Comic Review: Power Rangers: Ranger Slayer #1

Power Rangers: Ranger Slayer #1

BOOM! Studios

Writer: Ryan Parrott

Artist: Dan Mora

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I absolutely adore Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. This show was a huge part of my childhood and helped introduce me to the mecha genre. To this day the white tiger Megazord is one of my favourite mecha designs of all time. Still, the original white ranger tends to get most of the love from fans of this series. A lot of the other actors and their characters have been left in Jason David Frank’s shadow. BOOM has just released a new one-shot focusing on the pink ranger though. Let’s see if Kimberly gets the love that she deserves in this issue.

This issue is a spin-off of the Power Rangers series written by Kyle Higgins, specifically the “Shattered Grid” storyline. It featured an alternate reality where the white ranger, Tommy Oliver, had turned evil and become a tyrannical dictator. In this universe, most of the Power Rangers villains are dead along with a number of the rangers. Kimberly survives but she’s brainwashed into carrying out the will of the white ranger, now calling himself Lord Drakkon. Now, after Drakkon’s defeat in the main universe, we get to see this version of Kimberly return home. Now the pink ranger is tasked with redeeming herself in the eyes of a world that fears her. A hero protecting a world that hates and fears them isn’t that original but it’s a good setup. It’s just a shame this comic doesn’t really take advantage of it.

I’ll get right down to my main issue with this book. This is a comic that’s supposed to focus on the pink ranger. It’s supposedly about her quest for redemption yet there were times that I forgot she was in it. As the previews have mentioned, this story features the survivors dealing with a revived Rita Repulsa. It’s fairly entertaining but this story feels like it focuses more on Trini, the former yellow ranger, and the resistance. Kimberly has her part in this story but she feels like a side-character. It’s a well-written story but it’s disappointing. The marketing, the title, the cover, it all led me to believe this was a pink ranger story. The fact that she’s not the focus of the book made me feel like this was a bait and switch.

One thing I can’t complain about though is the artwork. Mora does a great job throughout this issue. I’ll admit, this doesn’t really look like the show. If you’re a fan of the show who’s picking this up expecting something similar this may not be for you. This is a far darker take on the Power Rangers. Villains like Rita are more monstrous in appearance than their television counterparts. At the same time, the human characters look different too. Bulk for example appears fitter looking with short hair and a beard. He’s more serious and has a bit of a military edge to him. This is because the survivors have had to change and adapt to the world Drakkon created. If you haven’t read the previous comics then this may all seem a bit weird to you though. It looks great but it could reduce accessibility for new readers.

The lettering throughout this one-shot is brilliant. We’re given color-coded narration boxes to let us know who’s saying what. At the same time, unique colours are used for portions of dialogue. An example is when Scorpina is introduced and Finster is shown talking to someone off-screen. When we’re shown that it’s Scorpina, Finster addresses her by name and the text of his dialogue turns red. It helps signify her importance. Gold text is used at times with Scorpina’s dialogue to add to this effect and draw attention to her words. Meanwhile, Rita is given unique, black speech bubbles with green text and outlines. It helps add to the creepy aura that the revived Repulsa is meant to have. It’s just really well done and a fantastic example of lettering in comics.

Overall, this is a really good story with some awesome moments spread throughout it. It has well-drawn, expressive characters and great action, brilliant use of lettering, and an interesting ending. If you enjoyed the Higgins run on Power Rangers then you’ll likely enjoy this too. Just don’t expect a story that focuses on the pink ranger too much. If you’re new to these comics or only know the rangers from the TV then this may not be for you. This story doesn’t do much to introduce you to this world. It really just expects you to know most of what’s been going on so it’s not a good jumping-on point. It was a good comic though and I recommend picking it up if you’ve enjoyed previous BOOM Power Rangers books. I just wish they’d named and marketed this one-shot differently.

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