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

BATMAN #28 (DC)

Dudes know about Batman, right?

Actually, the fun thing about Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo‘s run with the character on the flagship title is how new things are, even as they nod at the past. Case in point: “Zero Year” is definitely in the spiritual shadow of Year One, but exactly nowhere in that book did Batman ride a motorcycle in a jungle-overridden Gotham, and the Riddler and the Red Hood Gang didn’t menace Batman amidst gaudy neon colours. What’s old is new again because Snyder and Capullo are so full of ideas, turning “young Batman” into something more their own.

All that continues with Batman #28, whichputs “Zero Year” somewhat on pause and extends it forward, looking into the future to see glimpses of characters and consequences. It’s a crazy thing to do, but it feels like the good kind of crazy, the one dedicated to keeping readers off balance and waiting desperately for the next month.

BUNKER #1 (Oni Press)

The Bunker is a digital hit making its release on paper today, which means that if you missed it (shame on you, etc, whatever), you now have a chance to jump on it as a new ongoing series from Joshua Hale Fialkov and Joe Infurnari to enjoy. So, uh, get on that.

It’s a great high concept, if it helps: five friends go to bury a time capsule, but instead discover the titular bunker, with their names stamped on it and filled with objects from a possible future. It’s elegant, vaguely off-putting and infinitely interesting. What is the relationship between the past and the present and the future? What about fate? Why is all this happening? Big ideas, made relatable and digestible by Fialkov and Hale‘s talents for character.

THE FUSE #1 (Image)

Let’s make a list of things that are awesome. Baseball… food… being objectively correct… okay, looks good so far. Now, “murder mystery” and “SPACE STUFF!!!” are both on there, right? Right. Well, today The Fuse #1 lands to give you both at the same time, which is just lovely.

Here at C!TB, we’re noted fans of Antony Johnston, who is preternaturally skilled at jumping into vastly different fictional worlds and populating them with characters and ideas. Justin Greenwood is someone with a great eye for big, bold visuals like the first glimpse at a space station, but who can still capture small character moments. Together, the two make a natural partnership.

“Murder mystery in space” is a flashy, excitement-gathering concept, but it also carries with it some interesting qualities. It frames The Fuse not just as a big sci-fi romp, but as a story with a certain level of paranoia and consequence. It’s the classic Clue problem - someone in this room is a murderer! - but transposed to an arena of higher stakes. Like The Thing, the environment carries a palpable sense of danger because everything is happening one hair’s breadth away from the infinite vacuum of death. Imagine Clue with that, then hold off because that’s my screenplay, dammit.

SHE-HULK #1 (Marvel)

Marvel’s All New Marvel NOW! launch continues with another hotly anticipated title, She-Hulk! Now listen, in a just world this series would already be on Issue #100whatever of continuous publication with maybe one soft relaunch in the middle, because “Lawyer who is also a superhero and punches things to submission” sounds amazing. Just imagine that. Doesn’t it sound amazing? It should because it is!

But for whatever reason, this is a fresh relaunch, and there is all sorts of talent being put behind it. Charles Soule is a talented writer who balances his comics writing with 100% true actual lawyering, which means he’s literally the perfect person to write this kind of series. Javier Pulido wowed me with his Hawkeye issues. These are good dudes making a book that looks great! Let’s check it out together and chat.

Also, you can buy the first reissued volume of Dan Slott‘s She Hulk series today! Do that, too!

WINTER SOLDIER: THE BITTER MARCH #1 (Marvel)

Rick Remender is known for writing dark, somewhat twisting stories about good people in bad situations, which makes him a perfect fit to write a 60s action spy story set in the Marvel Universe. Roland Boschi, who’s skilled at balancing dark, shadowy spy ops with big, exciting skiing scenes (basically: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service as a comic), is a natural person to bring that script to life in a way that’s visually distinct.

Currently, in the Captain America series, a botched spy mission led to the creation of a villain who’s giving Cap trouble now. The Bitter March is that botched mission. Besides being a great way to connect two comics without making it necessary for readers to buy both just to understand what’s going on, it’s an interesting opportunity to gaze into Bucky Barnes from a different window than we have for a while. The ruthless, impassive face of someone we mostly know as a hero these days, combined with the dread of knowing that all of this goes wrong, hangs over the comic, a weight pressing on the reader’s chest.

So, uh… a real laffer.

These are some 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.