Out this week from BOOM! Studios and Hasbro, Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers, continues our countdown to the series slated end.
Moving back to the main points of “Necessary Evil” after issue 28’s deep dive into Rita Repulsa, Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers #29 takes us right back to action. Tommy has taken the role of the leader on the team, but it doesn’t seem to be going all that well.
Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers #29 shows us a rough start for Tommy. As he attempts to lead the Rangers against another Zedd monster, he makes a call that doesn’t work out. Jason steps in, and the Rangers succeed, but Tommy is left with remorse after almost getting Billy hurt.
It seems like the remainder of Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers will be about tieing up the beginning of “Necessary Evil” and leading us into where we started with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers # 40. As writer Ryan Parrott confirmed, issue #32 will be the final one for this series., though Mighty Morphin will continue after.
What Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers # 29 accomplishes well is bringing us back into the same vibes as earlier issues of “Necessary Evil.” This has been a story arc with a heavy theme of change. Though it feels like we’ve become adjusted to that change in Mighty Morphin where it’s become the new normal for that series, Go Go’s exploration of how these changes came to be put us right back in that mindset of “things are different now.”
Tommy’s awkward transition to becoming the leader helps bring us back into this mindset. It truly feels alien, especially given how much focus this series has had on the team without him.
This sense of change is important for where the rest of this issue takes us from there. We’ve started to come full circle as we begin to reach points now that was past tense for Mighty Morphin.
Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers features a lot that will be missed once the series concludes. I, for one, will miss the art in this series particularly. Since the beginning, character designs have always had a more cartoonish style to them that pair well with the context of the series. For this arc, Francesco Mortarino has done a spectacular job bringing these scenes to life.
When it comes to the fight scenes, every panel is a spectacle. The Rangers are constantly drawn in motion, with every action having a purpose. From extinguishing Putty Patrols to taking on classic “Monsters of the week,” every page resembles the classic T.V series with insane detail.
Adding to this, Raul Angulo’s colors continue to impress. There’re a variety of settings this issue takes place in, some dull and some lively. While there’s a lot of grey at the beginning of this issue, we move onto areas like the Command Center and the Ernie’s Juice Bar, and we see the pallets and backgrounds really shine and vary.
Ed Dukeshire handles the lettering again and continues doing right by it. With a series that has as much history to it, memorable voices and characters, it’s important to try to represent this in dialogue. Zedd specifically comes to mind here. His dialogue contains a lot of bold emphasis on the specific words resembling his speech tendencies. It reads how late actor Robert Axelrod spoke as the character.
With only three issues remaining, the send-off for Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers feels closer and closer. Excited as I am for the finale, there’s a lot with this series that is going to be missed. Issue 29 does a fair job prepping us for the future, though I will note, with how much we already know from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers taking place further in time, the catch up we’re getting while nice, doesn’t feel quite as important based on this issue alone.
Having us be put in a place where we accept that events of the past have already occurred without seeing them, and then going back to show them to us much later on feels more like bonus information. While still enjoyable to read, there is notably less of a hook.
The pull of seeing this through to the end helps. While obviously I still want to see the inception of the Omega Rangers and see how Rocky Adam and Aisha are introduced, I’m just hoping there’s at least one more interesting note to pull us into the finale.
I have faith Parrott will not disappoint in the end. I look forward to seeing what is in store for us moving forward and am very eager to see what is coming for Power Rangers after the completion of “Necessary Evil.”
