- Written by Kyle Higgins
- Illustrated by Jonathan Lam
- Colours by Joana Lafuente
- Cover by Jamal Campbell
Special standalone issue featuring guest artist Jon Lam! As someone who tends to shy away from conflict and confrontation, Billy feels like the least likely candidate to protect Earth. When he first receives his Power Coin, he’s constantly afraid of not being prepared, and it’ll take a carefully strategized battle and the support of his friends to feel like a true member of the team.
Pickup your copy of ‘MMPR’ #10 at Comixology now!
I have to admit that I don’t generally read comic book synopsis ahead of the issues release. My comic books are one area that spoilers are non-existent to me. So colour me confused when I start reading this book only to find it hasn’t picked up where the last one left off.
Now for this review I have read the synopsis above and understand this is a standalone issue. The next full arc of ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ will begin in issue #11 due for release on January 18th.
With that out of the way lets talk issue #10. Focussing on Billy is a nice segue from the main storyline. His character, regardless of importance, is often neglected in all aspects of the franchise. All we really know of him is his intelligence and technical know-how.
But what writer Kyle Higgins has set out to do with this series is really level the playing field. Each of the lead characters is of equal importance to the story and each has had their moment to shine.
This self-contained story of Billy is in many ways quite downbeat. The spotlight is shone on his insecurities and how they affect him even when powered up as the Blue Ranger. Higgins does a great job of portraying the emotions of the character through his dialogue and the actions he takes throughout the story.
The emotional struggle of any of the lead characters is what helps makes this series stand high above other, more generic, TV tie-in comics.
What was most surprising for me was the ending. Although the story of the issue itself is resolved with Billy returning the book to the library, emotionally the story is very much open ended. It’s brave to leave the character in an emotionally dependant state at the end. I will be intrigued to see if this is touched upon again in the future as it would be good to see how Billy develops and grows from here.
Visually the issue is a departure from the previous issues but it still looks great. Artist Jonathan Lam is able to pack a similar emotional punch to the story through his illustrations.
The colours are vibrant as ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ fans would expect. Character designs are strong and consistent throughout and the environments are well detailed. I found the entire issue immersive from start to finish.
Billy doesn’t quite resemble his TV counterpart but as I’ve said before in reviews of this series it’s more about the personalities than replicating the actors faces.
Verdict
‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ #10 is a strong, self-contained, emotional arc. It humanises a character in a franchise which often relied on a message-of-the-week approach over the emotional development of its characters. Well worth a read.
