Learn The Truth Of The Ranger Slayer In Go Go Power Rangers #11

What sent the Kimberly Hart of Lord Drakkon’s dimension down the path to becoming the Ranger Slayer? We get a glimpse of that in Go Go Power Rangers #11 as we dive deeper into her past and present. Meanwhile, she’s fighting a battle on dual fronts against the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. One involves a Frankenstein-esque zord and the other is a more personal attack on Zordon and the command center. The only one that can really stand against this threat is the Kimberly of this world.

The driving force of Go Go Power Rangers has always been the solid character drama. Writer Ryan Parrott continues that through this issue and into this tie-in to Shattered Grid. The Ranger Slayer was first a shocking enemy that could strike at the heart of the Power Rangers and Kimberly, in particular. She’s since evolved into a multi-layered character with some real depth. Her story is compelling and we’re still digging into her background.
The issue opens with a flashback to her time in Drakkon’s dimension as she was fighting alongside the resistance. It’s here that she discovers Matthew, her boyfriend in both worlds. Here he’s in pretty bad shape and you can see how his fate is tied to Kimberly’s relationship to Drakkon. She’s already lost so much that to add even more to it is just going to push her over the edge.

This contrasts nicely with the present day as we get a glimpse as to what turned her to the dark side. The Ranger Slayer gets a chance to be a normal girl again, which is something she had almost forgotten how to do. You see a definite change in her demeanor as she’s able to relax a little and let her guard down. You get the sense that she rarely sleeps and is always tense, especially around other people.
This is shown in a gorgeous montage from artist Dan Mora. The Ranger Slayer’s face is shown on one side of the page as smaller shots of her trying out things in our world are spread across the rest of it. This comes full circle when the Matthew of this world shows up and shakes the Ranger Slayer to her core. It’s like she’s seen a ghost and she doesn’t quite know how to handle such a rush of emotion.

Drakkon’s dimension and this one are like night and day. The former is full of shadows and depression, while the latter is bright and vibrant. Colorist Raul Angulo sets the tone for each world, showing there’s no hope in Drakkon’s world, but it’s still alive in this one.
Mora excels at facial expressions, conveying so much emotion with a single glance. This is especially true of Kimberly and the Ranger Slayer because we see two sides to the same character. They process information differently since they have very different life experiences.

There are a few times throughout Go Go Power Rangers #11 where the Rangers remove their helmets. Instead of physically taking them off, they teleport away. Mora shows this with a small bit of energy around their heads, which serves as a great effect. Angulo completes the package since the energy matches the color of the Ranger.
Letterer Ed Dukeshire is back with more of my favorite color-coded word balloons. In the heat of battle, it can be difficult to tell who’s speaking since the Rangers are inside giant robots and you can’t always see their faces. Dukeshire differentiates them by matches the outline of the balloon to the color of the Ranger. It’s some great synergy.

Go Go Power Rangers takes some interesting and surprising turns with this issue. The Ranger Slayer is proving to be not just a solid villain, but an intriguing character in her own right. After seeing her development in this chapter, I hope we get to see more of her past the Shattered Grid event. She has not taken away anything from the ongoing narrative. Instead, she’s enhanced it and added some further drama. Other series should take note as this is how to properly do an event tie-in.
Go Go Power Rangers #11 from Boom! Studios is currently available at your local comic shop and digitally through ComiXology and Amazon Kindle.