Weekly Treats! Marvel NOW! Fables, Scalped, Lobster Johnson, Scene of the Crime

Marvel's NOW! train is really picking up some momentum. All-New X-Men #1 in a neat idea, actually sees the old X-Men as the 'new' guys when Beast plucks them from the past. Brian Michael Bendis certainly knows how to spin a multi-issue saga so much so it seems incredible that he's only now turning his attention to the X-Men. Stuart Immonen has justifiably established himself at the top of the tree handling big action populated by characters with vulnerability. Talking of longevity, Bendis's co-pilot on their record-breaking run on Ultimate Spider-Man was Mark Bagely who illustrates Fantastic Four #1 so if you like consistency in the art, this title may be a safe bet. Fantastic Four is something of a tricky balancing act with universe-spanning science fiction with the grounding family unit which has always made the title unique so it'll be interesting to see if writer Matt Fraction can bring his mad ideas from his Casanova series.

Talking of mad ideas Jason Aaron's Hulk run was brimming with mad sci-fi but we also know from his excellent Scalped series he has a deft eye for human drama (and violence). Coupled with Esad Ribic's lush illustrations I have very high hopes for Thor: God of Thunder #1 which promises something called the God Butcher! And completing the NOW! launches (although Red She-Hulk #59 and Avengers Assemble #9 are also out this week under the NOW! banner despite the numerical resetting - why is that Marvel?) is a little more left-field: X-Men Legacy #1 follows Professor Xavier's son Legion - hugely powerful but mentally fragile to say the least. Written by Simon Spurrier and illustrated by Tan Eng Huat this could be a dark horse.

Of course, there are some DC comics out as well of course headlined by the all-conquering Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Batman #14 continuing the sold out return of the Joker storyline 'Death Of The Family'. And if you're in the Dark Knight and Clown Prince mood Batman: Arkham City Endgame collects the entire 60-page final confrontation of the two tied in to the video game.

Finally, Image have been doing a fantastic job of providing people with a third choice this year and this week sees the release of sci-fi environmental disaster adventure Great Pacific #1 by Joe Harris and Martin Morazzo and there's Where Is Jake Ellis? #1 by Nathan Edmondson and Tonci Zonjic, the slyly titled follow-up to Who Is Jake Ellis? (which I featured here).

There are some noteworthy graphic novel releases to run through: Fables junkies (you didn't know there was such a thing did you?) will be keen to take a look at Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland (Vertigo), an original graphic novel by series writer Bill Willingham and co-illustrated by Craig Hamilton and Jim Fern that introduces a place called Story City, populated by werewolves. The brilliant Scalped series (have I said that before?) comes to a close with Scalped vol. 10 Trail's End (Vertigo) by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera and there's a new collection from Mike Mignola: Lobster Johnson vol. 2 The Burning Hand (Dark Horse) nicely illustrated by Tonci Zonjic who, it seems is making a name for himself in the crime genre (see above). 

Last but definitely not least, a little crime gem returns to print: Scene of the Crime (Image) was a four issue mini-series by the still yet to be established Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark and Sean Phillips and saw the beginning of a beautiful creative friendship...

Full list of releases found under the tab at the top of the page...