Titan Books has announced the May release of Comics Creators on X-Men an in-depth history of the mutant superhero team written by former Marvel EIC Tom DeFalco, who has conducted interviews with a host of key X-Men creators including Stan Lee, Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Alan Davis Grant Morrison and Mark Millar.
The Titan volume will include exclusive sketches, script pages, a cover gallery, and essential background information on the myriad X-Men characters (both heroes and villains) and the group's labyrinthine history -- and it should appear in time for retailers to take advantage of the opening of the third X-Men movie, now known simply as X-3, which will debut over the Memorial Day weekend.
Marvel has also announced its April releases, which include a tsunami of X-Men books, most of which should receive some additional interest (especially in bookstores) thanks to the release of X-3. Joss (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Serenity) Whedon's stint on the Astonishing X-Men has been a big hit in the direct market and the Astonishing X-Men Vol. 1 hardcover ($29.99) should do very well. Marvel is also reprinting the gift-worthy hardcover Marvel Masterworks: X-Men Vol. 6 ($49.99), while the mammoth Uncanny X-Men Omnibus ($99.99) collects some of Chris Claremont's best X-Men work (Uncanny X-Men #94 through #131, plus the Annual #3 and Giant Size X-Men #1). A number of other classic Claremont volumes will be available again including X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga, ($24.99), The Essential X-Men Vol. 4 ($16.99) and Vol. 7 ($16.99) as well as The New Mutants Classic Vol. 1 ($24.99). New X-Men collections out in April include Decimation: X-Men -- The Day After ($15.99), X-Men: The Complete Age of the Apocalypse Epic Vol. 3 ($29.99), and the origin saga of the comely new mutant character X-23, which is revealed in X-23: Innocence Lost ($15.99)
