Fear Itself: Book of the Skull #1

This one-shot prologue to Marvel's 2011 Fear Itself event sets an ominous tone right from Marko Djurdjević's cover, which looms with the massive, dark-red silhouette of a horned, cloaked figure dwarfing a struggling Captain America and a bare-chested warrior wielding a trident — all framed against a sky burning with distant destruction. Ed Brubaker brings his sharp, historically grounded sensibility to the script, with Scot Eaton, Mark Morales, and Sunny Gho handling interior art duties. If you're looking for the perfect entry point into one of Marvel's most ambitious crossover events of 2011, this is exactly where to start.