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.

ALL-NEW GHOST RIDER #1 (Marvel)

I’m not typically a Ghost Rider fan. The big reason for this might be that I’m not really a motorcycle fan; I kind of seriously hate the culture around chains and loud pipes if you’re not going to at least throw Nicolas Cage at the problem. But generally, the overall aesthetic of Johnny Blaze and his compatriots is something that takes a bigger-than-usual nudge to get me into. For example: Jason Aaron’s “world’s greatest B-movie hero” pitch. See also: giving him a sweet car and making him an exploitation film Steve McQueen who’s on fire. I am so down for that, you guys.

That’s the pitch behind Felipe Smith and Tradd Moore‘s All-New Ghost Rider #1, the first issue of which is out today. A lot of the rest of it is being kept pretty mum; the solicit just says to check out the issue to find out who’s the new Ghost Rider with the baller car, which is just fine, all said and done. It’s easy enough to look at Moore‘s kinetic, sharp-pointed art in the previews and be sold on the attitude alone. This feels different. There’s only one way to find out. But right now, it looks so fun.

SANDMAN: OVERTURE #2 (Vertigo)

Listen, dudes already know about Sandman, right? People who know comics already know about this seminal series. Neil Gaiman fans already know about it. But if you don’t, here’s the elevator pitch: it’s an epic story through - and about - the very nature of imagination, dreams and creativity. It can go anywhere and do anything. This is a prequel (with art by JH Williams III) about what happened before that. It’s pretty great.

So was the first issue! But then scheduling mistakes were made, and this second issue got delayed. A long time. If you’re not too frustrated with that, however, the new issue is here to enjoy. This is basically just a lengthy reminder of that.

SILVER SURFER #1 (Marvel)

Similarly, if you like your comics on the beautiful-paean-to-exploration-and-imagination side, Silver Surfer is probably something you want to keep an eye on. After all, Dan Slott and Mike Allred have set this up as a cosmic adventurer - who’s much like us but detached - taking a young earthling on a vision through the vast wildernesses of space. It is, at its core, about that thrill (and danger) of taking a chance and putting one step in front of the other, except here that one step puts you on an oddly-shaped spaceship.

Okay, so it is the Marvel Universe Doctor Who. I think you know if this means you’ll like it, but if you need convincing: Slott is great at layered plotting and Mike Allred is renowned for his crisp, pop art-influenced lines that always appear ageless and in style. With bold colours from Laura Allred, this may be a book to buy just to look at. Plus, you know, that fun concept and story.

TOMB RAIDER #2 (Dark Horse)

For a lot of people, including myself, the 2013 Tomb Raider video game was their first foray into the world of Lara Croft’s video games. It has often been too easy to dismiss Tomb Raider as a franchise full of cheesecake, and in Crystal Dynamic’s game, writers Rhianna Pratchett and Susan O’Connor presented players with an engaging new version of Lara, still learning and developing, and it makes sense, given all the newfound fans, to give them more stories in that world while we wait for the next game.

That’s where the Dark Horse comic comes in. Writer Gail Simone is skilled at writing characters like Lara, and with Tomb Raider she’s stretched her game, writing a Lara that - unlike a lot of Simone heroines - is more vulnerable than badass. But that iron is there, and it’s that framework that lets Lara bend and not break, which is a great quality for a young hero facing insane dangers to have. Bringing that all to life is Nicolas Daniel Selma, who captures Lara’s youthful strength, but knows how to contrast it against big, crazy set pieces like a tidal wave in a desert. Michael Atiyeh‘s colours work in great tandem, bringing a subtle extra push to the anachronism of the wave and the desert.

So yeah, it’s a good that looks and feels great, and it’s early enough to still jump on and understand what’s happening. You should… probably buy this.

UBER: SPECIAL #1 (Avatar Press)

Unlike pretty much all of the other books on this list, Uber can hardly be considered fun. It’s a very deliberately heavy look at a dark situation: an alternate history where the Nazis utilized superpowered soldiers in the second world war; how it came about and how it plays out. Writer Kieron Gillen is very good at striking that balance between good action, troubling situations and just the right moments of slight levity to keep it from being too overwhelming. It’s not from one of the bigger publishers, though, and that means you might have missed it. Luckily, the Special #1 issue seems like it might be a place to start up (Kieron, if I’m wrong, just yell at me).

Written by Gillen and drawn by Gabriel Andrade, the issue looks at the origins of the titular Ubers. Take a chance on it. It will be dark. It will be challenging. Sometimes, you will want to look away. That just means it’s working.

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.