COMIC REVIEW - Power Rangers: Soul Of The Dragon (Boom Studios, 2018)

Written by Kyle Higgins

Art by Giuseppe Cafaro & Marcelo Costa

(2023 Update: For some reason, I kept refering to the title as Sins Of The Dragon rather than Soul Of The Dragon. This has since been corrected.)

So anyone who has followed this blog have noted my somewhat "stern" criticism of Kyle Higgins' obsession with JDF to the degree that his entire run has been all about him. I could say it's all about "Tommy" and such, but let's be honest. It's all about that JDF wankfest. On a similar note, those same people who followed this blog will also have noted that I don't particularly care for JDF as a personality. Countless posts can be found to further corroborate this point.

With this in mind, I came into Soul Of The Dragon - the first one-shot graphic novel in Boom's Power Rangers line - with a bit of trepidation, but to my surprise and utter delight, what I got was actually a pretty decent, somewhat low-key story about an aged Dr. Oliver, past his prime, searching for clues as to the whereabouts of his missing son. There are familiar cameos, there are flashbacks and references to past events, there's some twists and turns that seem somewhat obvious if you've been following the main series for a while, but it makes sense within the context of the story.

The whole thing is basically a last hurrah for the Tommy Oliver character before he passes the torch, so to speak. And while it isn't the Old Man Logan approach that some folks would have wanted, it is nonetheless a satisfying final chapter for the franchise's most popular character... Finster.

The artwork is interesting, with an attempt to give these characters as close to a resemblance to the actors who portrayed them as possible. In this regard, it's a mixed bag; sometimes, they nail it and other times, not so much. As a whole, the art tends to be a bit rough, sometimes feeling as though it was drawn on a sketchbook quickly and color was splashed on later before it went straight to print. You see this often with the characters, though the scenery isn't too bad either.

Soul Of The Dragon is probably Kyle Higgins' best work. It's a simple but effectively decent story, a good read, and gives Tommy a good last hurrah that lacks the ballyhoo people would've liked and was better for it. A highly recommended read if you want a quick PR comic to read, and that's the highest praise I've levied towards the Boom run thus far.