One of my favorite parts of growing up was turning the TV on seeing the Power Rangers and watching my favorite heroes in spandex take on the enemy of the week; while also learning important lessons and seeing giant robots turn into even bigger giant robots. When I got into comics, I discovered that BOOM! Studios has an ongoing comic series starring some of my favorite heroes. That made me enjoy them even more and rekindle my love for Power Rangers. However, when books are on later issues (such as the current #112) it can be overwhelming starting the series. I hope I can share with you an easy-to-follow guide on catching up on your favorite heroes in spandex!
One of the best jumping in points is going to be Go Go Power Rangers. This was a series that was released a few years after the main title, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, had started. It takes place after the very first tv episode, Day of the Dumpster. These issues are known as the pre-Tommy era, where it is just the core five rangers with a few guest appearances from some side characters who will be important for the story later. We see a lot of connections being built and it explains a lot of the side stuff that the show never touched on like proper social lives and how to get away with being missing during a monster attack. It is essentially a prequel to our next era, Year One.
Year One takes place after Tommy has joined the core five as the fan favorite Green Ranger. We see some really fun interactions as the rangers are still skeptical on why Tommy became the leader when he was just their enemy. We are also introduced to the multiverse and meet who will become one of the most fearsome and beloved villains of the series, Lord Drakkon. This is a really good jumping point though I do recommend Go Go Power Rangers first just so you can have a deeper insight into Angel Grove and the team; but this is the original starting point and a great place if you just want to hop straight into seeing Tommy. 
We also see some first appearances and some interesting hints of some new characters that will change the story.
After this we enter what is known as Year Two. Here’s where we learn more about Lord Drakkon and his world, as well as what is to come in the following era (which is one of the most well-known eras of all time Shattered Grid). It is this lead up that makes you want to keep reading because we are only at the beginning of the World of the Coinless and the Reign of Lord Drakkon. However, if you only want to read Shattered Grid this will definitely be a good place to start so you can have a better understanding of Drakkon and his world. As it further develops the world and we learn a little bit of the dark past of Zordon.
Shattered Grid is probably the most famous era because it sparked a video game in 2019 and became one of the most well-known Power Ranger stories of all time. We see the battle for the grid bringing rangers from all over time and space come together to repair the grid. It can be read standalone as I originally did, but is definitely appreciated more by the company of Year One and Year Two.
Beyond the Grid brings us the introduction of the solar rangers as well as time displaced rangers from the events of Shattered Grid, we see some fan favorites as well as new rangers. Overall, it is fun and a nice breather after the events of Shattered Grid. It is a fairly standalone story so great to jump in and is very new reader friendly.
Necessary Evil brings a better and less evil spin on why the original Red, Yellow and Black Rangers leave the team and we also get to see Tommy dawn the white ranger mantle for the first time. This is also where Go Go Power Rangers comes back in as it explains the changing of rangers and how some of the original rangers have moved on just as the show did. This also marks the end of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers & Go Go Power Rangers titles, but Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is not gone forever- more on that in a moment. Necessary Evil is a great story and ending to the initial part of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers title.
Now this is where things can get confusing as we enter what is called the Split era. This was made up of two titles, Power Rangers and Mighty Morphin. Power Rangers follows the new team of Omega Rangers as they travel space and dimensions looking for answers. Mighty Morphin follows Tommy and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as they recover from the aftermath of Necessary Evil. We also meet a new Green Ranger and learn more about their story. This split is another point I recommend jumping in at but only if you are able to read both series as they intersect, jumping between series.
Our last era is called the Recharged era, we are reintroduced to the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers title again. It is from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ongoing from issue #100 (issue #112 is the most recent on the shelves currently). I feel that if you don’t want to read any of the previous stuff just yet and want to read what is currently going on you can hop on issue #101 as it is the start of the prelude to The Darkest Hour which is the current arc. It is overall a very fun and exciting build up to the story. We have a new creative team and it has taken a great direction so far.
Finally, we reach a new and fun story, while as far we can tell it is a side story in the Power Rangers universe, we have Ranger Academy which poses the question of if you had the chance to go to school to become a power ranger, would you? It follows a space colonist named Sage as she discovers a crashed ship and finds people who claim to go to a school for Power Rangers. It is a super fun #1 with some appearances of some fan favorite 90’s rangers and definitely a fun, fresh take on Power Rangers and can be picked up by itself. I recommend checking it out when it hits shelves October 4th!
As you can see there is a lot of content out there with several points that you can jump into the story. Since there is so much material and so many ways to read it, I wanted to recap how everything is collected here noted in the eras above. Personally, I recommend going with the Deluxe Hard Covers since they have the most content per book and since some single issues and trades are harder to find because of some first appearances and out of print options.
-Go Go Power Rangers
Single Issues: Go Go Power Rangers issues 1-32, Go Go Power Rangers: Back to School, Go Go Power Rangers: Rangers Forever
TPB: Go Go Power Rangers TPB Vol 1-9 (Heads up Vols 3, 7, 8, and 9 show up elsewhere as well)
HC: Go Go Power Rangers HC Deluxe Edition Book 1 and 2
*This title ties into other storylines. Expect to see single issues show up in a few different places and some single issues will be compiled into other books. It still reads fantastic by itself though, so don’t be afraid to just enjoy the classic five-member team.
-Year One
Single Issues: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #0-12
TPB: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TPB Vol 1-3
HC: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers HC Deluxe Edition Year One
-Year Two
Single Issues: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #13-24, 2016 Annual and 2017 Annual
TPB: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TPB Vol 4-6, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Lost Chronicles TPB Vol 01
HC: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers HC Deluxe Edition Year Two
-Shattered Grid
Single Issues: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #25-30, MMPR FCBD Special 2018, 2018 Annual, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Shattered Grid #1, Go Go Power Rangers #9-12
TPB: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TPB Vol 7-8 OR Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Shattered Grid TPB, Go Go Power Rangers TPB Vol 3, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Lost Chronicles TPB Vol 2
HC: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers HC Deluxe Edition Shattered Grid
-Beyond the Grid
Single Issues: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #31-39, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 2018 Anniversary Special #1
TPB: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TPB Vol 9-10 OR Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Beyond The Grid TPB, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Lost Chronicles TPB Vol 2
HC: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers HC Deluxe Edition Beyond The Grid
-Necessary Evil
Single Issues: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #40-55, Go Go Power Rangers #21-32, Power Rangers: Ranger Slayer #1
TPB: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TPB Vol 11-14, Go Go Power Rangers TPB Vol 7-9
HC: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Necessary Evil HC Deluxe Edition Part 1 and 2
Bonus Reading: Power Rangers: Drakkon New Dawn #1-3 OR Power Rangers: Drakkon New Dawn TPB (This also collects Power Rangers: Ranger Slayer #1 for those wanting it in TPB format)
-Split Era (Unlimited Power, Eltarian War, Charge to 100)
Single Issues: Mighty Morphin #1-22, Power Rangers #1-22, Power Rangers Unlimited: Heir to Darkness #1, Power Rangers Unlimited: Edge of Darkness #1, Power Rangers Unlimited: Countdown to Ruin #1, Power Rangers Unlimited: Death Ranger #1
TPB: Mighty Morphin TPB Vol 1-6, Power Rangers TPB Vol 1-6, Power Rangers Unlimited Edge Of Darkness TPB
HC: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers HC Deluxe Edition Vol 01 (Releasing Nov 1st 2023)
*Since this era goes back and forth and is longer than the rest, I recommend waiting for the Hardcovers or to pick them up in pairs so you can get the full story at once.
-Recharged Era
Single Issues: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #100- current issues is 112 with more on the way
TPB: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Recharged TPB Vol 1-3 (Vol 3 comes out this December)
* Please note that the series numbering jumped to include the Mighty Morphin and Power Rangers series in the collective counting
