Kevin Panetta and Paulina Ganucheau are back with more Zodiac Starforce! The creative team released this magical news on January 11.
Zodiac Starforce creates a deeper, more diverse team in the magical girl genre. Sailor Moon introduced the magical girl genre to the US in the 90s, and while Sailor Moon remains popular, it's inarguable that the characters all look very similar to each other. Zodiac Starforce's characters, however, have different ethnicities, body shapes, and sexual orientations, creating a truly unique team to come together and fight monsters and mean girls. And they're totally rad.
Panetta and Ganucheau said in an interview with Comics Alliance, just before the launch of their first comic, that it was important for them to create a diverse team to work together. They did, and they totally delivered. There’s Emma/Gemini who is a natural born leader, and will do anything to keep her friends from harm, even at the expense of herself. There's bull headed Kim/Taurus who is stubborn, caring, and loyal to a tee. Also, her boyfriend is super sweet and supportive of her and her team. There's Savi/Pisces, who makes sure everyone on the team is okay emotionally, and physically. Lastly, there's Molly/Aries, who wants to punch every foe in the face — whether inter-dimensional monster or human bully — to protect her friends. The characters are essentially different from one another, yet work beautifully as a team and home in on the importance of friendship, love, virtue, and truth. Despite the constant flux in their teenage feels, their friends roll with the punches and support each other totally. Including a queer awakening for our magical girl, Savi/Pisces.
This comic is so preciously queer, and leaves readers with good feelings, including an almost Disneyesque lady-on-lady kiss that frees one character from evil, and helps her evolve into a new member of the team. There's a certain finesse in the character development that allows each character, queer or straight, to have their feelings validated, supported, and celebrated, no matter how they evolve.
Panetta and Ganucheau are creating sheroes that many young females can identify with. This comic is reinforcing that teen ladies don't need to fit into a normative female box in order to stand up for themselves and be accepted. There's a lot of diversity in this comic, and it's represented in the most beautiful way. It's a sweet, empowering comic full of girl power that everyone should read.
Thank you Zodiac Starforce team for making such a beautiful, flowing, diverse comic about friendship, teamwork, and love — whether platonic, or romantic. We eagerly look forward to the new story that this Zodiac Starforce will reveal!