Zodiac Starforce Trade Release – Magical Girls Rejoice!

May 31st is a great day for magical girls everywhere because the trade copy of Zodiac Starforce hits the shelves! Zodiac Starforce, written by Kevin Panetta (Bravest Warriors, Regular Show) and illustrated and lettered by Paulina Ganucheau (Bravest Warriors, Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends), started out as a webcomic but became so popular they decided to pitch their idea to publishers. After two years of reworking and pitching, Dark Horse Comics picked up the title and gave it life.

The Zodiac Starforce trade begins with a broken up magical girl group trying to reestablish their friendship. They have already saved the world, broke up the team, and are busy dealing with the stresses of being in high school, but now readers see them team up again to battle monsters and save the day once again. When a classmate mysteriously disappears it’s up to Zodiac Starforce to figure out what in the world is happening. All while an evil force infects leader Emma, leaving her almost helpless.

When I found out about this comic I knew I was going to love it. What’s not to love? There’s a group of ladies who are diverse in ethnicity and body type and are also kicking monster butt! On top of that, an interracial, lesbian relationship develops!

Artist Paulina Ganucheau gives the comic a light and bubbly feel with vibrant colors, adorable costume designs and sparkles, because who doesn’t like sparkles? There have been many great women artists popping up in the comic industry in the last few years and Ganucheau is definitely one to look out for.

Magical girl lovers will appreciate all the small references to Sailor Moon that Zodiac Starforce has. There are many times where we see Sailor Moon characters in the background, such as Sailor Neptune, Sailor Uranus and Sailor Pluto. Yes, the outer senshi can go to parties too! Readers can tell that Ganucheau had fun doing the art for this comic because of all the nods to previous magical girl groups.

The story is a great representation of what friendship truly is. The girls put their differences aside and get back together to help stop the evil that is now trying to destroy, well everything. It’s great to see more women kicking butts in comics that aren’t scantly clad. This comic is appropriate for readers 12 years old and older and would be a great comic to get for a young reader who might not know much about comics yet.

The trade collects issues #1-4 and includes the many variant covers by Babs Tarr, Kevin Wada, Noelle Stevenson and others. It also includes 40 extra pages of Zodiac Starforce’s complete history.