don't have to look like an idiot in broad daylight."

Most painfully dated moment: Nano-robots threatening to eradicate an entire species? How turn of the century can you get?

Deadliest spoiler: Men with iron masks should never be trusted. What is this world of liars, Xorn?

Review of New X-Men Omnibus at Pop Matters

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