Collective Consciousness: Justice League Power Rangers #1
Here it is! The return of "COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS" a massive review board where we gather as many of our reviewers as possible to review one specific book! Due to the diversity of tastes amongst our reviewers this should give you a pretty good look at one book each week and whether it's the right fit for you!
This week our staff will be taking a look at the DC/Boom Studios crossover offering, Justice League Power Rangers #1!
DC Solicit: “Two of comics greatest teams team up for the very first time! Something terrible has happened in Angel Grove! When the Command Center is breached and the teleporters are damaged, Zack is flung into another universe, where he’s mistaken for a villain by a mysterious masked vigilante. Can the other Power Rangers get to their friend in time to save him from Batman? Co-published with BOOM! Studios. “
Written by: Tom Taylor
Art by: Stephen Byrne
Publisher: DC and Boom Studios
John White
Although DC’s Justice League vs. Suicide Squad crossover may be hogging all the press, there is no denying that it has nothing on the Justice League and Power Rangers crossover in the oddness department. Put out by DC and Boom Studios, this book imagines a world where the Power Rangers and Justice League are only separated by a malfunctioning teleporter and the actions of brash teenager with an affinity for a certain extinct Elephantimorpha. While battling the comically villainous Lord Zedd, the Black Ranger inadvertently sends himself and Zedd’s cadre of putties into the DC universe where he encounters none other than the Batman. Starting off with a case of mistaken identity it is not long before the two dark defenders are locked in battle. Tom Taylor should be commended for writing an issue that is equal parts nostalgia and entertainment. Although it will most likely not go down as a classic story, there is no denying that the Justice League/Power Rangers crossover is nothing but fun.
Ryan Lahaise
This issue was all kinds of bad. Pretty much the entire thing was just Zack the Black ranger screwing up repeatedly and then brooding about it over and over. Also the book opens with Angel Grove being destroyed, because of something Zack did and then we go back 36 hours. Normally I'm cool with this but the issue usually catches back up to the current time by the end of the issue. This one didn't even come close. So when we get to the current time when Angel Grove gets destroyed it won't have nearly the same impact. All it did for me was put more emphasis on we have a lot more of Zack brooding to come.
The art in the book I'm having a love hate relationship with. The characters look great. They do have somewhat of a cartoonish look but it totally works. The backgrounds on the other hand are bare and look like the artist completely ran out of time and just rushed them. They start out great and then slowly get more simplistic to most of the time being just solid colored backgrounds. Even when there are some backgrounds they're so simplistic it makes the world look cold and lifeless. They're fighting in what I'm guessing is Gotham and there's no life at all. The street and buildings are all brown with no trees or even people on the street. This book is a complete pass in my opinion.
Batmanaruto
In the present day where a hero vs hero battle is as common as the sun rising, Justice League vs Power Rangers #1 does not offer much more than the typical formula we have seen many times. I was a Power Rangers fan when I was a kid and I’m still a Justice League fan, but I feel like I’ve seen the whole thing of our heroes fighting instead of talking it out all too often. One thing that was interesting was how the Black Ranger found the fake and it actually turned out to be a bomb. However, from there the book does go downhill, just following the basic fight first talk later formula. Hopefully, the next issue will provide more of a twist.
Kalem Lalonde
I have never been a fan of the Power Rangers. In fact, I have always thought that the concept was kind of stupid. Considering that, my excitement for Justice League/Power Rangers #1 was quite low despite having the great Tom Taylor writing it. Unfortunately, my expectations were spot on. Justice League/Power Rangers #1 is a bit of a disaster. This is a debut issue but it reads like a sophomore issue. Taylor throws us right into the action without really setting anything relevant up. It ends up feeling like a punch in the face you really weren’t ready for. Taylor really isn’t able to shake away that main flaw that drags this book down to being a mindless disaster. The characters seem to be written fine but there is nothing in this book that will make you latch on to anyone or anything.
Aaron Reese
Finally, someone who interacts with the Power Rangers sees how silly they are. As an advocate of superhero comics embracing their inherent silliness, I take this as a welcome development. What a wise move it was to have the Rangers’ first Justice League encounter be with the ever-serious Batman.
This comic ticks all the boxes on the crossover checklist. A supervillain screws everything up, causing heroes from two universes to collide. Due to some misunderstanding, our two heroic groups test their might against each other in what always resolves in a stalemate. For good measure, issue #1 shows us a tragic event that will prompt our heroes to work together...eventually.
Tom Taylor keeps the Power Rangers’ dialogue crisp and makes the normally annoying high-schoolers quite likeable. After one issue, despite my initial misgivings about the Power Rangers, I’m enjoying this story nearly as much as Injustice: Gods Among Us.
Matthew Mahar
I didn’t have high hopes for this book. To be fair, Power Rangers never really clicked with me. At 11 when the original MMPR series began airing in the States, it seems it should have been right up my alley. My 6 year old brother and sister ate it up, but it never hit home with me. I was happy with the introduction to the issue, and can honestly say I got my hopes up after the first few pages. They were quickly dashed, however. The Justice League couldn’t save this script. This read as fan fiction. Not the good kind, either. The bad stuff you found on Geocities back in the day or on questionable Newsgroups. The biggest disappointment is that Tom Taylor is actually a very solid writer, with a good history of “out of continuity” books in his portfolio. This is obviously a cash grab the publishers put together to tie into the upcoming film, and Taylor couldn’t save this dumpster fire. That being said, this is only the first installment. I’m not ready to completely call this book a dumpster fire, but it has a lot of ground to make up.
1/5 Stars.
Forrest Hollingsworth
"I want to be clear that I don't think the core idea of this comic is bad. In fact, I think a Justice League/Power Rangers comic could, in theory, be a very fun book. However, this issue is comprised of almost entirely bad ideas and execution that suck all of that potential fun away quickly (save for the ever badass pink ranger who I think is wonderfully written and drawn here).
You know when the first JJ Abrams Star Trek movie came out and everyone was really upset about lens flare - that golden age when lens flare was a hotly debated household topic? This comic is that lens flare personified.
All of our characters here, awash in a strange soft light, but still brooding, betray what we know about them. It's an angry, dark book that lacks substance or heroism in almost any sense but attempts to make up for it in droves of misguided flash.
Characters across the board are needlessly hostile, and strangely drawn to boot, a softness to all of their frames that completely mismatches the story at hand. The coloring is perhaps the only thing I was pleasantly surprised by, pulpy, vibrant and fun in a way I wish the rest of the components here had been.
I try not to fault books for not being what I expected, that's not fair as a reviewer, to put my hopes into something the creators weren't going for but I will say that for a book that starts in medias res and then jumps us back 36 hours, it hardly makes you want to see what happened in those hours, and that's a real shame."
Jason James
This is the kind of stuff I hate. Random company crossovers that just jam stuff together. It's not a good Justice League story and it's a bad Power Ranger story. The positive side is the colours are really nice, but it doesn't help the art that features characters in odd body positions like they are supposed to be Spider-Man or something. Plot holes abound, how are Power Rangers calling on their Zords when they are in a different universe? If the Black Ranger is randomly transported to the DCU, how do the rest of the Rangers follow?? The quality control just isn't there. Ick. Batman has fought Darkseid among others, and yet he needs help fighting the Power Rangers? Also I don't remember the Power Rangers being super powered so Batman has trouble with regular teenagers. Comics are supposed to be a fun diversion, but this was forehead slappingly bad. Bad art and bad writing with bad characterization equals a poor comic experience.
This week our staff will be taking a look at the DC/Boom Studios crossover offering, Justice League Power Rangers #1!
DC Solicit: “Two of comics greatest teams team up for the very first time! Something terrible has happened in Angel Grove! When the Command Center is breached and the teleporters are damaged, Zack is flung into another universe, where he’s mistaken for a villain by a mysterious masked vigilante. Can the other Power Rangers get to their friend in time to save him from Batman? Co-published with BOOM! Studios. “
Written by: Tom Taylor
Art by: Stephen Byrne
Publisher: DC and Boom Studios
John White
Although DC’s Justice League vs. Suicide Squad crossover may be hogging all the press, there is no denying that it has nothing on the Justice League and Power Rangers crossover in the oddness department. Put out by DC and Boom Studios, this book imagines a world where the Power Rangers and Justice League are only separated by a malfunctioning teleporter and the actions of brash teenager with an affinity for a certain extinct Elephantimorpha. While battling the comically villainous Lord Zedd, the Black Ranger inadvertently sends himself and Zedd’s cadre of putties into the DC universe where he encounters none other than the Batman. Starting off with a case of mistaken identity it is not long before the two dark defenders are locked in battle. Tom Taylor should be commended for writing an issue that is equal parts nostalgia and entertainment. Although it will most likely not go down as a classic story, there is no denying that the Justice League/Power Rangers crossover is nothing but fun.
Ryan Lahaise
This issue was all kinds of bad. Pretty much the entire thing was just Zack the Black ranger screwing up repeatedly and then brooding about it over and over. Also the book opens with Angel Grove being destroyed, because of something Zack did and then we go back 36 hours. Normally I'm cool with this but the issue usually catches back up to the current time by the end of the issue. This one didn't even come close. So when we get to the current time when Angel Grove gets destroyed it won't have nearly the same impact. All it did for me was put more emphasis on we have a lot more of Zack brooding to come.
The art in the book I'm having a love hate relationship with. The characters look great. They do have somewhat of a cartoonish look but it totally works. The backgrounds on the other hand are bare and look like the artist completely ran out of time and just rushed them. They start out great and then slowly get more simplistic to most of the time being just solid colored backgrounds. Even when there are some backgrounds they're so simplistic it makes the world look cold and lifeless. They're fighting in what I'm guessing is Gotham and there's no life at all. The street and buildings are all brown with no trees or even people on the street. This book is a complete pass in my opinion.
Batmanaruto
In the present day where a hero vs hero battle is as common as the sun rising, Justice League vs Power Rangers #1 does not offer much more than the typical formula we have seen many times. I was a Power Rangers fan when I was a kid and I’m still a Justice League fan, but I feel like I’ve seen the whole thing of our heroes fighting instead of talking it out all too often. One thing that was interesting was how the Black Ranger found the fake and it actually turned out to be a bomb. However, from there the book does go downhill, just following the basic fight first talk later formula. Hopefully, the next issue will provide more of a twist.
Kalem Lalonde
I have never been a fan of the Power Rangers. In fact, I have always thought that the concept was kind of stupid. Considering that, my excitement for Justice League/Power Rangers #1 was quite low despite having the great Tom Taylor writing it. Unfortunately, my expectations were spot on. Justice League/Power Rangers #1 is a bit of a disaster. This is a debut issue but it reads like a sophomore issue. Taylor throws us right into the action without really setting anything relevant up. It ends up feeling like a punch in the face you really weren’t ready for. Taylor really isn’t able to shake away that main flaw that drags this book down to being a mindless disaster. The characters seem to be written fine but there is nothing in this book that will make you latch on to anyone or anything.
Aaron Reese
Finally, someone who interacts with the Power Rangers sees how silly they are. As an advocate of superhero comics embracing their inherent silliness, I take this as a welcome development. What a wise move it was to have the Rangers’ first Justice League encounter be with the ever-serious Batman.
This comic ticks all the boxes on the crossover checklist. A supervillain screws everything up, causing heroes from two universes to collide. Due to some misunderstanding, our two heroic groups test their might against each other in what always resolves in a stalemate. For good measure, issue #1 shows us a tragic event that will prompt our heroes to work together...eventually.
Tom Taylor keeps the Power Rangers’ dialogue crisp and makes the normally annoying high-schoolers quite likeable. After one issue, despite my initial misgivings about the Power Rangers, I’m enjoying this story nearly as much as Injustice: Gods Among Us.
Matthew Mahar
I didn’t have high hopes for this book. To be fair, Power Rangers never really clicked with me. At 11 when the original MMPR series began airing in the States, it seems it should have been right up my alley. My 6 year old brother and sister ate it up, but it never hit home with me. I was happy with the introduction to the issue, and can honestly say I got my hopes up after the first few pages. They were quickly dashed, however. The Justice League couldn’t save this script. This read as fan fiction. Not the good kind, either. The bad stuff you found on Geocities back in the day or on questionable Newsgroups. The biggest disappointment is that Tom Taylor is actually a very solid writer, with a good history of “out of continuity” books in his portfolio. This is obviously a cash grab the publishers put together to tie into the upcoming film, and Taylor couldn’t save this dumpster fire. That being said, this is only the first installment. I’m not ready to completely call this book a dumpster fire, but it has a lot of ground to make up.
1/5 Stars.
Forrest Hollingsworth
"I want to be clear that I don't think the core idea of this comic is bad. In fact, I think a Justice League/Power Rangers comic could, in theory, be a very fun book. However, this issue is comprised of almost entirely bad ideas and execution that suck all of that potential fun away quickly (save for the ever badass pink ranger who I think is wonderfully written and drawn here).
You know when the first JJ Abrams Star Trek movie came out and everyone was really upset about lens flare - that golden age when lens flare was a hotly debated household topic? This comic is that lens flare personified.
All of our characters here, awash in a strange soft light, but still brooding, betray what we know about them. It's an angry, dark book that lacks substance or heroism in almost any sense but attempts to make up for it in droves of misguided flash.
Characters across the board are needlessly hostile, and strangely drawn to boot, a softness to all of their frames that completely mismatches the story at hand. The coloring is perhaps the only thing I was pleasantly surprised by, pulpy, vibrant and fun in a way I wish the rest of the components here had been.
I try not to fault books for not being what I expected, that's not fair as a reviewer, to put my hopes into something the creators weren't going for but I will say that for a book that starts in medias res and then jumps us back 36 hours, it hardly makes you want to see what happened in those hours, and that's a real shame."
Jason James
This is the kind of stuff I hate. Random company crossovers that just jam stuff together. It's not a good Justice League story and it's a bad Power Ranger story. The positive side is the colours are really nice, but it doesn't help the art that features characters in odd body positions like they are supposed to be Spider-Man or something. Plot holes abound, how are Power Rangers calling on their Zords when they are in a different universe? If the Black Ranger is randomly transported to the DCU, how do the rest of the Rangers follow?? The quality control just isn't there. Ick. Batman has fought Darkseid among others, and yet he needs help fighting the Power Rangers? Also I don't remember the Power Rangers being super powered so Batman has trouble with regular teenagers. Comics are supposed to be a fun diversion, but this was forehead slappingly bad. Bad art and bad writing with bad characterization equals a poor comic experience.
A Look Inside
