Marvel fans will be able to pick up five Free Comic Book Day 2024 offerings, including this Blood Hunt/X-Men combo. This issue is possibly the hottest of the bunch thanks to the X-Men story by Gail Simone and David Marquez and fans of events who want a little taste of what to come in Jed MacKay and Sara Pichelli’s Blood Hunt tale. A solid preview of both stories. Let’s dig into the stories!
Kicking things off is MacKay and Pichelli’s Blood Hunt story, which is well-timed with Blood Hunt #1 out this week. This is a good smorgasbord story, with check-ins with key characters. Starting things off, Spider-Man faces a dark-dimension villain who loses his ability to control his powers. The quips are good in this three-page scene before the story switches to the Fantastic Four. The story ramps up as danger and ominous darkness fall over the Earth with a check-in with Daredevil and, finally, Blade’s daughter.
MacKay uses these vignettes to convey that heroes don’t know what is going on, and they’re certainly not prepared for the fight at hand. The closing scene puts a bit of a surprise spin on things, suggesting that maybe the ultimate vampire in the Marvel Universe isn’t in on things at all. This tale is more of a teaser than a meatier FCBD offering.
Simone and Marquez’s X-Men story concludes with a focus exclusively on Jubilee and an enemy who has set up shop in the Xavier Mansion. Captions help convey the state of mutants and Jubilee’s internal struggle to simply exist and stay hidden. Considering the Krakoa Era has ended where mutants lived free and empowered, it’s a stark contrast to see how far they’ve fallen.
An unlettered page from the FCBD comic!
Credit: Marvel
There are plenty of little hints at some key elements at work, although they’re too vague to know what is happening. That includes mutants being held in captivity and the fact that Jubilee’s power may have changed or she has hidden an ability. For this reason, it’s a great teaser issue that gives readers a sense of what this new era will be but not enough detail to know where it’s all going.
This story is very on point regarding mutants as a metaphor for the oppressed. One detail that I simply loved to see was Jubilee giving a secret hand signal to a fellow mutant. It’s also interesting how Jubilee, once a mutant who needed saving, is the mutant out there looking out for young mutants. Simone nails the voice of Jubilee here, and it’s quite clear she has a good sense of pace and how the X-Men should be written.
Marquez delivers on detailed art and dynamic moments. When Jubilee uses her powers, it’s epic and not silly looking as sometimes her powers can look. Little details in a bad-guy office help draw you in and linger, which is always a plus, and the final prison cell vault is epic. Props to Edgar Delgado for the color work, which feels right at home for AAA comics.
Given Free Comic Book Day 2024: Blood Hunt/X-Men is free and a must-buy for Marvel and X-Men fans, it’s an easy recommendation to pick this book up. Both tales are good teasers, and while they’re not quite as giving as the stories in Free Comic Book Day 2024: Spider-Man & The Ultimate Universe, the stories do a great job of getting you hyped for the future of Marvel.
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