Happy Comic-Con Week, everybody! So much going on! So much news! DC All In! Some other stuff. I’m sure it’s a lot. Thankfully, we’ve got good comics to enjoy like Power Rangers and Void Rivals.

Comic Book of the Week goes to NYX #1 for a truly unique energy and premise to this new X-Men comic, at least in the current climate of things.

Meanwhile, I saw Deadpool & Wolverine Thursday night and it was fun. I don’t think it’s as strong as the first two Deadpool movies because it was more focused on cameos and Easter Eggs than having a rock solid story, but such was the choice. I’ll probably have my full thoughts and review up by Wednesday!

Comic Reviews: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #122, NYX #1 and Void Rivals #11.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #122
Writer: Melissa Flores
Artist: Simona Di Gianfelice
Colorists: Raul Angulo with assistance from Jose Enrique Fernandez

This is the penultimate issue of BOOM!’s current Power Rangers comics and I suppose it works in that regard.

The end is almost near and all points are sort of converging. Zordon is super mad at Billy for shattering the Grid. The Hyperforce Rangers bring in a bunch of cavalry to help the fight. And Ranger Slayer Kimberly convinces the Solar Rangers to open the Void.

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

This issue mostly served to prepare the various storylines for whatever’s going to happen to them in the finale. I have to imagine BOOM! and Flores have all manner of twists and surprises planned for the final issue next week, and they didn’t want to waste any of them in this penultimate chapter. That’s fine. So this issue just explores the various characters on a surface level as we prepare for a final showdown. It was a little lacking, but it’s still an enjoyable issue. We get some deeper character moments, like Zordon confronting Billy, but I would have liked more. The issue doesn’t feel rushed, so that’s not a problem. And the artwork is as strong as ever, just like the past few issues. We’re just getting everything set up for what will hopefully be an outstanding grand finale!

TL;DR: The penultimate BOOM! Power Rangers comic moves the show along and sets the stage for the grand finale.

NYX #1
Writers: Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly
Artist: Francesco Mortarino
Colorist: Raul Angulo
Letterer: VC’s Joe Sabino

I don’t know which X-Men comics I’ll be sticking with for the long run, so I’m going to try most of them. NYX is off to a really good start.

We focus on Kamala Khan as she attends a special mutant class at ESU, because we needed a reason for her to go into the city while still living at home in Jersey City. The professor is Prodigy, and Sophie Cuckoo gloms onto her as a ‘too cool for this’ best friend. They go out later and find Anole working at a bar, while also running into some new anti-mutant jerks. Kamala thinks these jerks are causing some destruction and blaming mutants, so she goes to confront them as Ms. Marvel, only to find out that it really is a mutant behind the damage: The Krakoan! Also Wolverine shows up.

We find out in the end that The Krakoan is really Hellion, and he’s working alongside Empath and the other Stepford Cuckoos to do some evil stuff.

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

This issue has a fresh, unique feel in terms of a new team book, and that is its biggest strength. The focus here is clearly on these characters as young adults making their way in New York City. Some story elements are a bit of a stretch, like getting Kamala into NYC or Sophie immediately just grabbing her socially and never letting go, but such are the needs of getting the story going. I can easily forgive that because the characters are written so well, their dialogue moves nicely and I like them as people. And the characters interacting well is going to be the heart of this team book, hopefully. One thing Krakoa got wrong was always being plot or story based and rarely character based.

The conflict is a good one. Kamala thinks the bigots are framing mutants but really it’s a bunch of evil mutants back to doing no good. And Julian being the bad guy is a nice touch, considering his relationships with a lot of these characters. Or maybe Empath is controlling his mind. That works. I also really like the choice of having the other Cuckoos as bad guys. It immediately answers the question of why Sophie is alone on the hero side. It totally works for me! And I like the idea of a fun, teen hangout comic where they have to fight their former classmates/sisters.

Though I still think it’s really awkward to have Ms. Marvel as the lead teen mutant these days.

TL;DR: Despite Ms. Marvel still not really working for me, this was a really fun first issue that focused much more on establishing the characters than on driving the plot.

Void Rivals #11
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Lorenzo De Felici
Colorist: Patricio Delpeche
Letterer: Rus Wooton

Darak and Springer are a great comedic duo and the Autobot has really added a new level of fun to this comic!

Springer and Solila immediately jump into action to fight off the invading army, while Darak does his best, to strong comedic effect. The good guys win and Darak decides to have Springer give the soldiers the information he has on Energon, because it will help the people and Darak has stopped viewing his planet as two different peoples. They’re the same. Solila apologizes for her past behavior and says they need to go their separate ways.

Meanwhile, Rodimus Prime showed up and there’s some other stuff happening with the other facets of this comic.

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

First of all, apologies for the vagueness of that last sentence in the recap. I’m losing track of what’s happening with all the other characters in this comic. I still very much enjoy the Skuxxoid, but I’ve lost track of the other players. And then Rodimus Prime shows up out of the blue (at least I think that’s who it is). So all of the mini story chapters at the end of the issue were more confusing than anything else. But the fight with our main characters was a real hoot! Kirkman was in solid form with the banter and the humor because Darak is terrible in a fight, it seems; hilariously so.

The fight was great! From Springer kicking a tank to Darak trying to kick a tank and failing, so Solila being a recognized badass by everybody. It was action-packed, with witty banter aplenty! And then I absolutely loved what happened afterwards, from Darak picking a random soldier to get the secret to saving their society, to Darak giving a big speech to Solila about how they have to be the change they want to see in the world, how they actually have to start living with the big secret they uncovered. So the main story, at least, has a wonderful mix of humor, heart and character stuff, making for an excellent issue.

TL;DR: Action, comedy, heart and drama all continue to excel in Void Rivals, the underappreciated sibling in the Energon Universe.

The comics I review in my Hench-Sized reviews are just the usual comics I grab from Comixology any given week, along with a few impulse buys I might try on a whim. So if there are any comics or series you’d like me to review each week, let me know in the comments.

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