Category: Power Rangers

COMIC REVIEW – Power Rangers Zeo #1 (Image Comics)

Image Comics got their hands on the Power Rangers license and only managed this; their only Zeo comic that was going to be the first chapter of a much longer story. And then… things fell apart and we didn’t get new Power Rangers comics until the Saban Powerhouse things the following year. It’s a shame, because out of all the Rangers comics up to this point, this was probably the best of the bunch.

It does the best job of giving us a primer on our main characters without going into ten pages of pointless exposition a piece, it gives us a predicament for our heroes to overcome, and then it tosses in our A-plot of the Machine Empire ravaging Master Vile’s domain because Zedd kept the Power Coin energies and now the Rangers have to claim that power back. All the while giving Billy a plot point about the faintest possibility of his powers being restored… even though he voluntarily stepped down because he wouldn’t look good in a skirt.

The real tragedy is that this was a solid first chapter of what would’ve been a compelling little story if Image played their cards right. The plotting was good, the characters are somewhat true to form, the overall artwork is quality stuff – even if Billy has his old glasses that he stopped wearing mid-Season 2 – and it didn’t feel like the usual throwaway licensed drivel. Hell, it doesn’t even look like the roughshod crap that usually came out of Image at the time. The fact that I’ve got this much to say about this one issue says volumes about how good it is.

Maybe someday, a deal can be worked out so that the Bierbaums will be able to continue this where they left… but given the state of comics afterwards – both in terms of Power Rangers and in general – my hopes aren’t high in this regard.

Samurai… meh.

Saw a couple episodes of the newest Power Rangers Samurai and… I’m not particularly impressed with it. They tried to bring it back to basics, did away with the genetic ability crap that seemed to permeate all the Disney seasons in one form or another, and even Paulie’s reprisal of Bulk mentoring the Son Of Skull is a rather nice touch for the older folks, but the characters are relatively bland, there’s no real substance, and it just seems like they’re trying to produce a third-rate Shinkenger in English (no surprise considering who’s in charge of the executive production.)

Too early to form an opinion on the series at the moment – I just find it to be pretty meh so far and have a hard time contemplating whether I should keep going or stick with the older stuff.

Although I’ll admit…

This was rather cute.

Did Not See Samurai… Because It Didn't Air Yet

But I did hear the theme song… which sounds pretty… uninspired. It seems like somebody over at Saban thought “Why bother coming up with a new theme song? Let’s just rip the original Go Go Power Rangers song from ages ago and replace the lyric involving Mighty Morphin with Samurai related tripe. PROBLEM SOLVED!” Almost as if the song was an attempt to lure old fans in… kinda like the return of Bulk.

If I get a chance to see the first show, I’ll relay my thoughts. But I certainly hope a revival of Power Rangers doesn’t mean “ripping off the old show” despite the same people being responsible.

Maybe you know something I don’t… we’ll see.

EDIT: Apparently, I somehow thought that the show was debuting this weekend, when in fact it’s airing on a Monday. Oops.

No amount of Bulk will convince me that Samurai is worth watching…

So they managed to snag Paul Schier (sp) to reprise his role as Farcus “Bulk” Bulkmeier in the upcoming Power Rangers Samurai show. Nice touch for the old-school fans; Bulk is pretty much the longest-running character in the Power Rangers franchise, from the very first episode (and pilot episode) to several appearances on Lost Galaxy and even that Forever Red episode. So for anyone looking for that hint of legitimacy and hope that the new series might be on the right track, Bulk’s a pretty good sign.

Bulk, however, isn’t enough to convince me that Power Rangers Samurai is worth following in the long haul. That all depends on the show itself and what it offers. From the few clips and promos I’ve seen of the show, it doesn’t look too bad. I’m actually cautiously optimistic about this one.

We’ll see this weekend, I suppose.

New Power Rangers OFFICIAL Site looks pretty cool.

Don’t know when it went up, but the new official Power Rangers site looks pretty spiffy. Simple, basic, but incredibly functional and loads pretty quickly with little to no problem. Most of the info is a carryover from the old Disney layout, and they brought back the Saban-branded logos, but other than that, no real complaints.

Check the site out here.

COMIC REVIEW – Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Saga (Hamilton Comics 3-issue miniseries)

Hamilton Comics’ final Power Rangers foray before losing the license to Marvel Comics was a three-issue retelling of the Power Rangers story in a somewhat abridged format. And in a pleasant change of direction, this is the only series in the Hamilton Comics period that sticks with the same art team. And it’s probably the best artwork that this run has seen; managing some approximations of the main characters while also re-interpreting the classic monsters to stuff that… don’t anything like the source material. Hell, Rita is still in purple rather than her usual brown rags, but whatever. They saved their best artists for this final hurrah and I couldn’t be happier… even if it meant the other book had to suffer as a result.

It’s funny that out of all the Hamilton stuff that I’ve read thus far, their best story is an abridged retelling of what happened on the TV show, right up to the White Ranger being introduced. While it’s not a point-for-point adaptation – the story as well as the artists take liberties with the material – it does boil down the major plot threads; the forming of the team, the introduction of Green, the introduction of Zedd, Green’s final battle and transition to White. This is basically an elongated version of the two-page quickie origin story that they’d use to have back in the old days where they just show the major points and move on. That’s what this was and it works for the time allotted.

Saga ended after three issues, but was intended to be a full six-issue miniseries. According to Don Markstein, the idea was to introduce his own plot to the framing story involving Jim, the business owner whose warehouse is constantly under attack. This would lead to him starting a campaign to defame the Rangers;  a campaign that would’ve gained traction as time went on. It’s actually a very intriguing plot point for a story. It’s too bad it never got that far.

Who knows how the story would’ve played out if the series had been allowed to continue its run unabated? Regardless, what you have here in Saga is a solid abridged recapping of the first two and a half seasons of MMPR that’s pretty accurate to the source.

A fine note to end the Hamilton era on.