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Making Billy Suffer – The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers At WonderCon

Peter S. Svensson writes for Bleeding Cool.

I love Power Rangers. I really do. I've loved it since I was a kid, and even as an adult I help run the Official Power Morphicon, the bi-annual Power Rangers convention. So keep that in mind as I write about Boom's panel on the MMPR comic they held at WonderCon.

The familiar strains of Ron Wasserman's "GO GO POWER RANGERS" played as the panel began, and Walter Jones, the original Black Ranger Zack Taylor came to the podium to emcee the panel. He asks the audience what time it is, and we all know the answer. "It's morphing time!" Walter explains that he loves the Boom comics, because the artwork includes a cuter version of him.

He then introduces the other panelists:

Dafna Pleban, editor of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

Her assistant editor, fanboy extreme Alex Galer!

Kyle Higgins, writer of the incredibly underrated C.O.W.L from Image, oh and also MMPR!

Jason Bischoff, Director of Global Consumer Products for Saban Brands, the corporation behind Power Rangers.

All of whom amazing, and all really into this geeky TV series turned Boom comic.

Walter starts off by asking all of the panelists, "Who is your favorite Power Ranger? This should be a simple question to answer."

Kyle: "Um… the correct answer is they're all fantastic."

Walter: "I'll go with that."

Kyle then elaborates that if pressed, he'd probably pick Jason, but that his favorite changes depending on who he is writing, because the fun part about writing a Power Rangers comic book is that he can dive into the characterization that the show didn't have a chance to explore as it was episodic, as opposed to the serialized monthly comic format. There's some things he's really excited about coming up with Zack.

Walter: "Oh, do tell…"

Kyle then pointed to his editors, who are there to keep him from just telling everything to everyone.

Walter then asked if Angela, Zack's would-be girlfriend, is in the comic. She is.

Dafna answered the question by saying that while she loves all the Rangers, she always tries to find ways to make Billy suffer more in the comic, to make him sad, because that's how she shows her affection.

Alex proudly admitted that whenever he got a chance as a kid, he dressed up as the Green Ranger. He got a Blue Ranger helmet and painted it green, which was as close as he could get. But which ranger he likes best depends on which episode he's watching. He watched the episode featuring Slippery Shark (That would be "On Fins and Needles") and loved Red Ranger Jason in that one. Still, he probably loves Bulk and Skull the best.

Walter smiled and admitted that "They are awesome. You have to give it up to Paul Schrier and Jason Narvy." who played the comic relief Bulk and Skull for YEARS.

Walter then asked the panelists how they felt about working on Power Rangers, since they grew up with it.

Jason Bischoff said that it's been crazy, as he just started working for Saban Brands seven weeks ago. And had this convention been held eight weeks ago, he would have been sitting in the audience with the rest of the fans if life hadn't directed him otherwise. He wasn't the sort of fan who graduated out of watching the show, he's watched every episode and seen every season. "It's bonkers being on the other side of the power coin!" he said. Then he admitted that he'd spent way too longer planning that line. But he's been excited to work with the key creators at Saban and at Boom. "I bought issue 0 back in December, and thought it was exactly what I'd been waiting for. So I'm stoked to be here."

Kyle was about 8 or so when the show debuted. He would have been about second or third grade. He was always a huge superhero fan, so he kept an eye over it for a few years but eventually fell out of it. But as a professional comic book writer attending conventions, he saw people cosplaying as Rangers and seeing their devotion and enthusiasm resparked his interest. He'd spend late nights in a black hole of Youtube clips of Power Ranger episodes and interviews. He's writing the comic based on that feeling he got when watching Power Rangers as a kid. He's not writing it as it really existed, but the aesthetic of what he believed the show was about, what was interesting about it. "So far, you guys dig it."

For Dafna, Power Rangers was a show her younger brother loved, so she watched it while babysitting him. While spending time with her family in Israel, it was the only show that was being aired in English, and as her Hebrew was pretty weak, that was her only connection to home. Her grandfather took her to the see the MMPR movie in theatres, but it was dubbed in Hebrew, taking away the one thing she understood! But the visuals were evocative even if the language wasn't clear. She also loved reading comic books imported from America for the same reason, of giving her a connection to home, so being able to combine both of those childhood loves into a single product is great.

Jason Bischoff asked "Can you say 'It's Morphing Time!' in Hebrew?"

Dafna replied with "No!" because she never learned it…

Alex explained that as a kid, Power Rangers was everything he ever wanted. Having fun, superheroes, amazing monsters and zords. Whenever he could get his parents to take him to Toys R Us, he did so, often dressed up as a Power Ranger. He fell off a bit from the show after Turbo, but now that he's going back and rewatching episodes to see what the canon is, what he can bring to the table and help out with the greater continuity, it's an amazing life-changing experience.

Kyle asked Walter how he felt about being connected to the Power Rangers franchise since its conception, now that it's coming back into vogue as the kids who watched it originally are now adults. Yet somehow he looks the same age. (It's true! Walter Jones must have a painting with his picture on it hidden away somewhere!)

Walter explained that it's bizarre, that for a show that aired 23 years ago, with the pilot in 1993, everywhere he goes, no matter what country, he finds someone who recognizes him and says "I grew up with you!" He's happy that there's so much love there, that he's been able to make people happy. And that the show has continued on. He mentioned that it's been a big hit in reprints for Boom.

Kyle quipped "We have to reprint it by hand ourselves."

Dafna seriously pointed out that the retailer party kit that Boom made available to stores, was expected to sell perhaps 2,000 or 3,000 copies. But they sold something between 30,000 to 40,000, which meant that the entire company for a whole week pretty much did nothing after work but assembly line packaging posters and stickers and other products to mail out.

Jason Bischoff pointed out that the stickers also came in the wrong order, and thus 34,000 sets of stickers had to be manually reorganized for use in the party kits.

Dafna: "I blocked that memory."

Walter explained that he does a lot of comic cons, and has had tons of fans asking him to sign their Black Ranger cover of issue 0, which has been exciting for him. It's introducing a new generation to Power Rangers. As a father of two kids, 12 and 8, they'll be looking at the comic books.

Kyle explained that the core strength of the Power Rangers franchise, and of Mighty Morphing Power Rangers in particular is telling stories about the strength and power of teamwork. That all the great aspects of superhero storytelling: power and responsibility, handling the weight of the world, combined with the clique drama of high school, are all aspects that make fantastic Spider-Man stories, and also Power Ranger stories. Exploring them in this light has really made the comic resonate with readers so far. While they've updated things here and there, the focus remains on the Rangers and what makes them so great.
Walter pointed out that part of what made the Rangers so great was their diversity, that they all have different characters traits, mainly positive ones, making them very different people. On that note, he asked Kyle which characters he's interested in using.

Immediately, Kyle explained that when he began designing the first arc, he asked if he could use Scorpina. She wasn't on the show much, showed up seemingly out of nowhere during Green With Evil, the miniseries that introduced the Green Ranger, but her design was great. "I'm a sucker for secondary characters. My favorite superheroes are Nightwing, Scarlet Spider, Winter Soldier, characters that are a rung below or offshoot characters." Scorpina was a deadly female assassin for Rita that wasn't fully utilized making it really interesting for him to explore that. Likewise, Goldar was not in issue 1. His whereabouts are a mystery for the first few issues. But while he loves diving into some of the villain stuff, the big thing for him is fully exploring the Rangers' personal lives. As an example, being able to spend time with Tommy when he's at home is something the show didn't get to do. Specifically, there is a scene in issue 2 that opens between Billy and Trini, a three page scene which has become his favorite, just two characters talking. "Being able to dive into these people as people is the draw for me."

Kyle's career came out of his making a film in college and then writing comics based on that film. (C.O.W.L. at Image! It's really good!) He made fanfilms as a kid, inspired by the Donner Superman movie, and the Ninja Turtles and the Power Rangers when he was seven. He'd stack his family's two garbage cans on top of each other, and drew a Zordon face on them with a sharpie. Completely without permission of course. So when his parents saw the garbage cans the next time, they had some sort of half face orb drawn on them. He would shoot little films with props like the Zordon, he made costumes, did stop motion animation with toy zords, and now he gets to play as an adult in this sandbox.

The question of how are the fans responding was asked.

Alex explained that it's been like "The return of an old love." Fans are excited to live in this world again, to see the relationships between the characters grow, more scenes of with in high school and out of uniform.

Dafna concurred, explaining that in the comics we get to see the Rangers when they're not fighting, how they interact when they're training or just being friends.

"There are still fights." stated Kyle, wanting to reassure the fans that the comic wasn't Degrassi with the names filed off.

Walter asked if Zack still does Hip Hop Kido, his dancing martial art.

Kyle: "He still does Hip Hop Kido. But now he might do it in the Mastodon." One of the perks of the comic is not being constrained by budget. The comic isn't trying to do a live action show, but to use comics to take the story to its furthest potential. Where the Billy and Trini scene takes place will surprise fans. It's a testament to the artist, Hendry Prasetya, because he's able to handle scenes with characters talking about inner personal relationships, as well as huge blockbuster action. Juggling both of those things is really, really tough. There are artists who are great at action, but not fantastic with character moments. There are those great at drama, but who can't do larger than life stuff. "We were fortunate to find Hendrick."

Dafna continued to explain that they gave the page of the Rangers walking together at school as a test for potential artists, and Hendrick nailed it, bringing life to every scene. The page, and the other test, the Rangers morphing, were shown on the screen. She pointed out the panel of the Rangers walking down the hallway of Angel Grove High as the coolest clique you'd ever meet.
Kyle: "They're like spokesmen for Skittles!"

Dafna: "Or for Gap clothing."

The screen then shifted to the covers for the upcoming Pink Ranger limited series.

Walter admitted "She was hot."

Jason Bischoff told his story of how he found out about the series. As he was new to the job, he hadn't been aware that the miniseries was in the pipeline. So as he was in the airport after attending New York Toyfare, he was checking twitter and just exploded with enthusiasm. He had to tell his coworker, Trina Smith, head of the product development team, but she was passed out half asleep. He was just so overwhelmed that the comics would extend to telling stories set beyond the normal scope of the show. The miniseries will play with the mythology, and solve the conundrum of how they can tell a story set after Kimberly has left the Rangers but allow her to regain the power. There was a big back and forth between Boom and Saban Brands, where they were geeking out, looking at different parts of the show's mythology through the years, could they use this item or that item as the plot device. Turns out that there is one person at Saban Brands whose job it is to maintain the series bible, all the continuity of the twenty three seasons of the show, and she's been working with Boom to make sure everything fits.

To say that Bischoff is excited by this project is an understatement.

Dafna praised this, saying that the help they're getting as if the prop department of the show was giving them access to their warehouse of items, using them as tools to tell an emotionally affecting story.

Jason Bischoff continued to gush over the wealth of covers. "It's great to see the IP through new artistic styles." The Pink Ranger miniseries has some cover artists lined up who were on his wishlist before he started working for Saban Brands. In particular, one person who draws a book with Pointy Eared Characters. (Wendy Pini?)

Bischoff continued, "The truth of it is, I'm a life long Rangers fan." While MMPR holds a special place in his heart, he's a fan of the whole mythology. The interconnected continuity that spans 23 to 24 seasons. The fibers of connectivity between seasons that make it one gigantic saga. And that now, with the dawn of the Lionsgate movie next spring there's so much interest in the franchise. At the Toyfair he met with about 35 people from different companies in regards to toys and collectables, and every single one of them agreed to help merchandise the upcoming film. "Everyone is excited about the film, and all boats rise with the tide. Mighty Morphin is here." he said, explaining that the movie's success will only increase the comics success as well.

Walter asked Jason Bischoff what it was like to go from fan to pro.

He answered that "There could not be better collaborators." That three months ago, when Kyle was announced as writer for the series, he was working at Blizzard Entertainment when one of his friends, who knew he was a Ranger fan based on the action figures he had at his desk, shared the information on his Facebook timeline. Bischoff's response was "I'm super excited, but Kyle Higgins? Hmmm… I liked his Nightwing, but it wasn't very deep in characterization for me."

"That's not what he said!" joked Kyle, implying that the actual post was a little harsher in content. See, it turns out that Jason Bischoff's coworker and Kyle had mutual friends, and thus Kyle saw that Facebook comment, and gave a snarky response stating something to the line of "I've got this."

Bischoff is very happy to have been proven wrong, and is overjoyed that he can be a part of the book. "Dafna and Alex could not be bigger fans."

Dafna elaborated that the best part is when she and Alex have Kyle on speaker phone, listening to Kyle build up a universe in front of them. Starting with the super structure, then all the details get filled in. It's a joy to be able to call up a favorite writer and ask them to give you the next chapter of their work. … "I say it nicely!" she remarked!

"You are pleasant about it." snarked Kyle. "Sometimes on projects, its a chore to get a book done. It's a testament to these guys, when I talk to Dafna and Alex, it's a really trust-filled environment. As a writer that's the number one thing. I like feeling that if I don't have the answer, I don't have to worry about getting fired. I work best when I can talk through something." He explained that when he runs into a problem, he can call his editor and have that conversation, going through good ideas and bad ideas on both sides.

Dafna joked that the bad ideas are mostly hers.

Kyle continued to say how wonderful it was to collaborate with good people, working together to make a stronger story.

The covers for issue 5, featuring the Black Ranger were then displayed. The primary cover has a large, spectral Rita grabbing and pulling at the Black Ranger, while the other four rangers reach and try to pull him back. The secondary cover is a nice Black Ranger focused symbolic piece. Walter Jones was very excited to see this.

Kyle explained that issue 5 is meant to be a way to bring new readers on board with a self-contained one shot, dealing with the past of the team before Tommy joined, a story that Zack plays a big part of. Explaining why he is such a core member of the team. He had this amazing idea for Zack, and Saban gave the approval for the spotlight issue. In it, something quite astonishing is revealed.

Jason admitted that he told the twist to Walter on the way to the panel, and Walter acknowledge that it made him go "WUH!?"

Kyle pointed out that the cover with Rita having her eye on Zack is a pretty big clue.

Walter was excited, not just because the comic allows them to tell Power Rangers stories without worrying about sets or budget, to tell new adventures, but also the amazing variety of variants with tons of different artists.

The floor was then opened for questions. The first one was for both Kyle and Walter. Where they influenced at all by the original Japanese source material for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Zyuranger?

Walter explained that the cast wasn't even told about the show being derived from Japanese footage at first. He wasn't hired to be in an adaptation, he was hired to be Zack, the Black Ranger. After the show was airing, about a year post the pilot in 1993, the cast was shown some of the Zyuranger footage. And while the crew worked to match the visual style of the Japanese footage to make the transitions less jarring, the stories were original and did their own thing.

Kyle stated that "I haven't seen much. I did look up a couple of clips of the original Red and Green ranger fight, the ending to Green with Evil. I don't know where it slotted in the original, but it was pretty awesome. It's something I want to go, dive into, I think I'd really like it. It looks more serious."

(Personal interjection here: It is and it isn't. Zyuranger, which is available on DVD with English subtitles from Shout! Factory, can be incredibly serious, but also incredibly silly and childish at the same time. In contrast, Power Rangers tends to be a bit more consistent tonally. Still worth checking out the Japanese original super sentai series, but expectations should be realistic. These are still children's shows meant to sell toys. Just really awesome ones. )

The fan asking the question was then given a present.

Jason Bischoff earned respect from me by recognizing the fan's costume as that of Captain Marvelous, from the Japanese series Kaizo Sentai Gokaiger, which was adapted as Power Rangers Super Megaforce. Guy knows his stuff. The fan asked that since Zack and Trini didn't get as much attention as other rangers, if we'd be seeing more Trini-centric storylines.

Bischoff responded with "Tune into the Pink Ranger miniseries."

"In my series, definitely. Everyone has their own storyline. They'll all interwoven." explained Kyle. He compared the rangers to any group of friends, that different people interacting at a time will have different dynamics, all of which he's trying to explore. There's the Billy and Trini bit he spoke of earlier, and some stuff with Zack in issues 2 and 3 that leads into issue 5.

Dafna elaborated that "Yes, there is a big focus on Trini and Zack. There is also a Trini and Tommy scene coming up."

Kyle admitted that Trini has become, while not his favorite, much more interesting to write. In issue 3 we will learn more about her family, and some of her history going forward, and that how that relates to Tommy will be fun.

Jason Bischoff then reached into his bag of goodies, and found a toy from the proper season to give the fan. "Have some Ranger Keys on us."

Q: Will see Lord Zedd or Ivan Ooze in the comics?

Kyle: "I love Zedd a lot. I'd like to play with Zedd a bit." Kyle then realized how strange what he just said was. There's nothing in the immediate future, as the next year of the comic is plotted pretty strongly, but there's definitely a possibility.

Q: How is it like being on Power Rangers? What was the outlook for the show?

Walter: "I would say that the overall thing is positivity, good against evil. One of the best things about the show was that it had a positive message of teamwork, don't be a bully. Over all, it was an amazing feeling to be part of making the world a better place. We've all tried to live up to that."

A Pink Ranger fan spoke about how IDW's Jem and the Holograms comic made Stormer and Kimber lesbians, and was wondering if the MMPR comic could do something similar, not necessarily making a character LGBT, but changing them from how they were in the show.

Kyle: "I wouldn't write the book if I couldn't do that. Push them outside of their normal boundaries." Like Dafna said earlier, he likes the idea of putting characters outside of their comfort zone, and placing them through hell to see how they react. Though to find the most terrible situations without making the book dark and dystopian.

Jason added that he likes how Tommy is haunted by the memories of what he did during Rita's control in the comics.

Dafna explained that they're writing the characters, and taking them seriously, and not making the comic a pure nostalgia piece or going grim dark. The series is about teamwork and friendship, and they aren't interesting in creating a world where heroism isn't rewarded.

Fan: Will we see the replacement rangers, Rocky, Aisha and Adam, appear in the comic as characters existing before they become rangers?
Kyle: "I think that'd be really cool." He continued that the comic is "kinda doing our own thing timeline-wise" and that events may happen in a different way than they did on the show.

Q: Do you miss being on the Power Rangers?

Walter: "I'm always a Power Ranger! I don't miss it, I am it."

Peter S. Svensson is the head of programming for the Official Power Morphicon,www.officialpowermorphicon.com.

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