MISC. MANGA, *Flavor Girls

Loic Locatelli-Kournwsky had some of her work printed in English such as Persephone and Pocahontas: Princess Of The New World, but her Ghibli-styled artwork and storytelling was on full display in her original mini-series of Flavor Girls. With art assistance by Eros de Santiago, Loic's magical girl saga goes the route that certain sailor-themed superheroes never even dared to try. Boom Studios released this in three separate issues and then in a hardcover graphic novel about teenage girls whose mission is to literally defend the world against space invaders.

A race of aliens called the Argatha loom in their huge starship in Earth's orbit continuously attack the human population even though their main target is an enchanted piece of shrubbery known as the Mother Tree. To protect the tree and the planet, a trio of costumed girls called the Sacred Fruit Guardians is formed, although they are billed as the Flavor Girls. A fourth member of their group emerges after the latest alien assault, and she had to discover her potential as a superhero by getting some serious training. The team consists of Naoka the leader, the easy-going Camille, the reserved one called V, and the newbie Sara who all use their botanical powers to keep the Argatha at bay.

The first mini-series told a solid story of Sara's journey from normal girl to magical girl with a few surprising revelations regarding some of the secondary characters. The current series titled Flavor Girls: Return To The Mothership explores more of the aliens' background and an underwater expediion with Naoka's mother leads to a startling secret. The artwork is outstanding, even though the character interactions are sometimes hit-or-miss. If you want to wait for a complete series compilation or just collect each volume on their own, this mahou shoujo comic is worth considering.