by Matt Sernaker, Managing Editor

It’s training time! Class is in session for the next generation of Power Rangers in the new BOOM! Studios series: Ranger Academy! 

Official Synopsis:
Power Rangers Meets My Hero Academia as a Brand New Team Debuts! If you had a chance to join the Power Rangers, would you do it? 13-year-old Sage lives on an isolated lunar colony with her adoptive father, but her days on the farm will change forever when she comes across a wreckage with wounded passengers… people from an academy training to be something called… POWER RANGERS! Fresh off their Free Comic Book Day preview, acclaimed YA author Maria Ingrande Mora (Fragile Remedy) and superstar artist Jo Mi-Gyeong (Eve: Children of the Moon) introduce a bold new expansion of  the Power Rangers Universe! For the first time, discover the amazing school where Rangers are trained, and find out for yourself which Ranger color you would join! Would you test your might as a Red Ranger, never surrender as a Black Ranger, inspire those around you as a Pink Ranger, show no fear as a Yellow Ranger, or prove that you’re the smartest kid on the team as a Blue Ranger? Enroll today!

Creative Team:
Writer: Maria Ingrande Mora
Artist: Jo Mi-gyeong
Coloring: Fabiana Mascolo
Lettering: Cardinal Rae
Designer: Madison Goyette
Cover Artist: Miguel Mercado

Ranger Academy #1 sets controls for outer-space where we are introduced to new characters, intriguing mysteries, and teases of future story elements for the main title. When a shuttle crashes on the remote moon of Vaela, it is up to Sage to rescue the passengers from another world. Those passengers turn out to be Ranger Academy Cadets named Tula and Mathis, and Sage’s universe begins to expand in unexpected ways. Despite the pushback from her father (who has a surprising knowledge of the Morphin Grid), Sage decides to take her future into her own hands and sets off for adventures with her new friends… 

This story acts as a perfect jumping on point for new readers, but long-time fans will surely notice a few references to past characters, mythology, and a bit of the lore that has previously been established in the main title. The setup for our trio of protagonists is interesting, and in true Power Rangers fashion, this short story demonstrated the potential hero within each of us. From an art perspective, Mi-gyeong’s style gave me flashbacks of Voltron: Legendary Defender, which is a high compliment as it was one of my favorite animated adventures in recent years. Mascolo’s color palette for the story was equally as impressive, and helped to flesh out this strange new world. 

For those of you who checked out the Free Comic Book Day release from BOOM! Studios, you will quickly find that they had featured a large portion of the first chapter as part of that special offering. The first issue includes the FCBD content, as well as additional pages that set the stage for things to come.

Do you have what it takes to become a future Power Ranger? This topic seems to be a key issue leading into the upcoming launch of the book. Although there aren’t any aliens or monsters to fight, Ranger Academy succeeds by leveraging the values of the Power Rangers to tell a somewhat grounded story…set in space. The future seems bright with the launch of this original story, and I am interested to see what the creative team does with these threads. 

 

Rating:

ComicsOnline gives Ranger Academy #1– 4.5/5 morphinomenal original concepts!