Comic-Con: The Further Adventures of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

In one form or another, the Power Rangers have been a consistent presence in America for the last 20 years. But for a lot of fans who grew up watching these colorful martial arts heroes in the early '90s, nothing tops the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers lineup, Forget this Zeo/Turbo/Ninja Force business. Luckily, with the franchise reaching its 20th anniversary this year, the Mighty Morphin team is seeing a resurgence in popularity again.

IGN's Top 25 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Episodes

Already this week at SDCC, we've learned that Shout! Factory and Saban Brands are releasing a snazzy Power Rangers Legacy boxset covering all 20 seasons of the show in its many incarnations. But for fans who crave new adventures starring the classic team, comic publisher Paperciutz has you covered. Papercutz is prepping a new series of graphic novels set during the Mighty Morphin era. Each graphic novel will serve as a "lost episode," with the first volume taking place before the debut of Tommy as the Green Ranger and the arrival of Lord Zed. This first volume will be written by Stefan Petrucha and illustrated by PH Marcondes, and is slated to be released in May 2014.

MTV Geek interviewed editor Michael Petranek about the announcement, who noted that the comic boo kformat has its advantages in terms of not needing to worry about budget or scope. "The huge level of spectacle that telling these stories in comics allows us to use. I can't wait to see PH Marcondes draw the Rangers in a huge fight scene with a bunch of Putty Patrollers. We don't have to secure the budget for 100 highly trained stage combat performers like you would if you were shooting this stuff on film, and Stefan Petrucha is great at taking advantage of that. The Power Rangers Megaforce comic 'Panic in the Parade' shows that-- the action scenes we put on paper would cost tens of millions of dollars to shoot on film. I want to put the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in bigger battles than anyone's ever seen."

He also acknowledged the enduring popularity of the Mighty Morphin crew, saying, "I've also got to mention that original Ranger team-- they were so perfect. The creators of the show were able to balance personalities so well that the original Mighty Morphin team 20 years later still serves as a standard fans look to when judging the newer seasons. It's unfair to the newer generations, which are all great in their own unique ways, but that's kind of how it is."

As Petranek mentioned, Papercutz is already producing Power Rangers graphic novels based on the Power Rangers Megaforce incarnation. Petranek revealed that Papercutz's focus will shift towards Mighty Morphin Power Rangers for the time being, but that both series will hopefully coexist going forward.

Excited about the prospect of more adventures starring Jason, Billy, Trini, and the rest of the team? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

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