[DreamSword]

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers Volume 3

Well we've reached it. The moment that propelled the Power Rangers comics into stardom and set the fandom on fire.

And really, it's easy to see why, as this volume has alot going for it.

Yeah, Lord Drakkon and the World of the Coinless make their debut here, and it's everything that every issue so far has been building up to. While the journey wasn't the best, does it all work out in the end?

Absolutely, and in more ways than one. As while the volume starts with the major twist of the Black Dragon being a modified Dragonzord from an alternate world, ontop of the eventual reveal of Lord Drakkon himself, the second issue takes a moment to address something that these MMPR comics have been struggling with for a bit: Character development.

An entire issue is dedicated to showcasing more of Billy. His fears, his desires, and how he interacts with his teammates. The talk between him and Zack is very heartfelt, and one that I could actually see happening in the show itself for the most part.

Granted, said issue also implies this is where Billy first makes the Communicators, which screws with continuity incredibly hard, but whatever. Minor prices to pay for a short story that I rather enjoyed. It's also drawn by Jonathan Lam rather than the usual Hendry Prasetya, which I felt was a good move, as it fit the tone of that specific tale alot better. Prasetya's' style would've just felt out of place.

That's not to say Prasetya isn't good at what he does though, as his artwork does a wonderful job at capturing and enhancing the overall tone and atmosphere of this part of the story. From making some darker versions of pre-existing designs come to life, to showing just how miserable the World of the Coinless is, his style is what my brain most closely associates with not just this arc, but also Lord Drakkon himself. I might prefer other artists for the franchise as an overall, but this stuff specifically? Prasetya all the way.

And, well, I think that also pretty covers the tale in and of itself, doesn't it? Readers often seem to forget, but these comics were made for older fans specifically, so appealing to that demographic by showcasing just what happens when the boundless joy and optimism of the source material falls just short to the forces of evil, and how badly things could've gone for our heroes overall, ontop of the age old question of "What if Tommy chose to stay with Rita?' ... it's a very appealing and interesting thing to see play out in an official way. And you won't hear any complaints from me.