This week’s spotlight has been more difficult than usual to narrow down my selections.  Make sure you peruse this week’s new releases page because there are quite a few impressive titles coming out today.  Last week I focused largely on non-Marvel publications.  This week it’s quite the reverse, as Marvel offers a variety of potentially good books for your reading pleasure.

1) Thor: For Asgard #1

Writer Robert Rodi and artist Simone Bianchi bring us a tale of Asgard’s storied past.  Rodi has already proven his ability to write Asgardian characters with his Loki series from a few years back.  Bianchi is a fan favorite artist who I might argue is finally on a title that suits his art style.  In this new series we see Thor trying to keep the fractals of Asgard together, all while being unable to use his famed hammer.  Here’s hoping we see Thor take on lots of monstrosities with a big battle axe in place of Mjolnir!  You know with the upcoming Thor film quickly approaching we’ll be seeing lots of Thor and Asgard-related comics in the next year.  Along with the great new Thor: the Mighty Avenger by Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee, this may be one of the better of those many upcoming miniseries.

2) Amazing Screw-on Head HC, Baltimore: The Plague Ships #2, Hellboy: the Storm #3, Baltimore: The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire HC

For those of you like me who think just about everything Mike Mignola does is worth reading, this is one of the best weeks we’ve seen in a long time.  Not only will we see the second chapter of the new Baltimore miniseries (co-written with Christopher Golden and illustrated by Ben Stenbeck), but also a new printing of the Baltimore novel that inspired the new comic. We haven’t had a copy of the novel in a good while, so this is a great chance for those of you who enjoyed the first issue of the Baltimore comic and want even more back story.  This week’s Hellboy: the Storm issue wraps up the second series in three by Mignola and Duncan Fegredo.  And finally, we have the long-awaited Amazing Screw-on Head HC.  Originally published as a one shot, the initial printing is incredibly tough to track down.  This new hardcover format not only reprints the Screw-on Head story (which focuses on a robotic agent drafted by President Lincoln to protect the country), but also other rare Mignola stories.  Included in the other rare material is the story “The Magician and the Snake,” which won an Eisner award a few years ago.  And to top all that is the fact that there are brand new unpublished stories also included in this collection.  It’s truly a great week for all the Mignola fans out there!

3) Wolverine #1

Not just another new relaunch of one of Marvel’s mainstays, this new series deserves attention if for no other reason than the talents of writer Jason Aaron.  While I’m not a huge fan of Wolverine, Aaron and Ron Garney’s recent Wolverine: Weapon X series really impressed me with its honest portrayal of the character.  In this new ongoing Aaron teams with recent DC artist Renato Guedes who some of you might remember from Action Comics and other Superman titles.  The first story in the new series focuses on Wolverine’s soul being sent to hell while his body remains on Earth.  Expect lots of violence being directed towards demons, humans, mutants, and probably countless other creatures.  Also in this issue is a backup story by Aaron and local artist Jason Latour.  Latour illustrated a great story in last month’s Daredevil: Black and White one shot, and also contributes an Iron Fist story to this week’s I Am An Avenger first issue.  This new Avengers miniseries boasts a first issue that also includes the likes of Jim McCann, Duane Swierczynski, and Chris Samnee.  We’re happy to see two new comics today featuring art from Jason Latour, an artist we’ve known about for a while but one whose work you’ll definitely be seeing and hearing a lot more about in the industry in the coming years.

4) Taskmaster #1

In this new miniseries from Marvel Zombies writer Fred Van Lente and Doctor Voodoo artist Jefte Paolo you’ll get to see what happened to the classic villain post-Siege.  The character has apparently suffered recent memory loss so the series also gives us a look back at some stories from the character’s mysterious past.  Not only is Taskmaster one of Marvel’s great villains, but he’s got a couple of talented creators bringing this new story to life.  In recent years Van Lente has worked on several popular Marvel titles and won several fans in the process.  Some of you might not be as familiar with Paolo’s art, but you definitely should be.  Doctor Voodoo was a series than never quite got too far off the ground but Paolo’s art was definitely one of the strongest points of that title.  So if you pick up Taskmaster and want to see more of his work, check out the short-lived Doctor Voodoo title in our back issues.

5) San Francisco Panorama Comics Section Tabloid Format

Here’s your chance to see the lauded comics section from last year’s large format publication from McSweeney’s.  The lineup of contributors reads like a who’s who of Indie and Literature comics masters!  Included here are works from Art Spiegelman, Jessica Abel, Chris Ware, Seth, Kim Deitch, Alison Bechdel, Adrian Tomine, Dan Clowes, and the underrated Jon Adams.  And that’s only a handful of the creators present in the book!   The comics section was originally only available as an inclusion in McSweeney’s San Francisco Panorama before going on to be sold as a stand alone comics section through McSweeney’s site.  Now we’re happy to be able to offer it to you in our fine retail establishment.

> Other new releases that I wish I had space to talk about in greater detail: the compilation hardcover of the new Fraggle Rock series, the talented indie artist Julia Wertz‘s new memoir graphic novel, Drinking at the Movies, DC’s new Freedom Fighters series, and the Legendary Talespinners trade paperback.  Do yourselves a favor and go ahead and take a long look at this week’s new releases page.  What a week for new comics!