Delivered With Love: Reviewing ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 30th Anniversary Special’ #1

Ever had that moment where suddenly the realization of how long it’s been since something truly beloved entered the world? No, we’re not talking about the birth of a child or meeting the right person. Right now, this is a feeling that many fans of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers are probably having.

Why is that you ask? Well, that’s because the massive still running to this day franchise is celebrating thirty years. Yes, that’s right, it was thirty years ago that many of us sat down one day to watch the very first Power Rangers episode. We were introduced to Billy, Kimberly, Zach, Trini, Jason, and not too long afterward, Tommy. As well as Zordon, Rita Repulsa, Alpha 5, Goldar, Squat, Baboo, Bulk, Skull, Angel Grove, and so much more.

As the holder of the license for comic book adaptations, BOOM! Studios has gathered a who’s who of creators, many with past or current association with the characters, to celebrate this milestone. Welcome to the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 30^th Anniversary Special.

Things are kicked off with a really great story that is aptly named “Ode To Ernie” as it follows the beloved Juice Bar owner through a rough day. It’s a reunion behind the pages as the Go Go Power Rangers creative team of Ryan Parrott, Eleonora Carlini, and Raul Angulo are together once more.

This is a fun story that gives us more depth with Ernie than the show could give, feeling both whimsical and serious at the same time. Because the angles that Carlini chooses for many of the panels, as well as the depth make sure it feels quite real in many senses. Pair that with the darker, yet still vivid, color palette that Angulo has chosen, and it just works. Parrott gives the story a lot of the same, but elevated, energy of the TV series making this feel like it could have been a lost episode.

Second, comes a story that many fans have likely been waiting for. Regular MMPR series writer Melissa Flores is joined by the original series launch artist Hendry Prasetya and colorist Matt Herms for the wedding of Tommy Oliver and Katherine “Kat” Hillard.

Flores is just so great at writing the Rangers because she knows the characters so well. We get a whole up-and-down love story for the two characters, just in the span of a few pages, and it never feels rushed or lacking in any way. There is such a sweet understanding and connection between the couple, and all of it is very clear because of how solid Prasetya is at depicting deep accurate emotions and smooth fluid action. Herms provides colors that are vivid as we expect from Ranger stuff but plays with a lot of darker tones and shadows to give it a heavier feeling.

Alpha 5, the fifth in a long line of Alphas, is another character that felt lacking in character stuff at times of the show. Not in this special though. That’s because in the third story former Mighty Morphin writer Mat Groom was joined by Mighty Morphin/Power Rangers artist Marco Renna and colorist Sara Antonellini (with assistance from Sharon Marino) for a beautiful tale of friendship.

We follow Zordon and Alpha through the ages as Alpha discovers his purpose. It’s beautiful to see the choice to allow Alpha to find his own purpose and that purpose ends up being taking care of his friend. Through the ages against all threats, while making friends with the Rangers. It brings new dimensions to the relationship of these mentor characters.

Renna has such a down-to-earth but also wide style that makes us feel like we’re right in the middle of everything. Everything has a fun animated energy to it while being so deep and detailed. The Command Center feels so alive in the shots that we see, and the characters do too. Color-wise things are quite bright, lots of cool blues and whites, allowing for some very vivid bits without going too far into the bright side. A lot of the mentioned white comes from the gutters around the panels, providing the perfect frame and backdrop to focus our eyes and bring that light.

A series of clips can elicit a variety of emotions depending on how they are used and what property they come from. In the fourth story what we get is essentially a bunch of familiar and unfamiliar clips as we delve into a sort of what-if for the franchise. It comes from the Pink Ranger herself Amy Jo Johnson and her co-writer Matt Hotson. They are joined by Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers artist Francesco Mortarino and Power Rangers colorist Joanna Lafuente.

Within these clips, Johnson and Hotson show us beats that we know from the show, and then throw in a twist that creates a version of the characters we do not know. In that moment the original team never breaks up and their villains team up, and their losses lead to what appears to be a very different potentially sad future. We get the clips here because this is a prelude to the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return limited series the duo is penning in 2024.

Mortarino brings such a heavy life to each panel, filling these flashes of moments with emotion and detail. All the characters feel real and are close to their real-life counterparts but still their own thing. Plenty of vividness is sprinkled in, from their costumes to other fantastical things, while Lafuente doubles down on the darkness in many spaces to fit the tone.

This is followed by another prelude, this time for the upcoming Rangers Academy series coming later this year. Series regular writer Maria Ingrande Mora and artist Jo Mi-Gyeong are joined by Antonellini for this fun but meaningful story.

It’s about Billy fresh at grad school being asked to video conference with a young character that is part of the out-of-time and space Ranger Academy. It’s such a solid and cute story about Billy and his own issues and trying to find confidence, being the legendary mentor to a character going through similar yet different things. Geyeong has such a light, fun, and deep art style that makes sure that all the spaces and characters have weight but also are slightly exaggerated.

Antonellini brings a light vivid color set to the story, playing up the more fun aspects. There are some bits of darker tones mixed in to create that heavier deeper feeling. But it’s the very vivid blues and other colors that rule supreme here.

Lastly, there is a short little battle story between the Rangers and Goldar from former Mighty Morphin Power Rangers writer Mairghread Scott and artist Daniel Bayliss. Everything here is very light, whimsical, and fun. All of it feels very much like a slice right out of the show with the art style but also the way that the characters act, coming to one another’s aid to save the day. A very fitting way to celebrate this wonderful series.

Following that story is a slew of shots of the Rangers morphing from the variety of issues and series that BOOM! has published over the years. It includes art from Prasetya, Dan Mora, Carlini, Daniele Di Nicuolo, Moises Hidalgo, Renna, Simona Di Gianfelice, Herms, Angulo, and Walter Baiamonte.

Across the issue is the varying lettering work of Ed Dukeshire who is the Power Rangers (and other BOOM! Books) go to letterer. Dukeshire is just so solid in making sure that every single word on the page, from dialogue to SFX, has power impact, and emotion behind it. At the same time, the various bubbles and fonts and everything else shift so easily between the different stories to match the tone of the art in every case. It would have been easy to just do something uniform across the board but that would not bring out the best for each story. Dukeshire always does what needs to be done to showcase how much of an art form lettering truly is and can be.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 30^th Anniversary Special #1 is now available from BOOM! Studios.