Yeah! I finally got the sequel to one of my favourite comics!
And I have to say, it is very different from what I expected, and I barely knew what to expect to begin with. Basically, it's about how our five kickass girls of the Zodiac Starforce (of America?), Emma, Kim, Molly, Savi and Lily, have to fight monsters, and then a Big Bad named Pavos (the titular fire prince), a blue-skinned, pink-haired metrosexual, summoned by Diana's minions from the last volume. He was formerly betrothed to the dark goddess Cimmeria. Unsurprisingly, she is not the only goddess not to appear in this instalment; Astra is AWOL, too, powerful guardian and caring mentor that she is.
Normal lives, normal friendships, and normal relationships clash with the supernatural threat and terror. But then the Zodiac Starforce of England turn up in their own spaceship, and appear to want to help the teenage girl heroes. But there is distrust and ulterior motives all around. Secrets and hormones. But they learn to work together and everything works out fine in the end. Or does it?
'Zodiac Starforce Volume 2: Cries of the Fire Prince' is very dramatic and fun. A lot of action is on display, but it doesn't detract from the character pieces and development.
The leader Emma, aka Gemini, is, out of the blue, having boy trouble, and she appears to have grown much more violent and aggressive after the events of the first volume. But her confidence, sensitivity, and protectiveness of her friends always shine through.
Kim, aka Taurus, is brilliant; we see her family and home problems, her adorable and supportive relationship with her boyfriend (we need more of this portrayed in media in general), and her ambition to be a wrestler - we need stories about lady wrestlers, please! Plus she has Sailor Moon's Moon Stick in her room - a fun little detail!
Molly, aka Ares, is more fleshed out than in the previous instalment; she is given more to do, has meaningful interactions with her friends, especially Emma, and the foreshadowings of her future development are excellently done. What direction is the writer taking her?
Savi, aka Pieces, has a pet tortoise named Hellboy. Oh, and she's as cute and tomboyish as ever, and her relationship with Lily, aka Libra, the newest member of the Starforce, is realistic and ultimately positive; the message is that communication is the key to making any relationship work.
The outgoing Savi and the shy Lily, who doubts being special and important to the team, work wonders together as lovers. Nice 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' namedrop, too.
Really, everything about these girls and their friendship with one another is charming.
In this volume we meet some new characters: Capricorn (no other name given), the older leader of the Starforce of Britain; Sam, aka Cancer, the male medic and healer; Alex, aka Aquarius, the blue-haired archer; Jack, aka Leo, the ladies man; Lux Han, aka Sagittarius, a funny and sarcastic whip girl (in more ways than one); and Jenny, aka Virgo, the distrustful grouch of the team who cannot let go of the past.
Each of these magical people, more experienced that Emma and her magical girls, are diverse, and some subvert gender stereotypes, such as Sam being the healer who doesn't really fight, and Lux is a tracker. I've wanted to see British magical girls since forever, as well! Not a lot is revealed about them yet, however. Regardless, they, along with everyone else in 'Zodiac Starforce', would make fun playable characters in a fighting game.
The villains are certainly memorable. Before even getting to the fire prince, we have Alice... and there's no real point in talking about Cimmeria's other rejected minions, because Alice steals every panel she's in. From barely having a presence in the previous 'Zodiac Starforce' adventure, here she is a leader, and certifiably insane and mad with power. Like a demented, psychopathic Alice in Wonderland, dressed in black. Clearly she was inspired by evil blonde characters in shows like 'Buffy'.
Pavos, the flamboyant and narcissistic demon, freed from his five-hundred-years-prison by Alice in a blood-sacrifice ritual meant to summon Cimmeria, can be annoying and OTT - meant to parody 'Sailor Moon' villains - but he has his funny moments. His deadly powers and drive to remorselessly kill anyone in his path make him a legitimate threat.
Any complaints I have about 'Cries of the Fire Prince' can be overlooked and understood in reflection and hindsight. Though I'm not sure about Emma's hetero love life and where it's going. The High School Detective Club from the first volume went nowhere in volume 2, except to have the only HSDC member to appear in it (who was literally in the background previously) serve as Emma's failing relationship. Where did that come from? How? But yeah, the club of ordinary teens who are fans of the Zodiac Starforce and can potentially be a help to the girls - they are brushed aside to make way for the other Starforce team.
Also, who made the creative decision to have one character say, "I think [spoiler name] is hurt", when the person they are referring to is bloodied, beaten and unconscious in their arms? You THINK they're hurt!?
And volume 2 ends in a cliffhanger. *sigh*.
But I am excited as to where the storyline goes next. Mostly in regards to Emma and Molly. Let Kim be a wrestler, too!
Oh yeah, and I do ship Emma and Molly. They are great together, as best friends, developing into something more, hopefully?
'Zodiac Starforce Volume 2: Cries of the Fire Prince' does its job - I am craving for more of this new magical girl team! Seeing as I am usually majorly disappointed by sequels, that is astronomical praise coming from me. The character work is strong, if limited due to issue length, and so are the action and drama. The artwork is lovely, colourful and expressive as ever.
So while I don't think it's as good as volume 1, it is a worthy sequel to the 2016 hit.
If this franchise doesn't become famous in the comics sphere, if not beyond, merely due to its genre, then I don't know what to believe in anymore. Magical girls are cool, as I've stated many, many times before. 'Sailor Moon' and its silk ilk and influences are heavenly gifts!
Final Score: 4/5
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