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