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

Teen Titans Go is probably the best DC comic book show that’s currently on TV. Unfortunately, that’s not as great as it sounds! It means that the pressure is on this series to always be solid and that’s not always the case. Still, the show is pretty fun and I expected the comic to be fun as well. It was definitely a fun read and while it may not be very deep….I got what I was expecting!

As with the show, there are two segments. The first one is a thriller that deals with the disappearance of Cyborg’s food. Whenever he leaves something in the fridge…it goes missing! The other titans deny involvement, but Cyborg has (good) reasons to suspect them. It’s time to solve this case! The second comic featured a duel between Robin and Beast Boy with everything on the line! There are definitely a lot of cool things that you can do with a cape and I can see why Beast Boy wants it. Gradually, both parties continue to up the stakes so this game of mini golf is very important! One shall stand and One shall lose!

The art is decently good. It’s not quite at Justice League level, but it does a good job of copying the TV show’s animation. The characters are all on point as well and we even get a small action scene. The resolution to the Beast Boy vs Robin match was pretty disappointing, but it was also expected. Big duels like that usually come with a moral and no actual winner. It’s just the way of the comics right? Don’t worry, there is a winner this time around….but it’s not very satisfying.

Overall, Teen Titans Go! was a nice comic. The stories were both pretty short, but it helps that there were two of them. Also, most comics feel pretty short when reading them. They don’t have as many extended comics as they used too. The highlight of the first comic would definitely be the fight against the culprit and the best part of the second comic was Robin’s defiance against Beast Boy. I was definitely on the Boy Wonder’s side and his acts of “cheating” were not as extreme as Beast Boy’s. You gotta love the punch to the face technique that Robin used….I definitely recommend this comic as a quick read and you’ll definitely enjoy it if you like the TV show.

Overall 7/10

We’ve got a double header in this issue! Both of the comics will have to team up for the final score at the end, but I can safely say that Megaman X did the heavy lifting. Why Sonic needs another origin story for his teammates is beyond me, but maybe things will pick up. I’m more excited about the next few issues in the Mega Man series!

The Megaman X comic takes place many years after the original series. A wandering genius manages to find the heroic reploid and awakens him. With Megaman X’s help; the doctor creates more reploids and soon the world is filled with them. Unfortunately, some of them have begun to turn evil and randomly destroy whoever is nearby. The Maverick Hunters are assembled to stop this rogue reploids, but Megaman X has some doubts about their methods. It may be time for him to step in…

The comic was a nice prelude into the upcoming arc that will feature Megaman X. I believe that the comic should have been a little longer so that a fight could have been included. It was cool to see all of the Maverick Hunters when they assembled and Zero did get to appear. The comic definitely succeeded in bringing the characters together and setting up future issues. I really hope that the comic sells well enough to ignite support for a Megaman X ongoing series. That would definitely be awesome.

The art was excellent in this issue and all of the characters appear as I would have imagined them. The writing is solid and I really don’t have any complaints for the issue. A little action would have been appreciated, but this is the first comic so set up is important. The comic does a good job of convincing the reader to get on board. The promotional picture for the crossover with the classic Mega Man is pretty ominous since we see the cracked helmet.

Meanwhile, the plot in the Sonic comic is not quite as ambitious. Sonic and the Freedom Fighters are running a training simulation so that they can keep their skills sharp. While they are busy dodging lasers and attacking the robots; Sally and Rotor remember their origins and how much fun they used to have. It may be emotional, but origin stories have no place in Free Comic Book Day!

The art is pretty good and it’s always fun to see Sonic take out the villains. The plot made sure that the comic wouldn’t get very far. I’m assuming that future comics will have origin stories for the other members as well and that’s not something to look forward too. The main plot seems to involve taking down Eggman once again, but that’s not very intriguing either. The Sonic comics need to get a little more ambitious, like how they were a couple of years ago. They’re playing it a little too safe at the moment.

This comic likely wouldn’t get me interested in checking out the next few. Sally’s twin energy blades are pretty cool and I hope that she continues to use them in future issues. I’m going to ignore the fact that the comic made Sonic a supersonic fighter because Sonic still looked pretty good. Simulations should be a piece of cake for an fighter of his caliber.

Overall, this was a fun double header. Megaman X had the epicness and foreshadowing while we got some quick action in the Sonic comic. It’s a great bargain to get these for free, but Megaman X would definitely be worth the money over Sonic if you had to buy one of them. The art and character cast are solid for both comics so that may increase the chances of enjoying them. I know that the characters can be very important to me when reading a comic. Keep an eye out for Vile when reading the comic!

Overall 7/10

Time for the first review from the Free Comic Book Day 2014 batch! I expected this to be the best from the comics that I obtained, but Megaman X could manage to pull out a win. This comic takes place in the future and the world has been taken over by the Eye. He’s enslaved just about all of the heroes and there are a few resistance warriors that are trying to stop this. John Stewart and Blue Beetle are among the final survivors. Meanwhile, Batman has his own plan. He needs to go into the past and stop all of this from ever happening…but will the Eye let him leave this timeline alive!?

This comic was definitely pretty good. The atmosphere is pretty grim and hope appears lost for the heroes. It’s always hard to believe that the world could be taken over like that, but that’s why they jump us into the future. This way we don’t have to see how the heroes were taken over so easily. The art is pretty great and it’s what I’ve come to expect from DC comics. The violence isn’t really over the top, but limbs are lost. The reason why it’s not very violent is because there usually isn’t a lot of blood during the scenes. It still could be tricky for younger viewers, but it’s not too bad. We get some short action scenes between the resistance and the robots, as well as some action with an older Batman. The fights should definitely be intense in this series.

This issue basically leads up to how the actual series will be. It definitely has a lot of potential and I always love to see a good time travel story. This could make an awesome trade paperback volume and I recommend checking out this issue at a comic store near you. It is in the New 52, but Batman Beyond is in it and that’s always a plus. I was also glad that Batman is the one who thought of the ultimate plan. The morals behind it are a little risky, but Batman’s trying to save lives as well. One of those moralistic questions to ponder!

Overall 8/10