SYNOPSIS

The Ranger Slayer – AKA Kimberly Hart, the Pink Mighty Morphin Power Ranger from the alternate universe once ruled by Lord Dakkon – returns home and nothing is like she expected. In a world that only knows her as a villain, can Kimberly show her universe that she’s become a hero…and is that even the right thing to do? Confronted by a terrifying new version of an old enemy, and with her home in chaos, Kimberly will make a stunning choice that no Power Rangers fan can miss. This issue is also a perfect jumping on point for new readers – and sets the stage for the next Power Rangers epic!

STAFF REVIEW

“Ranger Slayer #1 is a unique one shot for Power Rangers. It continues the story of Kim, the Ranger Slayer, from her last appearance heading home through the Master Arch as seen at the end of MMPR Issue 50. Ranger Slayer #1 is not only continuing that journey for the character, but sets up the upcoming 3-issue miniseries “Drakkon New Dawn”.

For such a pivotal comic, not only does it have to bridge that gap, but also serve as a self contained story. Does it succeed? In my opinion… yes and no.

The world of the Coinless is six months out from Drakkon’s disappearance in Shattered Grid. The power vacuum has been filled by an old enemy of the Power Rangers (Scorpina – she’s on the cover…), consistent with their last appearance in the comics and even through HyperRPG’s Power Rangers Hyperforce. As always, I won’t spoil the issue in this review, but I enjoyed the interactions with the Coinless and Kim becoming a reluctant leader. That’s consistent with how she felt during Beyond the Grid and it’s nice to see here.

There are also plenty of callbacks to events in Shattered Grid, but it may get confusing for casual readers considering how that aarc ended. Even as a diehard reader of the comics, I had to go back and reread certain events to make sure I had the timeline straight. I was also slightly disappointed of the final resolution in the one shot. There’s a trend I am starting to see throughout the past year of Power Rangers comics that is becoming slightly tired, but I am willing to see where the new status quo takes readers for Drakkon New Dawn.

Dan Mora returns to Power Rangers for this one-shot, and the art is the highlight of this issue. Mora takes a standard 9-grid comic layout approach to Ranger Slayer #1 and it just works. The art reminds me of Hendry Prasetya’s early run during MMPR, which is fitting since that’s where we saw the Coinless world for the first time. The sketchy nature of the inks make the World of the Coinless feel dirty and war-torn, appropriate for the tone of the issue.

Overall, this is still a crucial issue for the upcoming mini-series. I look forward to more of Ranger Slayer’s journey in the coming months.”

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Cover images below.