Robin #10 (1994)

Robin #10 (September, 1994)
"Two Birds One Stone"
Story - Chuck Dixon
Pencils - Tom Grummett
Ink - Ray Kryssing
Colors - Adrienne Roy
Letters - Albert DeGuzman
Assistant Editor - Jordan B. Gorfinkel
Editor - Denny O'Neil
Cover Price: $1.50

Going to do a little Zero Hour diving today.  Doing a bunch of research on the subject lately for an upcoming Cosmic Treadmill... and I'm on a bit of a Robin kick right now, so this one just seemed like a natural pick.

Before we go on, just wanna say... tomorrow's piece will be the one you've all I've been waiting for... it's Chris is on Infinite Earths' first Blogiversary!  366 daily posts... probably not a big deal to anyone but me... but, heyyy... that's pretty good, right?

I've been going over a few different ideas to make tomorrow's post somewhat special... different issues I want to cover and what not.  Guess as long as I'm not struck down by a bolt of lightning or a city bus in the next 24 hours we'll see how it goes...

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We open as a crew of thieves, led by Chet "Weasel" Grimes.  They are in the midst of a heist for the Vanmeer Oval... a piece worth two million dollars.  This Weasel seems to be pretty good at his job, as he's able to get away clean.  We shift ahead in time a bit to watch Robin as he gets up close and personal with some of Grimes' associates.

While flippin' and kickin' we learn that Weasel flew the coop and left his pals holding the bag... to which, Robin questions their wisdom... ya know, trusting a dude called Weasel would be pretty high on the "stupid things I've done" list.  Then things get really weird...

Now who in the hell is this?  From first blush... and comic shop scuttlebutt, I figured this might be my first "official" reading of Jason Todd (more on that later)... The Boys Wonder (Boy Wonders?  Boys Wonders?) kayo the last goof, and have themselves a pow-wow by the Redbird.  Here, the short-panted Robin (and I'm glad they kept the short pants!) submits to a hand-scan... and we learn that he is actually Dick Grayson!

Before they can become too acquainted, Tim receives word from the police scanner about Weez... which I'm assuming is somehow connected to his mask.  Dick doesn't hear anything, but agrees to tag along.  I really like seeing the disparity between the Robin costumes and tech.  It would/should stand to reason that Tim would have improvements which were not technologically feasible during Dick's days in red.

From here it's a car chase.  The Redbird is in hot pursuit of da Weez, and we are afforded an opportunity to eavesdrop on some Robinesque conversation.  Tim shares how he became Robin... and Dick starts getting question-happy, asking if he retired and so soon after he hung up the tights that Tim took over.  Tim almost divulges that it wasn't Dick he replaced... but catches himself before saying Jason's name.

The Robins's's eventually locate Grimes' car outside the Gotham Aquarium, and decide to go inside to investigate.  They follow him up to the shark tanks, however, before they can get a good look... Grimes shoots up the tanks, freeing the finned menaces.

From here we get a brief scene which I'm so happy was included.  We watch as Dick gracefully and acrobatically crosses the shark-infested waters, whereas Tim swings across (well, almost across...) using a batline... something extraordinary, to be sure... but also something that pales in comparison with Dick's trapeeze-y prowess.

 

Before Tim can reach the other side, a Killer Whale butts its head out of the drink... Dick is able to pull Tim to safety.  It's after this that Tim finally properly introduces himself... Dick was calling him "Robin" up to this point.  Tim is feeling pretty headstrong right now, and is chomping at the bit to catch Weasel.  Dick tells him to settle his tea kettle... after all, he doesn't want his successor to be reckless.  Hmm... 'fraid I got some bad news, friend.

The pair heads into the Amazon Rainforest exhibit just in time to see Grimes fall into the piranha tank.  Whoops...

This would appear to be the end for the poor Weasel... though, it seems Tim smells a different kind of rodent... a rat!  Not sure weasels are rodents, but I'm willing to play fast and loose for a stupid line.

Tim and Dick head to the roof and watch as Gotham's Finest all but toe-tag Grimes.  Dick is surprised to see Harvey Bullock still on the force.  After a line about Bullock not digging jelly donuts, a lightbulb goes off over Tim's head.  Hmm...

Somehow this makes Tim remember that the black piranhas in the Amazon exhibit don't eat human flesh!  Therefore, Grimes has gotta still be skulking around.  Being as though the Weasel is the king of the getaway, he had planted another skeleton in the water to throw the cops off, and facilitate his escape.  Okay... 

Tim and Dick dish out a vigilante arrest just as... time runs out.  I loved these Zero Hour related pages when I read them for the first time... and I still do.  The very panels begin to dissipate... and fade...

... into nothing...

--

Before I start reviewing, I wanna talk about the cover just a bit.  When this was first solicited, many of us thought the "other" Robin was Jason Todd... he's got that horrible split-loaf haircut and everything.  My little crew thought this was going to be DC's "out" for Death in the Family.  Little did we know that a decade later they would use an even more ridiculous way to bring back ol' Jaybird.  I wanna say this was one of them "speculator favorites" because of that as well, at least in my neck of the woods.

I don't recall any of us being against Jason coming back... none of us really knew him all that well.  Actually, as a (sorta) funny aside... back before Tim got this ongoing series, there were the three Robin miniseries.  We were all convinced that the first one was about Dick, Robin II: The Joker's Wild was about Jason, and Robin III: Cry of the Huntress was about Tim.  Since all three minis were considered "key" books, we couldn't afford to actually buy them and see!

Onto the actual book.  I liked it.  The ending was a bit weak... but, c'mon... nobody's reading this issue to see the Weasel get arrested.  This is all about seeing a Tim Drake and Dick Grayson (of the same age) team-up.  As far as that's concerned, this was a lot of fun.

Dixon did a great job of showing how different Dick and Tim are in both their approach and style.  I think far too often Robins can feel interchangeable... ya know, to the "normals" anyway.  It's nice to see how "individual" they can be.  Very nicely done.  Also, it's silly... but I'm really glad that they kept Dick in the short-pants.  That's something that just wouldn't/didn't happen today.  I don't understand it... well, I guess I kinda do... but I definitely don't like it.

Tim keeping Dick in the dark about his future was pretty cool.  I liked that a lot... and I really appreciated him almost slipping a Jason mention in early on.  From the thinking far too much department... gotta wonder if he didn't mention Jason's passing because he didn't want to do anything to cause Dick to prevent it... and thus taking him out of the Robin duds before he ever wore them.  Very... very doubtful, but interesting to consider.

Another thing I was pleased to see... no hero fighting hero bit in this issue.  You'd figure these days we'd get an entire issue of decompressed Robin on Robin violence before they team up against a common foe.  Here, we see that these are two very mature and reasonable young men.  Dick sees what he can only assume to be an impostor, and instead of going in fists first, he starts asking questions.  I really dug that.

Overall... a fun issue I'd recommend folks check out.  Dixon's a favorite of mine, especially on the secondary Bat-family members, and Tom Grummett is always a treat.  I love the way he draws both Robins... you could actually tell them apart at a glance!  Great stuff.  For another take on this issue check out my buddy Walt's post from last Summer.  This issue is unsurprisingly available digitally and it's well worth a look see.

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Red Robin #1 (2009)

Red Robin #1 (August, 2009)
"The Grail, Part One of Four"
Writer - Christopher Yost
Artist - Ramon Bachs
Colorist - Guy Major
Letterer - Sal Cipriano
Assistant Editor - Janelle Siegel
Editor - Mike Marts
Cover Price: $2.99

Today we're going to discuss the first issue of a series that eluded me when it first hit due to my more or less hitting the skids financially.  2008 was not a kind year for this humble blog-guy... 2009 was even worse.

That's all behind me now, and I'm glad that when I was able to come back around there were still things called "back issue bins" for me to throw on a breathing apparatus and dive into.  Let's get to it.

--

We open in Madrid where the daughter of an outspoken politician has been taken hostage by a couple of balaclava'd baddies... not sure if that's the correct term for their headgear, but I'm a sucker for alliteration.  They kill her security detail and hold her captive for their own political statement... along with some tasty ransom money.  Well, all of a sudden there arose such a clatter... and it's here that we are introduced to the hero of our story, Red Robin.  He's handling things a bit differently then before... with seemingly much less regard for the figurative "line" that all good guys struggle with staying on the right side of.  He's so shaken by current events (more on that in a bit) that he's not even sure that "line" exists anymore.

Red Robin proceeds to beat the hell outta the bad guys, until he comes across what he describes as a "cyborg".  He names it "Manos de Fuego" due to the fact that he has some fiery damn hands.  The fact that a cyborg guardian is placed here tips Tim off that the girl is likely still alive.  Manos throws a flaming punch... which Tim, get this... catches... that's gonna leave a mark.  He headbutts the 'borg, grabs the girl and skadoos out the window.

Our young Master Drake Wayne returns to his hotel room where he considers the profound stupidity of catching a flaming fist.  He then sits in reflection in regard to his current lot in life.  Ya see he's been on something of a European whirlwind tour, four cities in seven days.  He's on the trail of something... a hunch (more on that in a bit).

Next up we get a flashback... and boy is it a goodie.  Tim is in the Batcave talking to Batman... who at this point in time is Dick Grayson, onna count of Bruce Wayne being dead and all.  Tim appears to feel as though Dick is keeping him at arm's length... it's a fairly uncomfortable situation, however, for a dysfunctional bat-family mark like me, quite enjoyable.

The discomfort grows several fold with the arrival of Damian Wayne... in full Robin costume!  Tim takes this as a slap in the face.  Why would Dick choose Damian over him?  Damian suggests that Tim can still be "part of the team" and offers that there might be a Batgirl costume hanging in a closet somewhere.  Whatta jerk!  With the relatively "softer, kinder" Damian we now enjoy, it's a bit of a trip to remember how awful'a kid he used to be.

Tim does not react kindly to Damian's suggestion... and so, socks him in the face!  That's pretty hardcore considering that Damian, for all his assassin training, is like eight-years old at this point!  Dick separates the two, and Tim leaves the cave... however, trashes a room in the Manor in a rage.

We shift back to the present, and watch as a limousine is blown up in Prague.  The blower-upper remained holed up elsewhere for awhile... however, before truly being able to enjoy the fruits of his labor he is killed by a creepy chittering critter.

We return to Tim as he motors through the streets of Paris... we know it's Paris because the Eiffel Tower is in the background.  He takes out a carfull of criminals on the street... and does so pretty brutally.  He puts a rod through the engine causing it to explode.  He sees this as nothing more than a distraction from following up on his hunch.

We briefly return to the flashback.  Tim is sitting in the room at Wayne Manor he'd just thrashed, and his right hand is bleeding.  After a few static (identical) panels, he finally speaks... "He's Alive."  His hunch is that Bruce Wayne is still alive, and it would appear the direction of this series is going to be focused on Tim's search for the truth.

Back in Paris we watch as Tim collects his thoughts.  He has a map pinned to the wall with all of his leads.  Turns out we're not the only ones watching, as a trio of jerks has him in their sights as well.  I must note that Tim is not wearing his Red Robin costume at this point, so these folks are seeing him in all his mask-less glory...

... and they are reporting in to the person they are spying for, Ra's al Ghul.

--

Pretty strong opening chapter here... a real nice look on the post-Batman R.I.P. Bat-family.

Now I probably should start by getting my bias out of the way.  Anyone who has read my thoughts on the Bat-books over this past year knows I've got a soft spot for any issues that spotlight the dysfunctional nature of the Bat-family.  This issue features a brief, but excellent scene depicting that... and it is interesting because the three members we see are all reacting in very different ways.

Tim is having a problem letting things go.  He is still stuck with a focus on Bruce Wayne... and this is even before he concocted the theory that Bruce is still alive.  Point is, he's looking to the past.  Damian is being a little jerk, almost overcompensating in his jerkiness to (perhaps) assuage feelings of sadness for losing his father.  They weren't terribly tight at this point, but blood is blood.  He's looking to the future, and his new role as the Boy Wonder.  Dick is in the middle... he's too busy focusing on the present to concern himself too much with the past or future.  It's clear he's chosen Damian as Tim's successor to keep an eye on him... to keep him from, ya know, killing a bunch of people.  Dick seems to see his role in all this as a peacekeeper... a Bat-cop.

I really appreciated Tim's new outlook on brutality... questioning whether or not there is still a line to avoid crossing in this new Batman-is-dead-world.  We see him take out criminals with a new level of ferociousness... really not worrying himself with their mortality.  Early on, he escapes an apartment as it's blowing up... with about a half-dozen terrorists still inside.  I would venture to say there were at least a couple of fatalities there.  Later on, he see him flip and explode a car... I don't think there's gonna be many walking away from that.  Even if they survive... they're not going to be "whole" anymore.

Does this make sense?  I'm not sure.  I know I kinda dig it... and I recall some of the rumors swirling online at this point.  Folks were seriously viewing this as signalling a heel-turn from Tim... like, he was going to eventually take that one step too far, and become an irredeemable villain.  After reading an issue like this, I gotta say, it would not have surprised me had DC decided to go down that path.  Best yet, it's one of those "shades of gray" things... I would guess that many would see Tim's turn to the dark side as almost justified considering the grinder that the post-R.I.P. books put him through.

Yost's storytelling is great... I've been a fan of his, along with his writing partner of many years Craig Kyle, during their time on the X-Books... I always thought they had a great voice for the younger characters, which makes him writing for Tim a natural fit.  The art here... it's a bit rough... like, not bad... but it's a "rough style".  I'm more accustomed to  a cleaner style when it comes to Robin stories... however, and this is a big reach... this was purposefully done to illustrate that this is a "rougher" Robin.  I'm almost positive I'm reading too much into this, but it's fun to consider.

Definitely one I'd suggest you check out.  It is available digitally, and like many of DC's #1's, it's only a buck.  It's also been collected in trade paperback, however, it appears to be out-of-print, and thus inflated to a somewhat ridiculous price online.  I wouldn't be surprised to see many local comic shops still carrying this trade at-or-below cover price.  Happy hunting should you decide to check it out!

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Batman #421 (1988)

Batman #421 (July, 1988)
"Elmore's Lady"
Writer - Jim Starlin
Penciller - Dick Giordano
Inker - Joe Rubenstein
Letterer - John Costanza
Colorist - Adrienne Roy
Editor - Denny O'Neil
Cover Price: $0.75

Boy, there's a cover that just jumps out atcha, eh?  Not really sure if I dig it or not, however, it does fall in the midst of what is rapidly becoming one of my favorite runs on Batman.  This picks up on a story we've already discussed back in December, Batman #414... which is a surprise.  I kinda thought, despite the open ending, that it was a one-and-done.

Let's hop in... remember to check the link above if you're interested in finding out what brought us to the events of this issue.

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We open up with Batman meeting with Commissioner Gordon.  They are discussing the recent string of murders by an assailant they are referring to as the "Dumpster Slasher".  He's the one who killed Bruce's social worker friend Kate Babcock, remember?  It would seem that this killer has something of a pattern... kills for two weeks, takes one week off, then repeats the cycle.  By Bat-math, there should be eleven victims by this point, however, the Gotham Police only has ten.  Gordon suggests that the Slasher may have skipped town... though Batman hopes that's not the case.

We shift scenes to our titular character, Elmore.  He's a burnt out transient, who doesn't appear to perceive reality all that well these days.  We watch as he rummages through a dumpster... "grocery shopping" he calls it... I bet you think he's gonna come across a body here, huh?  Well, no... what he does find however, is trouble.  A couple'a punks approach from behind... and they've got some bad intentions.

And so, they proceed to beat the hell out of this poor defenseless old man.  Lucky for Elmore, Batman just happens to be on a dumpster tour himself.  He takes the punks out without much effort, and checks in on Elmore... who he knows by name.  Elmore's excited to see Batman, because he's got some big news... he's done gone and gotten hitched!  Yes, our man Elmore is a married man.  Asamattafact, he met his wife right here at the dumpster!  Wha--?  Batman checks the bin, and finds what he thinks might just be dried blood.  He asks Elmore if he might meet his blushing bride, and he happily agrees.

The pair head toward Elmore's former bachelor pad located in a tunnel off an abandoned railroad spur.  Our tour guide informs us that his wife's name is Suzy... and when we meet her... well, she's tied to a chair.  No, she's not being held captive... she's long dead... though the art doesn't make that entirely clear.

Is she dead... or just annoyed?

Batman keeps his composure and asks Elmore some questions which may hasten his search for the killer(s).  Elmore volunteers that he saw men driving a red van with a picture of a dragon and a hand on the side of it... who dropped the body into the dumpster.  Batman recognizes the symbol as that of the Iron Dragons.  He excuses himself to make a call... and that morning the body is picked up, while poor Elwood protests.

Later, Batman decides to pay a visit to the Iron Dragons... who are none too keen on giving him any information.  So... he beats them up pretty good.  All but one, who agrees to let Batman search the van.  Inside there appears to be blood... which will have to be tested by the police labs.  The gang canary informs Batman that on the night in question their entire gang was locked up for starting a fight... the van had been in impound, so they've got an alibi.  Before Batman leaves, and this is great... the stoolie asks to be punched in the face so that his gang-associates won't realize that he cooperated.  Great scene!

Batman returns home to check the GCPD records, and learns that a Victor Giambattista was in charge of the police impound yard on the night in question... and so, he pays the yard a visit.  It would seem that he "just missed" ol' Vic... however Giambattista overhears that Batman's looking for him.  He rushes to a phone to call the person he "let borrow" the van while it was in impound... feels like we're chasing wild geese here, don't it?

Batman decides his next stop will be Vic's apartment... however, along the way he gets caught up stopping an idiot purse snatcher.  By the time he can get to Giambattista's apartment... well, it's been set ablaze... and inside, Vic's been stabbed in the back.  That'll learn 'im, right?  Anyhoo... before he passes on, he babbles a bit in Italian and points to the ground where writ in blood is the word "CUGINO".

Batman returns to the cave to Rosetta-stone his way to the killer.  Cugino is Italian for cousin... and so, Batman knows his next stop.  Vic's cousin Vito Procaccini's apartment.  While snooping around... Vito creeps up on him with a blade.  This does not work out so well for our cugino.

 

With Vito down, Batman starts with the questions... he doesn't get far however, as a giant man called Branneck enters the room.  He huffs and puffs and with all of his strength... threatens to call the cops if Batman doesn't split.  Batman knows when he's beat... so he leaves.  He doesn't have anything concrete on the "cuz" just yet.

We wrap up with Branneck deciding that it's time to make their kills "an even dozen"... while Batman broods atop a nearby building wondering how he's going to fix all of this.

--

Boy do I dig Starlin's take on Batman!

First... I gotta say, how cool is it that they picked back up on the Dumpster Slasher here?  I really thought that was a one-and-done... more of a commentary on just how dangerous Gotham City is rather than an actual storyline.  Really glad to see it brought back up here.

The storytelling here was a lot of fun too... I know I compared it to a wild goose chase during the spoilery-synopsis... but it was a chase I really enjoyed.  I liked "accompanying" Batman as he followed all of the threads and clues.  When it was implied that a crooked cop was behind this, though, I think I audibly groaned.  I mean, that's certainly not a novel idea... it's pretty much expected in this post Year One world.  I was more than pleased to find out that the cop, while being "on the take", didn't actually slash anybody.

I appreciated the ending.  Ya know, sometimes Batman's not going to win... right away.  He knew he was illegally searching Vito's apartment... which would probably make anything he did turn up inadmissible in court anyway.  He has a better idea what went down though... and with this education, he can take a step back and plan his next move.  Very well done.

The art here was serviceable... however, I do have one pretty big gripe.  The scene where Batman "meets" "Suzy".  There's no reason why we needed to see her from the front... especially since it wasn't entirely clear whether she was alive or dead.  I figure, you show her from behind... have Batman have a shocked or saddened expression... bada bing, bada boom... we know we've just found victim eleven.  Seeing her face... which looked to be somewhat alert (and annoyed!), it seemed as though she was just being held against her will by Elmore.  They could've given her a word balloon, and I wouldn't have batted an eye.

Overall... another very good issue from this run on Batman that has somehow (for the most part) eluded me.  Definitely recommended.  It is available digitally... though, to my knowledge, has yet to be collected.  We might just need to start a petition to get Jim Starlin's complete run collected in a spiffy hardcover.  Who wouldn't want that?

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Justice League/Power Rangers #1 (2017)

Justice League/Power Rangers #1 (March, 2017)
Writer - Tom Taylor
Artist/Colorist - Stephen Byrne
Letterer - Deron Bennett
Cover Price: $3.99

Sometimes the place that ships me my comics throws a little something extra in my box... whether it's by mistake or by gift, I dunno.  I gotta say, I was pretty surprised to see this bugger on the top of my stack.  Definitely not something I would have ordered.

I figure as long as I've got it... I may as well give it a look-see.  Before we proceed, just wanna make it clear... I have zero nostalgic attachment to the Power Rangers, Mighty Morphin or otherwise.  So, for me this isn't any sort of "dream match"... this is certainly not Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles... that being said, my take on this may not be as enthusiastic as someone who grew up with the Rangers.

--

Our establishing shot is of the city of Angel Grove... which is apparently the home of the Power Rangers... and over 376,000 other citizens.  Well, at least is was... ya see, at present, Angel Grove is nothing more than a smoldering crater in the landscape!

Six teenagers are standing amid the wreckage... with the one named Zack on his knees claiming that this is all his fault.  Superman lowers into the scene to assure the young fella that he is innocent in all of this, and they know who is really behind it all.

We next jump back in time 36 hours.  We're at the Power Rangers Command Center where Zack has just arrived to join his teammates.  He mentions that he's been having arguments with his parents of late about his Morphin-related disappearances.  They are interrupted by Zordon who informs them that "Alpha Five" is missing... and before I read this, I has no idea what that meant.

The team splits up to hunt down this Alpha Five, and Zack (who appears to be our focus-character today) happens to find it... him.  Alpha is a small humanoid robot with one of them Batteries Not Included robots for a head.  All it can say is "Aye yi yi"... which makes me glad I'm only reading this.  Zack reports his find and returns to command...

... where Alpha begins to melt... and then explodes!  Well, that sorts that!

As the smoke clears there is a man-shaped mass of hamburger meat standing tall.  This is Lord Zedd, and I'm assuming he's our big bad.  I always thought the Power Rangers fought a witch with Krusty the Clown hair?  Anyhoo, he's surrounded by some of Shredder's Foot Soldiers... and so Zack decides "It's Morphin Time" and changes into the Black Ranger.  I'm a bit surprised, I thought "Morphin" would have an apostrophe after it... as though they were saying "morphing"... because, ya know... they're morphing into their sentai suits... ehh, who knows...

A fight breaks out that ends with Zack grabbing Zedd by the arm and teleporting away.  At this point the other Rangers return... and see the Foot Soldiers Putties, so they pop into their work clothes to kick some butt.

We rejoin the Black Ranger as he battles some Putties on the streets of wherever he teleported to... which we will now learn is Gotham City.  The Batmobile pulls up, and Batman advises the lad to drop his axe.  Zack thinks that might be a bad idea... and worse yet, thinks Batman might be an agent of Lord Zedd... and so, he attacks him.  This doesn't work out so well for poor Zack.

That is, until the rest of the Rangers arrive.  I know I'm kinda bagging on this issue a bit, but this is a spectacular image!

The Rangers team up and start whoopin' on Batman... who has to call in some help.  Mere moments later, after a bit of sass... the Flash arrives to disarm the entire Rangers team.

 

Batman falls back and fires a bat-missile type thing at the Power Rangers.  The Pink Ranger decides that discretion may be the best part of valor... however, Zack refuses to leave... he knows Lord Zedd is on the loose somewhere in this dimension... and so, she summons her Pterodactyl Dinozord... which is her vehicle.

The vehicle grabs the Batmobile in its "mouth" and flies off... leaving Flash to report into the Watchtower, where he breaks the news to Cyborg.

--

Ehh.

This wasn't a bad book... but, I really don't have interest in seeing it through.  The art is really nice, especially when the Power Rangers are in costume.  The action scenes are really very well done.  When they are out of costume, however, it has sort of that light-manga feel that Marvel was attempting to evoke around the turn of the century.  The type of thing that would pop up in a filler story in an issue of X-Men Unlimited or something.  Not bad by any stretch... just makes the story look a bit dated... at least to me.

This is definitely Power Rangers (guest-starring the Justice League)... at least for this opening chapter.  Again, that's not a bad thing... it just doesn't speak to me.  I'm sure folks a bit younger than me will receive this a lot better than I did.  The Power Rangers hit when I was in high school.  My younger brother liked it, however, I remember thinking the show looked really lame from just the commercials.  I gotta figure if I were just a hair younger I'd have eaten this up with a spoon... I was always a mark for those shows that could double for action-figure ads.  

In reading this, I feel as though I can begin to care for the characters... but again, not enough to continue along.  Taylor did a good job of providing a brief introduction for the Rangers without heaping a load of exposition on the reader.  Zack is the best fleshed out here... but if I had to guess, I'd figure each issue of this miniseries will "spotlight" a different Ranger... with this one being "Zack's chapter".

Overall... I'm really not sure how to rate this.  I would have to assume you enter into a comic like this knowing whether you're going to like it or not.  Perhaps it's unfair of me to discuss a book when I am so unfamiliar with half of the cast... but, I'm afraid that train's already left the station.  Even though this wasn't for me, I couldn't advise anyone against checking it out.  If you dig the Power Rangers, there's a good probability that you will also dig this.  If you are open to the possibility of digging the Rangers... you also may like this.  If you're a stubborn idiot like me who doesn't think the Power Rangers deserve to share panel space with Batman and Superman, ya might just wanna give it a pass.

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