Grant Morrison’s New X-Men by Marvel Comics has a local touch.

Ramon Villalobos, a 2005 graduate of Manteca High, is part of the team behind issue No. 1 entitled “E is for Extinction.”

He’ll be at Fantastic Collectibles, 162 W. Center St, today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to sign the New X-Men comic.

Owners Richard Simas Sr. and Richard Simas Jr. are thrilled to have the talented Villalobos as their guest. They’ve had other book signings in recent years.

But Villalobos has his roots in Manteca while working for Marvel Comics, a major player in the industry for many years.

He and Ian Herring are the artists behind “E is for Extinction” – the first story arc from Morrison’s run on the Marvel’s New X-Men written by Chris Burnham and Dennis Culver.

Villalobos was also an illustrator for Marvel’s “What if: Age of Ultron” series.

That was the second of a five-part series, with Villalobos teaming up with writer Joseph Keating in “The Secret Armor Wars” series featuring Ghost Rider, Wolverine and the Hulk. Peter Parker, who is a retired Spider-Man, comes out of retirement after a 20-year layoff.

He was the artist behind Marvel’s Original Sins #2, joining the likes of Eisner-award winning writer Ryan North on this series involving the Young Avengers.

“E is for Extinction” picks up where the original New X-Men run left off. Burnham has described it as “almost like another take on events from the first issue.”

In this alternative universe of sort, Magneto runs the Xavier institute, mutants are proven to be superior than their human counterparts, and the X-Men are accepted in this world rather than hated and feared.

For more information, call Fantastic Collectibles at 209.647.4651 or log on to www.fantasticcollectibles.biz.