Review: Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue

When an ancient tomb is disturbed, ancient demons spring forth to wreak havoc on the city of Mariner Bay. To combat this threat, five strangers are assembled under a special program known as Lightspeed. Trained in combat and outfitted with the latest battle technology, it is their mission to prevent the nefarious demonic overlord Queen Bansheera from being resurrected by her recently freed minions.

After the lukewarm Lost Galaxy, Lightspeed Rescue proved to be a much-needed break from the science fiction-tinged space adventures that preceded it. It's darker and more dramatic, weaving in elements of the supernatural with overarching plot lines. In fact, it has quite a bit in common with the beloved Super Sentai series Chōjin Sentai Jetman. Lightspeed features a cast of five strangers from various walks of life who are assembled together under a special project, spearheaded by a military-trained authority figure. The overall tone matches that of Jetman, though its protagonists aren't quite as outlandish and melodramatic.

Many of the characters within Lightspeed are notable for their multi-faceted personalities and their varied motivations, often to an extent never done before within the series. Team leader Carter, for instance, is inspired to become a firefighter after being heroically rescued from a burning building as a child. This informs his character and establishes why he's as driven as he is to do good. Another layer is added when it's revealed that the firefighter who saved him is a character we're all very familiar with. Furthermore, the overarching familial drama of Pink Ranger Dana helps to offer an emotional anchor for the series and gives her further depth as a character.

Unfortunately, Lightspeed falls into many of the same traps as the series that preceded it. Namely, it fails to strike a balance between all five of its protagonists. While Green Ranger Joel and Yellow Ranger Kelsey receive ample screentime, the others are largely relegated to supporting roles. The Blue Ranger is all but forgotten and not much is done to flesh out his character. Dana and Carter fare better, particularly the latter. In fact, Dana's personality and close ties to Lightspeed should have guaranteed her role as the leader of the team. Sadly, that thread wasn't picked up. Truth be told, the lack of development for our protagonists does seem to be due to the heavy focus placed on the older characters (Captain Mitchell and Angela Fairweather). The season-long courtship between Joel and Fairweather takes up far more time than it needs to, as it often completely pulled focus away from the other Rangers. 

Overall, Lightspeed was a return to form for the Power Rangers franchise. It wasn't quite as tedious as Lost Galaxy and its cast proved to be very likeable. The writing is stronger and there's more of a focus on building a series-long arc that leads to some rather frenzied battles towards the end. The lack of development for many of the characters is lamentable and the acting is painful at times (Vypra, I'm looking at you!), but even at its worst it's still not quite as bad as Turbo and it does a better job of reaching its potential than Zeo. 

Review: Wonder Woman Vol. 4 - War

After a brief jaunt to New Genesis, Wonder Woman is forced to face off against the merciless First Born in order to protect the life of her infant half-brother Zeke. Things get complicated when the God of War intervenes, lending his support to the Amazon Princess. Even still, the aging God's diminished power may not be enough to defeat the First Born once and for all.

Wonder Woman Volume 4: War collects issues 19-23 of Wonder Woman, written by Brian Azzarello and art by Cliff Chiang and Goran Sudzuka.

For roughly 18 issues, writer Brian Azzarello has been on point with delivering an incredibly satisfying and epic run on Wonder Woman. He has a firm grasp on the character and has thus far created a very unique world for the titular heroine, with a whole lot of aesthetic help from artist Cliff Chiang. By issue 19, it becomes clear that a plateau may have been reached for the duo.

War details Wonder Woman's continued battle for the safety of her baby half-brother from the clutches of the Olympians, as well as from the villainous First Born. Key word here being "continued." For two years, readers have been following Diana's struggles against the Greek Gods and by this point it's become a little monotonous. The Gods' continued scheming and Wonder Woman's rematch with Artemis are too familiar. Unfortunately, when Azzarello gives us a break from this we end up with a filler issue that does absolutely nothing to move the plot forward (namely, Diana and her allies get stuck on New Genesis for an issue - yawn). By the time Diana finally defeats the First Born, it's not as satisfying as it needs to be because we've been seeing these characters for so long. This arc would have been better served giving Wonder Woman some new baddies and exploring new storylines.

That's not to say everything about War is bad. In fact, there are quite a few stellar moments that showcase just how talented Azzarello is as a writer. The scene in which Zola picks the name of her baby is absolutely adorable, Diana teaching Orion a lesson in respecting women is hilarious, and the scenes in general between Zola and Hera are both humorous and touching. There's really no denying here that Azzarello knows these characters like the back of his hand and utilizes each one flawlessly.

Unlike previous volumes, War is arguably the least nuanced and most straightforward of the arcs within Azzarello's run thus far. Aside from the clumsily written twist at the end of issue 23, the plot moves in a linear fashion without any major surprises. While it may lack subtlety and mystery, War is heavy on the action and engaging dialogue. As such, it's punchy and extremely fast-paced. It's a slight step down in terms of quality in comparison to the previous volumes, but War is satisfying nonetheless.

RATING: B-

Review: Jem and the Holograms - Season One

In the truly outrageous world of rock music, Jem and the Holograms reign supreme as the top divas. Together they must navigate through the fickle and competitive music industry, while lead singer Jem juggles a double-life as record label impresario Jerrica Benton. If that wasn’t enough, the crooked Eric Raymond and rivals The Misfits spend their every waking moment trying to de-throne Jem and the Holograms.

Like many cartoons from the 1980s, Jem is rife with campy fun. Its colourful animation, infectious music and soapy storylines are trademarks of the opulence of the era. While it would be easy to write Jem off as a 20 minute commercial advertisement for Hasbro’s doll line of the same name, it was actually an innovative series that captured the essence of the MTV generation.

In addition to the main storyline, each episode from the first season features at least two fully produced music videos with original songs as performed by Jem and the Holograms and The Misfits. While the quality of these songs varied, most were actually quite contagious (especially that darn theme song!). Lyricist Barry Harman and musical arranger Anne Bryant are to be commended for the work they did on the series. They were able to create songs that not only fit within the narrative and thematic context of each episode, but also craft a sound that was unique to the show’s fictional bands. For instance, Jem and the Holograms had a radio-friendly pop sound, while the Misfits were edgier with their punk electronica music. Britta Phillips, the singing voice for Jem, is also to be applauded. Her unique vocals carried each song with depth and emotion.

During the first season, most episodes follow the same formula. Each week, Jem and the Holograms and The Misfits are pitted against one another in some kind of contest that determines which of the two is more popular and successful. These contests range from anything as official as a battle of the bands to something unofficial such as gaining public favour. More often than not, Jem is the clear favourite, which leaves Eric Raymond to hatch some kind of plot to sabotage the group. In the end, Jem overcomes the odds while The Misfits’ lead singer Pizzazz, the sorest loser there ever was, throws some kind of violent temper tantrum. Such a formulaic format can make a show predictable and stale real quick, but Jem somehow makes it work.  The overall campy tone helps to keep things light, but it’s also the music and surprising amount of action that makes the first season so watchable.

Jem’s biggest flaw within its first season is inconsistency. While lead characters like Jerrica, Pizzazz and Stormer are clearly defined, others are woefully lacking in development. Aja is distinguished by nothing save for her blue hair and an accent that seems to change whenever she speaks, while Roxy is nothing more than Pizzazz Lite. Out of the 26 episodes that make up the first season, not a single one makes an effort to flesh out these characters. To rub salt into that wound, the writers instead opted to spotlight many of the children at Jerrica’s foster home for girls, most of whom are prone to melodrama and bratty behavior. Characters like Kimber and Shana fare much better in the realm of development, but not by much. Kimber struggles to move past seeming like the group’s resident airhead, while Shana’s only distinguishing trait is that she’s stated to be a talented fashion designer. There’s also the matter of Rio. Despite being the series’ central love interest, there’s very little to like about him. He’s moody and disrespectful, which makes the viewer wonder why Jerrica even puts up with him to begin with.

The first season of Jem is a lot of fun if you take it at face value as a high camp series full of catchy music and over-the-top drama. The cartoon holds up better than most of its contemporaries (despite the dated and often hideous fashions), perhaps due to our continued fascination with celebrity and glamour. Aside from a few instances where Eric Raymond’s plots get a little too real, Jem is at its core a family show and is appropriate for kids and the young at heart. The characters and music are endearing in a cheesy guilty pleasure kind of way. If nothing else, the first season of Jem proves why the series is worthy of being considered one of the most iconic cartoons of the 1980s.

Review: Madame Xanadu - Broken House of Cards

Centuries after her defeat during the fall of Camelot, the sorceress Morgaine Le Fey has returned to wreak havoc on the human world. Hellbent on resurrecting her departed son, she intends to unleash atomic warfare onto the Earth with him by her side and stake her claim on what remains. There’s just one thing standing in her way – her younger sister – the precog known as Madame Xanadu.

Madame Xanadu: Broken House of Cards collects issues #16-21 of Madame Xanadu, written by Matt Wagner and illustrated by Amy Reeder.

Broken House of Cards reads like a direct sequel to the first collection of Matt Wagner’s run on Madame Xanadu. Of course, this is largely due to the return of the talented Amy Reeder on art duties and the presence of Morgaine Le Fey as this arc’s antagonist. It’s a satisfying read and is a step-up from the more subdued arc that preceded it. Once more, Wagner juxtaposes the past with the “present” (1950s New York). Through flashbacks, we get a more detailed look at Morgana and Nimue’s life long before they became known as Morgaine Le Fey and Madame Xanadu. In the present, Madame Xanadu teams up with a mysterious detective in order to stop a satanic cult that is enslaved by the enchantments of Morgaine Le Fey.

The flashbacks are, sadly, the weakest part of Broken House of Cards. While they’re intended to elaborate on our heroine’s past, they’re actually interruptive and don’t add a whole lot to the overall arc. They take up two issues, which take place immediately after Morgaine Le Fey’s epic resurrection. This means that you’re essentially left hanging and are forced into the past to witness events which don’t feel terribly relevant to the grand scheme of things. The other issue is that Wagner digs further back into England’s past, meaning that readers will need to be familiar with that history otherwise they’ll be left feeling lost. His exposition is weaker in comparison to the preceding volumes, which makes the context fuzzier.

Arguably, the opening of this arc is the most riveting part of this collection. We see the life of a bored and ignored housewife turned upside-down when she becomes the vessel for Morgaine Le Fey’s resurrection. The imagery involved during her transformation from a ‘50s housewife to a slightly grotesque witch is quite spectacular (and memorable!). By placing much of the focus on this particular character, the reader becomes invested in her and her narrative. Unfortunately, Wagner all but abandons her once she’s possessed by Le Fey. This, paired with the flashbacks, really sags the flow of the story and makes it that much more difficult to become invested. We go from empathizing with the housewife to delving into the complex relationship between Madame Xanadu and her evil older sister.

Broken House of Cards is fairly inconsistent as a whole. The story is fantastic and there’s a lot of great action, but it’s much lighter on themes and it seems Wagner failed to latch onto the right flow for his narrative. Admittedly, it meanders at parts and it’s almost as if Wagner changed his mind throughout the writing process in terms of where he wanted to go with things. Still, the return of Amy Reeder as the series artist is what makes this collection such a joy to read. Her expressive art is whimsical and truly captures the eras she’s tasked with illustrating. While nowhere near as captivating as the first trade of this series, Broken House of Cards is worth the read, if only to get some closure between the conflict of Madame Xanadu and her sister Morgana.

RATING: B+