Comic review: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic issue 21

The excellent Cover B, by MLP new boy Bill Forster

The "Reflections" arc that came to an end last month really divided opinion. Some (hi there, 4chan) were wildly negative, some had mixed views and some (like me) loved the thing. This month, we're back to slightly more conventional My Little Pony fare. The first half of a two-issue arc from Ted Anderson and Agnes Garbowska brings back Trixie (not that she'd been gone very long!) and takes us to Manehattan. For more, come with me!

It may seem a little bit surprising to feature Trixie so soon after her Friends Forever role – but as that was also drawn by Garbowska, it does make some sense. There's even a brief reference to the earlier comic here. She's back working as a stage magician now, though, wowing audiences at Manehattan's Carneighgie Hall with her routine. That is, until her carefully set up trick involving the disappearance of a fabled diamond goes wrong, revealing the involvement of the infamous criminal, Rough Diamond.

This looks like being a crime/detective caper story, which so far is working well. The choice of cast is interesting: backing up Trixie, we have several Apples (Applejack, Apple Bloom and a welcome return for Babs Seed) as well as Rarity and Fluttershy. There's also an amusing guest cast of police officers, agents and of course the populace of the great metropolis. I do think the subway looks far too modern (sliding doors?!), as do the cops, but it doesn't spoil the fun too much.

Do the Royal Guards not operate in Manehattan, then?

Garbowska has gained a pretty good reputation for her art among Pony fans, and with one significant caveat she lives up to it this time around. There's a nice combination of cuteness and energy in her drawings, and she's good at facial expressions, too. (Witness Applejack in the audience at the start!) The one problem I have is with the poses: there are way, way too many human-style bipedal shots. In Trixie's act, fine. But come on: these are quadrupeds.

There are some nice references and background gags in this issue. We see Photo Finish, Sapphire Shores and Octavia at Carneighgie Hall right at the start, with Octavia even telling a very well-worn joke about the location. The officers make... interesting use of Trixie's giant pudding. Applejack wears her "Apple Jewel" dress from "Simple Ways". Best of all, though, is the safe combination of 4-14-84: April 14th, 1984 was the air date of Rescue at Midnight Castle.

I feel that this is a pretty solid effort, and one that will probably be less divisive in the fandom than "Reflections". It's not really a story that looks likely to set the world on fire, but (tech and poses aside) there's nothing really to complain about, either. It's good to see a different selection of ponies from what we've had before, and they seem to be creating decent chemistry. It's less ambitious than "Reflections", but if you're looking for simple, fun pony silliness, then this is it.

Babs seems to have given up and taken a nap...

Yays

• Light-hearted caper silliness
• Nice to see Babs back again
• Interesting choice of characters
• Potentially intriguing crime drama

Neighs

• Far too many human poses
• Even for Manehattan, the tech levels are pushing it

8/10