Comics
With the end of Power Rangers Darkest Hour, we are getting a new world – Interview with Power Rangers Prime writer Melissa Flores
That Guy Tommy and Retro Ray sat down with comic writer Melissa Flores: https://mistyflores.com. We talked about Power Rangers: Prime.
Melissa started writing fan fiction at the age of 12 years old. She was a big fan of Star Trek Voyager.
When she graduated from USC, she wanted to get into writing TV shows but found it hard to get into the industry. So she got a job with a finance group called Saban Capitol Group, who then bought the rights to Power Rangers back from Disney. Saban’s Brands was created and Melissa interviewed for a distribution job with Brian Centini. When he found out that she wanted to work in the entertainment industry as a writer, he created a job for her.
She worked for Power Rangers as a creator and development production for 10 years and she worked her way up to director. That’s where she fell in love with the Power Rangers brand. She also worked on Glitter Force and Digimon.
So, for Power Rangers her job was to look over their stories and make sure they were brand appropriate. At that point, Boom Studios acquired the rights for Power Rangers. Melissa worked with Boom Studios as a licenser and would also give notes about the Power Rangers comics.
Melissa left Saban when Hasbro acquired the rights to Power Rangers. She wanted to go back to writing. Kyle Higgins who worked on the Power Rangers comics reached out to her and asked her if she wanted to pitch a superhero comic. This led to her series Dead Lucky.
After the series ended, she reached out to Daphne at Boom Studios and asked her to look at a story she wrote. Daphne asked Melissa if she wanted to come on and write for the Mighty Morphin Power Ranger series. She then wrote Darkest Hour. It was supposed to be a ten-issue run but ended up being 22 issues.
Melissa was told a new series would start after Darkest Hour. She threw her name into the running. With Darkest Hour under her belt (and her extensive knowledge of Power Rangers) she got the job for Power Rangers Prime.
I had spotted something in Power Rangers Prime – the refugee ID08293. I asked her if she had added that as an easter egg and said yes. She did it so Power Rangers fans could feel rewarded when they read the book. That was the date Power Rangers first aired in the US.
We asked about where the idea for the VR troopers being introduced into the comic came from. She said it came from Boom Studios VP Bryce Carlson. He’s has been with the Power Rangers comics from the beginning. She said he’s been trying to get VR troopers since she was an executive with Saban. It was all thanks to Bryce for getting them. She didn’t want to put the VR Troopers in the first issue. She only wanted to put Ryan Steel in. However, Bryce said we have to put them in because we have a spoiler variant coming out with the VR Troopers on the cover. Melissa said she was happy fans were happy to see the VR Troopers coming in the comic.
I noticed in the page with Ryan Steele that Valentin is wearing a yellow bandana and a yellow wristband. I asked Melissa if this is foreshadowing that Valentine is possibly going to be the yellow Ranger. She said that Michael, interior artist, is a big Power Rangers fan and everything he does is intentional. She stated she didn’t even notice the bandana/wristband until later.
She said that we’re going to be able to meet the Power Rangers and get to know them before they become Rangers.
Melissa was writing Prime at the same time she was writing Darkest Hour. Melissa said Darkest Hour meant so much to her. She wanted to honor the stories that came before her that Kyle, Ryan, Margaret and Matt told.
She stated Prime is a new world. She said this is like Spider-Gwen Earth 65. What if Gwen had gotten bit by the spider instead of Peter. The Prime world changed so what if there was no Zordon? What if there was an alien invasion on earth and there was no one to save them? And then all of a sudden Altarians came to save them and then stayed?
Melissa said the reason she picked Samurai Rangers was because they were one of the most ancient Power Rangers that ever existed on Earth and completely independently without Zordon.
Also, that Rita is not the Rita Repulsa from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. This Rita is halfway between Mystic Mother and Rita Repulsa. There’s an anarchy to this Rita. She give zeros F$&ks. Rita is a disruptor in this world.
After the interview, Boom Studios announced Power Rangers VR Troopers comic will be available on Free Comic Book Day May 3, 2025.
Melissa also told us that she worked on the first 3 issues of Biker Mice from Mars. It will be an ongoing series next year so keep a look out for it. You can go to YouTube and find the cartoon series to learn about them before reading the comic.
Special thanks to our sponsor: Dragon’s Lair Alamo Ranch
Countdown City Geeks attended the Kevin Smith store signing at Bat City Game & Comics in Austin TX. Kevin has a loyal fan base. He was in town performing at Cap City Comedy Club – An evening with Kevin Smith 9/23 & 9/24.
This was such an honor for me cause Kevin Smith inspired me to step outside my comfort zone in life. It goes back to the movie Clerks. When I was watching this movie, I was like there is someone who thinks like me and has the same humor. Right after that came Mallrats.
Then in 2007, Kevin started podcasting and this is where I heard the story that inspired me to leave my job and to go work at a comic store full time. This lead me down this path.
Covering this event I got to see I wasn’t the only person Kevin inspired to step outside their comfort zone. I saw two young college students went to film school because of Kevin and crafted their first independent movie. They even had Kevin sign the script. Then two people who wrote their independent comic. Kevin gave quality time with every fan to either chat or take selfies with.
In our interview with Kevin we asked about working on “Archie meets Jay & Silent Bob” where he worked with artist Fernando Ruiz. He talked about how Fernando killed it on the book. Fernando went to the Joe Kubert School and then became a teacher there. Kevin even called this project “Clerks 3.5”. If you are a fan of Kevin’s movies, you will love this issue. It’s a 5 out of 5.
He also told Countdown City Geeks that he is working with Marvel again and that Jay and Silent Bob are popping up in Marvel issues. He said it will lead to something big. Could we be getting a Jay and Silent Bob take over the Marvel Universe? We will just have to wait and find out. So the next time you read your Marvel comic, keep a look out for a secret Jay & Silent Bob cameo.
Big thanks to Bat City Game & Comics and Kevin Smith for an awesome event. Bat City will be celebrating their two year anniversary.
The Bat City Games & Comics team.
You can check out the full interview.
A Bad Batch novel
It’s been over a year since the Bad Batch series ended on Disney+. The story focused on Omega and Clone Force 99. A new book written by Lamar Giles will be released on (Penguin Random House). It’s title is Star Wars: Sanctuary. Countdown City Geeks got an exclusive opportunity to read the book before it comes out.
We follow Hunter, Omega, Tech and Wrecker as they help rebuild the island refuge on Pabu. We get to see the team work with Phee Genoa, who was played by Wanda Sykes on the show. If you were a fan of Bad Batch and fell in love with the team, it is so awesome getting to see them go on another adventure. It was awesome getting to hear Tech talk again in the book. If you were a fan of Andor, you’re definitely going to like what goes on in this book as well. Lamar Giles leaves me wanting more.
Click here to purchase book.
Lamar Giles has also worked on Static: Up All Night for DC Comics.
Photo source: Lamar Giles Instagram
Special thanks to Dragon’s Lair (Alamo Ranch)
During his spotlight panel at C2E2, writer Kyle Higgins (Radiant Black, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) and fan-favorite artist Dan Mora (Superman, Justice League Unlimited, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest) announced and revealed covers and concept art for Immortal Legend Batman. Higgins and Mora will also be joined by Writer Mat Groom (Ultraman, Inferno Girl Red) and artist Erica D’Urso (Captain, Marvel, Inferno Girl Red) for this six-issue limited series launching under DC’s Elseworlds banner.
Available for preorder Friday, May 23, Immortal Legend Batman arrives at participating comic book shops and digital retailers Wednesday, August 27. This series combines the best elements of superhero storytelling with elements of the Japanese “tokusatsu” genre of entertainment, like the Western sci-fi/fantasy, encompassing everything from Japanese kaiju to manga. “In Immortal Legend Batman,Dan, Mat, Erica, and I are using elements of ‘superhero tokusatsu,’ so readers can expect to see cool and recognizable elements like mech/armor-style transformations, specifically named combat moves, a gradually expanding team, and more,” said writer Higgins.
Many centuries from now, humanity becomes a galactic civilization with capital megacities on multiple planets and smaller outposts on dozens more. To conquer the vast distances between solar systems, humanity tapped into dark matter to bend space-time around spacecraft, from hulking colony vessels to one-man mech suits. In accessing this dark power, humanity broke the barrier between their universe and their universe’s shadow. This resulted in the creation of “Shadows”: mindless, soulless apparitions craving nothing but violence and destruction. Due to the actions of these Shadow creatures, newly colonized worlds were brought to the brink of collapse. But three warriors found a way to access the energy that bound their universe to the shadow universe, becoming “immortal legends”: Immortal Legend Batman, Immortal Legend Robin and Immortal Legend Nightwing.
For more information on Immortal Legend Batman and the World’s Greatest Super Heroes, follow @DCOfficial on social media and visit the DC website at https://www.dc.com. A robust selection of classic new Elseworlds series is available to read with a subscription to the DC UNIVERSE INFINITE digital subscription platform (DCUI). For more information and a free trial, visit the DCUI website at https://www.dcuniverseinfinite.com.
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