Near Mint Condition just announced a very welcome reprint that is a major surprise, even if Omar already tipped that we could expect it a few months ago: X-Men – X of Swords Oversize Hardcover!
First, let’s talk about why a reprint of X of Swords is so incredibly needed!
X of Swords was the first (and only!) linewide direct crossover of the X-Men’s Age of Krakoa from 2019 to 2024. The story kicked off at the one-year mark of Krakoa continuity, weaving together threads from Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men (2019) and Tini Howard’s Excalibur (2019). The story massively expanded the lore of Krakoa, Apocalypse, and Otherworld in a totally amazing way. For me, it’s one of the best X-Men event storylines of all time – up there with Inferno and Second Coming!
The original deluxe hardcover of X of Swords was the initial release of the story as a collected edition just months after it wrapped up, in January 2021. That made it the FIRST Krakoa oversize hardcover after HOXPOX; the hardcover collections of single series didn’t hit shelves until several months after this release.
At the time, that made a lot of sense: the single series collections skipped X of Swords, as did the X-Men by Hickman omnibus, so you’d want it on your bookshelf to intermingle with those books.
Even knowing that would be the case, demand for the X of Swords oversize hardcover far outstripped supply – as is the case for just about any X-Men even in hardcover. Prices were already getting wild before Marvel announced the X-Men: Age of Krakoa – Dawn of X Omnibus Vol. 1 for release in September 2025.
That announcement sent fans into wild speculation. Would X of Swords by the Volume 3 of that omnibus line? Or, would Marvel expect you to have already bought the hardcover?
Personally, I thought Marvel would do an expanded X of Swords as “Dawn of X Omnibus Vol. 3” that collected past it to some of the epilogue stories that followed, particular in X-Men (2019) and Excalibur (2019). So, I was surprised when the next Krakoa omnibus after Dawn of X Omnibus Vol. 2 was in fact Reign of X Omnibus Vol. 1. They had skipped X of Swords entirely!
At that point, things were looking a bit dire. Marvel could have announced this reprint to hit at the same time of that Reign of X book this September, but they didn’t. Prices spiked even higher – the book was selling on eBay for $300 or more!
Also, Marvel almost never reprints a deluxe oversize hardcover that is not an omnibus. DC does it all the time, but Marvel treats oversize hardcovers as one-and-done releases. The only exception in years was House of X / Powers of X, which we were all surprised that Marvel did not rebrand as an omnibus (it was big enough!)
Much to all of our collective relief and excitement, a few months ago Marvel gave Omar the go-ahead to let slip that an X of Swords reprint was coming. Now, it has been formally announced – and, much like the HOXPOX reprint, Marvel decided to not upgrade it to an omnibus so it would match the “Age of Krakoa” books on the shelf despite it being 720 pages in length.
Oh well. Anyone can print a new dust jacket if they want to. I’m just happy that everyone buying the “Age of Krakoa” omnibus line can now complete their bookshelves. That bodes well for how Marvel will treat Inferno (2021) and X Lives/Deaths of Wolverine (2022) in the very near future.
See the full contents of the book (and understand how it fits into the reading order of each series) in my Guide to X-Men – The Age of Krakoa!
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