By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

CREATORS: Sina Grace (Illustrator), Eleonora Bruni (Colorist)

THE SCENE: In this 25th anniversary issue, the Ninja Steel Power Rangers meet Alpha 5, who has come to ask for help.

WHY IT’S AWESOME: Sadly, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Anniversary Special #1 doesn’t quite measure up to some of the epic multi-story annuals that have preceded it. But it does have its moments. For instance, there’s a terrific story about Karone standing trial for her crimes as Astronema.

But in terms of nostalgic feels worthy of a 25th anniversary issue, Sina Grace’s story about Alpha 5 and the Ninja Steel Rangers takes the cake. Frankly, seeing a story where Alpha is still around is a feel-good moment in and of itself. For a long time, the belief among many fan has been that Alpha 5 was destroyed off-camera when Dark Specter captured Zordon before Power Rangers in Space. That’s a heck of a downer ending for such a beloved character.

Grace’s figure renderings are excellent, especially in the big panel at the top. He does a great job of capturing Mick’s face. What’s more, Kelson Henderson, who plays Mick, has played a variety of roles on the show over the years. So to see him standing with Alpha is very fitting for an anniversary issue.

Moving downward, I love the shot of the Rangers over Alpha’s domed head. And because they’re kids, they don’t quite grasp who they’re looking at. Preston actually calls the original Power Rangers “the dinosaur ones.” Notwithstanding, of course, that they’re been a few dinosaur teams at this point…

And then you’ve got the lower left panel of the two characters running from something. There’s a lot of energy here, between the way Mick and Alpha are posed, and what Grace does with the background. To cap it off, we’ve got the ridiculous outfit Alpha is in. It’s utterly nonsensical, but charmingly silly in that Power Rangers sort of way.

Question: Is BOOM! Studios about to lose the publishing rights to Power Rangers now that Hasbro owns the franchise? As many of us know, Hasbro already licenses Transformers, G.I. Joe, and numerous other IPs to IDW. That’d be a raw deal for BOOM, as they’ve really put PR on the map in terms of the comic book industry. Some of the stories they’ve given us these last few years have been simply priceless.

Email Rob at PrimaryIgnition@yahoo.com, or follow Primary Ignition on Twitter.