The end of the world in two very different forms.
Creative Staff:
Story: Jonathan Hickman (Secret Wars), Hajime Isayama (Attack On Avengers)
Art: Paul Renaud (Secret Wars), Gerardo Sandoval (Attack on Avengers)
What They Say:
Free Comic Book Day installment from Marvel Comics.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With the Secret Wars event years in the planning and having hit several stages, this week sees the debut of the event itself as we move into a lot of books ending and then a whole lot of other series starting after the event. I’ve been kind of on the outside for a lot of it in a way as several of the books I read are on the outskirts for the most part, but I’ve read a few of the earlier Avengers books that have brought all of this to the forefront and started the plan for what is now happening. So there’s definitely a good sense of anticipation, and I’m intrigued by the fact that it is so big, sprawling and has been in these planning stages for so very long.
With Free Comic Book Day, Marvel naturally put their focus there for their release. With a great wraparound cover that has the huge cast of characters going at it, there’s a good sense of darkness about that fits while also showing various aspects of change to the characters over the decades as well. What surprised me though is that the book works as a nice short prequel side story to the main event that’s landing with the first issue. Here, we get Valeria Richards and the others from the Future Foundation talking about their four day deadline to finish the project they’re working on in smaller groups. What Valeria and Franklin understand is that what’s coming is something that can’t be stopped, so they’re building a life raft for a small, select group of individuals. It provides a greater context to the event as a whole, at least as understood so far, and that very top level idea works well to make it accessible. But it also leads us into the main Incursion, which will throw us into the main book.
What really made me delighted with this release though is that it included the Attack on Titan special. This was a specially commissioned short story done for BRUTUS Magazine in Japan where Attack on Titan author Hajime Isayama got to do a fun little romp with his famous Titans appearing suddenly in New York City, which has Spider-Man, the Avengers and a quick cameo from the Guardians of the Galaxy appearing to try and stop them. The fun of Attack on Titan is that people can barely do anything against them. With superheroes, they’re better able to fight back and they don’t come across as quite the same threat here. Rightly so, considering the power and skill levels. But what makes this work is that it is a fun blending of the two universes and we get some utterly beautiful artwork from Gerardo Sandoval that brings a different kind of energy to the Titans and their designs. It’s kinetic in a way Isayama’s isn’t, which is a staple of Sandoval’s work. With it being a full color piece, I’m beyond glad that this book is now available legally – and for free.
In Summary:
Free Comic Book Day is one of my favorite events of the year since I get people to go that don’t normally delve into comics much itself. This issue was one of my highlights in picking up because it sets things up for Secret Wars well for new readers, gives something solid for a taste of it for the ongoing readers, and then provides an outright fun action oriented work with some great talents as we get the Attack on Titan story in full color legally. This issue does some good advertising along the way for Marvel’s Disney XD properties, the Secret Wars event itself and for the Kodansha Comics Attack on Titan series. So it’s a solid marketing vehicle overall, but it’s also a pair of great short teaser stories. Definitely worth grabbing no matter which kind of comics fan you are.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics
Release Date: May 2nd, 2015
MSRP: Free
