Comic-book events are often a mess. All too often their stories bleed into different standalone series with little indication of whether or not those side chapters are critical to the main plot line. Last week’s House of X series clearly states that it’s a six-part series, but it isn’t the only book you’ll need to read to get the full picture of what writer Jonathan Hickman is dreaming up. You’ll also want to pick up this week’s Powers of X, which is also penned by Hickman.

Marvel’s plan is to deliver 12 consecutive weeks of X-Men stories, alternating between an issue of House of X and Powers of X. After this week, House of X‘s second issue launches on August 7 and the next issue of Powers of X follows on August 14. Repeat this schedule until both series are done.

House of X was a game-changer for the X-Men – an excellent and unpredictable one at that – and Powers of X will likely fill us in on how this new reality came to be. Marvel’s solicitation for the first issue of Powers of X states it “reveals the secret past, present, and future of mutantkind, changing the way you look at every X-Men story before and after.”

If you’ve been reading other Marvel comic books over the past couple of months, an ad that combines House of X and Powers of X states that one of these issues will hold “the most important scene in the history of the X-Men.” That scene could happen this week. In other words, make sure you get to your comic-book store (or download it right away) on Wednesday.

Source: Game Informer House Of X Continues This Week…Kind Of