COMIC REVIEW – Ranger Academy 2023 Free Comic Book Day Special

Originally announced last November, RANGER ACADEMY has been on the minds of Power Rangers fans for a long time. Fortunately, the wait is over as the RANGER ACADEMY 2023 FCBD SPECIAL launches today on Free Comic Book Day.

The special is a preview of a “new series for fans of all ages in the highly acclaimed and beloved Power Rangers comic book universe”, written by author Maria Ingrande Mora (Fragile Remedy, The Immeasurable Depth Of You) and illustrated by artist Jo Mi-Gyeong (Eve, Beastlands). While author Mora is new to Power Rangers, artist Mi-Gyeong has previously done Final Order Cutoff covers for Mighty Morphin issue 16, Power Rangers issue 16 and Power Rangers Universe issue 3 (seen below). This time, Mi-Gyeong brings their painterly anime inspired style to the interior art. The cover features cover art by fan-favorite artist Miguel Mercado (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers). Let’s get to our review.

Be warned, there are spoilers below for this issue. A big thanks to BOOM! Studios for providing us a review PDF and a chance to cover this release.

Print copies of RANGER ACADEMY 2023 FCBD SPECIAL will be available for FREE on May 6, 2023 exclusively at participating local comic book shops (use comicshoplocator.com to find the one nearest you).

Power Rangers fans, get ready to enroll in an exciting new adventure in RANGER ACADEMY, a brand new Power Rangers comic book series set to launch in 2023. RANGER ACADEMY 2023 FCBD SPECIAL will feature a special sneak peek at the upcoming series with a first look at some brand new characters and familiar faces…

With high expectations of a new, original ongoing series for Power Rangers, it’s worth noting that Ranger Academy is rated as an ALL-AGES title. Why is this important? All Power Rangers comics from BOOM! Studios to date have been rated for teen and above. This issue serves as an introduction to the characters, how they meet and set up some mysteries for the ongoing series. There is no morphing, no zords, no new Ranger suits aside from the Ranger Academy uniforms. This series is more about what it takes to BECOME a Power Ranger, what a ranger is and who is worthy of becoming one. It is a great opportunity to introduce the concept of Power Rangers to a young audience off the heels of the 30th anniversary special, Once and Always, and the upcoming space focused Cosmic Fury.

We are introduced to the character of Sage, an imaginative alien shepard living on a remote moon colony of Vaela with her father. Vaela is a moon plagued with electrical storms called the EVERSTORM, only letting up for two hours a day. These storms cause a Ranger Academy shuttle to crash on the moon, piloted by cadets Tula and Mathis. Tula is a by the books cadet, the youngest third year cadet in the history of the Academy. Mathis is a wise-cracking, sarcastic but positive cadet with attitude. Mathis is injured in the crash and both Tula and Sage help them get to Sage’s home.

Sage acts as a lens to someone new to the world of the Power Rangers, perfect for new readers. It looks like she will be the main focus of the ongoing series as the bulk of this issue focuses on her and her dad.

We are teased with how Ranger Academy operates, and for longtime readers of the comics universe, there are several connection points to other series. This includes the mention of the Bandoran Monks, the beings who originally protected the Zeo Crystal on the moon, later decimated when Zophram touched the Zeo Crystal, turning him into Lord Zedd (Mighty Morphin Issue 10).

Along with a name drop later in the issue, the mention of Bandoran Monks raises an interesting question. Does Ranger Academy take place contemporarily? Or in the distant past during the war with Rita Repulsa and Master Vile? No clear answer is given, but with the mysteries this issue presents, it could go either way.

After Mathis collapses, Sage’s dad Rhianth helps carry them back to his homestead. I thought this was a nice way to establish Mathis’ pronouns naturally and is good representation.

Rhianth is the main mystery of the issue. Even though him and Sage are on a backwater planet, he knows a lot about Power Rangers, Morphin Batteries and the Academy itself. He is protecting Sage not only from physical dangers, but also sheltering her from this information. With his name and mention of morphin batteries, I believe he may be one of the Morphin Master species that fled the destruction by the gates as seen in Power Rangers Universe. Tula is VERY suspicious of him, watching his every move with a concerned look. She whispers the word “Rye” as if it was a name she learned of during her time at the Ranger Academy.

The issue ends with Sage stowing away on the repaired shuttle and Tula and Mathis finding her. But before that we get a name drop of MERRICK, the Wild Force Lunar Wolf Ranger, as the cadets report in on their way back to the Academy. This leads me to wonder… this is the Merrick of 3,000 years ago? Or a post-Wild Force Merrick?

Hopefully, we find out more about these mysteries in the Ranger Academy ongoing series. At the time of this writing, we do not have a set release date for Issue 1.

I thought this was a fun, interesting take into a side of the Power Rangers universe we rarely get to see. There is humor, a great animated style to the artwork and three characters I am looking forward to getting to know. I think there is something here for kids new to Power Rangers as well as long time fans of the comics looking for a break from the action and drama of the main series. Since this is an origin story of these characters meeting for the first time, I highly recommend picking up this issue for your collection.

Print copies of RANGER ACADEMY 2023 FCBD SPECIAL will be available for FREE on May 6, 2023 exclusively at participating local comic book shops (use comicshoplocator.com to find the one nearest you).

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.

About BOOM! Studios
BOOM! Studios was founded by Ross Richie in 2005 with the singular focus of creating world-class comic book and graphic novel storytelling for all audiences. Through four distinct imprints—BOOM! Studios, BOOM! Box, KaBOOM!, and Archaia—the company has produced bestselling, award-winning original work, including Keanu Reeves’ BRZRKR, Something is Killing the Children, and Lumberjanes, while also breaking new ground with established licenses such as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Dune, Magic: The Gathering, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and The Jim Henson Company properties. R.L. Stine’s Just Beyond, based on bestselling BOOM! graphic novel series, is currently streaming on Disney+. BOOM! will also bring their original series to life through a first-look relationship with Netflix including the upcoming animated TV series Mech Cadets in 2023. Please visit www.boom-studios.com for more information.

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