The hyper-kinetic, primary color-saturated exploits of the Power Rangers have found their way to the page. Papercutz, publisher of comics for “teens and tweens,” has brought the perennially popular Saban Brands franchise to life in a projected series, written by Stefan Petrucha and illustrated by Paulo Henrique.
Since its inception in 1993, the campy team of jumpsuited and helmeted heroes has gone from season to season and gimmick to gimmick – recent iterations include “Ninja Storm,” “Dino Thunder” and “Super Samurai,” on which the graphic novel will be based. The series has stayed popular, consistently dominating TV and action-figure markets.
Papercutz publisher Terry Nantz recognizes the demand for the series in those that have grown up with it, and his company knows its audience well enough to hit the ground with a premiere at the San Diego Comic-Con, running from July 12th to the 15th (booth #2546, limited edition prints being awarded to the first 1,000 purchasers). “Fans have been clamoring for this for a long time,” he says, “and we really can’t wait to hear what they think in San Diego.”
With a booth devoted to Kids’ Day at Comic-Con, the last day of the festival, Papercutz will be catering to “reluctant readers and gifted readers alike” with their comics drawn from Nancy Drew, Lego, and other enduring canons.
The stretch of bases Papercutz will cover at this event should provide quite a wide swath of current and future readers of “Power Rangers Super Samurai Graphic Novels #1: Memory Short.” For people like me, who spent at least a day in their long-ago youth trying to find a McDonald’s branch that still had even a single white Ranger Happy Meal toy, the Power Rangers’ move into graphic novels illustrates a simple truth: You may pass them by, but the Rangers will catch up with you in time.