Comic Credits:
Written by Kyle Higgins
Illustrated by Daniele Di Nicuolo
Colors by Walter Baiamonte
Letters by Ed Dukeshire
The New Adventures of Blue Senturion & Ninjor:
Written by Ryan Ferrier
Illustrated by Bachan
Colors by Jeremy Lawson
Letters by Jim Campbell
Cover by Jamal Campbell
Subscription cover by Jordan Gibson
Color Spotlight Varient by Carlos Villa
Designer Scott Newman
Assistant Editor Michael Moccio
Associate Editor Matthew Levine
Editor Dafna Pleban
Let us get back into the Shattered Grid event, where we start off getting Drakkon finally back on his world. It was a short scene, but we do get the first appearance of Finster 5. I have to say when I read this scene, it was interesting seeing a “softer” side of Drakkon. I never took him as someone who would hug someone, but given the implied history these two have, I could see it.
Whereas, the Power Rangers host a funeral for Tommy; I never thought I would see a funeral in Power Rangers; especially one that hit me on an emotional level. It really is thanks to Kyle Higgins that I teared up a bit seeing the funeral scene. With that said what really drives these scenes home and really makes reader feel it is the artwork by Daniele Di Nicuolo. I have pointed this out during Deniele’s work on the MMPR Pink mini-series from last year. There is no one better at facial expressions than Daniele in my opinion; he just has this way of conveying emotions that readers can say “This character is feeling this way!” Also, the coloring work by Walter Baiamonte works so well, but I will get to praising him a bit later.
After Tommy’s funeral, we have a scene with Jen who is finally awake and explains what is going on. As a Power Rangers fan, I was excited to see these two series crossover since television wise we could not get something like this where the Rangers are in their prime. Not saying we could not get it, but them using the Rangers in their “time period” works, if that makes any sort of sense. Continuing from there I love the interaction she has with the Rangers explaining how they influence future Rangers; I love hearing this as it is something we never get to see in the current shows. In current Power Rangers series we know they are other Power Rangers out there, but on rare occasions do we see them interact with each other.
I have to say the explanation as to how the timeline is broken is well explained. Also, the artwork that displays it is solid as well. I guess a better wording would be, that it all makes sense. Now, onto my favorite part of this issue was seeing the Power Ranger Samurai team. I was not really a fan of the show but seeing them here in comic book form, I loved them so much! Daniele along Walter really make readers appreciate this team of Rangers. Another favorite panel of mines is the morph with the Samurai Rangers. Daniele’s transparent helmet/ visor shot is perfect. I do not know what the phrase is officially called, but it just works so well and it is one of the advantages comic books have.
Now, back to the story, the Samurai Rangers are attack by Drakkon and it is a fantastic fight scene. The framing and usage of the attacks in the show and original attacks are splendid. With Drakkon, I think we are slowly seeing what he want since his suit gets an upgrade at the end of the issue. I will not say how but it is a concept I never really thought of until Drakkon did it. The best way to describe this would be to think of Amazo from DC Comics. All that said, looking forward to the next installment of the Shattered Grid.
Now, onward to New Adventures of Blue Senturion and Ninjor. There was not much to really say except I love the interaction between Blue Senturion and his police chief. In addition, I want more of this story! The artwork done by Bachan really fits the tone of what it needs to be, so I cannot really say much else. I love this mini-series and cannot wait to see more of what Blue Senturion will do now that he is on patrol. Also, I do not know if the bit of dialogue about directing traffic is a Carranger homage. However, I should not doubt it is a Carranger reference since the series is about traffic safety, and Signalman (Blue Senturion) is a highway patrolmen.
Final thoughts, Issue 26 is fantastic at showing the fallout of Tommy dying and furthering establishing Drakkon as a legitimate threat. I am looking forward to seeing more Power Ranger teams interacting with each other, as they face the threat of Drakkon. I feel this character is really going to be a challenge for the Power Rangers in ways that the fans have never seen happen until now!
Final grade: I give this 5 out of 5 Power Coins!
