The first issue of "Strange Tales II" arrived this week in comic shops, the next volume in Marvel's anthology of indie artists trying their hand at superhero stories set in the Marvel Universe.

This time around we've got web stars like Kate Beaton and Nicholas Gurewitch, acclaimed indie creators like Rafael Grampa and Jillian Tamaki, Dash Shaw, Kevin Huizenga, Shannon Wheeler, Frank Santoro, Gene Luen Yang, and currently rising indie-to-superhero star like Jeff Lemire taking part in the experimental crossover between the mainstream comics and everything else.

We've got a nine-page preview of the first issue, where artist Rafael Grampa brings the wonderfully gruesome, experimental aesthetic of "Mesmo Delivery" to the world of Wolverine in a sequence that leads with a heart being ripped from a chest and thrown across the room. Meanwhile Jillian Tamaki, artist of the heart-breaking coming of age story "Skim," takes on a story about Dazzler, which opens with the light and energy powered mutant singing a stirring rendition of "Running on Empty."

Check it out after the jump.


Rafael Grampa on Wolverine


Frank Santoro on Silver Surfer



Dazzler by Jillian Tamaki

Red Skull by Shannon Wheeler

Wolverine by Jhonen Vasquez



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