Tag Jason Lee Scott

Weekly Comic 100s: Iron Man 2020, Go Go Power Rangers, and More!

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***”Weekly Comic 100s” keeps it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Oye. Not a good comic book week for yours truly. Not only am I still reeling from the demise of my local shop, but my pull list was uncharacteristically small this week. So what’s a frustrated fanboy to do?

With only three issues in my stack this week, I’ve added a mini-review of Detective Comics #1000, as we learned this week that it was the highest selling comic book of 2019.

Shout out to Jay’s Comics in Gurnee, IL. I’m pretty sure they’re my new shop.

TITLE: Iron Man 2020 #1 (of 6)
AUTHOR: Dan Slott, Christos Gage
ARTISTS: Pete Woods, Joe Caramagna (Letterer).
RELEASED: January 15, 2020

Thanks to a lot of backstory, (which the issue is nice enough to provide us post-script), Tony Stark’s adoptive brother Arno Stark is now Iron Man. Straight out of the gate, he’s got a rebellious robot uprising to contend with.

As someone who hasn’t kept up with Iron Man lately, there’s not much here to excite me. It’s inferred that Arno has sinister intentions. But when friggin’ Doctor Doom has played the role before, everyone else pales from a “villain as the hero” perspective. Ironic, as Dan Slott’s work on The Superior Spider-Man drew me to this book.

TITLE: Go Go Power Rangers #27
AUTHORS: Ryan Parrott, Sina Grace
ARTISTS: Francesco Mortarino, Raul Angulo (Colorist), Ed Dukeshire (Letterer). Cover by Eleonora Carlini.
RELEASED: January 15, 2020

Excellent issue, which includes a fight between Tommy and Lord Zedd over the White Ranger powers.

So between what’s happening in this book, and in the main MMPR title, you’re telling me the all-wise Zordon has no idea what’s happening with Jason, Zack, and Trini? The kids he himself chose to be Power Rangers? Like, not even a little? That’s the one aspect of “Necessary Evil” I’m having trouble buying. Other than that, I’m really enjoying what we’re getting from the PR titles right now. The main book was shaky for awhile, but things are definitely back on track.

TITLE: The Low Low Woods #2
AUTHOR: Carmen Maria Machado
ARTISTS: Dani, Tamra Bonvillain (Colorist), Steve Wands (Letterer). Cover by J.A.W. Cooper.
RELEASED: January 15, 2020

Something felt off here. I’m not sure if the issue was paced to fast, or I was having trouble recalling things from the first issue, or the bizarre-but-not-in-a-scary-way thing we see on page three. But I wasn’t into this issue as much as the first.

I do, however, appreciate the way they’ve developed the town of Shudder-to-Think, Pennsylvania as almost a character unto itself. The town apparently has “an extremely unhealthy relationship with its dead.” As I said last time, it’s very reminiscent of a Stephen King story.

TITLE: Detective Comics #1000
AUTHORS: Scott Snyder, Kevin Smith, Paul Dini, Warren Ellis, Denny O’Neil, Christopher Priest, Brian Michael Bendis, Geoff Johns, James Tynion IV, Tom King, Peter Tomasi
ARTISTS: Greg Capullo, Jim Lee, Dustin Nguyen, Becky Cloonan, Steve Epting, Neal Adams, Alex Maleev, Kelley Jones, Alvaro Martinez-Bueno, Tony Daniel, Joelle Jones, Doug Mahnke. Cover by Lee.
INKERS: Jonathan Glapion, Scott Williams, Derek Fridolfs, Raul Fernanxes
COLORISTS: FCO Plascencia, Alex Sinclair, John Kalisz, Jordie Bellaire, Elizabeth Breitweiser, Dave Stewart, Michelle Madsen, Tomeu Morey
LETTERS: Tom Napolitano, Todd Klein, Steve Wands, Simon Bowland, Andworld Design, Willie Schubert, Josh Reed, Rob Leigh, Clayton Cowles
RELEASED: March 27, 2019

Yeesh. No wonder this issue sold so well. The sheer amount of talent on this thing, many of whom shaped the mythology of Batman, is outrageous.

I was pleasantly surprised to find something I liked in each tale from this 96-page multi-story anthology. But ultimately, it’s Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev that steal the show with “I Know.” An elderly Oswald Cobblepot confronts an equally elderly, wheelchair-bound Bruce Wayne to tell him he’s known his secret for a long time. It’s a quieter story compared to the rest. But it’s no less impactful for it.

Follow Primary Ignition on Twitter, or email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com.

 

Weekly Comic 100s: Shazam!, Killadelphia, MMPR

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***”Weekly Comic 100s” keeps it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Nothing too in-depth here. Just straight, concise, and to the point.***

***Author’s Note: If I display a variant cover, it’s because I purchased the issue in question with that cover.***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

TITLE: Shazam! #8
AUTHOR: Geoff Johns
ARTISTS: Scott Kolins, Michael Atiyeh (Colorist), Rob Leigh (Letterer). Variant cover by Michael Cho.
RELEASED: November 27, 2019

I’ve always admired the firm grasp Geoff Johns has on the less renowned DC characters like Green Lantern, the Teen Titans, and now Shazam. He can do anything…except get these books to come out on time.

This issue misses Dale Eaglesham, whose pencils have provided the sense of fun, adventure, and fantasy elements that define this book’s identity. Still, Scott Kolins is more than serviceable, especially during the scenes in the undead “Darklands” realm. Michael Atiyeh makes them very interesting from a color contrast standpoint. It’s like this bright red superhero has stepped into an old Universal monster movie.

TITLE: Killadelphia #1
AUTHOR: Rodney Barnes
ARTISTS: Jason Shawn Alexander, LuisNCT (Colorist), Marshall Dillon (Letterer)
RELEASED: November 27, 2019

I mean, c’mon. The title alone makes this worth a look.

If you’re into the stuff Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips do, you’ll like Killadelphia. Or at least this first issue. It’s got a great pulp-noir-meets-horror feel. A second generation cop investigates the most bizarre case his famous father ever worked. What he uncovers is, as the book itself puts it, “There are vampires in Philadelphia.”

Best page in the book? When our main character opens a door, sees a bunch of vampires hanging from the ceiling, and runs away in terror when they give chase…

TITLE: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #45
AUTHOR: Ryan Parrott
ARTISTS: Daniele Di Nicuolo, Walter Baiamonte (Colorist), Katia Ranalli & Igor Monti (Color Assistants), Ed Dukeshire (Letterer). Cover by Jamal Campbell.
RELEASED: November 27, 2019

“Necessary Evil” progresses nicely with a great “heel turn” this month. Parrott and Di Nicuolo are usually my guys as far as PR comics go. But one particular moment felt wrong…

There’s a scene where Zordon, talking to the Red Omega Ranger (Does he know it’s Jason?), says that Lord Zedd is formidable, yet “an adversary I was confident that they could handle.” While I’m sure this isn’t how Parrott meant this, that makes it sound like Zordon considers Zedd more of a nuisance than a threat. Didn’t he originally describe Zedd’s arrival as “the thing I have feared most”?

TITLE: Action Comics #1017
AUTHOR: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTISTS: John Romita Jr., Klaus Janson (Inker), Brad Anderson (Colorist), Dave Sharpe (Letterer)
RELEASED: November 27, 2019

On page one, panel one, we get a big dumb Batman robot suit. For me, that’s about the worst way to start an issue of anything.

This issue does a nice job forwarding the “Invisible Mafia” story as it crosses over with the “Year of the Villain” stuff. It looks like we’ve got a big Justice League vs. Legion of Doom fight coming at us next time.

Justice League hasn’t been on my pull list since “YOTV” started. *sigh* I suppose I should probably catch up if I’m going to fully grasp what’s happening with Lex  and the gang.

TITLE: Detective Comics #1016
AUTHOR: Peter Tomasi
ARTISTS: Doug Mahnke, Tyler Kirkham (Co-Penciller and Co-Inker), Christian Alamy (Co-Inker), Keith Champagne (Co-Inker), Mark Irwin (Co-Inker), David Baron, (Colorist), Rob Leigh (Letterer)
RELEASED: November 27, 2019

Ugh. There’s another stupid modified Batsuit in this issue. What happened to the Hellbat armor Tomasi used in Batman & Robin and Superman? Wouldn’t a modified version have worked here?

Bad costume notwithstanding, I love the way this Victor/Nora story ends. “A vicious circle,” as Batman calls it. Tomasi also works in an amazing callback to a New 52 event. Continuity, ladies and gentlemen. Use it well, and it’ll do wonders for you.

This story leaves Mr. Freeze’s status quo dramatically altered. Now it’s just a question of how long DC keeps it that way.

Follow Primary Ignition on Twitter, or email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com.

Weekly Comic 100s: Event Leviathan, Family Tree, Power Rangers

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*”Weekly Comic 100s” keeps it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Nothing too in-depth here. Just straight, concise, and to the point.***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

TITLE: Event Leviathan #6
AUTHOR: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTISTS: Alex Maleev, Josh Reed (Letterer)
RELEASED: November 13, 2019

So Leviathan turns out to be [name redacted for spoilers’ sake]…

Who the @#$% is that?

I’m always annoyed when big mystery comics do this. They build the bad guy’s identity up for weeks and weeks and weeks…and then it’s somebody we have to go to Wikipedia to learn about. *head on table*

Event Leviathan was a fun, suspenseful read, with some fun ideas. All the secret organizations (A.R.G.U.S., Task Force X, etc) being shut down, detectives from across the DC Universe coming together. But they really needed to stick the landing here. They didn’t.

TITLE: Superman #17
AUTHOR: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTISTS: Kevin Maguire, Paul Mounts (Colorist), Dave Sharpe (Letterer). Cover by Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, and Alex Sinclair.
RELEASED: November 13, 2019

I’m always happy to find a Kevin Maguire book in my weekly stack. Though some of the sillier expressions we get here don’t necessarily mesh with the foreboding tone the issue seems to be going for.

The issue is titled “The Truth: Prologue.” They never specifically learn what said truth is. But I’m hoping it’s not what it looks like. If it is, we may be headed toward a rehash of the New Krypton storyline they did about a decade ago. If that’s the case, then I’m leaving Superman on the stands for awhile.

TITLE: Family Tree #1
AUTHOR: Jeff Lemire
ARTISTS: Phil Hester, Eric Gapstur (Inker), Ryan Cody (Colorist)
RELEASED: November 13, 2019

I imagine the pitch for this must have been simply, “Girl becomes tree.” In the end, that’s all you need, isn’t it? Like “Weekly Comic 100s,” it’s straight and to the point.

But to their credit, Jeff Lemire, Phil Hester, and the Family Tree team got me to care about these characters. I consider that a pretty big achievement, as this premise could have come off comical. I’m not sure if it was enough to hook me for issue #2. But I’m definitely curious…

TITLE: Go Go Power Rangers #25
AUTHORS: Ryan Parrott, Sina Grace
ARTISTS: Francesco Mortarino, Raul Angulo (Colorist), Ed Dukeshire (Letterer). Cover by J Lou.
RELEASED: November 13, 2019

This “Necessary Evil” storyline between Go Go and the main MMPR book is essentially the BOOM! crew’s take on why Jason, Zack, and Trini really left during season two, and what they were doing. It’s obviously a better story than the show could tell us at that time.

I love the respect this book shows for the show. It takes place during the events of “White Light, Part I.” At one point, it briefly depicts a scene from that episode, and makes a point of using the actual dialogue that’s in the show. Those little details mean so much sometimes…

TITLE: Detective Comics #1015
AUTHOR: Peter Tomasi
ARTISTS: Doug Mahnke, Jose Luis, Christian Alamy (Co-Inker), Keith Champagne (Co-Inker), Mark Irwin (Co-Inker), Matt Santorelli (Co-Inker), David Baron (Colorist), Rob Leigh (Letterer). Cover by Paul Pantalena and Arif Prianto
RELEASED: November 13, 2019

I’m a huge Peter Tomasi fan. But he and Doug Mahnke have had far better outings.

This “Nora Fries becomes evil” story has been done before. All in all, this may be a better story when it comes to the Mr. Freeze/Nora dynamic. But Batman spends most of this issue in the cave with Alfred and Lucius Fox standing in front of computers talking comic book science. Not exactly thrilling reading.

Later, we get a Batman trope that I absolutely loathe: The Dark Knight in some kind of armored/robot suit. Better luck next time, gentlemen.

TITLE: Star Wars #74
AUTHOR: Greg Pak
ARTISTS: Phil Noto, Clayton Cowles (Letterer)
RELEASED: November 13, 2019

This issue has Stormtroopers riding dinosaurs. That alone might be worth the cover price.

You’d think a Vader vs. Chewbacca fight wouldn’t actually last that long. (Remember the first level in The Force Unleashed?) But this issue actually does a great job selling it. It’s only two pages, mind you. But the right guy wins, and it’s a great character moment for Chewie.

Someone else who gets a character moment? C-3PO. And you can argue his is actually the better of the two. No joke.

TITLE: Collapser #5
AUTHORS: Mikey Way, Shaun Simon
ARTISTS: Ilias Kyriazis, Cris Peter (Colorist), Simon Bowland (Letterer)
RELEASED: November 13, 2019

Firstly, love the hat-tip to Superman #1.

I was contemplating dropping Collapser, as it seemed to be getting away from the main character’s ongoing struggle with anxiety. But in this issue, it re-asserts itself in a big way. So once again, Collapser has my full attention.

One element that’s been consistent, however, is Ilias Kyriazis’ art. This stuff is gloriously trippy and bizarre. I’m always anxious to see what he’s going to pull out of the hat next.

Follow Primary Ignition on Twitter, or email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com.

Power Rangers Spotlight: Red Ranger Redemption by Batang ’90s Art

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By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

I’m always wary of writing up the same person more than once in a limited period of time. Bon Bernardo, a.k.a. Batang ’90s Art, was actually the first creator I featured under the “Power Rangers Spotlight” banner. But as he’s one of, if not the premiere fan artist in the community, you see a lot of him. And recently, he hit another home run.

While I enjoy video games, they’re not really my arena. As such, I know next to nothing about Red Dead Redemption II. But of course, I can appreciate good piece of cover art when I see it. Evidently, Bernardo can as well…

Obviously this is timely, what with the release of the game. But it’s also an objectively beautiful parody and tribute. I’m not the only one that thinks so, either. This piece is now being used for merch up at Ript Apparel. It was even shared on Instagram by Austin St. John, the original Red Ranger himself!

More of Bernardo’s work can be found on Instagram and Facebook. Pieces can be purchased on sites like Ript Apparel and Teepublic.

Follow Primary Ignition on Twitter, or email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com.

Power Rangers Spotlight: Jordan Gibson

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By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

I’m a huge fan of all the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers variant covers you’re going to see here. That’s why it’s somewhat embarrassing to say I just recently discovered they’re all by the same guy: Jordan Gibson.

Issue #28: Jason remembers. This is the first Gibson cover I can remember seeing. It’s downright touching, actually. A Zeo era Jason gazing fondly at his old Red Ranger costume in the Power Chamber. It’s very easy to read a nostalgic fondness on his face. Ironically, the same feeling those old MMPR episodes evoke from so many of us. For some reason, the placement of his hand on the glass goes a long way in that regard as well. It’s funny how much a simple hand placement can do.

Issue #31: “Forever Red.” I’m convinced this is a nod to another famous comic book cover. I just can’t figure out which one. At the very least, it captures that epic vibe that a lot of covers go for. Certainly as fitting a tribute to “Forever Red” as there’s ever been. My only complaint? I would have put the Red Wild Force Ranger in the center, as opposed to Red Turbo. It was a Wild Force episode, after all.

Issue #33: Dr. Tommy Oliver. Conspicuous by his absence in this year’s big Shattered Grid event comic was the Tommy we saw in Power Rangers Dino Thunder. The Tommy that acted as a mentor to his own team of Rangers. As the villain, Lord Drakkon, was an evil alt-universe version of Tommy, it would have made sense to see those two meet. The closest we got was this variant cover from Gibson. To his credit, this thing is friggin’ awesome. It catches Tommy in the final miliseconds of his morphing sequence. The orange background is really what makes it, capturing the same color scheme they used for most of the morphs that season.

Issue #34: “Once a Ranger.”

“Once a Ranger” doesn’t necessarily get a lot of love from longtime fans. I can see why. Operation Overdrive wasn’t exactly a critical success. But the two-parter still had its merits. At the very least, it was fun to see all the former Rangers back. Gibson tips his hat to said alumni with this variant cover to issue #34.

Follow Primary Ignition on Twitter, or email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com.

MMPR: Shattered Grid: 25 Morphinominal Moments, Part Five

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By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

As it turns out, these last five moments from Shattered Grid all happened in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #30. So a major tip of the hat to author Kyle Higgins, penciller Daniele Di Nicuolo, inker Simona Di Gianfelice, colorist Walter Baiamonte, and letterer Ed Dukeshire.

Furthermore, we need to send a major thank you to Ryan Parrott, Dan Mora, and everybody at Go Go Power Rangers. That series is great in its own right. But it’s provided some really nice supplemental material for our main story.

And thanks to everybody at BOOM! Studios for giving us better Power Rangers comics than we ever could have hoped for!

With that, it’s back to action!

(Part One. Part Two. Part Three. Part Four.)

26. Zordon and Rita

We’re starting on a subtle note here. Zordon and Kruger come to ask for Rita’s help in stopping Lord Drakkon. Rita responds as you might expect. But in trying to convince her, Zordon says something I didn’t expect…

“We have known each other for millennia, Rita. I would not be here now if I believed there was another way.”

What gets me about those lines is the sentence about them having known each other for so long. I doubt Kyle Higgins meant for it to stand out. But hearing Zordon appeal to his long-standing familiarity with Rita was interesting. Remember, these are two enemies. He’s the one who trapped him in a time warp, and he’s partly responsible for her being locked away in a dumpster for 10,000 years. And yet, in this hour of dire need, Zordon essentially uses their rivalry to appeal to her better judgment. It almost makes you look at the franchise’s original mentor and villain in a new light…

27. Rallying the Troops

Before the climactic battle begins, Jason gives a big rah-rah speech to all the Rangers who’ve come to help. Admittedly, it didn’t do much for me. What did, however, was this shot of all the Rangers and Megazords. There’s a lot of history in this panel…

28. Kimberly and Tommy
While Tommy obviously has a crucial role in Shattered Grid, let’s not forget that the Tommy Oliver of the BOOMverse, the Tommy our heroes knew and fought alongside, was killed. Plus, Kimberly held him as he died. Pretty heavy stuff. So when Jason hands her the Draggon Dagger, and puts her in charge of the Dragonzord, it’s a nice moment. But this has appeal in a larger scope as well.

From a character standpoint, there’s an argument to be made that Tommy should have given his powers to Kimberly at the end of “The Green Candle.” Obviously, the show was limited by the Japanese footage it had to work with. So it ultimately had to be Jason that got them. But it would have made a lot of sense for Kimberly, Tommy’s love interest, to be the one he passed his powers on to. All these years later, this is a nice tribute to a character fans still love and remember.

29. Enter Serpentera
Serpentera was essentially the Death Star of the Power Rangers universe. It was Lord Zedd’s personal zord, and had enough power to annihilate a planet. And it was huge. One of the biggest zords in the show’s history. As you can see at left, it could literally hold a Megazord in its massive jaws.

As any PR nut knows, Serpentera went out like a chump in “Forever Red.” But it gets a nice chance to shine during the big battle in Shattered Grid. We don’t see much of the actual zord, but that’s half the beauty of it. It’s so big, it can’t even fit within the confines of the comic book!

30. Siphoning the Power
We end on yet another reminder of just how much history we’re mining for Shattered Grid.

Lord Drakkon’s big plan is to steal morphers from each Ranger team, and get inside the Morphin Grid itself. In the above panel, we can see he’s assembled some kind of power siphoning device and plugged it in to the various morphers he’s collected. Represented are in Space, Lost Galaxy, Dino Thunder, Megaforce, Dino Charge, among others. I absolutely adore the attention to detail. This is as much an indicator as any of what a labor of love Shattered Grid is.

So once again, thank you to everyone involved. I can’t wait to see how it ends!

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MMPR: Shattered Grid: 25 Morphinominal Moments, Part Three

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By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

So as we continue to work our way through Shattered Grid, I’d like to highlight the fact that these are in (mostly) chronological order. We’re going through these moments in the order we read them. We’re certainly not ranking them in any way.

(Part One. Part Two.)

11. Jason and Lauren (MMPR #27)
As Shattered Grid progresses, an unexpected and perhaps unlikely romance begins budding between Jason and Lauren Shiba of Power Rangers Samurai.

Why Jason and Lauren? Eh, why not? It makes a kind of sense, as they both know the pressures of leading a team of Rangers. But part of its appeal is in just how out of left field it is. After all, when you’ve got a bunch of hormonal teenagers in the same space for a lengthy amount of time, this kind of thing is bound to happen, isn’t it?

12. Ranger Slayer vs. Alpha 5 (Go Go Power Rangers #10)

Like the evil Green Ranger before her, the Ranger Slayer, under a spell cast by Lord Drakkon, invades the Command Center. But while Tommy simply incapacitated Alpha 5, this version of Kimberly has a more…physical approach.

We certainly never saw Alpha take a beating like this on the old show, and for good reason. Seeing our robot buddy beaten up like this would have scarred most of us for life…

13. Zack talks to himself (MMPR #28)
Way back in MMPR #5, Kyle Higgins established that before Rita chose Tommy to be the Green Ranger, she tried to tempt Zack into the role. While he obviously refused, Zack never tell his teammates about Rita’s offer. Until he does, at the encouragement of his counterpart from Lord Drakkon’s timeline. Issue #28 gives us a nice little callback to that.

By and large, I maintain that the BOOMverse’s take on Zack is too moody and broody. But the idea of him being Rita’s original pick for the Green Ranger remains a really interesting idea.

14. Bringing Down the Dome (MMPR #28)
Over in the world of Power Rangers RPM, Dr. K is quick to answer Zordon’s call to action from issue #27, as she’s developed technology that can fend off some of Lord Drakkon’s arsenal. But the domed city of Corinth has been fending off his attacks for hours. Jason and Lauren are sent in to help (see above), but Drakkon has reinforcements of his own.

What follows is a battle filled with characters and zords from across the franchise’s history. It’s so expansive that it’s truly a shame it all has to be condensed into one issue. Still, we get a hell of an exclamation point in the end, as Dr. K and Jason have to bring down the dome protecting Corinth.

15. Future Kimberly, Present-Day Juice Bar (Go Go Power Rangers #11)

Once the Ranger Slayer comes to her senses, she aligns herself with our heroes. They wind up taking her to the juice bar, sitting her right next to her past self. And of course, no one recognizes that there are two Kimberly Harts in the room.

Still, it’s interesting to not only see future Kim getting to re-live her past, but watching her tell present-day Kim to enjoy it all while it lasts. And kudos to Dan Mora for drawing future Kim on the balance beam (shown left). That’s something we saw quite a bit of on the show. But we’re obviously seeing it from a whole new perspective here.

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MMPR: Shattered Grid – 25 Morphinominal Moments, Part Two

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By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

We’re back, and still counting down moments from Shattered Grid. It’s 25 Morphinominal Moments for 25 years of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!

(Check out Part One if you missed it!)

6. Enter the Ranger Slayer (Go Go Power Rangers #9)
Go Go Power Rangers maintained an interesting balancing act during Shattered Grid. It had to continue doing its own thing, while also introducing us to the Ranger Slayer, and giving her a story that ties into the event overall.

Of course, the Ranger Slayer is the older Kimberly counterpart from Lord Drakkon’s universe. This take on Kimberly definitely has a Katniss Everdeen vibe going for her. She gets a strong introduction too, complete with a couple of oddly humorous lines from Miss Appleby. Mora re-uses this same action pose later in the issue when we see her in morphed form.

And then to boot, we get this next little moment…

7. “Who let you go outside with that haircut?”

I mean, we’ve got two Kimberlys. At that point, you can’t not have a hair joke, right? At least she made herself laugh.

8. Power Rangers Zeo (MMPR Annual 2018)
Zeo has been surprisingly underrepresented in the BOOM! books. Luckily that will be rectified a bit once Marguerite Bennett and our new creative team take over. But MMPR Annual 2018 was the first time we’d seen the Zeo covered by Kyle Higgins and the crew.

Drawn by Marcus To, the story shows us the team’s farewell party for Jason after he loses the Gold Ranger powers. But amidst it all is a great little scene between Tommy and Jason on top of the Command Center. They reminisce about old times, and Jason talks about how good it was to be a Ranger again, if only for a short time.

Of course, there’s a big swerve near the end. But I adore the idea. Scenes like this are a big part of what makes this BOOM! Studios MMPR run so great.

9. Zordon and the Emissaries (MMPR Free Comic Book Day Special)
One of the highlights of Kyle Higgins’ work in the PR universe was MMPR #15, a Zordon-focused issue, following everybody’s favorite blue head in a tube as he travels through a dimensional rift and meets his counterpart from Lord Drakkon’s universe. In the MMPR special that came out on Free Comic Book Day, Higgins once again got to play around with Zordon. This time with co-author Ryan Parrott, and illustrator Diego Galindo.

As the conflict with Drakkon continues to escalate, Zordon seemingly travels to an etherial plane of sorts to meet with three emissaries, in the hopes that they will ask the “Morphin Masters” (long story) to intervene. These emissaries take the shifting forms of various red, blue, and yellow rangers, which is fascinating. They’re seemingly speaking to Zordon from inside the Morphin Grid. So it makes a sort of sense that they would take on these familiar forms.

While there’s certainly no need for us to see them again, I certainly wouldn’t mind another appearance from these emissaries, if not the Morphin Masters themselves.

10. Tommy lounging.
This might seem relatively insignificant, given all Shattered Grid throws at us, but I love this panel. Daniele Di Nicuolo, along with inker Simona Di Gianfelice and colorist Walter Baiamonte, show us Lord Drakkon slumped down in his throne. He almost looks like a petulant young king. If you’re just doing a quick scan of this page, it’s easy to mistake Tommy’s expression as a smile. But of course, it’s not. He’s stewing as he stares into the Red Zeonizer Crystal he stole from his Zeo-era counterpart (see above), who was loved by his friends and fellow Rangers…

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A Go Go Power Rangers #4 Review – The Mystery of Salad Girl

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

TITLE: Go Go Power Rangers #4
AUTHOR: Ryan Parrott
PENCILLER: Dan Mora
PUBLISHER: BOOM! Studios
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASED: October 18, 2017

***WARNING: Spoilers lay ahead.***

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Go Go Power Rangers #4 opens with a flashback to what I’ll call the “Salad Girl scene.” It’s a story from Kimberly and Zack’s recent past that’s been referenced a bunch of times in the series. Until now, when a character would mention “Salad Girl,” I had no idea if I was missing a joke or a plot detail. So if this issue accomplishes nothing else, it at least solves the mystery of Salad Girl.

Thankfully, there’s more to Go Go Power Rangers #4, as the book wraps up its first arc, while still leaving a plot thread hanging for next time. As Rita begins her second attack on Angel Grove, Kimberly is in a tough spot. She must choose between saving her boyfriend Matt, and protecting the city at large as the Pink Ranger. Meanwhile, Jason is also on the sidelines for fear of being exposed as the Red Ranger. Our heroes once again have their backs against the wall!

Dan Mora and colorist Raul Angulo have a very distinct energy they bring to the Power Rangers universe. Thus far, that’s been best exemplified in their sequences with the zords. They opened the series on a high note with their brief take on the climactic fight from “Day of the Dumpster.” They recapture that magic here, as we see the individual zords in action, followed by the Megazord. Mora somehow has a knack for drawing comic book style destruction on a grand scale. Part of it is that he’s awesome with action sequences (see the Jason/Trini sparring session from issue #2). But there’s something immensely satisfying about how these giant machines kick up debris when they’re summoned, or how the action lines wonderfully convey the speed and impact of certain blows. It also doesn’t hurt that this book has an almost regal take on the Megazord. One of the highlights of the issue is a splash page showing us the Megazord formation.

Incidentally, Mora and Angulo also give us a terrific version of our resident school principal, Mr. Caplan (shown above). His shtick on the show was that he wore a toupee. I think we can safely say they nailed that one.

On the writing front, things still look pretty good. Although late in the issue, we get a scene that seems to come out of nowhere. Zack shows up in the Command Center alone, and asks Zordon why he wasn’t chosen as team leader. He cites Jason’s absences from two recent conflicts, and in all fairness he does have a point given how early this is in their run as heroes. Parrott did plant a seed for this back in issue #2. But this still feels very sudden. Thankfully, Zordon gives him a good answer.

It’s not necessarily a good use of one’s time to apply logic to content created for young children two decades ago. But seeing as I’ve already made a habit of it, let’s go ahead. We get a trademark Rita Repulsa move here, as she uses her big wand to make her monster grow giant-sized. Standing at her side, her henchman and monster-maker Finster asks why she’d do this. This is what she says…

“We must see every skirmish to its conclusion. It’s been this way on countless worlds. Every move, every battle, every monster is a wound. Individually, each cut may miss the mark. But eventually, with enough cuts, one will strike the target…”

She’s essentially saying it’s a numbers game. If you throw the dart enough times, you’re bound to hit the bull’s eye sooner or later. I’m not in love with this approach. It almost makes it seem like Rita is resigned to a certain amount of failure from the start. Given how short-tempered she always was on the show, it feels like a contradiction. I will, however, credit the book for trying to make some kind of sense out of it. At least if you separate the strategy from the character, it works.

Nitpicks notwithstanding, we’re only four issues in, and I adore this series every bit as much as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, if not more. Part of this book’s concept is that we get to spend a little more personal time with Jason and the others. It’s a strategy that’s paying off, and that isn’t a surprise. It’s been 25 years, but people still remember these characters, and the qualities the actors were able to inject them with. As it turns out, Ryan Parrott, Dan Mora, and the BOOM! Studios crew are bringing some pretty Morphenominal stuff to the table as well.

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A Go Go Power Rangers #2 Review – Jason and Trini?!?

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

TITLE: Go Go Power Rangers #2
AUTHOR: Ryan Parrott
PENCILLER: Dan Mora
PUBLISHER: BOOM! Studios
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASED: August 30, 2017

***Check out the first issue of Go Go Power Rangers!***

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Monsters and morphers notwithstanding, thus far the teenagers in Go Go Power Rangers have been written fairly realistic. So it stands to reason that five hormonal high schoolers suddenly placed in a such a high pressure situation would feel…closer. While there was never a romantic link between any of our original five Rangers on the TV show, this series was bound to give us a crush, an unrequited love storyline, a fling, or something along those lines. Trini and Billy would have been my first guess, as they’re kindred spirits. Jason and Kimberly would be a little obvious, but not impossible. You’ve also got Trini and Zack, who were together in the Pink miniseries BOOM! put out last year.

But Jason and Trini? They might have been my last guess. Actually, in this case it’s Trini crushing on Jason. I won’t say I don’t get it. Even with his cutesy millennial haircut, the Red Ranger is still a stud.

Go Go Power Rangers #2 shows us the conclusion of the Rangers’ assault on Rita Repulsa’s palace, and clues us in on the long-term ramifications the fight has for them. We also get into some of the more personal ramifications that “Arrival Day” (i.e. the day Rita’s forces first attacked) has had on them. This includes Kimberly’s strained relationship with her boyfriend Matt.

Trini never had much in the way of romance on the show. Early in the second season, they created a character for her to fawn over. But that never went anywhere. Tommy and Kimberly filled most of the show’s romance quotient. So to see Trini trying to be romantic with anyone, let alone Jason, takes some getting used to. But thus far, it works. Jason is apparently oblivious at the moment. Considering Trini has been written very shy and soft-spoken, I’m curious if Ryan Parrott is going to make her someone attempting to come out of her shell and be noticed.

The issue highlights the fact that, after the fight at the palace, Rita has learned the Rangers’ first names. The Red Ranger is Jason, the Pink Ranger is Kimberly, etc. Zordon promises to do what he can to protect them. But what confuses me is, how does Rita knowing their names put them in any more danger than they were already in? I’d be more concerned that she saw their faces when they fought the putties on Arrival Day (cool name, by the way). On the show, she was always able to ambush the teens with putties, monsters, and what not. So she can clearly find them in Angel Grove. (Apparently that’s exactly what we’re going to see in issues to come.) How goes knowing their names make it worse? It’s not great, mind you. But it’s hardly the worst case scenario.

Considering the palace fight, this fear about Rita knowing their names and attacking them as civilians, and a few lines about the teens wanting to let their families in on their secret, Parrott seems to be going out of his way to explore new territory, and address certain things the show never did. Even more than Kyle Higgins has done in MMPR, he’s having fun bucking the show’s original structure.

Dan Mora’s pencils have been, by and large, excellent. I’ve praised his renderings of Goldar in the past, but I really noticed his work on Rita here. That giant headdress and Madonna-style pointed bra don’t exactly give her the most foreboding look. But despite his fairly animated style, Mora shows restraint when drawing Rita’s face. Particularly toward the middle of the issue. This makes her seem more cold and calculated, as opposed to angry and loud. Near the end, Mora draws her entering Finster’s lab clouded in shadow, so we merely see a silhouette. To say that costume casts a distinct shadow is an understatement. Then in the very next panel, the silhouette gives us a sinister grin. Throw in the use of additional black space to highlight the gears and gadgets in Finster’s lab, and it becomes the issue’s best page.

Mora is also very strong with Kimberly and Matt (shown above). Kim’s new boyfriend wears a letterman jacket, which given Mora’s style, almost gives those scenes a modern day Archie feel. (Think the Mark Waid/Fiona Staples run.) This poor kid. He has no idea who he’s dating…

The tone of Go Go Power Rangers compared to the MMPR book is becoming more apparent as we dive further into the lives of our heroes. There’s potential for some really, really good stuff here. Power Rangers fans should be very excited. I certainly am.

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