Ranger Academy #11 sees our heroes take the fight back to campus! The latest issue from BOOM! Studios puts the Academy on lockdown as Dark Specter’s influence grows!
Good day, Ranger fans! We’re finally here with another review of BOOM! Studios’ latest series, Ranger Academy. The last few issues have been on a hot streak as they lead us to the conclusion. Can issue #11 keep up the momentum? Read on to find out!
Ranger Academy #11 is the latest in the BOOM! Studios Rangerverse. Written by Maria Ingrande Mora with illustrations by Jo Mi-Gyeong and colouring by Joana Lafuente. Their skills combined together to bring a much larger world to the ever expanding comic Rangerverse. Today, I will be giving you my personal pros and cons of the latest issue.
RELATED: Review: Sins of the Past Contextualise the Present in Ranger Academy #10
WARNING: Potential story spoilers ahead! Read at your own risk!
The Pros
Issue #11 of Ranger Academy sees our group of young Rangers in training journey back to campus to put a stop to Dark Specter. As they get back, they are immediately surprised at how much his influence has grown.
Issue #11 is another dialogue heavy issue as characters converse in their journey back to Ranger Academy. A little bit of humour here and a sprinkle of melodrama there, giving us an issue that feels quintessentially “Ranger Academy”. As much as I’ve disagreed with moments of each – too much quirky humour in one issue, too much melodrama in another – here it’s well balanced in the moments leading to the arrival at the Academy. You may or may not like it but it’s the elements that make up the DNA of Ranger Academy’s story, it’s world and it’s characters.
The pacing slows down a notch as our band of heroes arrive on campus to find the place empty, enveloped by a physical corruptive influence of none other than Dark Specter. We get some dialogue between our heroes and Dark Specter possessing a key figure of the Academy. What I like about this issue and Ranger Academy in general is giving a villain like Dark Specter a limelight once more to show himself as the truly horrifying figure us fans were led to believe he was in “Power Rangers: In Space” back in 1998. We’re given a sense of what his powers are capable of here and while fans may put Lord Zedd up there as the top powerful or most villainous antagonist in Ranger history, I feel with issue #11, that crown could easily be usurped by Dark Specter.
We also see Sage’s (adoptive) Dad, Rhianth, morph into his Red Ranger form for a small moment. Before he does, his characterisation has this small glimmer of confidence we haven’t seen in him through his past vague appearances. I like it. I want more of it. Gimme a one-shot story of a plucky confident Rhianth Red Ranger in his prime, BOOM! Studios! Speaking of Sage, she felt like she was taking a slight backseat during this issue and, while “Ranger Academy” at its core is very much Sage’s story, it was nice to get a slight focus on her ensemble.
Lastly, while the art has remained pretty consistent throughout, issue #11 of Ranger Academy feels a bit more ‘expressive’ in terms of character facial art. Perhaps Jo Mi-Gyeong has hit their stride, perhaps rent was due but nevertheless, more expression without going overboard is always a plus.
The Cons
As Ranger Academy races to its conclusion, there seems to be less and less to get critical about. That very statement rings true for issue #11 as my only gripe comes in the form of pacing and ironically enough, racing to its conclusion.
As I mentioned earlier, the first part of the story is good, well paced but then comes down a notch as our heroes land back at Ranger Academy. A brief slower pacing that only lasts so long before the story kicks into high gear and rushes the third act of the issue, cutting corners to use its limited page count in a bid to have a meaningful cliffhanging conclusion.
As Dark Specter sends possessed students to attack our heroes, suddenly everyone is moving in all manners of directions; one character is fighting students, another character morphs, other characters rush off to face Dark Specter and it’s just a little too quick of a change of pace. Granted, on one hand, it thematically fits the moment within the story context but the way issue #11 changes its pace is like someone walking into your living room, picking up the TV remote and making your programme extremely quiet, before putting it back to default then turning the volume up really loud, then walking out of the room with the remote batteries, leaving you hanging. It’s an extremely vivid simile or metaphor, I know.
Regardless, the pacing issue within hasn’t dampened my feelings towards the issue or Ranger Academy as a whole, but hopefully there’s less corner-cutting in a means to make use of the entire issue page count as we reach the inevitable end of Ranger Academy.
Conclusion
With everything said and done, issue #11, like the previous issue, is another solid entry that carries us through the third act with awe and interest. Despite it’s small pacing fault, issue #11 is filled with great artistic expression, plenty of engaging dialogue between characters and more focus on the Sage’s band of friends.
For this issue, I’d give Ranger Academy #11 an 8 out of 10. An issue that feels quintessentially “Ranger Academy” from start to finish. Whether that’s a good or bad thing will be up to you but at this point, Ranger Academy is here to stay and show us why it’s different from all previous existing Power Rangers media. It may have taken its time but I finally see it. Despite the small pacing issue, it shouldn’t hinder your excitement for issue #12 nor leave you disappointed in general.
Ranger Academy #11 was released October 2nd, 2024 at your local comic book store. This and more Power Rangers BOOM! Studios series are also available as a digital copy from content providers like iBooks, Google Play, and Kindle.
What did you think of Issue #11? Looking forward to more? Any predictions on how the series will end? Let us knows in the comments below! We look forward to seeing them. Stay tuned for more reviews of Ranger Academy and other awesome Power Ranger news and reviews here at The Toku Source!
