Bongo is essentially a tradition as far as free comics go. It’s around every year and that’s pretty impressive. I’m not a huge fan of the Simpsons, but I figured that the comic would have some good wisecracks at the very least. This issue brought a few stories to help beef up the replay value. Time to see if the effort was worth it!

The first main story deals with two kids talking about superheroes. They really want to get super powers, but for very different reasons. One of them want to get powers so that he won’t be bullied anymore and the other one just thinks that it would be cool. Unfortunately, super powers typically come from accidents so they’re going to have to manufacture a few of those. It will test their friendship and their commitment to come out on top!

We also have an issue about a rich millionaire who is actually a pretty hardcore guy. His butler mysteriously vanished after entering the millionaire’s cave many hours ago. Our brave “hero” heads after the butler. Along the way we meet The Hobbit and a few other familiar faces. They all tremble at the site of the dictator and the millionaire is on a first name basis with everyone. Is he a super nice guy or is he even meaner than he looks? That’s the real question that we have to ask ourselves.

Finally, we have a comic with a mad scientist professor who talks to everyone about parallel universes. The kids already know about them because of comic books so they’re understandably upset. Before the Professor can enlighten them, he is transported to an alternate dimension. Will his science expertise be enough to combat the monsters that reside in this dimension!? There is also a plot twist involving a comic book character that arrives to help. The plot twist may wreck the character, but it is intriguing.

The art for the comic is pretty good and you won’t have any trouble in keeping up with the action. The stories all vary in terms of epicness, but the second one was my favorite. It’s always fun to get a bunch of homages crammed into a few pages and the main character was pretty intense. He was mean to the butler, but nice to everyone else. It makes you wonder just how noble he truly is!

The comic about the superpowers was good, but I don’t see why the two kids are friends. One of them forced the other one to get stung by bees and he also stood by as the bullies defeated the friend. The Dad was hardcore since he reminded them that you don’t need super powers to be tough, but the ending made that part as little iffy. It was still a fun comic. The final comic wasn’t quite as good. It was actually pretty fun for a while, but the very ending was pretty sad. It’s not a great way to end such a spectacular epic full of mystery and intrigue. Well….the comic wasn’t that intense, but it still had a decent start.

Overall, fans of the Simpsons should enjoy the comic. Comedy fans should also be pleased with all of the inside jokes and comedy scenes. If you’re looking for action, then this isn’t really the comic for you. The issue is decent, but spending money on it would be a questionable decision. You may be better off waiting for a trade paperback. I’m not a fan of the Simpsons on principle so I would sooner go and check out the Sonic comic series. Actually….I’d probably do that anyway!

Overall 5/10

Spongebob is iconic for his show’s great theme song and his will to never give up. You can typically expect a fun comic out of this living sponge and my hopes were basically average for the comic. This one brings a few stories in it. More is almost always better so Spongebob was off to a good start. The issue was definitely a lot thicker than most of the other free comics. I opened the issue and it was off to the races!

The fist comic has Spongebob and Patrick annoying Squidward for fun. They decided that he is the best neighbor and they plan to keep on reminding him of this. Squidward decides that he has no choice, but to make the ultimate sacrifice. To get away from his loud neighbors….Squidward is going to move away. It’s a humbling experience for them all and the issue may bring a few tears to your eyes….maybe. We also have a comic where Spongebob teaches Patrick how tough it is to make a comic book. They decide to make their own comics and then things get interesting!

Finally, we also have a comic with Mermaid Man and his sidekick…Barnacle Boy! Tensions arise when a new hero appears and calls herself Mermaid Girl. Barnacle Boy is jealous because he never thought to call himself Mermaid Boy and he feels like she is taking away his role as the sidekick. He had been really overconfident for most of the comic, but now he must stay alert. They are up against a sinister villain named Octopus Doctor and he doesn’t pull any punches. Barnacle Boy must learn to work together with others if the heroes are to succeed.

The art for the comic is pretty good and it makes the comic easy to read. We actually got a fight scene thanks to the story about the heroes, which was a nice surprise. There was also a moment of danger in the Squidward comic since his house comes under attack. It may not be a whole lot of action, but it’s enough to make things interesting. This comic was pretty fun and that’s really what I was hoping for. This comic succeeded and that’s always a good thing.

Overall, this comic did a good job of showing the main characters and developing their personalities.This comic could help someone get interested in watching the show and that’s the overall mission of the comic. I’m sure that many people won’t like Barnacle Boy since he’s pretty self centered and he doesn’t play well with others, but he still has time to improve. Mermaid Man was pretty good because he’s a noble hero and he practically mocks Barnacle Boy at the end. Spongebob is a good character even if he was a little mean to Squidward in the beginning. I would recommend checking this comic out if you like the series or just want to read a fun comic. That being said, I wouldn’t spend any money on the issue and for an excellent comedy….you may want to check the TV.

Overall 5/10

Hello Kitty has always been an interesting franchise. It was essentially the last generation form of Strawberry Shortcake or the legendary My Little Pony. Unfortunately, Hello Kitty has lost most of her popularity, but it’s still nice to remember the good ole days. I was hoping for a nice reunion through this comic, but I have to say that it wasn’t extremely impressive.

The comic has a few segments, but it’s hard to describe the plot. There are some remnants of plot in the comic, but you have to figure them out for yourself because there is no dialogue in the entire collection. It’s a silent comic where you have to watch the character’s movements and then figure out what the plot is. The comic is aimed at young people so it doesn’t take much effort to find out what is going on. Still, some dialogue definitely could have helped a lot.

The art is pretty good. It’s nothing amazing, but due to the target audience; they made sure that it was easily readable. We don’t really get any fight scenes or moments of danger so that doesn’t really help the comic. Hello Kitty seems like a noble hero, but we cannot confirm this due to the same lack of dialogue. This wasn’t exactly the throwback issue that I was hoping for. If you are a huge fan of Hello Kitty and just want to see her have some more adventures, then go for it.

Overall, if you were looking for a way to relive the good times with Hello Kitty, this may not be the best place to start. The comic is not very long and you can breeze through it very quickly since it is just a lot of pictures. I just can’t imagine paying any money for this issue. I naturally have to deduct points for that because you want a lot of value when you get something. This is the kind of comic that you will likely read once and then forget about for a while. Instead of getting into the Hello Kitty comics, you may want to just buy the Gamecube game that came out a while back.

Overall 3/10

Avatar The Last Airbender is one of the biggest franchises that I never really got into. I played the video game of course, but I couldn’t get into the show. I can’t say that I had high hopes for the comic, but it definitely under performed. I’m pleased to say that it wasn’t Avatar’s fault….it was the backups that were to blame!

The Avatar comic features two of the main characters as they head into a shop to collect some shells. The guy has always wanted to start collecting them, but he could never find the time (or money) to do so. Another girl walks in to inspect some shells, but the shop owner believes that girls cannot truly appreciate shells so she must be fake. The main characters stop the bullies and teach the girl the values of learning self defense. Will she take them up on the offer?

The first backup story is about Hellboy. It’s only about a page or two and there is really no point. Hellboy mocks his friend’s design as a ghost and then he throws him in a coffin. The comic wasn’t funny and it just wasn’t good. It definitely wouldn’t entice me to actually buy the series. The final backup comic was the worst as it was from the Juice Squeezers. I had never heard of the series and after this comic…I hope that I never hear about it again! The comic involves a kid who gets bullied by some other kids and they put ants in his pants. He decides to get revenge on them by infiltrating the lair of some giant Ants. His plan is to ultimately get the other ants to go in the pants of the bully. An eye for an eye after all…that’s what the main character goes for. By the end of the comic, you’ll likely be wincing.

The Avatar comic wasn’t bad. The art was solid, but the plot was a little generic and not very exciting. The main characters should have just knocked out the shop owner and just left with the shells. Teaching the girl how to fight is definitely a good move, but the shop owner does have fire powers so it’s still a little risky. Leaving him in business could have dire consequences. I can definitely see why I didn’t get into the show, but it’s not bad. I’m sure that a fight would have helped the issue.

There isn’t much to say about the Hellboy comic. The art wasn’t for me and Hellboy was a terrible main character. None of the jokes were funny and the comic just fell flat. The ant comic had so much that was wrong with it. I barely even know where to begin in that regard! It gets old seeing the main character get bullied. We’ve seen that in so many forms of media already. Then the “hero” gets revenge by doing something equally mean to the bully. Of course, his revenge affects the whole school team so hopefully he didn’t have any friends who were playing. Apparently, there are also giant insects that are around and the main character has his own super hero title. None of it made sense and the comic was boring and not cool. The art was also pretty sub par.

Overall, this is a comic that I definitely would not recommend. The Avatar comic may have been all right, but the Hellboy one was boring and the ant story was just terrible. I don’t think that you would walk away from this comic with high hopes for future issues. It’s best to just skip this one and read something a little more thought provoking like the Mega Man comics. I haven’t read a comic this awful in quite a long time!

Overall 2/10

Uncle Scrooge is typically a pretty intense character and who didn’t enjoy the TV show back in the day? I went into the comic expecting a fun adventure and while there wouldn’t be any real danger..it would just be a fun read. The comic fulfilled its purpose in that respect and while I wouldn’t say that it knocked me out of the park, it was enjoyable.

The main comic involves an old enemy of Uncle Scrooge’s. She infiltrated his house in broad daylight and casts a spell that makes Scrooge (and good ole Donald) stuck to the wall. See, their gravity has been altered so that they are sideways. It’s a pretty interesting concept, but it can also make some things a little hard to follow. You really have to try and imagine how you could navigate while sideways. Donald and Scrooge must now track down the magician and force her to undo the spell. It won’t be easy…but they are used to dangerous situations!

Meanwhile, we got a backup comic that tries to show how mean Donald can be to his friends. His friend’s birthday has arrived and Donald wants to publicly humiliate him in front of everyone. Unfortunately for Donald, the friend has other plans. He has notoriously good luck throughout his whole life, but his birthday is the one day where his luck works in reverse. He doesn’t want to get humiliated by the others so he decides to escape. He has succeeded in vanishing on all of his previous birthdays, but this one could be difficult as his luck is even worse than usual. Will he be able to keep this secret from his friends and family!?

The art was solid for both of the comics. I actually preferred the backup comic because the friend was a likable character and it was nice to see Donald being so mean once again. In the old comics, Donald could definitely be a really mean guy when necessary and he usually did it at the expense of others. He wasn’t a hero…but he never claimed to be. The second comic had some pretty huge stakes since we can definitely sympathize with the birthday boy. Who wants to look bad on their birthday?

The first comic was good as well, but the sideways gimmick could be tricky at times. I was suspending my disbelief, but some parts were definitely a little iffy. (The scene where the ducklings work to balance Scrooge and Donald comes to mind) The villain was pretty intense and she took most of these things in stride, but she wasn’t very interesting. I was glad that she got the last laugh against one of the heroes since he was being obnoxious. (in a good way)

Overall, this comic would definitely be fun for fans of the series. Scrooge and Donald have their usual banter and Scrooge looks pretty good throughout both comics. He comes up with the plans and he typically doesn’t care about the risks. (As long as the risks concern Donald’s safety) I may have preferred it if the comic had chosen a different plot, but the comic handled itself pretty well. In the end, that’s all that you can ask from a comic!

Overall 6/10

Now this is how you get readers interested in a new series! Unlike the Rise of the Magi, Armor Hunters gives us a lot of action while setting up many future plot points. Armor Hunters brings 3 different stories and they seem to be leading up to a large event. I have to say that the event seems pretty awesome even if I’m not following any of the different series that will be meeting up. That’s just how good the series is. Valiant is definitely one of the only companies that can rival Marvel and DC in epic character designs for superheroes.

The stories are very short, but they’re still really good. The first comic involves a small squad of GI Joe type fighters as they walk into a dark room. It’s obviously a trap and they seem to realize this as the first big opponent steps out. She has a pretty good design and I knew that the humans were goners. Things don’t look up for them when a second fighter steps into the ring. The second story features the guy who seems to be the main character of the franchise. Iconic gold and blue design that reminds me of Mega Man. He’s face to face with an alien that is set on destroying him and taking possession of the cool suit. The main character isn’t going to let that happen!

The final story is more futuristic than the other two. (The other two are also futuristic, but this one tops them) This was my least favorite story because it wasn’t as epic and the stakes didn’t seem to be very high. A girl is telling us that she usually uses paper for special moments, but she is finally using the memory recorder device because things just got real! (In a manner of speaking) There was a murder in town and the government is sending the ultimate agent in. In this timeline, there is the legendary “Father” and he has a man maid clone/humanoid that keeps the peace. Slaves are abundant in this society and there are no laws to protect them. A rebellion group wants to free them, but the tricky part is that the slaves don’t want to be freed. Next, a person is murdered…the first murder in decades! Things may have finally boiled over and the main character is going to make sure to get the scoop!

The art is excellent for the first two comics and it’s about as good as art can get. The third comic is more stylized to be live action, which gets an immediate thumbs down from me. The third comic really paled in comparison to the other two and it really tries to bring the overall rating down. It was a good comic, but the first two were great comics. I blame it on the art and the fact that it seems to be a lot more down to Earth. That being said, the writing is still strong the plot is very interesting. Due to the nature of the plot, the future issues will either get pretty good or go downhill very fast.

Overall, I was really into this comic for the first two stories. It felt like a mix of Justice League and Resident Evil. The whole thing was super exciting and each of the characters is nice and flashy. The final villain seems like he’s going to be a big threat and he reminds me of Galactus. Even the minions are pretty huge and they look like Sentinels, but organic versions. The second comic didn’t resolve the big fight, but it was definitely an epic way to start it. I highly recommend checking this comic out and Armor Hunters seems like it’ll be pretty awesome. This was definitely one of the highlights from the Free Comics and it only lost to Future’s End for pure epicness.

Overall 8/10

I have never heard of this comic series before, but maybe that’s because it seems to be new. Either way, this series had everything stacked against it from the start. The title is pretty generic and the cover is terrible. I don’t mean to be harsh, (maybe) but that’s the kind of cover that will immediately destroy any hopes that I had for an issue. What makes this even worse is the fact that the cover has absolutely no relevance to the comic. I guess we can assume that Witches are going to be blamed for the stolen magic or something but….it may be best to forget the cover.

Still, I bravely opened the comic and began the adventure. We have a mean teenager who does not want to make carpets anymore. His father tries to convince him that it’s for the best, but the protagonist will not hear it. He calls up his friend and then he steals the magic carpet. He’s going to look at the incredible magic orb and then everyone will respect him. He uses a magical frog to get in unnoticed, but it wears off and he comes face to face with a group of demons and an evil leader. These guys just finished slaughtering the guards and now they want to destroy our young hero as well. This could be the end….of everything!

The plot was pretty random and definitely not very interesting as of yet. I’m sure that things will get better as the series progresses, but this is not how you do a first issue. This comic was pretty bold since they hint that it’s in the same continuity as Star Wars. (The narration essentially said something like “There are those who call this magic “The Force” before reminding us that it’s really just a magical ball and nobody knows about it.) The magical ball is not a very interesting artifact, but the wielder will get unlimited power upon possessing it. That’s a pretty good deal if you ask me, but a villain is likely the one who stole it…or maybe it really is just a comic story. (The main character likes comics, which makes you wonder which parts are real and which aren’t)

Overall, this wasn’t my favorite comic. The review may have seemed pretty negative, but the comic wasn’t awful. The art was all right, but the writing wasn’t very good. The soldiers lost without a fight, which was sad. The main character is really not likable and neither is his friend. The fact that he needs a frog to activate the magic isn’t very interesting and I seriously do not like the methods that one must activate to use the abilities. The comic feels like it takes place in the olden days and that’s not really a good thing either. The comic wasn’t terrible, but the problem is that I can’t really think of any good things about it. This is only the first comic so maybe it’ll get better…maybe. Instead of checking this comic out, I recommend going to your local Famiglia’s and ordering a Pepperoni slice ASAP!

Overall 4/10

Fans of the Guardians of the Galaxy were likely pleased with this year’s lineup of free comics. The Guardians essentially got two comics to themselves since Rocket is a member with Groot appearing as well. I can’t really say that I’m a huge fan of Rocket Raccoon, but I’ve mostly seen him in shows like Avengers Assemble and Ultimate Spiderman so I can’t make any hasty judgments. This comic also brought a back up story to try and give me some more reasons to give it a high score.

The main story follows Rocket Raccoon as he breaks into an enemy stronghold in order to rescue the princess. As it turns out, the princess doesn’t believe that she needs saving and she had already planned out how to leave. Her ship was supposed to come and pick her up so that she could break free, but the element of surprise may have been lost. Rocket assures her that no rescuers are coming and they quickly try to escape. Can they really make it past the legions of armed professionals and is Rocket Racoon hiding something!?

In the backup story, Spiderman and White Tiger embark on a secret mission. Nova wants to help, but Spiderman forbids it because Nick Fury told him to keep Nova in the dark. Nova decides to follow the Wallcrawlwer and he realizes that the villains may be tougher than he thought. It’s going to take teamwork and a lot of puns if the heroes want to get out of this in one piece.

Well, the comics were decent. I’m always up for a good space adventure, but I’m not sure that Rocket can really hold his own series for very long. He seemed to be out of character in the issue, but I may have just been seeing a different interpretation of him in the shows. Still, Rocket proved that he was a hero and while he may not have been that likable…he tried. The art was only okay at best and the faces could look a little dicey at times.

Of course, the art was still better than in the backup. The backup story’s art was a little on the lazy side. The characters were there, but not much detail was put into them. I felt bad for Spiderman since he looked pretty awful until the end. Even White Tiger had to say something along the lines of, “Couldn’t you at least pretend that you were prepared for this?” when Spiderman started barfing all over the place. Spiderman should be used to this sort of thing by now and I doubt that he really gets space sick. At least Spiderman made some pretty good puns in the end.

Overall, this wasn’t the greatest superhero comic in the batch. We actually had more action than some of the others, which is ironic. I felt bad for the final villain since Spiderman humiliated him in the end, but I suppose that he was asking for it. Rocket Raccoon and Groot are sure to have many more adventures and it should be an interesting series. Hopefully this issue will convince you to buy the comics or watch the Ultimate Spiderman series….since it probably would not have convinced me. I still recommend it since the comic is a fun read and it’s not very long. Just think of it as a Star Wars story and everything will be all right.

Overall 7/10

I’ve always been a pretty big fan of the Power Rangers and I haven’t even seen any of their TV shows yet! The concept of the franchise is what I find so intriguing and I also enjoy the video games. I was happy to learn that this series would be getting a comic on Free Comic Book Day and I quickly put it near the top of my reading list. It may not have been quite as action packed as I had been hoping, but it was a still a solid issue.

The comic takes place after a recent victory over the villains. The Power Rangers are all pretty confident at this point and they like to mock their prisoner. They’re currently transporting her so the meeting point where they will send her off into space. Unfortunately, one of their old enemies decides that they’re having too much fun and he transforms their favorite car/van into a living thing. It’s going to take everything that the Power Rangers have to stop this crazy locomotive!

The art is very good for the comic and the plot is a little deeper than one may have thought. The car makes some pretty good puns and the Power Rangers are mostly on the defensive. I’m still surprised that the Red Power Ranger is no longer the leader, but I suppose that it had to happen at some point. I’ll always think of him as the leader anyway. It was hard to sympathize with the prisoner since she kept goading on the heroes throughout the comic.

Assuming that you want to get into the series; this comic gives you a pretty good idea of how things are going to go. The villains aren’t really taken seriously, but I’m sure that the leader will be able to give the heroes a good fight. Most of the Power Rangers are a little generic when they’re in their human forms, but I still like them as superheroes. They didn’t have a chance to really show off their powers this time, but they did think of a plan pretty quickly.

Overall, this was a good comic. It wasn’t very action packed and I would like to see the Red Power Ranger retake his position as leader, but those things will likely happen in future issues. This comic gives you a chance to get used to the Power Rangers universe and hopefully generate interest in other parts of the franchise. I know that I’m ready for some more comics!

Overall 7/10

The new film for the Guardians is nearly out so it makes sense that the comic would be featured in the annual FCBD. (Free Comic Book Day) This was one of the shorter comics, but to make up for it we got previews for two other upcoming Marvel titles. One preview involved Thanos and another one was about good ole Spiderman! It was a pretty fun comic and it helps to set up future issues.

The main plot involves Tony Stark as he sits down to have a talk with Flash Thompson. Stark begins to tell Flash a tale of great warriors who fight in space and he describes each of their main members. Flash Thompson has a tough time wrapping his head around this concept and I have to wonder why. Flash has met many strange fighters over the years so this shouldn’t be too shocking. The big question that Tony asks is….will Flash join the team? Flash must decide carefully…because this may not be a request!

The preview about Thanos shows that he is wondering about something of cosmic proportions. Something is not right with reality and it may have something to do with his latest death. Drax doesn’t understand what the problem is, but he usually doesn’t. I’ll admit that I’m a little excited about the prospect because if this means that Drax will finally revert back to his old form..then I’m on board! Drax’s new design/character personality reboot was one of my least favorite changes to a main character in comic books. If they can revert that, then this could have the potential to be one of the better Thanos stories. He must go into Death’s domain and fight her champions to learn what must be learned!

The preview with the most potential is definitely the prelude to the big Spiderman arc that is approaching. Morlun is definitely one of Spiderman’s deadliest opponents and he’s proven this several times. He is now on a mission to destroy Spiderman and every version of him that has been scattered among the multiverse. That sounds like it would take an eternity, but Morlun does have time on his side. I just hope that the 616 Spiderman puts up more of a fight!

The art for all 3 of the comics was pretty good, but the Thanos one was definitely the best. I can’t really say that I was surprised by this, but it’s fun to note. The Spiderman comic had the most action and we even had a fatality. I didn’t like that universe’s Spiderman. He just didn’t feel very experienced and his talk was a lot bigger than his actions. When a character has a powerful element like the Spider Sense…then it’s time to use it!

Overall, this was a fun group of comics. The latter two weren’t full fledged comics, but they were still stories. It’s a varied group since Spiderman is pretty serious while Guardians has a light tone. I would consider Thanos to be a light hearted comic as well, but the artwork is a lot more serious than Spiderman’s. Any Marvel fan should enjoy this comic and it should entice you to go ahead and buy one of the issues. Having Venom on a team must mean that the comic series will be epic right!? (Although Tony Stark’s last action could have been a little more subtle. Ah well, this is why I wouldn’t trust the Avengers if I was a Superhero)

Overall 7/10