Go go – Cowabunga! In a medium where we learn to never say never, yes Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 just happened. As long time MMPR fan and die-hard Turtle fan for life, to say I was amped about this occurrence, well would be quite the understatement.
IDW Publishing puts out some of the best comics on the monthly docket and BOOM! Studios unquestionably puts out the very best Power Ranger stories ever. So this just sounded like a match made in teenager hero Heaven. However, like any good crossover, it wasn’t all pizza and milkshakes as you know the drill by now. The two good guy teams have to meet up and do their obligatory confused first battle. It’s the usualy trope to see what side each other is on. Only this time it was really really good. The art here by Simone Di Meo is absolutely breathtaking. It is like a mix of high octane manga and a video game. The lines are so striking and crisp. You could tell the artist was having a blast rendering these two retro pop icon teams.
Onto the story. Now what I thought could have been your typical cookie-cutter where one of the good guys gets brainwashed and turned bad scenario, power scribe Ryan Parrott does not take that route. Without too many spoilers, it appears Tommy Oliver aka the Green Ranger is working undercover with the Foot Clan and now we have ourselves an intriguing hook, because no one, not even his best friends are aware of it.
The biggest twist of the crossover, however, is not a twist at all, it is that both the MMPR and TMNT exist in the same universe. That means no portals, no time jumping, no multiverse shenanigans, just good ole straight up same space-occupying sai smashing, power staff bashing fun. This was a breath of fresh air as we have seen the other situations played far too often when attempting to merge two properties.
Without going too much further, all I will say is … get Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1. It is a fantastic and great reward to long-time fans of both franchises. IDW and BOOM! are on a crossover roll and they aren’t about to stop now. Shredder, Monsters, Foot Clan, what more could you want? Oh, how about Casey Jones and Lord Zedd?? That would be absolutely epic. So who knows what is left in store for us on the rest of this story, all you need to know is the little kid, and the big kids that you are, you don’t want to miss it.
Story: Dan Parrott Art: Simone Di Meo Colors: Walter Baiamonte
Overall Score: 9.9 Recommendation: Buy
BOOM! Studios provided Graphic Policy with a free copy for review
