Chris Cooper reviews Power Rangers: Aftershock…
In this explosive, all-new, side story that picks up immediately after the events of the film, the Power Rangers encounter a dangerous new enemy, along with someone else who might be friend, foe… or both.
SEE ALSO: Read a preview of Power Rangers: Aftershock here
Striking whilst the iron’s hot, BOOM! Studios have released a graphic novel to follow up on the recently released Power Rangers film.
One of the most important things I want people to have an idea of after reading any of my reviews is if it’s worth spending their hard-earned.
If you liked the film and were very keen to see what happens next, I suggest you wait for the sequel. Aftershock doesn’t manage to juggle the cheesy and over-the-top nature of the source program with the more mature story being told in the film, becoming a muddled attempt that barely moves things forward. Though I’d love to support anything that gives a sequel stronger prospects I can’t say ‘go out and buy this!’.
Unless your name is Jason you’re essentially a mechanism to either challenge or support him. Very little time is given to the others, even when the story appears to suggest we should be taking an interest. The story itself wants to follow the same pattern as the original series, whilst also throwing in the currently well worn idea of there being a secret organisation working in the background. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before and isn’t done with enough chutzpah or earnestness to maintain interest.
On the plus side I did appreciate seeing how the residents of Angel Grove have been affected by recent events. This was something the show never really touched upon. Here however the damage caused by a giant robot and giant monster brawl is shown as normal people try to deal with it. No one knows who the Rangers are – they could just as easily be enemies too – and seeing them reacted to in a realistic way was pleasing.
On initial inspection I thought the art was looking pretty good. But then there’s a battle (the first of a few) and it falls apart. There is zero fluidity and I had to study several panels to figure out which Ranger was which! If a choice was made to go with actor likeness or generic teen, it could have at least applied to all of them. Again, Jason comes off favorably.
There’s a bigger problem however. Packaged in with this graphic novel is an oversized preview of the ongoing Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comic; a comic that conveys a more up to date take on the Rangers far more effectively. It’s tough going on Aftershock to essentially be a backdoor to something better.
For a group of brightly coloured teenagers fighting aliens, Power Rangers: Aftershock was criminally uninteresting. It barely registered a tremor.
Rating: 5/10
Chris Cooper
Originally published March 29, 2017. Updated November 14, 2019.
