Guardians of the Galaxy trailer releases; watch it here

Marvel Studios has released the first trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy, and it's… not bad. Not great. But not bad.

If you're not familiar with Guardians of the Galaxy — and odds are you aren't, because it's not one of Marvel's bigger properties — they first appeared in comic books in 1969 in Marvel Super-Heroes Issue #18. It finds space adventurer Peter Quill the object of a bounty hunt after stealing an orb coveted by a treacherous villain. But when Quill discovers the power it holds, he must find a way to rally a quartet of ragtag rivals hot on his trail to save the universe.

The problem is that the trailer really doesn't convey this. It has what I like to call "John Carter syndrome." I loved John Carter, but marketing for it was a mess. The problem was that they didn't do a good job of explaining what the movie was about, so no one went and saw it. Now, Guardians of the Galaxy is Marvel, so at least Marvel fans will go see it. The problem will be getting people not familiar with anyone but The Avengers and Spider-Man to go see it. The trailer is jokey with a cool space adventure vibe. That's good, because Guardians of the Galaxy always had some good comedy to go with a strong story. The problem is that no one really knows what that story is.

The next trailer should try to solve that without giving away too much. I'm really stoked for this move (yes, I  know I used the word "stoked"). The cast is awesome, the visuals great, and the comedy will be there (even with a few duds likely to be in the mix).

Guardians of the Galaxy releases August 1, 2014. It stars Chris Pratt (Peter Quill / Star-Lord), Bradley Cooper (Rocket Raccoon), Vin Diesel (Groot), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Lee Pace (Ronan the Accuser), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Benicio Del Toro (Taneleer Tivan / The Collector), John C. Reilly (Rhomann Dey), Dave Bautista (Drax the Destroyer), and Djimon Hounsou (Korath the Pursuer).

You can follow Senior Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, movies, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at LLiebl@GameZone.com