[DreamSword]

Power Rangers Volume 1

Ryan Parrott seems to more so excel at smaller, more personal moments.

This little exchange between Rocky and Jason was my favorite part of the entire volume: Rocky feeling like an inadequate replacement with Jason comforting him.

It's part of what made Go Go so good: It was a simple, straightforward story that focused on highlighting the characters. It's when Parrott tries to be grandiose or "provocative" that he tends to fumble.

Ever since Necessary Evil he got put in charge of some gigantic space opera and like, it just hasn't panned out, really. Case in point:

Issue 2 has XI pointing out just how stupid this plot really is, and yet by the end of the volume he's painted as the one in the wrong. Just because you point out how ridiculous your plot is, that doesn't instantly make it okay. Especially not when the characters are written poorly, like how Zack is a few times.

So what is the plot? Since Drakkon is the only one with any real intel on the Emissaries, the Omegas decide to break him out of his confinement in the Command Center, and try to force him to help the team find a way of tracking their newfound enemy down. And then space vampires show up to mess things up. And if that sounds interesting to you, lemme tell ya, it isn't.

Nothing is really engaging in this entire affair when it comes to the character work. A Ranger Horror Movie type plot is a decent idea on paper, but in terms of overall execution this left alot to be desired. And the final issue, detailing the remains of the world Drakkon created when he hod godlike powers, is a little better, but nothing incredible. The commentary on his loneliness doesn't work when there were infact people who lived in his universe, despite issue 4's' implication to otherwise.

What isn't a disappointment though is the art, drawn by Francesco Mortarino. It looks good all throughout, and one thing I definitely wanna compliment it on is how smartly is uses pinstriping. Ever since the release of Across the Spider-Verse, we've had other works try and emulate its style while never quite understanding just what makes it work. Typically this translates to things like just randomly using pinstriping for no reason(see: Velma).

But here, it, along with many other tools of the comic art trade are all used to splendid effect. If nothing else, this volume is nice to look at. So, major props to the colorist, the panel layouts... everything. Very aesthetically engaging and pleasing. I just wish it were tied to a more engaging story.

Oh and uh, Zack being written so poorly doesn't help matters either.