Radiant Black is the weirdest Power Rangers comic you’ve never read

With only six issues on shelves, Image Comics’ tokusatsu-inspired Radiant Black has proven to be a massive success for the publisher. At the book’s first ever San Diego Comic-Con panel, writer Kyle Higgins was joined by artists Marcelo Costa, Eduardo Ferigato, and editor Michael Busuttil to look back on the series thus far and chart a course for the future.

Up until this point, the book was about Nathan, a failed writer who became a Radiant, gaining cosmic superpowers that were later passed onto his friend Marshall when Nathan was critically injured. But then there turned out to be more Radiants in the world. The most recent issue winds back the clock to focus on Radiant Red, revealed to be a woman named Satomi, using her new powers to rob banks in an attempt to save her marriage from financial ruin.

An issue focused on her was always in the cards, according to Higgins, and bringing in his friend Cherish Chen to write the issue boiled down to common sense. “I’m not an Asian-American, I didn’t grow up living those experiences.” He explains that he wanted to use the issue to give a writer chances like he had early in his career. “A lot of people helped me when I was coming up, and it’s always been a dream of mine to be able to one day give someone those opportunities as well.”

When Radiant returns to the present day with issue #7, Satomi and Marshall will meet new Radiants Yellow and Pink. After revealing their respective names to be Wendell and Eva, Higgins and Busuttil teased what the new duo would bring to the Radiant team. Eva’s unique ability allows her to teleport, but Wendell’s is being kept secret for now. Higgins said it’s “wild,” and Busuttil simply described it as the most complicated power of the lot.

Could Wendell’s power help the other Radiants come together to form a mech, a staple of the tokusatsu genre? Higgins wouldn’t give up the game, but he did say to look toward the team’s powers for clues, like Marshall’s cape or Satomi’s armored form. “Gravity, absorption of matter, teleportation,” he smiled. “All of these things could be grouped under the category of ‘black hole stuff.’” Stay tuned to see how that shakes out.

Black holes are so vital to Radiant that the team revealed the book’s tenth issue will be a blacklight issue set entirely inside a black hole. At least, that’s Higgins’ plan. He stopped short of giving more details, but he promised upcoming solicits would reveal more. And if all of that sounds exciting, Higgins promises that it’s just the beginning. “Arc two is even more wild, and year two is gonna put it all to shame.”

Radiant Black #7 hits shelves on Aug. 18.