Ranger Academy #8 Review

 

Writer: Maria Ingrande Mora

Artist: Jo Mi-Gyeong

Colorist: Joana Lafuente

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Cover Artists: Miguel Mercado, Jo Mi-Gyeong & Crystal Kung

Publisher: Boom! Studios

Price: $3.99

Release Date: June 5, 2024

 

Sage is a fortunate first-year cadet at Ranger Academy. She passed her trial on Chromia. Her spectracite crystal helped her morph. Yet Sage hid her ability because her friend Lindy couldn't morph, and everyone associates Green Rangers with evil. Sage also feels responsible for the death of Tula's sister, Tashi, and the evil that swirls within the closed Green Dormitory, even though Sage didn't attend Ranger Academy when those events occurred. Can Sage fight the evil inside her and protect her friends when Dark Specter invades the Academy? Let's grab our Power Coins, leap into Ranger Academy #8, and see!

 

Story

Sage wants answers, so she interrupts Tula during a battlefield simulation. The nearby trees in the dark forest decide to reach out and touch someone, but they’re not offering a relaxing massage. Then Lindy wanders inside the room, and Sage can't hide her abilities anymore. She morphs into the Green Ranger alongside Tula’s Red Ranger and battles the angry trees.

 

With Lindy's help, Sage and Tula fight off the trees and end the program. But victory brings fallout. Lindy wants to know why Sage hid her abilities. The teachers want to know what caused the Battle Matrix to simulate Mirkwood and the Whomping Willow.

 

In Ranger Academy #8, Lindy knows more about being a Power Ranger than her fellow first-year cadets. Yet Lindy couldn’t morph. Lindy is a gentle soul that Sage and her fellow first-year cadets have tried to protect. But now Lindy feels betrayed by Sage’s deception.

 

Sage has had her doubts about third-year cadet Tula. Along with Mathis, Tula is responsible for bringing her to Ranger Academy. But in Maria Ingrande Mora’s story, Tula used Sage to gain entry to the closed Green dormitory. Tula was desperate to learn the mystery behind her sister's hushed-up shuttle accident and why the Academy closed the Green dormitory after Tashi’s death. Was Sage ever Tula's friend, or just a tool to get what Tula wanted?

 

Sage must mend fences in Ranger Academy #8. The headmaster orders her to control her violent emotions. Sage must also find a way to heal the rift between her and Lindy before her betrayal leaves delicate Lindy scarred and their friendship in ruins. And amid the fallout from Dark Specter’s attack, someone must pay for the damage to the Battle Matrix and breaking the seal on the Green Dormitory.

 

 

Art

Jo Mi-Gyeong enhances the frantic fighting as Tula rips Lindy from a limb's embrace. Green Ranger wields a double-bladed staff at the pummeling branches. Lindy hugs Green Ranger before returning to Tula. But when a branch gets too friendly with Sage, Tula transforms into Red Ranger and matches her sword against the crazed cellulose.

 

Energy swirls around the door controls. When Lindy requests aid, Red Ranger’s triangular sword slashes through the controls. Lindy smiles as she peers into the opening and grabs the wires. Red Ranger grips Green’s shoulder while fighting at her side. When Red leaps into a desperate lunge, Green crouches while Lindy hugs her from behind.

 

Joana Lafuente paints the ferocious forest blue and green. Sage's staff sweeps a light green arc through the Battle Matrix, while Tula's sword leaves a red trail. Lindy's maroon hair shines in the dark as she frowns at Sage and suggests they attack the glowing white swirls in Ranger Academy #8. Yet nothing shines as brightly as the Infirmary, where Sage and Lindy sit together without regarding each other. Their tan and brown uniforms stand out from the glowing pink and yellow walls as Sage drinks from a juice box the same shade as her green-tinted hair. Then, the room darkens as the red-haired headmaster appears in a pillar of light.

 

Ed Dukeshire supercharges Ranger Academy #8 with black uppercase letters in white and colored dialogue balloons and shares Sage's thoughts in green narrative boxes. Energetic sound effects convey the breathtaking battle. The Rangers' colored grunts and cries burst free of their entrapping balloons. And white block letters, followed by an ellipsis, hint at the tragedy or triumph to come.

 

Thanks to Boom! Studios for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Evil refuses to die, infections to the Morphin Grid linger, and Sage learns why her father turned his back on the Power Rangers in Ranger Academy #8.

 

Rating 9/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.