Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Beyond the Grid – Deluxe Edition collects Boom! Comics’ Mighty Morphin Power Rangers nos. 31-39 and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 2018 Anniversary Special no. 1, written by Marguerite Bennett with illustrations by Simone di Meo, Alessandro Cappuccio, Alessio Zonno, French Carlomagno, and Francesco Mortarino, colors by Walter Baiamonte, Francesco Segala, French Carlomagno, Eleonora Bruni, and Whitney Cogar, with letters by Ed Dukshire, and cover art by Goñi Montes. The story works as a coda to Kyle Higgins’ Shattered Grid saga of Lord Drakkon, featuring a group of several Rangers from across the various Power Ranger iterations cast into an unknown universe beyond the Morphin Grid.

The new team features Tanya Sloan (Zeo Ranger II Yellow), Andros (the Red Space Ranger), Karone (the Lost Galaxy Pink Ranger), Mike Corbett (the second Magna Defender), Cameron Watanabe (the Green Samurai Ranger), and Heckyl (now the Dino Charge Dark Ranger). Joining these characters from the various series are characters unique to the comics, including Grace Sterling (the Mighty Morphin Red Ranger from 1969) and the alternate-universe Kimberly Hart who once served Lord Drakkon as the Ranger Slayer. Together, they must help Ellarien, the Solar Ranger, who somehow uses a physical piece of the Morphin Grid called the Solarix to transform. The Praetor pursues them with his Crimson Raiders, seeking the Solarix for himself.

Further complicating matters are the Rangers’ own relationships: each come from different times and, in some cases, different universes, thrown together during Drakkon’s war. Andros comes from his time as the Red Space Ranger, so he does not know the Karone who reformed after her time as Astronema and became a Ranger in her own right. Even those Rangers who know each other struggle as only some have regained their ability to morph. Among those left without powers who look for a way to help are T.J. Johnson (the Blue Space Ranger), Karone, Connor McKnight (the Red Dino Ranger), Mia Watanabe (the Pink Samurai Ranger), Orion (the Super Megaforce Silver Ranger), Riley Griffin (the Dino Charge Green Ranger), and Terona Washington (the Mighty Morphin Yellow Ranger from 1969).

As befits Boom! Studios’ ongoing Power Ranger comics, the story tackles heavier themes of loss, sacrifice, self-doubt, and fear with higher stakes than the television series. Readers will need a familiarity with the “Shattered Grid” storyline to fully appreciate the plot, plus knowledge of characters from throughout the long-running Power Rangers franchise. The setting in a universe slowly decaying to entropy and inevitable heat-death is particularly poignant, adding a sense of dread that mirrors the characters’ own inner turmoil. Ironically, the various artists who contributed to this volume portrayed the flares of dying stars and draining energy in a most beautiful manner, evoking some of the greatest science fantasy even as it offers a physical manifestation of doom. The ships and Solar Zords in particular hearken back to Chris Foss’ space art of the 1970s, adding further to the story’s space-fantasy aesthetic. This volume concludes with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 2018 Anniversary Special no. 1, an anthology of stories featuring characters from throughout the franchise’s history that commemorate the franchise’s twenty-fifth anniversary. A cover gallery, concept art gallery from Simone di Meo & Jamal Campbell, and special preview of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers no. 40, which launches the “Necessary Evil” storyline that follows this one cap off the book. The end effect is a coda following the first big saga in Boom! Studios’ Power Rangers line of titles. ( )