Flavor Girls #1 // Review
Flavor Girls #1 is a magical girl superhero tale written, illustrated, and colored by Loïc Locatelli-Kournwsky. Eros De Santiago assists with the coloring. Flavor Girls #1 is published by BOOM! Studios.
When a mysterious spaceship appears in the sky, the people of earth quickly rally together to send a diplomatic team to figure out what the aliens want. Cue the popular audio from Chowder; "and nothing can go wrong! OH NO, IT ALL WENT WRONG!" The aliens have no interest in peace, killing everyone on the mission.
Now there's an uneasy relationship between humanity and the aliens, the Agartha. At any time, the Agartha can decide to attack. And the earth will be powerless to respond. That's where the Flavor Girls come in.
Image courtesy of BOOM! Studios: https://www.boom-studios.com/archives/flavor-girls-series-announcement/
The Flavor Girls are three young women, Naoko, Camille, and V, imbued with magical fruit powers that fight against the Agartha. And when a new hero, Sara, is chosen, they travel to see their master so she can train.
One of Locatelli-Kournwsky's strengths is visual storytelling. Flavor Girls #1 features a magical girl transformation scene, where Sara goes from "girl next door" to pineapple-themed fighter. And the entire sequence features no dialogue. Instead, Locatelli-Kournwsky relies on facial expressions, movement, and colors to set the tone.
The design of the Flavor Girls' uniforms is another standout aspect of the comic. They're a team, but they don't have the same outfits. In addition to their fruit wands, each girl has a unique element in their outfit. Camille's outfit is my favorite, with the Pomegranate theme worked into the decorations on her shirt and the color of her gloves and boots. She's saving the world and looking stylish.
Though they've only just been introduced, it's already clear that each member of the Fruit Girls has a distinct personality. Because this issue focuses on Sara gaining her powers and learning about where the Fruit Girls got their powers, she's the most developed at the end of the story. But through her interactions with the rest of the cast, readers get an insight into how the others function as individuals and as a team.
Image courtesy of BOOM! Studios: https://www.boom-studios.com/archives/flavor-girls-series-announcement/
Locatelli-Kournwsky makes an interesting choice with the lettering in Flavor Girls #1. The lettering has a loose style, using flourishes on letters such as 'm' and 'n.' It's almost comparable to cursive but without connecting to the other letters. This choice gives mixed results. It works well for the first part of the story, as Naoka reminisces, telling the reader about the day of the invasion. It feels more personal, as though the audience is reading her journal. However, it's not always easy to read with the same stylistic flourishes making the letters appear to run together in some areas.
Despite the issues with the lettering, Flavor Girls #1 is a big hit that will appeal to fans of magical girl media (Sailor Moon, Tokyo Mew Mew) and fans of superhero teams (The Justice League, X-Men.) And with beautiful art in addition to unique character concepts, Flavor Girls #1 is a can't-miss series.
