August 28, 1993 was the premiere of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and the 30th anniversary brought the special from Boom Studios! The anniversary kicked off with the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always film. There are 30th Anniversary VHS Box Figures from Hasbro. The regular cover by Dan Mora has a Power Ranger leaping in action pose with the Ranger colors represented in various parts of the suit. The 64 page special is an anthology that begins with “Ode to Ernie” by Ryan Parrott, the writer of the epic Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #100 issue, and artist, Eleonora Carlini, cover artist for the Mighty Morphin series. It features Ernie, the owner of the Juice Bar. We see Ernie, frustrated, and in the middle of a crush of teens trying to make orders and a number of requests!
His two employees call out problems, Ernie leaves them to handle them, as he leaves making an order for supplies. Ernie is instantly relatable to anyone who has held a busy service job. Great facial expressions; a little manga and a little cartoony. An explosion throws a figure into a wall. It is the villain, Electro Gecko, great bulky, lizard man design. Then, the Power Rangers appear! I kinda like this new villain. Electo Gecko spits out an electrical blast that scatters the Rangers. The Rangers manage to defeat Electro Gecko and thank Ernie. He says to the Rangers he wants to sell the place to Fortify Fitness. The Rangers try to say how his juice bar is meaningful to them. A nice tribute to the character of Ernie and actor Richard Genelle who passed away in 2008.
The next story is by Melissa Flores, writer of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, director, and actor!, with Hendry Prasetya, inker for Power Rangers comics. Purple armored bounty hunters with yellow smiley face helmets, have scuffed the white tuxedo of Tommy Oliver. He was of course played by Jason David Frank who died last year. He morphs into the White Ranger, very cool, to fight the bounty hunters. It flashes back to Tommy leaving Angel Grove, and breaking up with Kat (Catherine Sutherland) in Power Rangers Turbo. I like the boxes listed as Shirts, Weights, and Hair Products! Funny! Current time, Kat is in her wedding dress wondering about Tommy being late. A great mix of action and character moments. It captures a special moment in Ranger history.
Mat Groom and Marco Renna craft the next story that focuses on Alpha-5, robot assistant and comic relief of the series. We see the pastoral world of Edenoi with the time, “9,980 Years Before Rita’s Escape.” This is the planet introduced in the third season’s “A Friend in Need” (1995) two part episode. King Lexian has activated Alpha-5 and he has to find his purpose. On Earth, 50 years later, King Lexian wants Alpha-5 at the Command Center while Zordon taking the role of Sentinel doesn’t see his use. King Lexian leaves them in his hologram form. 930 years later, Zordon wants to prepare for Rita’s return looking for warriors. He tells Alpha-5 of his military experiences. Then, we have the years after Rita’s escape and the Power Rangers in Space battle gainst Dark Specter in an action packed splash page! Alpha-5 helps Alpha-6 and we later get his purpose!
“Re-Imagine” is by Amy Jo Johnson, the original Pink Ranger, and Matt Hotson, first assistant director for the Titans series. The art is by Francesco Mortarino who also provided artwork for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #50 and #100. It moves through an alternate timeline with glimpses of the teens first becoming Rangers in 1993. Kimberly and Tommy kiss and the next year, we find Lord Zedd falling for Rita Repulsa! Another year and Zack, Trini, and Jason are about to leave for Switzerland for a Peace Conference. They do not transfer their powers and instead teleport back to Angel Grove! It seems perfect, but the dominos are falling! In 2000, Tommy and Kimberly marry, and Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd also marry! This all leads to unintended consequences to a final battle that change things to a dark timeline! It is a prelude that will be continued in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return!
“Ranger Academy: Office Hours” continues the story introduced in the Ranger Academy 2023 FCBD Special. It is by the creative team of Ranger Academy, Maria Ingrande Mora with art from Jo Mi-Gyeong. Billy is at the Angel Grove Institue of Technology as a grad student. In the morning, he is contacted by his father on his laptop, Billy is a bit nervous on his first day at grad school. This is interrupted by the Headmaster who is in a tube like Zordon. She is a pinkish alien with elf-like ears. The Headmaster tells Billy that he is identified as a mentor for Ranger Academy cadets. She is speaking to him out of time and space! Young Cora speaks to Billy, she is worried her fellow cadets don’t trust her, so Billy talks about his own stories and adventures. This is great connection to the original series with a new group of Ranger cadets! “It’s Morphin Time!” Finishes the comic with epic scenes of a Power Rangers battle! Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 30th Anniversary Special #1 is a feast of different stories with fantastic artwork that is perfect for anyone who likes the Power Rangers!
Five Power Morphers out of Five!
#MightyMorphinPowerRangers, #30thAnniversarySpecial, #DanMora, #RyanParrott, #EleonoraCarlini, #OdeToErnie, #RichardGenelle, #WeddingVows, #MelissaFlores, #HendryPrastya, #JasonDavidFrank, #CatherineSutherland, #MatGroom, #MarcoRenna, #ReImagine, #AmyJoJohnson, #MattHotson, #FrancescoMortarino, #MightyMorphinPowerRangersTheReturn, #RangerAcademyOfficeHours, #MariaIngradeMora, #JoMiGyeong
No comments:
Post a Comment