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Preface
For the people who don’t know, Free Comic Book Day is an event that’s held every year on the first Saturday of May. Hosted by participating comic book stores, special comic books are made and given for free to get more people into comic book culture.
Comic book companies like Marvel and DC use this event to promote some of their titles and give fans a preview as to what they can expect to see in a series. Think of it as a trailer for a movie, only it’s for a comic book.
Since Boom! Studios started publishing comics for Power Rangers, we’ve had three so far. The first one was to promote “Shattered Grid” with an original story that explained the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers as well as contained more backstory for Shattered Grid. The second one was called “The Road to Ranger Slayer” which contained the character’s origins from Go Go Power Rangers Issues #9 to #12. And, now we have “Ranger Academy #0” which is a prelude to a brand new comic series called “Ranger Academy”.
Obviously, for PR fans, just the title alone is a pretty exciting concept. Having an original concept far away from the MMPR setting while being a potential new series for exploring more of the PR universe with original characters.
Since this issue is meant to be for readers, new and old to the franchise, that means this single issue has to have the right hooks to draw them into this brand-new series. Let’s take a look!
The Cover
It’s… fine. It shows off three new characters that will most likely be our main focus for this series and shows off a little tease at the bottom as to what we can expect them to interact with. I’m also a fan of the bright and colorful background. It gives the impression that this will be a fun story to check out.
The Story
On the remote moon colony of Vaela, Sage is a young girl that dreams of adventure but is always discouraged by her father. Her father, Rhianth, wants her to stay safe. He used to tell about the ‘knights’ that defended the universe, but somewhere along the way, he learned that he shouldn’t believe in heroes and neither should his daughter. Now, the two of them live on a small farm in the middle of nowhere.
One day, Sage stumbles onto a crashed spaceship. Saving the people inside, Sage brings home Tula and Mathis, two third-year cadets from Ranger Academy.
What is Ranger Academy, you may ask? I don’t know. And neither does Sage.
She barely knows what a Power Ranger is. But, Sage knows that it’s a place where people can learn how to help others. And that’s all that matters to her.
After getting into an argument with her dad about wanting to go, Sage ends up running away from home and stowing away on the Ranger Academy cadets’ repaired ship, planning to head off into the next chapter of her life, full of adventure and excitement…
Ending Thoughts
Well…at least, it’s free…
I mean, it’s been days and I just got it. You gotta probably go on eBay if you want to find it.
So, anyway, this issue is meant to be an introduction to the entire concept of this series. It’s supposed to show off an aspect of what we can expect from the official first issue of the series and get readers excited for it when it releases (whenever that comes out).
For new readers, I don’t believe it’s a good introduction to the whole universe, especially for kids. I mean, this issue barely addresses what a Power Ranger is. And, Ranger Academy is all just-in-name. We really don’t get to learn anything unique about the school setting aside from the subject of one class and one ‘trial’ about determining your Ranger color. Which, in regards to the trial, is also just-in-name, throwing a bunch of names and words that young kids or new fans to the franchise won’t fully understand and/or care about. Unlike in other sci-fi school settings, this didn’t get a chance to show any of the wonders that comes from being a part of that universe or being a Power Ranger.
So, ultimately, this issue is about introducing the characters for the series. The protagonists. The ones that we will most likely follow for the series. This story is supposed to make readers invest in them and make readers want to learn more about them and see them succeed in whatever comes next. So, does it do a good job?
Well, the comic gives us four characters in total (five if you’re counting the goat): Sage, Tula, Mathis, and Rhianth. You get a good feel for their personalities and characters. One’s by the books, one’s wise-cracking but kind, one seeks adventure, and one just wants to keep his child sheltered at times. Now, these kinds of characters are very generic and have been shown in so many other types of media that the plot of the issue was easily predictable. Easily. And, from what was shown here, there’s not anything unique or interesting that divides from the mold even with the Power Rangers universe layered onto it. Just because this series is targeted at a younger audience, it doesn’t mean you can’t be more creative with your characters.
It’s a shame because I really wanted to get invested in the series. I love school settings in science fiction. It gives the universe more structure and perspective while at the same time having a lot of characters be able to interact with each other and enjoy the fun nature of the world’s concepts and ideas. And, I believe there is still untapped potential for a school of people training to be Power Rangers. We have gotten glimpses of that with SPD and Beast Morphers, but nothing that dives into it fully. And, even though the characters are bare-bones generic, I do think there’s a lot of potential for fun character dynamics down the road. I just don’t believe this is a good showing for this.
There is one thing I will undeniably praise: the artwork by Jo Mi-Gyeong. The character designs and art style is simplified, but it works to convey the light-hearted humor this series is working with. Honestly, it’s reminiscent of an animated series, which fits perfectly for the all-ages audience that’s targeted for this series. The bright and energetic colors also work, especially for showing off this moon colony, conveying how different this world is. Character designs are spot-on too. Despite my belief that the characters’ personalities are basic, each one’s appearance is unique and distinct from each other. The Ranger Academy uniforms look great with the right arms having their own design while showing off their Ranger color. If this is an idea of what the actual Ranger suits look like, then I am all for it so far.
If you have not gotten a copy of Ranger Academy #0 yet, you can wait for Ranger Academy #1 instead. This issue gives us readers a good glimpse as to what is coming next: a still promising premise complimented by fun and animated artwork but follows characters that don’t leave a lot to explore.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
- Off-topic, but I also like the logo. It gives off a retro sci-fi feel to it.
- I am as much of a fan of representation as everyone else is and I hope that people are able to connect with these characters even though I am not able to.
- Also, “Merrick”. People are wondering whether or not this is the actual Lunar Wolf Ranger from Power Rangers Wild Force. We don’t know where this is in the overall timeline so we won’t know until the first official issue comes out. But, I want it to not be Merrick from Wild Force at all. I enjoyed his ending in the original series, traveling the world with Zen-Aku and being literal lone wolves together. (Although, I can see some funny interactions with Merrick as a teacher with his students.)
- I can think of other examples of school settings that do a better job of introducing the character to the world before we actually get to the school. Harry Potter is a great example, showing the falling letters, Hagrid, and all of that magic and like Harry, we would want to see more of that and learn to do that. Another example would be My Hero Academia, showing off actual heroes in action and how that’s something you’d want to aspire to be. Heck, I can come up with actual Power Rangers examples. SPD: Before they actually morphed, Syd, Sky, and Bridge were all unique characters with their own viewpoints. And, it showed us A-Squad, a physical example of what our heroes are aspiring towards. That’s ultimately what I feel is missing from this story and Sage’s desire to join Ranger Academy: she hasn’t been given any real example of what’s at the end of the road. It just seems like she just wants to leave her old life behind and that’s it.
