(Disclaimer: May Contain Spoilers, Pictures are low quality on purpose! Please buy the comic!)
I had an opportunity to get an early copy of the New MMPR Comics from BOOM! Studios thanks to Power Force; and I was luckily sent the Trini cover!
Issue #0 will be available on January 13th, 2016 for a low retail price of $3.99! Your best bet is to look up your local comic shop that carries BOOM! Studios Comics and request the new Power Rangers Comic! Let me first off say that the front cover, ever since I first saw it, is completely gorgeous! The Art by Goni Montes is so freaking amazing, I love it so much that I want to collect every single variant of these covers!
I figured many of my followers would want to know what I thought about these new comics as they’ve been getting a lot of attention in the fandom! I sat down and read the three comics a few times and got an idea of what I felt. I must remind you that I am a huge novice when it comes to Comics, Graphic Novels and even Manga. My opinion below is only based upon my love of Power Rangers only. But, let me tell you that the first issue, or the Zero issue, was rather fantastic! Let me go over the 3 separate comics included in Issue #0!
*Spoilers Ahead*
Mighty Morpin’ Power Rangers Issue #0
Written By: Kyle Higgins, Illustrated By: Hedry Prasetya
Colors By: Matt Herms, Letters By: Ed Dukeshire
The Story – Without giving too much away, the story is rather very interesting to me. We open on a dream Tommy is having that he revisits often throughout the rest of the school day with his friends. As I said, the dream of Rita haunts him throughout as Rita Repulsa hangs on Tommy and belittles him, poisoning his mind that he is not worthy or not strong enough! (or perhaps letting down his friends) This type of manipulation continues throughout the issue and was a total surprise to me. I figured the entire comic would be Tommy wank, and while it is in some places, it gives us something interesting to look forward to! Rita has Tommy right in her little palm and continues to mess with him and his performance with the Rangers.
At this point the other Rangers, except for maybe Jason, seem like background characters catering to what the main character (in this case Tommy) needs. They have cute little banter with each other during the school portions but it always goes back to how Tommy is feeling and how the others can help. (Also they all talk a lot about a test they’ve apparently forgotten about a lot.) While this makes sense for where we are in the story arc of the Mighty Morphin’ Rangers it was a still a little off-putting and I hope that much more of that doesn’t grow or persist. We do get some cute one-liners or memorable lines from the other MMPR Rangers, but so far it was not enough to get a feel on them. Jason seemed to be the only other Ranger that got a little more attention as he had a one-on-one with Tommy on the way to school and at the end with Zordon.
The Megazord battle was another interesting read as the action representation was fantastic. The Dragonzord is also revealed during this battle but the same issues with Tommy arise even as he is morphed! Suddenly the Dragonzord controls no longer work and he misses a cue to attack the monster! Kimberly even got a few action moments that were both beautiful to look at and to live through reading! Kimberly actually flew Pterodactyl off the Megazord in order to help people, now that was cool when she teleported out of the cockpit!
Rita really gets into Tommy’s head, especially during the Megazord battle which does not go the way the other Rangers want and suddenly they all seem to blame Tommy’s actions, playing right into Rita’s plot. Towards the ending contains a meeting with Zordon in the Command Center where he basically reads Tommy & Jason to filth about their actions in the Megazord battle. I loved this scene because it really puts Tommy in his place and to me the Comic Character Tommy is already different from the TV Version and I am so liking it! Tommy seems to be the whipping boy in this comic so far.
We get a little surprise at the end which leads up into Issue #1! SPOILER, but Scorpina returns, in a random boat, to Rita after completing a mission for her; a mysterious crystal that Rita was dying to get her hands on! Hmmm what could this mean?!
The Art – The graphic style of this comic is rather beautiful! It is new and gritty without being too serious or too far away from what Power Rangers exactly is. While the time period has changed from that of the show, and it does show in a few spaces, but that doesn’t really bother me. We got a few scenes of Kimberly texting Tommy in class, kinda random, but appropriate for the time period. Still a little funny to see/read.
As I’ve said before when the first previews of the art was released I was in love with the look (both in dress and humanity design) of the Un-Morphed Rangers and the soulful drawings of the Mighty Morphin’ Rangers in suit.
To me, the art style is very grown up for what some would consider a very child like property and I am so happy that this section of the comic is being handled seriously rather than what the show does. Because, the other two comics in this Issue offer us a more Power Rangers and Silliness balance.
Legacy Score 9/10
“The Ongoing Adventures of Bulk & Skull”
Written By: Steve Orlando, Illustrated By: Corin Howell
Colors By: Jeremy Lawson, Letters By: Jim Campbell
The Story – In this one-two page issue Bulk and Skull take you out of the seriousness of the previous comic and instead take you into their world of hilarity. Hijinks ensue when Bulk and Skull meet up with Principal Caplan, complete with flip flopping toupee, and attempt to get out of it by a strange food oriented diversion! Trini, Kimberly and another random girl named Roni appear for the classic “We hit on girls out of our league” trope we know so well! Towards the end Bulk and Skull, after hearing the girls say how awesome the Rangers are, set out to become the New Power Rangers! lol.
The Art – The art style changed here as Corin Howell takes over. Again, I got a more whimsical, Power Rangers silliness vibe from this part of the comic which I think captured the essence of what they were going for with the original TV versions of Bulk and Skull. This art style reminds me of an Archie Comic which indeed fits what they are going for here because it seems to fit the slapstick of the writing. While it was short, which seemed totally appropriate, made me giggle a little and remember Bulk and Skull fondly. I wonder what Paul Schrier & Jason Narvy think of their new selves?
Legacy Score 8.5/10
“What Time Is It?”
Written By: Mairghread Scott, Illustrated By: Daniel Bayliss
Letters By: Ed Duleshire
The Story – While the first comic was serious, character driven and deeper; The ending comic was action packed first with an on-ground fight with the Putties and a Megazord battle between the Rangers and Goldar! The art direction of the story was rather intense as the Megazord battles Goldar! I loved that the individual Zords, especially the Saber Tooth Tiger and Mastodon took charge and attacked alone! In this comic the Rangers, even morphed, got more development than in the Tommy Saga in the beginning of this issue. Here, we focus more on the main 5 Rangers moreso while Tommy lives on with more Green Ranger quips and insults from Goldar. Classic MMPR!
The Art – Daniel Bayliss is the Illustrator of this version and I have to say that he totally capture the retro style of previous Power Rangers comics that many of have read back in the 90s!
Legacy Score 8.5/10
Final Thoughts
I feel that all 3 comics succeeded in what they were trying to do. Take the stories in a new direction while still supporting the Nostalgia and the original feel of not only the television series but of previous Ranger Comic incarnations of the past.
Issue #0 aka the Tommy Saga, was a little more serious and focused almost entirely on Tommy. This comic seemed a little more grown up than what we are used to in Power Rangers comics and that change is most welcome. I was very impressed in both the art style and where the story is going! Go Rita!
“The Ongoing Adventures of Bulk & Skull” captured the child-like silliness that we remember fondly from the show with a little bit of Bulk and Skull hi-jinx! This is most welcome sandwiched between a story driven Ranger comic and what is to follow!
“What Time Is It” captures what we remember from previous Ranger comics in the past. You can tell that inspiration was taken from retro Power Rangers comics and I loved reading it! The final comic is a little more focused on the action of the Rangers and the Zords which leaves room just for fun! While, the first comic is more serious and focuses on the Rangers as people, adding this action-packed comic is a good balance for the entire issue! I also found that while Tommy was indeed in the third comic, he was not the star of this part. The “team element” was more present in this part than in the first.
I absolutely recommended picking up this issue, and the future issues expected in March 2016, and give them a chance! If you love Mighty Morphin’ and that classic feeling it brings, you will definitely love these comics. But, even if you don’t love Mighty Morphin for whatever reason, these issues do breath new life into the characters and stories. so far anyways.
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