I've been out of comics since 1995. So, yes I have missed stuff. Recently, I have begun reading again. Unfortunately, well, not unfortunately because that would just be boring, a lot has happened. Instead of trying to go back to x-men volume 2 and pick up at issue 43, are there just a bunch of story lines that are must reads? Same with Uncanny X-Men. I tried reading Astonishing X-Men and Ultimate X-Men but found myself not liking it. The entire history of the x-men as I knew it was changed. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

My advise is.... keep getting all those issues you have missed and don't bother getting any Marvel Now. Plus stick with the 80's 90' 00' comics (because those were the days). From there on you can stop and try other comics company like Valiant, Image, and many many many other out there because if you keep up with Marvel it will disappoint you that all you want to do is hit your head against the cement. My recommendation from Active comics are Magneto, All New X-Men, and Avengers World.

Present day stuff isn't that good, huh? That's disappointing news. I had been thinking of starting with the Dream's End story arc and going thru some of the New X-men issues and rolling right into the Messiah Complex. But now I might as well just try to read from where I left off and go from there. On a side note, I picked up the newest issue of the Avengers and I was COMPLETELY lost. Different Earths, a crazy Mr Fantastic, the Cabal. That is going to be even more of a challenge because I wasn't really into the Avengers. But thank you for the suggestion.

I wouldn't bother with All New Xmen either. Its just ridiculous and nothing happens. Just sticking with reading what you missed up to a certain point is great advice though

Excellent. Looks pretty consistent so far with the advice. Thanks!

Why did it get so bad? Are the writers out of ideas or do they just not know how to write super hero comics?

I'm thinking the same old story/characters kept repeating in an unending loop. And in today's society, i think people are more exposed to violence, death, and tragedy than they were back then. The world changed, but the comic universe was slow to.