An elite group of teenage girls with magical powers have sworn to protect our planet against dark creatures . . . as long as they can get out of class! Known as the Zodiac Starforce, these high-school girls aren’t just combating math tests–they’re also battling monsters!

After defeating a former Zodiac Starforce member and her mean-girl minions, the girls thought they’d get a little break! But a new big bad’s come out to play, and demons are starting to overrun the downtown!

Zodiac Starforce: Cries of the Fire Prince #1 continues shortly after the first volume ends. Intelligently, the first issue makes sure to include a brief retelling of the past volume to refresh fans and introduce fans who are unaware of the first volume. That’s super helpful when there’s breaks between series and helps make a new volume new reader friendly. Writer Kevin Panetta does an amazing job keeping a quick pace for the story while managing to balance character development and action. We also get a bit of a reveal of who the next villain may be.

Artist Paulina Ganucheau continues the “Sailor Moon” inspired art style. She manages to give the Zodiac supernatural element some great detail. It also showcases a very colorful visual style in the process in addition to showcasing some series action as the story unfolds.

A solid start to a series that’s entertaining and action packed and manages originality despite familiarity.

Story: Kevin Panetta Art: Paulina Ganucheau
Story: 8.5 Art: 9.0 Overall: 8.75 Recommendation: Buy

Dark Horse provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review