Chip n Dale: Rescue Rangers #7

Ian Brill and Morgan Luthi

"Ask a Ninja (To Stop Chasing Me):" If you don't know who the Rescue Rangers are, I don't want to know you, so don't expect a "who are they" bit here. Currently, the gang is taking on a clan of ninja porcupines that have kidnapped a rich mouse. Zipper and Monty have been captured and Chip and Dale are undercover as ninjas.

Summary: Ninja porcupines are a brilliant concept, and I'd love to see this idea in some other medium. The reason it doesn't work here is because the ninja porcupines are drawn as hedgehogs. In a surprise to no one, Chip and Dale are exposed as spies, but manage to rescue Zipper in the process. However, after finally escaping the porcuhogs, it turns out that now Gadget has been kidnapped and placed in a glass case. Monty is completely ineffective in this issue, which is a shame since he's really been the standout of the series so far. Foxglove, the bat, appears to help Dale with a crisis: He's not a good leader and is only good for jokes. Foxglove gets him out of the funk, just as Chip is hit with a poison dart and passes out. We then cut to Gadget escaping her prison by using physics in a scene straight out of A Beautiful Mind. Gadget then meets her captors, the Danger Rangers- negative versions of our heroes.

High Points: The Dale/Foxglove relationship shines here as does Gadget's escape. Even Zipper is given a strong characterization. The art is straight out of the cartoon and the story seamlessly flows right out of it.

Low Points: Chip might as well be made out of cardboard, and Monty is wasted in the issue, thanks to some well placed cheese. The villains here are bothersome. Completely wrong animal being drawn is a big one, but am I the only one tired of seeing the negative versions of heroes serve as villains? Surely, you're with me, Angry Panda?

Verdict: B. Not the best the series has to offer but in the middle of a storyline, there's not much to complain about. I suggest picking up the first 4 issue story and if you really like it, continue on. For having ninja in the title, there was a surprising lack of them on the page... though they are ninjas...