Go Go Power Rangers #19 // Review
On the Moon, Lady Fienna, the mother of terror to the galaxy Rita Repulsa, has discovered her daughter's true nature. Meanwhile back on Earth, the Rangers continue to struggle with the emotional toll of being Power Rangers while maintaining their relationships. All of these tensions come to a head at the forefront of the story, while the enigmatic Alpha 1 sows doubt and confusion among the Rangers behind the scenes for yet unknown reasons.
Go Go Power Rangers #19 is an INFURIATINGLY hard book to review by its nature. It is the penultimate issue before issue #20, which is itself the final issue of Ryan Parrot's solo writing before being joined by Sina Grace in issue #21 forward. We begin to see the pay off of long-running plot threads within the issue but are left wanting at the final page to save the real action for issue #20, and the one-shot finale Go Go Power Rangers Forever #1. With all of this rising action, it's hard to categorize issue #19 as its own unique reading experience. It's not that the quality of the issue is subpar or off, Parrot and artist Eleonora Carlini are on top form as ever, but we are so eager to see the final climax to this series' long-running arc that some of the contents feel like filler.
Of the comics' pros, the dialogue and characterization remain second to none. Go Go Power Rangers started as the character-driven emotion filled compliment to the main Power Rangers title, and that reputation continues here. The flashback opener of Fienna fending off an army of Tengu soldiers, the revelation of Rita's true self to Fienna in the future, and the continuing mystery of Alpha 1 all demonstrate the excellent world-building that made Parrot beloved.
Parrot also has some great scenes of the Rangers interactions with each other, particularly the whirlwind of complex emotions that is the Jason and Trini romance. What's great about these scenes is that both the cosmic and mundane settings aren't exposition dumps that give us new information we didn't already know. Instead, we get quality scenes that expand on motivations and history previously presented to us. On the plus side this is a great way to keep the story progressing while giving the cast some breathing room before the arc's climax begins, but on the other hand, can come across as filler.
On the art side, Elenora Carlini continues to contribute stunning visuals assisted by the stark colors of Raúl Angulo. There are some inspired magic effects during some of the brief action scenes, specifically the glowing protective spells of Lady Fienna and some chilling dark magic from Rita.
Go Go Power Rangers Power Rangers #19 is a solid installment that comes off slightly underwhelming due to an audience hungry for that final act. None of its contents are bad at what they are, but the calm before the storm becomes annoying when you have a readership itching for rain.
Grade B+
