Every week, Comics! The Blog goes through the list of new releases and we tell you which comics to plug into your mind hole. Your mileage may vary.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #672 (Marvel Comics)

You didn’t think that just because Spider Island wrapped up its climax last week that you wouldn’t get any more of it, did you? Silly rabbit. There’s still so much story to be had! Just like I said in this week’s Best of the Week, which was actually about last week, the best parts of Spider-Man stories are the parts where he doesn’t punch dudes. Peter Parker is the really interesting half of that identity, and while Spider-Man saved New York from the Spider Queen, there’s still a lot left to learn. What about Peter’s clone, Kaine? What about the status of Horizon labs and Morbius, who was revealed to be the secret scientist in Lab #6? What about the New Yorkers in Peter’s life who became Spiders? What about J. Jonah Jameson and, of course, Peter’s girlfriend, Carlie? When last we saw her, she was a horrible giant spider trying to kill Pete, but now that she’s back to normal, how is she doing? She was pretty open about sharing her powers with Peter, which he hasn’t reciprocated. Is that coming back to roost? And what about MJ? Oh shit, what about MJ?

There are so many things we don’t know, and that’s what makes me excited to see what happens next. No matter how many things Dan Slott resolves in an issue, there are always a half dozen more threads being weaved. What happens next? I have no idea! Isn’t that grand?

ANIMAL MAN #3 (DC Comics)

I can’t remember if I recommended this last month or not, so you’ll have to bear with me for a second while I remind you that this is easily one of the best (defined as being what I like) parts of the New 52. It’s the story of a man and what he’d do to protect his family, with a healthy dose of animal powers, death animal powers (I know!) and mystical forces in the mix to make things spooky. Jeff Lemire and Travel Foreman are making the book a completely unique one on the shelf, a series that would easily fit at Vertigo but which I hope is benefiting from the New 52 marketing push. This issue looks like it will give us a lot of the action the series has been promising, with the Hunters and more about the world of the Red, and I’m looking forward to being creeped out in a good way.

HEART #1 (Image Comics)

I do not know jack shit about mixed martial arts. I have watched one episode of The Ultimate Fighter with a friend and I’ve seen exactly one UFC event, which I mostly remember for Rampage “Shannon” Jackson bellowing the hilariously inappropriate line, “Y’all ready for some black-on-black crime?!” I know that some tough dudes hit each other and grapple each other and I’m pretty sure it’s not hugging.

I’m not an MMA person. Heart should not be a comic that interests me. But the way writer Blair Butler describes it, it just sounds like such a human story of struggle and dreams that I can’t help but be suckered in. I believe that just about any subject matter can capture just about anyone if there’s enough skill and passion behind it, and Heart looks like it’s brimming with that. Butler is one of the best comics commentators and critics around, she’s passionate as all hell about MMA and I’m excited to see what she does with her hands on the reins of her own series. On art is Kevin Mellon, who’s done great work in Gearhead, Thirteen Steps and Hack/Slash and seems perfectly suited for a book that will need a certain rawness in its fight scenes. This might not be a book you’d look twice at on the shelf, but believe me: give it a shot. I don’t think it will disappoint us in the slightest.

THE INFINITE VACATION #3 (Image Comics)

At long last, we get to see the next chapter in Nick Spencer‘s other expansive, intricate and exciting creator-owned comic from Image. I don’t mean that sarcastically, either. Yes, the series has seen one hell of a delay between issues, and I’ll probably need to reread the first two to get my head back in the game. Oh boo hoo, James gets to enjoy his comics all over again. But a new issue is still something to celebrate, especially with the creepy ending to Issue #2. Will Mark escape the people hunting him throughout the worlds of the Infinite Vacation? Will he find love? How crazy awesome is it that I can type both those sentences about the same issue of the same comic?

Pretty damn.

The Infinite Vacation is a complicated series that asks some interesting questions about technology and our future. It’s also a sci-fi adventure thriller, a romantic comedy (complete with Zooey Deschanel-looking female protagonist). It’s weird and wonderful, and I’m so glad to get to read the next chapter.

UNCANNY X-MEN #1 (Marvel Comics)

Last week, we saw one half of the post-Schism world for mutants in the Marvel Universe in the pages of Wolverine and the X-Men. This week, we see the other side of the argument. When Cyclops and Wolverine parted ways, it was over the direction young mutants should be taking in a world with so few of them. Logan wants a school. Scott is keeping his army. But what is Utopia like without so many of its staff and soldiers? How is Scott dealing with all this on the inside? He’ll probably try to pretend it’s business as usual and it might even look that way, just a little bit. But this is a whole new status quo, even in the “familiar” one, and the limit is whatever Kieron Gillen imagines. But you don’t build an army and not fight; whether you find them or create them, your army will find an enemy. Things are going to get rough, and I’m not sure how well Utopia can stand up to it.

Over the last few years, I was really won over to the cause of Scott Summers, after a childhood spent finding him too stiff and rigid. But right when I was really, finally behind him, he justified his child soldiers, and now I’m not so sure. He’s got a lot of ground to gain, and I hope he’s up to it.

These are just five of the many great books being released this week! You can find the full list of comics being released here. If you have any other recommendations, let us know in the comments below.