REVIEW: ‘Radiant Black,’ Issue #7

Radiant Black #7 is written by Kyle Higgins, illustrated by Marcelo Costa, colored by Natalia Marques, and lettered by Becca Carey. It is published by Image Comics. The issue contains two stories: Radiant(s)” picks up immediately after the end of Radiant Black #5, where Marshall and the other Radiants are attacked by a mysterious cloaked figure. Despite Radiant Pink and Radiant Yellow wishing to work together to beat their new foe, Marshall is out for vengeance against Satomi Sone/Radiant Red. The issue also contains two backup stories. The third part of  “The Unleashed Echoes of Sorrow, Pt I,”  written by Melissa Flores, illustrated by Eleonora Carlini, colored by Mattia Iacono, and lettered by DC Hopkins, puts its own spin on the superhero genre. At the same time, we get another installment of “Marshall’s School of Business,” which is also written by Flores, illustrated by Danilo Beyruth, colored by Dee Cunniffe, and lettered by Carey.

Throughout its run so far, Radiant Black has provided unique twists on the tropes that permeate Power Rangers and its inspiration Super Sentai. (Ironically, a sequence in this book takes place in Japan with two bystanders asking if the Radiants are part of a new Sentai.) This issue tackles the team aspect of Power Rangers; each Ranger team learns to work together and trust each other. Higgins upends that dynamic in this issue: Marshall still has an ax to grind with Satomi as she left his best friend in a coma, and he doesn’t even know Radiant Pink or Radiant Yellow. As far as team-building goes, there’s a lot of bumps to be worked out. Higgins also builds upon the series’ mythology, showing how the Radiants’ powers interact with each other and hinting at a larger conflict being waged across the stars.

Costa returns to art duties on this issue, with Marques backing him up on colors. The duo works together like a well-oiled machine; Costa keeps finding new ways to top himself as the battle between the Radiants, and the cloaked figure crisscrosses from Chicago to Japan to the depths of outer space. He also favors double-page spreads that show off the full range of the conflict; the cloaked being can utilize violet energy which manifests in several forms such as teleportation and energy-enhanced punches. Marques’ color art also gives life to the various environments of the book, from the snowy white mountains of Japan to the cold darkness of outer space. This also extends to the Radiants, as their various colors also give their respective powers and speeches a unique flair; even Carey’s letters are affected as the Radiants have begun to speak in the same alien language that the robot who visited Nathan in his dreams spoke in.

Radiant Black #7 kicks off its second story arc by continuing to upend tokusatsu tropes while also building upon the series’ mythology. This series continues to be one of the best superhero books on the stands and serves as a harbinger of things to come for Higgins’ Black Market Narrative creative collective. With the first volume of Radiant Black on sale this week, I highly recommend giving it a read if you haven’t already.

Radiant Black #7 is available now wherever comics are sold.