Power Rangers #0
Publisher: BOOM!
Writer(s): Kyle Higgins, Steve Orlando, & Mairghread Scott
Artist(s): Hendry Prasetya, Corin Howell, & Daniel Bayliss
Cover: Goñi Montes
It’s Morphin’ Time!
BOOM! is bringing back the original team of Power Rangers that started it all! Jason, Zack, Tommy, Trini, Billy, and Kim return in all new adventures kicked off in this issue! Before we get into the actual story this one gets kudos for being a pretty hefty zero issue that doesn’t skip on content. Many issues like it seem lacking and are just primers for the main series but you get three stories here with the main one actually feeling like a solid introduction that could stand on it’s own.
Kyle Higgins and Hendry Prasetya bring us the main story that delivers plenty of nostalgia for fans of the original group. Tommy is silently struggling with being freed from Rita Repulsa’s control and it’s causing complications within the group. This becomes a serious issue when the Rangers have to stop an attack on the city and lives are endangered further because of Tommy’s issue. Ghost Rita is planting seeds of doubt and Tommy is questioning his every step along the way. The story itself is fun and as stated earlier, full of nostalgia via Praysetya’s great looking artwork as the Rangers whip out their Morphers and the Zords appear on the scene. Higgins’ script here sets the tone for something a bit dark but manages to still keep the personality of the character’s in check. This was something I both enjoyed and didn’t at the same time. Many of the fans of the series have grown up a little and there were several parts that made me remember the cringe worthy banter of the show. Here’s hoping there’s some character development there and they become more enjoyable than they were on the show. However, Higgins does make Rita Repulsa seem more like an actual villain here instead of a hyperactive, spoiled child which was very refreshing. Building her up to be a credible antagonist will only help along the way and I’m glad it looks as if that’s where she’s headed. We even get a brief intro to Alpha-5 and Zordon who does a fine job of settling issues between Tommy and Jason after the mission. A well written scene leads to an ominous cliffhanger
Prasetya’s artwork nails everything visually that we love about the Power Rangers! The panel with the Morphers was near perfect and just fun to see. While out of costume the character’s likenesses are hit and miss but it’s really not an issue and doesn’t detract from the storytelling. It’s something that many fans expect to see but at this point we should just expect some good art in every panel. The action sequences flow pretty well and what’s not to like about giant robots and kaiju battling it out and causing massive amounts of property destruction? Colorist Matt Herms brings another level of energy to the artwork and ties the visual storytelling all together.
Fan favorites Bulk and Skull star in a back-up story with them up to their usual hijinks by Steve Orlando and Corin Howell. The final story is all out action as we catch up the Rangers in the middle of a battle against Puddies and Goldar brought to us by Mairghread Scott and Daniel Bayliss. Both of these stories are excellent and continue to capture the essence of the television series that inspired this title.
If you’re already a fan of the Power Rangers then go ahead and pick this one up and prepare to have a morphin good time! It’s everything you remember and hints that we’ll be getting more excitement down the line. Even if you only have a passing knowledge of the franchise you can still enjoy this as the creative team makes it a comfortable jumping on point. Hopefully the series can continue to find a balance between what made these characters favorites while maturing the stories a bit like other 80’s/90’s properties that have their stories told in comic form now.
Infinite Speech
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