Posted in: Boom, Comics | Tagged: boom studios, Mighty Morphin, MMPR, power rangers

Power Rangers To Deliver Boom Studios' Biggest Order of 2020

Last week, we saw retailers finalize their orders for the first of Boom Studios' twin Power Rangers series – Mighty Morphin #1. After FOC, the launch is the second-highest ordered Power Rangers title since Boom's original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers launch, which outsold every Marvel title in March 2016. That's right, higher than Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #25, the launch of Shattered Grid, which one retailer moved 800 copies of in 15 minutes.

But there's good reason to think that it may still be underordered, and more importantly, that Power Rangers #1, which FOCs today, will come in even higher still… which is unusual. Typically when publishers launch multiple related titles back-to-back, the first title is seen as the flagship title while the second title a spin-off and ordered accordingly – think Amazing Spider-Man and Sensational Spider-Man. And even though Mighty Morphin features the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers team, as seen in seasons 2 & 3 of the TV Show, the title of Power Rangers is making most retailers, and fans, view it as the flagship series. As a result, the initial orders for Power Rangers #1 came in at 62,000 or around 25% higher than Mighty Morphin #1.

And they are likely to jump significantly by time FOC ends tonight, because some retailers may have missed that there is a 1-in-500 incentive cover by the most iconic Rangers cover artist, Goni Montes, that is unlocked by combined orders for Mighty Morphin #1 and Power Rangers #1.  Rare Power Rangers covers continue to fetch a pretty penny on the aftermarket thanks to the rabid multi-generational fanbase, in fact, Montes' 1-in-25 Mighty Morphin #1 cover has already sold for $65 ahead of release.

And why does this mean Mighty Morphin #1 was under-ordered? Well, beyond the reasons we told you about last week and influencers like Arris Quinones, who has over 2 million subscribers on his Variant Comics YouTube channel, promoting it, it's because Boom has cleverly tied these series together in more ways than one. First, for the collector crowd, there's the main covers for both series when set side-by-side connect.

There's also the "Legacy" covers, which continue the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series numbering across both titles.

And for Peach Momoko fans, it looks like Boom secured her to do matching incentive covers for both series through their cover agreement before she signed exclusively with Marvel as part of their Stormbringers initiative.

All of these are tailored to encourage fans to buy both series. But the most compelling reason long term may be that it's clear from reading these two first issues how they will be tied together even as they focus on two different teams. In Power Rangers #1, the Omega Rangers (that's the original Red Ranger (Jason), Black Ranger (Zach), and Yellow Rangers (Trini) for the Ranger-illiterate) return to Earth in the hopes of their old team helping them fend off the looming threat of the recently introduced Empyreal. And by the end of the issue, while they've failed in that respect the Omega Rangers form a dangerous alliance with Lord Drakkon, who may be their only hope in stopping the Empyreal, against the express orders of their mentor Zordon. Drakkon is an evil Tommy Oliver from an alternate universe who almost destroyed reality in Shattered Grid, so it's a bit akin to Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor breaking Thanos out of cosmic prison to stop Galactus. It's not hard to imagine how these choices and events might lead to the biggest cosmic event in Rangers history within the two series down the road. Perhaps even a Rangers vs. Rangers showdown?

The question today, however, is if retailers indeed underestimated demand for Mighty Morphin #1 last week, will they course-correct this week with their orders for Power Rangers #1? Or will it also be destined to go to a second printing? Okay, that was two questions, but you get the idea. #1 FOCs today Monday, October 19th.

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