COMIC PREVIEW – Power Rangers Ranger Slayer #1

On Wednesday, July 22nd, POWER RANGERS RANGER SLAYER #1 will be released from Boom Studios.

The Ranger Slayer – AKA Kimberly Hart, the Pink Mighty Morphin Power Ranger from the alternate universe once ruled by Lord Dakkon – returns home and nothing is like she expected. In a world that only knows her as a villain, can Kimberly show her universe that she’s become a hero…and is that even the right thing to do? Confronted by a terrifying new version of an old enemy, and with her home in chaos, Kimberly will make a stunning choice that no Power Rangers fan can miss. This issue is also a perfect jumping on point for new readers – and sets the stage for the next Power Rangers epic!

Host Eric (@trekkieb47) had a chance to read the issue in advance and shares his review:

“Ranger Slayer #1 is a unique one shot for Power Rangers. It continues the story of Kim, the Ranger Slayer, from her last appearance heading home through the Master Arch as seen at the end of MMPR Issue 50. Ranger Slayer #1 is not only continuing that journey for the character, but sets up the upcoming 3-issue miniseries “Drakkon New Dawn”.

For such a pivotal comic, not only does it have to bridge that gap, but also serve as a self contained story. Does it succeed? In my opinion… yes and no.

The world of the Coinless is six months out from Drakkon’s disappearance in Shattered Grid. The power vacuum has been filled by an old enemy of the Power Rangers (Scorpina – she’s on the cover…), consistent with their last appearance in the comics and even through HyperRPG’s Power Rangers Hyperforce. As always, I won’t spoil the issue in this review, but I enjoyed the interactions with the Coinless and Kim becoming a reluctant leader. That’s consistent with how she felt during Beyond the Grid and it’s nice to see here.

There are also plenty of callbacks to events in Shattered Grid, but it may get confusing for casual readers considering how that aarc ended. Even as a diehard reader of the comics, I had to go back and reread certain events to make sure I had the timeline straight. I was also slightly disappointed of the final resolution in the one shot. There’s a trend I am starting to see throughout the past year of Power Rangers comics that is becoming slightly tired, but I am willing to see where the new status quo takes readers for Drakkon New Dawn.

Dan Mora returns to Power Rangers for this one-shot, and the art is the highlight of this issue. Mora takes a standard 9-grid comic layout approach to Ranger Slayer #1 and it just works. The art reminds me of Hendry Prasetya’s early run during MMPR, which is fitting since that’s where we saw the Coinless world for the first time. The sketchy nature of the inks make the World of the Coinless feel dirty and war-torn, appropriate for the tone of the issue.

Overall, this is still a crucial issue for the upcoming mini-series. I look forward to more of Ranger Slayer’s journey in the coming months.”

Power Rangers Ranger Slayer #1
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Writer: Ryan Parrott
Artist: Dan Mora
Colorist: Raúl Angulo
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Cover Artists:
Main Cover: Dan Mora
Variant Covers: Dan Mora
Foil Variant Cover: Goñi Montes
Spoiler Cover: Jen Bartel
Price: $7.99

POWER RANGERS RANGER SLAYER #1 features a connecting main cover by Dan Mora, a spoiler variant cover by Jen Bartel, as well as a foil variant by Goñi Montes.

Currently, Power Rangers is celebrating 27 continuous years on the air, making it one of the longest running kids’ live-action series in television history with nearly 900 episodes aired to date. Created by Haim Saban and launched in 1993 with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the franchise continues with the 27th season, “Power Rangers Beast Morphers” currently airing on Saturdays at 8 a.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon in the U.S.

Print copies of  POWER RANGERS RANGER SLAYER #1 will be available on July 22, 2020 exclusively at local comic book shops (use comicshoplocator.com to find the nearest one), or at the BOOM! Studios webstore. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers like comiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and Madefire. Softcover collections of MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS,  and other Power Rangers releases from BOOM! Studios are available now, everywhere books are sold.

For continuing news on the MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS series and more from BOOM! Studios, stay tuned to boom-studios.com and follow @boomstudios on Twitter.

For more on Power Rangers, please visit www.powerrangers.com and follow Power Rangers on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.