[DreamSword]

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers Annuals

What's that? Annuals? Why yes, they do exist!

But I wouldn't blame you if you didn't know that given that the official reading order provided by BOOM makes zero mention of them.

And it's a damn shame too, because not only are they all a very fun read, but alot of the stuff contained in these annuals are things I find rather important to the narrative of the Mighty Morphin' comics and even Go Go to a limited extent.

There are three Annuals here: 2016, 2017, and 2018. And all of them feature a series of vignettes. Some are canon to the comics, others aren't, but one thing they all share in common is showcasing what various writers think the franchise brings to the table in terms of heroism. It's good stuff.

That said, these are all shorts. Like, every story being only a few pages. So I won't go super in depth or anything with my thoughts on these, but just know upfront that if you are at all interested, I do recommend reading them for yourself. With that out of the way, let's just go down the list of short stories in order. Starting with...

2016

A Week in the Life: A look into what exactly makes Jason worth of being Red Ranger. Balancing everything in his life is incredibly hard, but he continues to persevere despite it all, knowing exactly what's at stake if he doesn't.

Unlockly Heroes: Wasn't a fan of this one. Bulk and Skull as temp Rangers is a fun idea and all, but I don't like how the entire joke is that they're weak and useless when anyone who's seen the show would easily be able to tell you otherwise. Never forget that Bulk once held the lifting record at the Juice Bar!

A Spot of Trouble: Probably my favorite of the 2016 shorts. A great showcasing of Trini's' empathy combined with fantastic artwork.

Only the Strong: Further elaboration on Goldar's' backstory and what happened with his brother Silverback. Important info to have for Go Go Power Rangers and a nice oneshot besides.

It's Putty Time!: Stupid. Don't bother.

What Makes a Ranger: The Power Rangers are not heroes merely because they are Rangers, but because they always do the right thing and care for those around them. Art style is a little weird, but a good read.

2017

Search Party: Incredibly well done piece about how Rita managed to convince Lord Drakkon to join her ontop of how Drakkon got his name. The art by Goni Montes is fantastic too.

Trini's Vacation: Tied for my favorite from the 2017 Annual. Tom Taylor once again proves he can write Power Rangers stories surprisingly well.

Forever Mighty Morphin' Black: I bet atleast one of you is surprised that this one isn't my favorite. It's a great piece for sure, especially as a big Zack fan, but man do I wish it was a full on issue instead of a short. Still a fun time though.

Perfect: A beautifully haunting piece. The decision to have the whole thing drawn like a series of old style painting was a great move, and combining that with a story that looks into Finster's' backstory and psychosis makes for a delightfully atmospheric tale. My other favorite from this Annual.

Sabrina's Day Out: A piece that I could honestly see being an actual episode of the original show. Alot of fun, and Dajung Lee's' art really does fit the overall Rangers aesthetic.

2018

This Annual overall ties directly into the Shattered Grid event, with each story focusing on how various teams are dealing with the Drakkon threat in their own way. They're all fine for what they are, with the only real complaint I have being that Andros and TJ are written out of character. I imagine the one most would like the best is the Zeo tie-in, which features Drakkon killing Tommy yet again. But my personal favorite was actually the Ninja Steel tie-in, as it was nice to see one of the less popular teams get some respect for a change.

And that's that! Overall it was alot of fun going through these again, and I feel like these Annuals are a way better way of doing tie-ins than the way BOOM has been handling tie-ins for the current(at the time of this writing) Darkest Hour event with the constant tiny oneshots. But, we'll save that rant for the future.