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With Hilo Presents, Judd Winick—the beloved mind behind the Hilo graphic novel series—is inviting readers into fresh, thrilling adventures set in his fan-favorite universe. Beginning with the story of 12-year-old Miranda Luna, a.k.a. The Mighty, these new Hilo universe stories and worlds are filled with his trademark action, laugh-out-loud humor, and an abundance of heart, perfect for devoted Hilo fans or anyone in search of a true hero!
Read the official description below:
Welcome to Willow City—home to the one and only Miranda Luna! Miranda loves Willow City and her life…exactly as they are. But lately, everything seems to be changing. Crime is up in the city. Bullying is up at school. Even Miranda’s family is acting weird. It feels like everything is out of her control…even her own body! (What’s with all this hair? And where did this super-strength come from?!) The world needs someone to fix things. There’s a local legend about a giant, furry, mythical creature who has always kept Willow City safe in times of need. But that doesn’t have anything to do with Miranda…right? Does Miranda have what it takes to be the hero that Willow City needs…and the person she was born to be?
The Beat caught up with Winick, the Hilo Presents creator, to discuss his new hero, The Mighty, why die-hard Hilo fans will love the series, and if we can ever expect to see Frumpy the Clown again.
OLLIE KAPLAN: Hilo Book 11: The Great Space Iguana arrived in February 2025. So, how will the Hilo Presents series differ from the original Hilo books, and what inspired you to create the Hilo Presents series?
JUDD WINICK: It was born out of wanting to create new stories with new characters. It’s been 10 years telling this story with Hilo and his friends, and I thought we were due for a pivot. Both for me creatively, and for the readers. And The Mighty is a hoot!
KAPLAN: Is Hilo Presents a one-off, or can we expect more volumes focusing on different characters?
WINICK: No! You can expect more! I have another book, story, and set of characters already in the works. The Mighty is just the first of what I hope to be many.
KAPLAN: Do you have plans for crossovers or larger arcs that span multiple entries in this spin-off series?
WINICK: This is all within the “Hilo universe.” So the characters in The Mighty live in the world that Hilo, Gina, and DJ live in. And boy howdy, yes, I’m planning on crossing them over. What was wild to me over the last book tour was when I was visiting schools and doing presentations, and I mentioned to the students that this would be “in the world of HILO.” And at nearly every school, kids were raising their hands and asking if the Mighty is ever going to meet Hilo? They were already planning the crossover!
The idea of superheroes crossing over is now a mainstream concept. Even for kids! When I was a kid and an avid comic reader, there was no greater thrill than having superheroes pop into each other’s stories.
KAPLAN: Can you tell me more about themes that you may be exploring in Hilo Presents?
WINICK: This is the story of Miranda Luna, a 12-year-old girl who discovers that she can turn into a 10-foot furry monster. So she does what any kid would do. She doesn’t tell her parents and she fights crime.
As far as the theme of the story, I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say this is about suddenly being saddled with new abilities and responsibilities. There is a definite Spider-Man vibe in the story. Both in that it takes place in the city, which is different from our suburban setting of Hilo, and that Miranda struggles with what her life has become. Miranda was perfectly happy being a kid. She loves her parents, her friends, she loves school! Now, suddenly, she has a whole second life that she has to live.
KAPLAN: How do you handle tackling serious or complex topics for younger readers in this new series?
WINICK: The Mighty has some very serious issues right at the heart of it. When creating more emotionally impactful stories and themes, I’m always mindful of who is reading this. I’m not the first storyteller to say that kids are way more sophisticated intellectually and emotionally than we give them credit for. And I don’t necessarily make the stories directly for kids. I try to tell stories for everyone. And much to my delight, what has resonated with so many Hilo readers is that it isn’t one-note. I’m trying to tell emotional stories. Complex stories. In some cases, the villains aren’t all that villainous. And the heroes have faults. And sometimes it’s all very hard. Even if you can fly around and shoot lasers out of your hands, or turn into a big, furry monster and be strong enough to throw a car, life can be challenging. And with that, I try to make it really funny. I like stories that are funny. I like reading them. I like telling them.
KAPLAN: The Hilo series is known for how it balances humor, action, and heart. Will fans see the same thing in Hilo Presents, and how has that balance evolved?
WINICK: I have a very limited set of skills. The tone, feel, and vibe of The Mighty is exactly like Hilo in a great many ways. It’s loaded with jokes. It has a lot of emotion. It has big, beautiful, screaming colors by Maarta Laiho, who is such a killer and completely brings all the books to life.
And it has tons of action. I’ve always done action in Hilo that plays “for keeps.” What I mean by that is that I don’t really do a lot of fight scenes that are particularly silly. They might have funny moments in them, but for the most part, I like the action to be cool! And there’s an added layer when the characters are in real danger.
For me, it’s a blast because—and I hope I don’t get too technical here—Hilo, Gina, and Polly all have certain powers and abilities, and I’ve got to make action to play to those powers. But The Mighty is an acrobatic and incredibly strong Bigfoot who leaps around. So I get to draw different action sequences than before. And that’s fun! For all the comic geeks out there who might know the term, I get to draw a powerhouse. And that’s a blast! I will say, thus far, a major difference from the Hilo series is that grown-ups and Miranda’s parents play a larger part in the story than the adults in Hilo. A cheat in the Hilo series is that adults are practically nonexistent. And that’s where the story feels like it needs to be and needs to go. This is different. Miranda’s mom and dad are on the periphery, but at the same time, a little bit in the thick of it. It’s a completely different story in that way.
KAPLAN: What do you hope young readers take away from this new installment?
WINICK: I can only hope that kids are excited about The Mighty as much as they were and are excited about Hilo. It’s a different story, but so deeply similar in many ways. I just really hope they love Miranda. I hope she connects with them. And I hope they think it’s funny.
KAPLAN: As a die-hard Frumpy the Clown fan (as a Sunday comics kid who was raised in ABQ, it was my Hilo), will he ever make his return? How do the themes you explored in your early work continue in your work today?
WINICK: That is very flattering! It makes me very happy that you loved Frumpy. My youngest kiddo, my daughter, who is 16 now, discovered Frumpy about 10 years ago. She just yanked the two collections off the shelf. And she really loved it! And I hadn’t really engaged with it in a long time. For those playing at home, I did a syndicated comic strip that ran in newspapers for about four years. She laughed her butt off. It does make me want to do more. At the same time, it was and is a reminder to me about what I always wanted to do. Since I was a kid, I really just wanted to do a daily syndicated comic strip that ran in newspapers, which is all-ages cartooning. And it turned out that’s what I’m doing now. Hilo and The Mighty are drawn like a comic strip—it’s got the good old-fashioned word balloons above their heads. And despite being an action-adventure story, it’s still a big old comedy, just like a comic strip.
That’s what I always wanted to do. And now I’m doing it. That said, will I ever do more Frumpy the Clown? We shall see. I didn’t know that I would be coming up with a new series besides Hilo. So you never know.
I’m very lucky. I live like a 10-year-old. I make things up and then I draw them. And thank goodness, people seem to dig it.
Check out more information on Judd Winick’s new series, Hilo Presents: The Mighty, here.
English (US) · 