Georgia Ball and the problems with the Rarity/Gilda Friends Forever

(Thanks to moody magpie on UK of Equestria for the heads-up on this.)

A few days ago, I reviewed Friends Forever #24, which I didn't find a particularly brilliant comic. Part of that was because I find American football boring, but part was because I was unimpressed with the use of characters (eg Greta) who looked absolutely nothing like their on-screen equivalents. Well, it turns out that I wasn't the only one.

It's not often that I link to a Horse News article, but this one is worth reading. Remember that I complained about the new cover design that makes the creators' names tiny? On top of that, Georgia Ball's name was misspelt as "Bell" – there and in the inside-cover credits. She wasn't very happy about that, nor about the off-model character designs, and rightly so.

And Ball isn't planning on pitching anything else for Pony, as this Twitter conversation reveals. It's also pretty clear that she is not desperately happy with Jay Fosgitt's lack of research, and I can't blame her. I like Fosgitt's style – the Dash/'Shy FF was wonderful – but this really isn't on. We're talking about basic research.

I go back and read the early MLP comics occasionally, and while I don't think the fall in average quality is as bad as 4chan likes to make out, the fact is that the gems are rarer than they were. Will we ever get another arc that produces non-stop laughs in the way "Zen and the Art of Gazebo Maintenance" or the Rarity micro did?

This franchise needs some TLC, and it needs it now. Over to you, Bobby Curnow.

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Comic mini-review: Friends Forever #24: Rarity and Gilda

I actually prefer the main cover, but it was sold out!

A slight redesign for the IDW covers. I don't much like it, since I feel the creators' names are now too small, tucked away at the bottom of the page. (Edit: and "Ball" is printed as "Bell" anyway!) Anyway, an unusual pairing this time, and a reasonable comic. Jay Fosgitt's style continues to divide opinion, but I quite like it despite its liberties with pony anatomy. One thing I don't like is that Greta, who plays a minor role, looks nothing like her show design. Sorry, JF, but with canon characters you can't get away with that. Georgia Ball provides only her second My Little Pony story after the very satisfying Celestia micro back in 2013, but doesn't quite match that effort here. The story is still a reasonable read, although it is heavily based around a sport similar to American football, which bores me silly. (Only the Dash Academy webcomic has made me interested in anything similar!) It's not bad on the whole, but I'd probably only really recommend this comic to Gilda fans. ★★ (but ★★★ if you like Gilda)

Edit: For once I'm going to link to a Horse News column. It makes pretty depressing reading, and the only person who comes out of it with credit is Ball. I'll be making a fuller post about this in the near future.

Comic review: MLP:FiM Micro-series issue #8: Celestia

Hush now, quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head

A week after it appeared in the US (and digitally) the latest in the My Little Pony micro-series has now reached British comic shops. As usual, I picked up my copy for £3.15 from Nostalgia & Comics in Birmingham. I plumped for Cover B, which features an adorable filly Twilight and baby Spike by Sabrina Alberghetti. (Is this the first A/B cover she's done?) The comic is drawn by established Pony artist Amy Mebberson, but we have a new writer joining the stable in the shape of Georgia Ball. Does it work? Let's see, after the jump!