If you liked this article, please like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and please consider Donating to keep the blog going
It’s probably most accurate to say I have a strange relationship with Power Rangers. I wasn’t in the right age bracket to get into the show as a kid and even as an adult I’ve never really enjoyed any of the various branded media. However, I am familiar with the franchise history and origin and even though I don’t like it I definitely respect it. Power Rangers has run, consecutively in one form or another, for 25 years straight, that’s a level of success you can’t ignore. What’s more, the unique blend of aesthetics between Japanese superheroes and American TV standards has always been a fascinating one.
The franchise basically re-invented the way we imagine live-action superhero adventures on a level that only a handful of others can actually reach. Sure, the structure of disposable bad guys, shouting villains with an entourage of lieutenants, giant doomsday weapons, and a heroic bunker might feel generic now but without Power Rangers pioneering it we might not have had stuff like Avengers or The Flash TV show. As such, I’ve chosen to honor the blockbuster film adaptation with a dive into the recent run of BOOM! Studios Power Rangers comics, let’s dig in.
12.
This will be a bit of a unique list for me as I usually focus on covers from the ‘60s and ‘70s. BOOM!’s Power Rangers series is a product of modern comics so this will be a great chance to dive into, arguably, the pinnacle of comic covers as an art form. After all, comic covers now have all of comics history to draw from for inspiration and we get a hint of that with this opening cover. Fight scenes are always a promising way to open an issue, mainly because it’s the least likely image to lie to the reader.
Like a lot of great cover ideas this one goes back to the ‘70s, the era when scale and choreography became a fundamental enough part of cover art that fight scenes could stand on their own instead of just propping up some weirdness. This is definitely the end result of that innovation, a cover selling the fight scene simply on its own merits rather than trying to draw us in with a mystery or general weirdness.
The Power Rangers themselves go a long way to making that work as their individual weapons and fighting styles help this feel less generic. I do like that the Green Ranger’s crotch has ended up the focal point of the scene, even while accepting his jump-kick is very dynamic. I actually think the coolest part of this would have to be the Pink Ranger’s energy arrow, which provides a nice dividing line between Green in the foreground and the rest of the team in the middle distance. That’s also a nice touch having the sparks on impact.
11.
I have to confess my knowledge of Power Rangers arcana fails me in the context of what that emblem is on this cover. I think it’s something to do with a kind of re-imagined White Ranger who appears later in this series but I really don’t know. Still, even without totally grasping the context of this image it remains deeply evocative and engaging.
I really love the minimalism on display here and the courage to trust the character silhouettes. Again, the weapons go a long way to help differentiate the original five Rangers, in this case, a bit like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Group shots are normally the bran of comic covers, a generic and empty concept thrown together so it might also double as a poster pin-up but this cover puts a nice spin on it. The use of lighting in that big symbol to help the silhouettes pop is a good way to give a sense of environment to the cover, especially helped by that great cloud design.
If there’s one downside it’s the giant robot looming in the foreground, mainly because I don’t really know what it’s doing. I think it’s fighting another giant robot that’s just off panel but for all I know, it’s interpretative dancing.
10.
Now, this reference I do get, if only because the history of Jason David Frank and Power Rangers is one of the most compelling meta-narratives the show ever produced. Much like #11, this is a fascinating take on an overused cover format- a close-up. Like a film or TV show comics employ the standard array of close-ups and far shots, they’re just static images instead of moving pictures.
In the case of the cover close-up, it usually ends up similar to the group shot, an overused cliché meant to allow the artist an easier time. The close-up is usually even less forgivable than the group shot because it’s so much more limited but this is a fun take on it.
I like the idea of the White Ranger sword covering half of Tommy’s face, especially given how much identity would become a running arc for his character. There’s also the really cool monstrous image being reflected in the metal of the blade. I’m not exactly sure who that’s supposed to be though it looks a lot like Lord Zedd from this angle.
It’s a great way to impart menace and a broader world beyond the close-up. It’s not all perfect- the background is pretty lackluster and Tommy’s facial expression feels oddly flat and lifeless, but it’s still a nice subversion of a tired formula.
9.
This is one of the most interesting examples of modern scale in comic covers. It’s basically a happy medium between the small figures of the ‘60s and the much bigger character sizes in the ‘70s and ‘80s. As such, these guys don’t really fill up the whole page but they’re big enough to afford a greater level of detail, which helps their action poses pop a lot more.
This is that evil White Ranger I mentioned earlier, who I suspect was the monstrous figure we saw in the blade reflection of the previous cover. Funnily enough, the three spikes on his helmet make him look like the DC Comics character Aztek, though I doubt that was intentional given nobody really remembers Aztek anymore.
Speaking of mixed classical elements, I really like how much this cover leans on the shock style of the ‘60s. White Ranger vs. Green Ranger is a pretty great match up and I especially like how much stronger the White Ranger looks. His pose is more about directed, deadly action with his tiger claw hand and the flare coming off his sword.
Compare that to the Green Ranger’s defensive crouch and shocked hand gesture, it’s a really great way of conveying a lot of emotion about the situation without needing speech bubbles. Also, this snowy backdrop is a lot better executed than the plain void from the last cover.
8.
Now this cover is almost a full on ‘60s/Silver Age throwback, and a pretty fun one at that. The small scale of the characters is part of making the Zords attacking them look bigger but it also gives things a much more retro feel, especially when coupled with the “Don’t ask, just read” shock value of the situation.
The modern influence mainly comes from the way the Zords are framed, which is a key element of how this cover actually surpasses its Silver Age roots. Rather than putting the entire Zord on panel we’re just seeing a bit of them, enough to get the idea but the fact we can’t see the entire giant robot makes the hugeness feel even more impactful.
It’s an example of how modern comics are willing to sacrifice putting all the marketable action up on the page in the name of mood or being evocative. I also really like the subtle element of having the Green Ranger be the only team member in costume, that’s a nice nod. Backgrounds are going to be a real issue in this list because this is another weird one.
I understand the thinking in concept but the execution is still a little less than I’d have liked. The whole shattered floor image is meant to evoke instability but here it seems kind of weird, especially with that pink/yellow gradient.
7.
Now that is a goddamn cover. It’s interesting that the best cover so far is basically a mash-up of the various styles we’ve already see, only using that combination to overcome their own shortcomings. So what we have here is a blend of a close-up cover and a group shot, with the Rangers framed mid-terror on a rooftop as they’re menaced by a Zord whose been rendered in a close-up because that’s how the perspective would work in this case.
Probably the best aspect of this cover is how every field of depth in the image is being utilized- nothing is wasted. The background and the middle distance form the meat and potatoes of the image, building off the “Rangers vs. Zords” pitch of the previous cover nicely.
However, the foreground is also getting some use as the Pink Ranger cares for a collapsed Green Ranger, adding a greater sense of drama to our situation. It’s a nice way to raise the stakes given how often the Green Ranger served as the team’s non-Zord big gun.
One really nice detail that elevates the scene is the use of lighting, the way the red glow of the Zord eyes baths everything in the scene without overwhelming the original colors is expertly done. I also really like how the Red Ranger is framed as the strongest and most defiant team member in this scene, it’s a nice chance to give the original leader a chance in the literal spotlight.
6.
This is a great use of three very different Power Rangers scenes composited into one great shot: the Zords, the Rangers, and their civilian clothes. Firstly, the very idea of the putties actually attacking a Zord is a pretty great concept, it’s got the vibe of seeing ants crawling over a creature. Follow that with the vision of the Green Ranger actually riding the Zord is absolutely great. It all gives the visual a sense of scale that’s often lost with the Zords. We end up spending so much time with the Zords at their own level that their actual size and impact compared to normal humans can become lost and this cover highlights it really well.
Also, the Ranger working alongside the civilian is pretty cool, I always love when superhero books do that. It’s like whenever we see Captain America working alongside with soldiers or Batman working with the cops, it gives the image a sense of grounding in the real world. Grounding really is the best term for this cover, which is pretty impressive given it's a picture of a couple superheroes fighting a ninja-zombie horde atop a giant robot.
5.
I absolutely love the apocalyptic vibe of this cover. These past three covers have all featured this bizarre kind of color correction in the lighting that creates this pinkish red color. I’m not really sure what that’s exactly meant to impart but it does give everything a kind of crisis aesthetic. It’s reminiscent of the visual language of DC Comics’ 1986 opus Crisis on Infinite Earths, which introduced the idea of red skies as code for serious, end of the world stuff. Really this whole cover has component parts drawn from the doomsday lexicon, like the destroyed statue on the beach visual with the Zord.
It’s obviously an homage to the famous ending of Planet of the Apes though there’s no small degree of Pacific Rim in there as well, which I certainly approve of. It’s an old-school cover made with new school sensibilities, a lot of referential language used to convey the idea of shock and awe that has to be picked up and read to have any hope of understanding. It’s meat and potatoes cover design, just the fundamentals proving why they’re so fundamental.
4.
This cover’s almost a complete U-turn from the previous one but does a good job showing the wide spectrum of impactful components to cover art. Where the previous cover leaned heavy on shared iconography to speak to the reader this visual is grounded much more heavily in the realm of detail and minimalism.
I absolutely love the visual design of the smoke here, especially the way it blends beautifully with the snowy backdrop. It gives off this aura of otherworldly power and mystery to the visual that I think is often lost in the toyetic visual design of the Ranger’s ephemera.
There’s a sense of power here that’s evocative but also threatening and I really like that the morpher is the light source in this scene. That background design of the snow and smoke forming the Mastodon outline is a great little touch, it emphasizes how much the power of the Morpher impacts the environment and world around it.
Color-wise, it’s also really ambitious to make this almost completely black and white given this is the Black Ranger but it really paid off. This is the art house Power Ranger but I’m definitely here for the level of ambition and talent.
3.
One of the best tricks to use in superhero language is the revelation that something we once thought was singular is actually just one of many. That’s part of what made the Sinestro Corps such a knockout when it first came up, it’s a great way to raise the stakes and shake up everything we’ve ever known so suddenly having 5 Green Rangers pop up at once is pretty amazing. The Green Ranger adds an extra layer of mystique to the idea as well because of his bizarre origin as a servant of evil for Rita.
All the stuff with the green candle that gave him his powers and the way the Green Ranger was able to defeat the entire Ranger team single-handedly always kept him at a higher level so suddenly having 5 of him is pretty impressive. It’s a great way to convey stakes through the immediate language of the series and that bright yellow lightning background adds a lot to it. All of these covers have put a major emphasis in background as metaphor, specifically metaphor for power, and this is one of the best ones.
2.
I actually think this is my favorite cover in the bunch, it’s got the same minimalism as #4 only with a slightly less powerful bent to it. Like that one, it’s stripping away the large action and martial arts scenes that informed so many of these covers for a tight focus on the Ranger.
The big difference is that where #4 emphasized personal power and ability this feels a lot more like a cover steeped in humanity and grounding. That’s something that was never as big a part of the original show as it would become with some of the better later seasons, the focus on the people behind the helmets and the suits.
They actually resisted showing the Rangers in partial uniforms to try and avoid the costuming costs as well as drawing attention to the fact the fight scenes were all stock footage featuring different actors. The language of this close up and the way we can’t see the Red Ranger’s face is deeply evocative along those lines- we can’t tell the man from the uniform.
1.
Everything I said about that last covers focus on humanity and the people behind the uniforms is a big part of why this cover easily took the number one spot. The big difference between them is, of course, the framing. The previous cover was all about the uniform swallowing up the man to becoming his defining identity, the only face that mattered was the one on the helmet, that’s not the case here.
No, this cover is less tragic and more bittersweet, it feels like a photograph of times gone by, especially with all the changes we, as an audience, know this team will go through. It’s the entire group of founders together before they all inevitability drifted apart- it’s life before everything got serious.
I think that’s the part of Power Rangers people tend to miss, how much of it was about asking children to fight the battles no one else could, to grow up as fast as they could. This cover, in particular, has the vibe of a look back at times gone by when it wasn’t all life and death, when the team was together when they were young- a fading remembrance of the good old days.
If you liked this article, please like us on
Facebook or follow us on Twitter and please consider Donating to keep the blog going 
No comments:
Post a Comment