Power Rangers fans were pleasantly surprised to discover that BOOM! Studios was publishing a Power Rangers Unlimited: HyperForce one-shot later this year, as HyperForce fans have wanted some continuation of the delightful team ever since the original HyperRPG series came to an end. The HyperForce Rangers have been seen in the comics, but their story has never been continued and explored like it will be in the upcoming one-shot by writers Melissa Flores and Meghan Camarena. ComicBook.com’s Matt Aguilar had a chance to speak to Flores all about the anticipated story, where she revealed the challenges of turning the book into a reality, what she hopes fans get from the story, and more.
Flores will re-team with her Radiant Pink co-writer Camarena for the project, which makes perfect sense, as Flores and Camarena were instrumental parts of the original HyperForce and why fans grew to love it.
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“I didn’t have the bandwidth to do it myself, and I was already co-writing Radiant Pink with Meghan, and we worked together really well. And she was HyperForce Pink, so it was a natural next step to ask that she co-write it with me,” Flores said. “But literally, it was me just asking, ‘Hey, can I do this?’ And it was for a very specific reason.”
“And then it was just months of waiting for Hasbro to say yes because obviously, I don’t own the franchise. I have nothing to do with HyperForce anymore. I have no idea how they view it or what they think about it. But it was one of those things that the minute that I got asked to write the series, the fans started asking for it, and it always really hurt me that I wasn’t ever able to make a season two happen,” Flores said. “Because we were told that we were going to get a season two and it was for that reason we ended on the cliffhanger and then the sale at Hasbro happened.”
“And that plus a lot of other things just completely went into the crapper. A lot of the projects that were very near and dear to my heart, and I always felt really bad about it because I loved HyperForce. And it was, again, one of those weird swings that nobody really knew what it was or what it was going to do,” Flores said. “But the way it has endured over the past five years and the way people keep finding it. I really wanted to pay back some of the kindness that the fans have shown and the love for HyperForce, if and at the very least in this one shot, and give them just one more story that hopefully answers some questions. And maybe if there’s new enthusiasm proves to Hasbro that there’s more there that they could use HyperForce for. But thankfully, it took some doing and some peculiar efforts from my amazing editor, Alison, but we were able to get the approval and move forward. But I mean, there’s only so much we can tell in a 40-page one-shot, right?”
The quirky and lovable team fans adored from the original series are back for the one-shot, though Flores and Camarena have also maintained the series’ bigger stakes. “I’m hoping that the fans will at least be excited to at least see them one more time and see how they tie into this main event, because I call them the Bad News Bearers of Rangers. I just truly love the team and they’re just so silly, and because I have Meghan on board, it comes naturally. We really tried to maintain both the dark stakes of the event and also of the HyperForce events because when we last saw them, they basically botched, they lost with the crazy humor and optimism and fun, that was the HyperForce season. I think it came together in a really fun way.”
Working alongside Flores and Camarena are artist Federico Sabatini and colorist Bryan Valenza, which was also a bit of a reunion from Flores’ Massive-Verse series The Dead Lucky.
“We have Federico Sabbatini on board who does Moon Knight for Marvel, and he and I initially worked together on Dead Lucky,” Flores said. “Ultimately, he wasn’t able to move on with the series, and then we ended up with the amazing French Carlomagno, who is the main series and co-creator of The Dead Lucky. But Federico initially designed the suit for me, so that’s how I knew him. So when they were looking for new artists, I suggested him, because I always wanted to work with him again and thankfully he was available. The art has been amazing because he’s amazing and it’s been really fun. So I’m excited to see how it all comes together.”
Power Rangers Unlimited: HyperForce is slated to hit comic stores and digital platforms on July 19th.
Are you excited about the HyperForce one-shot, and what do you hope to see from the team’s return? Let us know the comments, and as always you can talk all things Power Rangers and comics with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!
