Fear Itself: Book of the Skull

Marvel’s Fear Itself: Book of the Skull (2011) is a single-issue prelude by writer Ed Brubaker and artist Scot Eaton that sets the stage for the wider Fear Itself event. It delves into the rediscovery of an ancient, terrifying artifact—the Serpent’s hammer—and the shadowy history behind its power. This one-shot matters for grounding the event’s mythology in Marvel’s past, offering a dark, espionage-tinged origin for the cataclysm to come.