We’ve gone past Hump Day, and this means that Yes, Virginia, it’s Comic Book time. Hide your children, get your gun and make some Ovaltine, it’s time to kick back and Read ALL The Comics!

This week is a big one for Marvel as they kick off the huge Summer 2012 event Avengers vs. X-Men. Elsewhere, the big Spider-Man event continues, some of my favorite books of the DC New 52 continue on, and we get some Invincible in there too!

Action Comics #8 Written by Grant Morrison, Art by Rags Morales

The first arc for the rebooted Superman book wraps up here, and appropriately, it ends with a slam bang battle between Superman and Braniac.  We’re starting to shift toward a more typical Superman status quo from the almost Ultimate Spider-Man-esq feel of the first few issues, which bums me out a bit.  That said, this was a very well done wrap-up, and I’m in for at least the next arc.  Given my general “eh” feelings about Superman, however, I could see me leaving whenever Grant Morrison decides that he is done.

Amazing Spider-Man #683 Written by Dan Slott, Art by Stefano Caselli

The Ends of the Earth continues on with a big time battle between the Sinister Six and the Avengers, as Doc Ock’s final plan continues on.  Once again, I really enjoyed Slott’s work here, between shocking moments like Spidey punching out Al Gore (it makes sense in the book, I promise) and Doc Ock’s back up plans to take out each Avenger.  The stakes are getting raised ever higher in this storyline, and as a long time Spidey fan, this is a great arc to have come back on.  Question - when did ALL of the Sinister Six get such dramatic redesigns? I’m not complaining, as I like them, but I didn’t know if they were exclusive to this storyline or what. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Animal Man #8 Written by Jeff Lemire, Art by Steve Pugh and Travel Foreman

One of the biggest joys of the DC New 52 has been the re-launch of Animal Man. Best known for its history as a fourth wall breaking mindfuck by Grant Morrison, under Jeff Lemire, the book has turned into what I believe is a first - a superhero family horror comic. As bizarre a mixture as that sounds, it works in spades, as Lemire does a great job balancing the family dynamic alongside some very dark and gruesome scenes.  It doesn’t get much darker or gruesomer than this weeks issue, as Buddy Baker and family continue their battle with the force known as the Rot, and things start to go very, very wrong.  This issue is an intense page turner, and based on what happens to Buddy at the end of the book, I can’t wait for issue 9 to hit. Seriously, one of  my top books right now. Check it out.

Avengers vs. X-Men #1 Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by John Romita Jr.

Considering the relative importance of this book, you’d think that I would list it first, but no, I ADHERE TO ALPHABETICAL ORDER. I’ve seen some other blogs slag this first issue of the Marvel Mega Event, but really, I was enthralled from page to page. Sure, Romita draws some weird facial expressions here and there, but I really dug the hell out of this book.  From the word go, and the strong return of the Phoenix Force, this definitely feels like a large scale book.  Sure, we just get the first punch thrown in the fight, but this is set to go for twelve issues, not including the tie-in AVX book, which is literally supposed to be page to page fights.  Maybe its because I didn’t have to go through the whole Fear Itself/Secret Invasion/Dark Reign thing, but I’m not seeing why this didn’t serve up the goods. Of note - it’s really nice to see Laura Martin colors again, she’s always made books pop, and that continues here.

Danger Club #1 Written by Landry Walker, Art by Eric Jones

Danger Club is a new book from Image, and has been described by many as the perfect Image book to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the company. And certainly, I can see that - it very much is an “extreme” superhero book. And for me, I really liked the art, and the concept - a world where all of the adults and lead heroes have left, we’re stuck with only the younger people and teen sidekicks - is a nice draw, but the book really left me wanting. It feels a little too much like we’re tossed in the middle of the story, it’s hard to keep track of our new cast, and it was a smidge too unnecessarily violent for my tastes. That said, any book that decides to use a Flaming Lips reference for a character name gets some positive response from me.  I’ll give it another issue or two.

Daredevil #10.1 Written by Mark Waid, Art by Khoi Pham

Yes, that’s a “Point One”.  Marvel started doing this “Point One” initiative last year to give fans a jumping on point for any series. Sort of a leg up, so ongoing series don’t seem so daunting. While the comic itself is a great intro to Daredevil, and honestly, matches the quality of the series so far, given that issue 11 will itself start a new arc for the comic, and the series has only run for 10 issues so far, isn’t it more than a little early for such an issue?  A fun read, especially if you’re wanting to dip your toes in the DD pool, but I still felt like this was unnecessary.

Invincible #90 Written by Robert Kirkman, Art by Ryan Ottley

Oh, how Invincible makes my month.  Invincible has been my most common read, being the one book besides Atomic Robo to read with every single trade release over the past few years.  And the series is in a very unique transition.  While The Walking Dead seems to have been moving towards a state of repetition, Robert Kirkman seems to be using Invincible as a sandbox to take every superhero trope and mix it up.  Here, we are in the midst of an arc mixing the classic “new guy replacing the normal hero” and “hero can’t use his powers” story lines, and they are working very very well.  Also, Kirkman isn’t afraid to take some risks here, taking the new fan favorite cast member of Dinosaurus and….well, leaving him in a very different place from where he was when the issue started.  It’s also worth giving a shot to the amazing art of Ryan Ottley, who has seriously stepped up his game over the past year - his work looked AMAZING in this issue.

Skullkickers #13 Written by Jim Zubkavitch, Art by Edwin Huwang

If you aren’t reading Skullkickers, you really really need to.  An absolute blast of a fantasy based romp, you have two nameless heroes (a tall Bald man and a short red-haired midget) getting into all sorts of hilarious antics gone wrong.  Issue 13 returns the series after a brief hiatus, and the fun has not left.  Zubkavitch continues to piece together hilarious adventures brought to life with Huwang’s beautiful art, and this issue just zoomed by.  The first part of a new tale that places the duo and their new elven friend on a pirate ship, the book made me laugh and laugh hard with the action which ensued and some classic Skullkickers tropes including bizarre onomatopoeia for different sound effects.  If you haven’t read Skullkickers, guess what? It’s being posted in webcomic form too. Go check it out, now.

Sweet Tooth #32 Written by Jeff Lemire, Art by Jeff Lemire

More Jeff Lemire goodness! This is the final issue of the current arc of Sweet Tooth and it wraps up well, with Gus and his half human half animal pals striking a blow against those who wish to continue to capture them.  Lemire is really firing on all cylinders on this book, and for those who have followed his prior work in Essex County, they’ll love the hockey references which come up here.  A truly bizarre and whimsical tale set in a very unique apocalypse, it’s equal parts Walking Dead, Y The Last Man and The Elephant Man and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #9 Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by David Marquez

The story of Miles Morales continues to grow, with his issues along side his Uncle (the criminal known as this universe’s version of The Prowler) coming to mix into his issues against the new, way more gangsta version of The Scorpion.  What’s really nice is this issue mixes in some of the classic Parker angst by having Morales start to encounter issues in school with his new found superherodom.  David Marquez jumped on this issue, and he’s going to be a great addition to what has been a near flawless team of artists on this series so far.

Wolverine and the X-Men #8 Written by Jason Aaron, Art by Chris Bachalo

I’ll say it - Wolverine and the X-Men is the BEST X-Men book since Morrison. I am 100% into each character, the new dynamics of the school, the growth this series has shown from the standard X-Men setup, all of it.  And now, of course, we’re headed right towards the Avengers vs. X-Men tie-ins.  While it’s certainly possible that Aaron and company will make the book work through the tie-ins, if this issue is the last of the “new” status quo, they go out with a bang. You have an awesome Beast vs. Sabertooth battle at the center, but such fun things as the mind-wiped Angel getting a true hero moment, Kid Gladiator wrecking stuff on a casino planet, and Wolverine literally becoming the Xavier of his new school by being stuck in a wheelchair.  Now, how long until I get a Jean Grey School shirt?

So, while I was a little late with this edition (so much to read!) you can’t deny that it wasn’t a good week in comics.  What should be on tap next week? According to Diamond’s shipping list…this!

• Adventure Time #3
• Batwoman #8
• America's Got Powers #1
• Saga #2
• Avenging Spider-Man #6
• Daredevil Season One
• Scarlet Spider #4