There’s a lot to cover on Wednesdays. We should know, as collectively, we read an insane amount of comics. Even with a large review staff, it’s hard to get to everything. With that in mind, we’re back with Wrapping Wednesday, where we look at some of the books we missed in what was another great week of comics.
Let’s get this party started.
The Midnite Show #1
Written by Cullen Bunn
Illustrated by Brian Hurtt
Colored by Bill Crabtree
Lettered by Jim Campbell
Reviewed by Gregory Ellner
The “monsters come to life” story is not entirely uncommon, nor is a “lost work” finally coming to the public. The latter is even something that sometimes happens in real life. However, with “The Midnite Show” #1, Cullen Bunn plays it all out so earnestly, it becomes much more fun. The lost film of the famous filmmaker, titled ‘God of Monsters,’ is only viewed in snippets, but from how it is portrayed, Bunn expertly captures the charming cheesiness of older monster films combined with an over-the-top “intentional magnum opus” ideology. The modern audience is shown as equally bored and enraptured, and Bunn’s cuts between their reactions and the horror within and without the film itself give a heightened life to the world at large beyond the pages.
Brian Hurtt’s illustrations are highly animated but also not overly complex. From slow motions to wilder expressions, everyone feels very much alive. As a result, the product is extra entertaining, leaving readers on the edge of their seats even as they follow these very relatable characters to their likely doom. Monsters come across as disturbingly unnatural, but in keeping with the idea that the creator personally played all of these creatures in his films, Hurtt seems to put some familiar characteristics in each of them that hint toward them having the same basic body types, merging story hints between the writing and the illustration.
Bill Crabtree’s colors change based on the mood and general lighting of a scene. As with many works, he uses both the physical light and the mood to inform the color palette, from warmer colors in the brighter light to cooler ones in darker scenes. In the case of the film itself, these colors in general are more muted, allowing the reader to feel as though they are part of the audience watching such a film instead of just reading the film lot directly as a part of it. The separation actually makes the reader feel more part of the story, likely due to how it is viewed through a filter in-world.
Final Verdict: 7.0 – A simple introduction draws people into a fun new story.
Rangers Academy #1
Written by Maria Ingrande Mora
Illustrated by Jo Mi-Gyeong
Colored by Fabiana Mascolo
Lettered by Cardinal Rae and Ed Dukeshire
Reviewed by Quinn Tassin
“Rangers Academy” #1 is cliché. That’s not necessarily a negative thing about the issue, but it does lower the ceiling for the quality level, given the clichés at play here. We open on a girl, Sage, on a rural moon where only she and her father live. They’re farmers but she dreams of doing more, which mostly seems to consist of being a knight who does good around the galaxy (also she treats animals well). As luck would have it, a pair of students at the Ranger Academy crash, she saves them, and brings them back to her reclusive father. After a night spent repairing their ship, she stows away, joining the Ranger Academy. That’s really all there is to it. To be fair, establishing a world, disrupting that world, and leaving it, all in the span of an issue is a lot. But fundamentally, the issue serves to make the rest of the series digestible. It’s a fine decision to make for a first issue, but it makes it less interesting. So far we’ve got a group of pretty simple characters with simple motivation, and the last pages of the issue start the actual story being told.
Now, there is actively interesting stuff here, it’s just fleeting. First, there’s Sage’s father’s insistence that she hide from “offworlders” and his clear familiarity with the Power Rangers (he obviously used to be one), which hint at an interesting backstory while showing some admirable restraint. Or there’s the fact that the professors at the Ranger Academy seem to be Rangers from across time. But teases at something interesting happening in the future don’t actually supplement doing interesting things.
Like the writing, the artwork does its job well enough to be fun, but doesn’t quite reach the heights that you might hope. Clearly inspired by manga in the penciling, “Ranger Academy” #1 also features bright, fun colors on every page. The character design is excellent, as is the creation of a whole new corner of the Power Rangers universe. This is an art team that pulls from lots of familiar science fiction influences in its character and environmental designs but they all come together in a cohesive, effective way. That all being said, things feel a bit visual simple throughout the issue. The comic is over 30 pages and features zero moments that actively stand out. None falter in clear ways, either, and that can be a victory. But it’s clear that the team cares about this comic and it’s a shame that it’s not as expressive or inventive as the manga that influence the visuals here.
Final Verdict: 6.9- Perfectly enjoyable but too cliché and exposition-filled to really sing
