Another week, and like clockwork, the world of comics has delivered to us another week of issues. Once again, I find myself with a stacked week, with the continuation of the “Ends of the Earth” arc in The Amazing Spider-Man, the kick off of the “Night of the Owls” arc in the Batman comics, and yes, way more Avengers vs. X-Men action.

What ruled? What didn’t? Lets read on and see, shall we?

Amazing Spider-Man #684 Written by Dan Slott, Art by Humberto Ramos

The “Ends of the Earth” arc continues here, with Humberto Ramos joining on for the art.  With the Avengers taken out by the Sinister Six, Pete is left to team with Black Widow (the lone remaining uninjured member of the team) and the surprise return of Silver Sable, who appears to have jacked Wonder Woman’s ride.  The push for this issue is to have Spider-Man have one of the biggest battles ever with Sandman, and considering the setting - the Sahara Desert, I’m not sure any will reach this scale for some time.  I’m starting to see why some folks don’t like Pete having all of the right tech for all of the battles, but having the Deus Ex Machina being provided to him by the talented folks at Horizon kinda evens it out for me, and makes them an even more key member of the supporting cast.  Of course, with Spider-Man, even with things going well, something has to go wrong, and as the end of the book shows, Doc Ock is incredibly prepared for his “last” stand.  What gets set up at the end is one of the biggest things to ever happen to Spider-Man, and is matching the set expectations for this storyline.

Avengers vs. X-Men #2 Written by Jason Aaron, Art by John Romita Jr.

Issue two of the Marvel Super Event has hit the stands, and all hell breaks loose, as this is the book where the punches start to get thrown.  The Cyclops/Captain America battle is everything you’d want it to be, and there is a moment with Colossus which will have all of the long time X-Men fans really geeked.  While these battles are going on (with fantastically over-done narration by Jason Aaron), the plot starts to unfurl in the background, with a special Avengers team attempting to face the Phoenix threat head on.  As the end of the book shows, they are CLEARLY out gunned here, and I’m left wondering with a scale this large, how can Marvel continue this for 12 issues, let alone properly wrap this up?

Batman #8 Written by Scott Snyder, Art by Greg Capullo

The best Superhero book of the New 52 continues to rock my face as it kicks into it’s second arc, the “Night of the Owls”. Set to link the Batman family of titles (yet remaining self contained in each book), it kicks off here as the new villains for Batman, the Court of Owls, have sent MANY assassins for a number of notable Gotham citizens, starting with Bruce Wayne. Did they realize that Bruce is Batman? Not really sure, but who cares, as this book is Bruce in a goddamned house coat beating the crap out of bad guys throughout Wayne Manor, and it RULES.  Alfred even gets involved as well (as the backup story breaks down), and it’s page to page to page of Batman based greatness. I can’t wait to see how this arc goes, especially as the Court, arguably the coolest Batvillain in years, gets involved with the rest of the “family”.  Oh, and DC Direct (or whatever they’re called now), you better be working on an action figure of what we see on the last page. This is my pick of the week.

Invincible Iron Man #515 Written by Matt Fraction, Art by Salvador Larroca

The “Demons” arc (which I enjoyed so much last month that I read the parts that lead up to it) wrapped up in this issue, and man did it end big! I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s rare that you read a comic arc where the main character loses, but Tony does, and he loses big.  Also, props to Fraction and Larroca for making The Living Laser look and act like such a badass.  Matt Fraction hasn’t been afraid of redefining the Iron Man world since coming on the book, and now, YEARS into his run, I’m still feeling like he has many many tricks up his sleeve. Good stuff.

Prophet #24 Written by Brandon Graham, Art by Farel Dalrymple

The growth of Prophet as a surreal Sci-Fi book continues here, as once again Brandon Graham guides a unique artist through the world of one interpretation of Prophet.  This story in particular reminds me much of a Lovecraftian version of Moon, and Farel Dalrymple does an amazing job of illustrating the grotesque creatures which fill the pages of this month’s issue.  What’s kinda nice is, as issue 4 in the new run, you can also see the end of this issue as an explanation of all the ones previous, and most likely, those to follow.  Prophet continues to be one of the most interesting and unique books on the stands every month, and while I may not like every issue, I’m prepared for the ride. Well done, Mr. Graham.

Rocketeer Adventures 2 #2 Written by Walt Simonson, Tom Taylor, & Paul Dini, Art by John Paul Leon, Bill Morrison, & Colin Wilson

As a celebration of the Rocketeer character, and the life of creator Dave Stevens, IDW has been doing a compilation series called Rocketeer Adventures, featuring stories by a number of writer and artists teams to give current creators a shot at the flying hero.  Each issue has been a breeze of a read, quite enjoyable if you’re a fan of the character, or just have a 1940’s flying character fetish as I do.  This book isn’t going to win awards, but each issue has a gem, much like this issue’s “Work to Do” by Tom Taylor and Colin Wilson.  While the other creators tend to go for goofy storytelling, this is a touching work that inserts the Rocketeer into World War II, and the results are heartbreakingly good.  If you dig the Rocketeer, you should check out this series, but this book won’t convert those who aren’t interested.

The Walking Dead #96 Written by Robert Kirkman, Art by Charlie Adlard

The end of the A Larger World arc comes to a…surprising end.  After a series of issues which left me wondering if Kirkman was going to be doing the same story again, and again, and again, he throws a change of heart into the mix just in time for issue 100.  I can’t say for sure that I feel as if this story will turn out as expected, but didn’t Kirkman once say that he wanted to end around issue 100? I’m very intrigued to see if the changes presented here stick, or if they’re a reprieve from the standard “everything goes HORRIBLY wrong” status quo.

Wolverine and the X-Men #9 Written by Jason Aaron, Art by Chris Bachalo

Attention Marvel Comics writers: how do you write a stand alone book that somehow also ties into the big crossover series AND the issues which came before it? TAKE NOTES FROM JASON AARON.  I was SO worried that after 8 issues of greatness, Jason Aaron would be forced to take Wolverine and the X-Men and turn it into the next chapter of the AvX saga. Instead, he gives us a great issue of Wolverine and the X-Men that addresses the issues surrounding the Avengers/X-Men clash, but lets the book remain in its own world.  Bachalo is always welcome on the pencils, and I have to say, I LOVE his Captain America.  The true highlight of the book for me? “'Oh, To Fly Among the Stars!' A Detailed Oral History of the Nova Corps and a Reasoned Explanation for Why I Should Be Allowed To Join Their Esteemed Ranks, by Broo the Brood.”

I don’t know if every book is on fire right now, but once again, I find myself at the end of this review LOVING the current state of comics. Props to DC, Marvel, Image and everyone in between for doing the best that you can.

Coming up next week:

• The Flash #8
• AvX VS #1
• Daredevil #11
• Ultimate Comics The Ultimates #9