Special Thanks Goes to BOOM! Studios and NetGalley for the ARC.
While Japan’s Super Sentai Franchise reached its 50th Anniversary and has had plenty of variety of Sentai teams to cheer and create various forms of merchandise and films from over the years (which is going on hiatus for a good, well-deserved rest). North America, however is stuck in the 1990s with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, which is beginning to show its age. Despite the numerous re-releases through merchandise (Hasbro and Playmates toys), television, and comic books, our review will be focusing on one of BOOM! Studios successful Mighty Morphin Power Rangers stories collected in a new Paperback edition titled Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Pink Ranger. As always, if you would like to read my previous reviews,click here.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is back once more, this time exploring hidden backstreet and new adventures involving Kimberly Hart, the Original Pink Power Ranger. The first part focuses on Kimberly’s first solo Power Rangers adventure, while the next part focuses on the highly acclaimed sequel series titled The Return, which is set 22 years later with actress Amy Jo Johnson writing the story! The book brings together familiar foes, old friends, and a new look at the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series.
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Pink Ranger Collects:
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink #1-6
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #1-4
- “Re-Imagine” from the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 30th Anniversary Special
- And a brand-new short story
Starting off with the first collected story. MMPR: PINK is a great approach for a new story, but can quickly lead to confusion, due to the story’s fast paced writing and nonstop action sequences (but I did enjoy the surprise Zords, a new villian, and new costumes, even if its a one-off story). PINK consists of the creative team of the writing team of Brenden Fletcher, Kelly Thompson, and Tini Howard, and the artistic team of Daniele Di Nicuolo (Artist), Sarah Stern (Colorist), and Ed Dukeshire (Letterer). The story served more of a brief television segment on the TV show, more than in a limited comic book series. Not saying it as a bad thing, PINK does set up what the television series left off when Kimberly left the team to pursue other things, even setting up the infamous Dear John Letter to Tommy from Power Rangers Zeo, in which revealed that Kimberly lied, she was struggling to cope with her feelings for Tommy given that she had changed and now had a life of her own without her powers.
Next up, The Return. Amy Jo Johnson (the original Pink Ranger on MMPR) makes her comic book writing debut with co-writer, Matt Hotson in this four-issue limited series. I found the series a little more enjoyable than the Netflix special, it felt like the perfect opportunity to explore what life could be like after Rita and Zedd were gone, even including a tribute to Kimberly’s best friend, Trini Kwan (Thuy Trang). Again, this included fast-paced action, but more of a slower paced story that readers can follow, which the script has more heart to it than the Netflix Special. The artwork was handled by Nico Leon, which Leon’s detail to the Rangers’ costumes and Zords were great, staying true to the original material it was based on. Kimberly’s daughter Olivia was another great addition to the story, giving its readers a nod in passing the Ranger legacy to a new generation.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Pink Ranger (Paperback) goes on sale on January 13th, it will be available in book stores and e-retailers such as Amazon. If you would like to pre-order your copy, click here. Thanks again for reading!
Final Grade:
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