Review: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Vol. 9
[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writers: Marguerite Bennett & Ryan Ferrier
Artists: Simon Di Meo, Alessandro Cappuccio, Alessio Zonno, French Carlomagno, Francesco Mortarino & Bachan
Colors: Walter Baiamonte, Francesco Segala & Jeremy Lawson
Letters: Ed Dukeshire & Jim Campbell
Reviewed by: Sean Blumenshine
Summary
A NEW TEAM OF POWER RANGERS MUST RISE! After the stunning conclusion to the hit comic book event Power Rangers: Shattered Grid, an all-new, all-star team of Power Rangers is drawn together from across time and space to combat a never-before-seen evil. As they fight to prove to themselves and each other that they have what it takes to survive in a dangerous new environment, these iconic Power Rangers must defeat the onslaught of an unfamiliar, terrifying new villain. Featuring an all new team of Rangers from across the Power Rangers universe comes an all new adventure! Join Marguerite Bennett (DC Bombshells) and artist Simone di Meo (Old Man Logan), along with Francesco Mortarino and French Carlomagno, as the Power Rangers discover what it means to be a team without their powers!
Positives
The cover is great. There’s an immediate appeal to seeing various different Rangers. Until Shattered Grid, these books have focused on the original six Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. It’s cool to see the different eras thrown together. And it looks amazing; Jamal Campbell’s art is great.
The interior art is solid throughout. The story takes place in a pocket dimension so the artists get to have a lot of fun without any familiar settings. It’s the kind of visual spectacle Power Rangers fans always imagined but never actually got due to the low budget of the show. It’s creative and cool.
I really like the premise. The mythology built by Shattered Grid is that the multiverse is built around a morphing grid which is where the power for the rangers comes from. In this book, several different Rangers find themselves trapped in a dimension without access to that grid. So not only are they stranded but their powers are limited. That’s a fun idea.
The Ninjor and Blue Senturion segment at the end is great. I love that the Power Ranger books at least used to have these backup stories. I wish modern comics used back up stories more. The two characters make a surprisingly fun duo with a lot of good banter. It’s a silly story but it’s got a lot of heart and I enjoyed it a lot.
Negatives
The book is a little hectic and cluttered. It’s coming off a major event story and dealing with a lot of characters. There is very little in the way of catching the reader up. If you haven’t read Shattered Grid or don’t have any familiarity with Power Rangers beyond the original show, I could see this book being tough to follow.
Even as a fan, I was not as invested as I wanted to be. Part of that is the Ranger selection and their use. Power Rangers in Space is probably the best season in terms of quality while Mighty Morphin contains the more iconic imagery and characters. But Andros, the Space Red Ranger, is not one of my favorite characters especially after recently re-watching that season. And I can say the same for most of the other Rangers here. The alternate universe Kimberly and Karone have the most potential but the book doesn’t use Karone a lot due to the similarities between the two characters. The appeal of these comics is that it’s Power Rangers with more in depth characters. This book is so jam packed and plot-focused that the thing I like most gets lost in the shuffle.
Verdict
This is a solid trade paperback. It’s got a premise and I think Power Rangers fans will get a kick out of it. Personally, I don’t think it’s quite as strong as some of the other Power Rangers books from Boom. It doesn’t have the character focus and drive that some of those books have. But it’s still enjoyable.
