This I know: Zodiac Starforce #4, the final issue in this first story arc, has taken its time coming out. And the best thing about it is that it promises more. I don’t care how long it takes for each issue to come out, Kevin Panetta and Paulina Ganucheau have filled a void in the comic world that is necessary. Starforce is a subtly progressive, all-inclusive girl power comic book. It pays homage to all the magical girl genre books before it, like Sailor Moon, and incorporates recognizable contemporary teenage tropes, but roots it all in the fertile soil of acceptance within our modern culture that continues to expand outward that young people (and old people, it seems) need to see put into action. Sailor Moon welcomed and loved everyone no matter who they were, Panetta and Ganucheau, as creators, have incorporated that spirit into their book without drawing attention to itself. It just is because that’s how it should be. They don’t preach, they allow it to exist.
But your teenage girls and boys shouldn’t read this book simply because it’s progressive. They should read it also because it’s well written and executed on all levels. Even progressive ideas can sting the brain when improperly handled, but the creative team here sculpts their characters and story with an intelligence, a sense of whimsical fun, and a sense of overcoming palpable conflict and danger by coming together that is welcome. True, this is issue four, but the first three issues can be found without trouble. A trade paperback, I imagine, will be coming henceforth.