Comic not-as-mini-as-usual review: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #50

Some excellent oval-ball sport last night. I mean rugby union, obviously. Italy 7 Wales 33 was a decent enough result, though until the last 20 minutes it was a bit of a nail-biter. Sadly I can't see Wales winning the championship, but I'd love them to beat England. (For those unaware: I am in fact English, but for various reasons I support Wales at rugby.)

Andy Price's main cover hits just the right note

The "Accord" arc comes to a close with the landmark 50th issue of the MLP comic. And I'm pleased to say that it does so in some style. While Ted Anderson's story doesn't totally blow me away, nor does it seem like the horrible let-down I'd slightly feared. Accord's own story concludes reasonably, Starlight is used in a sensible way, there's a nice visit from some old friends (not ponies) and the final page – though a bit cheesy – is fine for a celebratory issue like this. I'd have preferred a tad less fourth-wall breaking before that, but still. Andy Price's art is bright, colourful (thanks to Heather Breckel) and varied, which is expected but appreciated.

This being a special (and more expensive!) issue, there's also a ten-page backup story. The writing, by Jeremy Whitley, is pleasant fluff: lightweight fun in the style of a short Friends Forever comic. There are even (doubtless unintentional) echoes of Sunny Skies All Day Long. The art is by Jay Fosgitt; I don't hate his stuff in the way some fans do, and for the ponies it's fine. The way he does Discord, though, just looks weird, and I simply can't accept a draconequus drawn the same size as a regular pony. A shame, as this lets down an otherwise entertaining story.

So, the issue as a whole? Very enjoyable, with a few irritations that stop it being the truly superb comic that would have made issue #50 something for the ages. I still recommend it, though, and indeed the whole arc. Not great, then, but it is very good. ★★★★

Comic mini-review: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #49

It must be a really strange reality if Pinkie is folding

I was impressed by the first instalment in the "Accord" arc, and awarded it four stars. This second comic in the three-parter doesn't quite match up to that, but it's still a very good effort. Ted Anderson's writing takes us to some interesting places, both figuratively and literally. Andy Price and Heather Breckel are as reliable as always and give the issue a nicely consistent (and rather blue) feel. The ending is one I probably should have seen coming, but didn't. A top-end three for this, but I'm really hoping the big finish – in issue #50! – will be better than the conclusions of certain other comic arcs I could name. ★★★

Comic mini-review: Friends Forever #35: Twilight and Starlight Glimmer

At least Tony Fleecs used the right manestyle

This team-up was always going to happen, unexciting as it is. Ted Rob Anderson writes a reasonably effective, if not amazing, story and it's nice to have a bit of Star Swirl again. (Not appearing in pony, sadly.) Jay Fosgitt's art is... well, Jay Fosgitt-y. If you hate it, this won't change your mind – especially as he gives Starlight her pre-reformation mane design. Spike plays a fun supporting role this time, and the ending is a little less rushed than sometimes. A moderately entertaining Friends Forever issue. ★★★

Comic mini-review: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #48

Celestia: "Hey look, it's a pony comic!"
Luna: "She looks more like a phoney comic to me!"

This is the start of the three-part "Accord" story arc, which will take us up to the landmark #50 issue of the My Little Pony comic. I doubt the series will make it as far as #100, so I really hope this arc ends up being something special. It's certainly got off to a very good start, with a fascinating look at what happens when a strange celestial event turns Discord from a creature of chaos to one of complete order. If anything, he's more frightening in this guise than he was before. The Mane Six play decent supporting roles, but it already seems clear that Starlight Glimmer is going to be Discord's main antagonist here. Andy Price's art, coloured by Heather Breckel, is as expressive and colourful as ever, while Ted Anderson gives us a story that holds the interest throughout. I'm pleased by this one, and if they can keep up this standard for the next two issues, we'll have an arc worthy of its position in the comic series. ★★★★

Comic mini-review: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #47

Obviously a companion piece to #46's cover

Yes, I realise I'm horribly behind schedule with these, but at least it allows me to put this review out on US election day. The Applejack/Cherry Jubilee Friends Forever review should be up before too much longer. Anyway, this is the concluding half of the "Filthy Rich gets elected Mayor of Ponyville" arc, and like the first part it's fairly amusing and fairly solid without ascending to brilliance. The story as a whole does feel slightly like filler before the Discord three-parter that comes next, but it's enjoyable filler and I'm okay with that. ★★★

Comic mini-review: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #46

Apologies for the awful colours this time; you get the idea, though

A new two-part comic arc begins, and it's about politics. Oh joy. I mean, what could be better at a time when real-world politics is clearly going so well? Actually, though, this one is pretty good reading. Agnes Garbowska's art isn't to everyone's tastes, but it seems less out-there in this issue than in some she's done, while Ted Anderson provides a really rather witty storyline. He resists the temptation to make this a simple parody of a certain other election this autumn, and thank Celestia for that. It's not an astounding comic, but it's a very solid three – and probably not far off a four if you like your political machinations. ★★★

Comic mini-review: Friends Forever #32: Fluttershy and Daring Do

I'd probably have preferred Tony Fleecs to draw inside, too

This combination of writer Ted Anderson and artist Jay Fosgitt could have been calculated to make some parts of the fandom wound up, but they do a fairly solid job with this issue. I'm not really convinced that Fosgitt's "squishy" style really lends itself well to adventure stories like this one, and I really wish he'd lay off the bipdedalism, but that aside it's cute and colourful (thanks, Heather Breckel!) and doesn't get in the way. The story is a little shaky at times (Daring's initial greeting to 'Shy doesn't sound terribly natural) but again it does the job. You won't find anything extraordinary here, which is a slight shame given the unusual pairing, but as long as you like Fosgitt's art it's worth picking this up. ★★★

Comic review: Friends Forever #29: Rarity and Maud Pie

Tony Fleecs's art really does look good these days

Okay, while I wait for my country to disintegrate around me (or not), here's a belated review of the most recent FF comic. I'm pleased to say that the team of Ted Anderson, Brenda Hickey and Heather Breckel have produced a very entertaining adventure story here, a little reminiscent of a tamer Daring Do story in places. Having Rarity and Maud meet at a rock convention is a brilliant idea, one that instantly makes perfect sense. I also like the gimmick of having snippets from Rarity's diary to fill in the gaps around the speech bubbles. The villain isn't one of the greatest and the ending is a little abrupt, but this is plenty of fun, the artwork is pleasant to look at and the whole thing is easy to recommend. ★★★★

Comic mini-review: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #40

Brenda Hickey's main cover is itself a lot of fun

The latest My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic comic from IDW is something a bit different from the epic, multi-part adventures we've often associated with the main series. This time around, it's a one-shot in which Ted Anderson and Brenda Hickey combine to give us a sweet little tale of just how Twilight came to look after Spike in the first place. It's quite adorable, and the artwork is bright and colourful, too. In truth, this reads a bit more like a Friends Forever issue than something from the main series, but never mind. It's on the three-star/four-star boundary, but in the end I was sufficiently charmed by it to give it the higher rating. ★★★★

Comic mini-review: Friends Forever #23: Fluttershy and Applejack

Amy Mebberson's cover is suitably cute, too

We're back to Friends Forever territory now, with this issue teaming up two of the Mane Six. There's not a huge amount to say about this one, but that's not necessarily a criticism. It's what you'd hope for from a Friends Forever comic, with some cute artwork by Tony Fleecs, some heart-warming friendship moments with AJ and 'Shy and a mildly silly storyline that doesn't tax your brain too much. There's the odd small reference and cameo, but nothing all that startling. The pigasus herself is really rather adorable, too. A nice, relaxing read. ★★★

Comic mini-review: Friends Forever #21: Spike and Zecora

Amy Mebberson's main cover is sneeze-inducing in itself!

I know, I know, this is horribly late! But happily, it's a comic that I quite enjoyed. Although you couldn't really claim that Ted Anderson and Agnes Garbowska had produced a classic here, it's still an enjoyable read. The plot, in which most of Ponyville goes down with an unpleasant illness, is fairly thin and mostly an excuse for throwing these two together, but it bounces along pleasantly. There are some fun touches – look carefully at Spike's genetics chart! Noteworthy is that Garbowska's style, which I'm not always a great fan of, seems to suit Spike in particular rather well. Reading this comic makes a nice way of spending a few minutes. ★★★

Comic mini-review: Friends Forever #17: Twilight & Big Mac

Another mini-review I'm afraid, though that's probably not a surprise given the supply problems I've been talking about. In this issue, Twilight gets inside Big Mac's mind – quite literally. This is a very enjoyable comic, certainly one of the better instalments in this series and a lot better than main-series #30. It's frequently funny, there are some nice touches from Brenda Hickey's art (especially the Sub cover pictured above!) and Ted Anderson gives us a solid storyline that both makes sense and is completely ridiculous. Unless you really detest these characters, this one is a keeper. ★★★★

Comic mini-review: Fiendship is Magic #3: The Sirens

This is the only one of the Fiendship issues not to feature a villain from the show, which makes it an interesting choice. Anyway, this comic was written by Ted Anderson, drawn by Agnes Garbowska and coloured by... oh, you know by now. As for whether it's a good one... I hate to say it, but no, not really. There are some nice touches: the classically-themed "old Canterlot" is fun and it's nice to see a young Star Swirl, even if his decision-making is suspect at times. But the villains themselves are disappointing, nowhere near as enjoyable as they are in Rainbow Rocks itself. Bluntly, these Sirens are boring. Not a complete disaster, but certainly the least impressive Fiendship comic yet. ★★

Comic mini-reviews: main-series #29 and FF #15 (AJ/MM)

I'm still not really up to writing full-scale reviews, but since I know there are one or two people who like to know what I felt about the IDW comics, here's a very quick summary of each one. Both issues were coloured by Heather Breckel. Above are my copies: Cover B of #29, drawn by Katie Longua, and Cover Sub of FF #15, drawn by Brenda Hickey.

Main-series issue #29 wasn't bad. I have no interest whatsoever in wrestling, so I probably missed any number of in-jokes, but I still found the issue reasonably enjoyable. Ted Anderson's story was more Friends Forever in tone, really, so I'm not sure what it was doing in the main series. Jay Fosgitt's art is growing on me, and at least he didn't make a hash of Ponyville's architecture this time. ★★★

Friends Forever issue #15 (Applejack/Mayor Mare) was very nice, the best comic since the Twilight/Pinkie FF. The team-up worked well, quite a lot of the jokes were funny, Brenda Hickey's art was attractive and Bobby Curnow seems to be a pretty decent writer of AJ. The weird turn near the end will probably split opinion, but in context I think they got away with it. Recommended. ★★★★

Comic review: Equestria Girls Holiday Special 2014

Even Reformed!Sunset seems to need a semi-evil grin

Okay, it's time once again for me to start talking about My Little Pony comics! Rather ironically, my review of the Equestria Girls Holiday Special has been delayed by my holidays, but hey ho. This is a Ted Anderson/Tony Fleecs collaboration; Heather Breckel did do the colours, but she's not credited on the cover for some reason. It's a bit longer (48pp) and more expensive (I paid £5.99) than the usual comics, and has an actual spine rather than staples, The cover design is about as generic as it gets, so let's move on to the spoiler-filled meat of this review.

Comic review: MLP Friends Forever #11: Spitfire and Rainbow Dash

The foals are based on G1 ponies: Melody bottom left, Heart Throb bottom right, etc

Been a while, hasn't it? You can blame that on the autumn cold that's been attacking me. I know there's already another comic out after this one, and I will try to catch up. Anyway, here's Friends Forever issue #11. Yes, it's written by Ted Anderson, so if that's a red line to you then I'll see you next time. For the rest of us, this RainFire team-up (hey, better than SpitDash!) brings a new artist to the scene in the shape of Jay Fosgitt. This'll be a fairly short review on account of my health, so let's go:

Comic review: My Little Pony Annual 2014

I can't help thinking the Pharaoh looks a bit like Sombra...

This year's My Little Pony Annual, which is a Power Ponies special, has been rather overshadowed by the brouhaha surrounding Ted Anderson's position at IDW, still unresolved at the time of going to press. This review isn't going to say anything more about that, but will simply concentrate on assessing the comic itself. As well as Anderson's writing, we also get Ben Bates' swansong as an illustrator before he moves to pastures new, and good old Heather Breckel doing the colours. Past the break for more!

Regarding my upcoming Power Ponies Annual review:

Just to mention that I will not be addressing the whole Ted Anderson/Glitter Punch/etc/etc/etc drama storm. I'm interested in reviewing the comic as a comic, and that's what I'm going to do. If you want to know about the other stuff, hit up this EqD post for the details. I'll try to get the comic review itself up sometime later this week, though it may have to be at the weekend. No later than Sunday, though, if I can help it!

Comic review: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic issue 22

This is officially Cover A, in spite of not saying so on the front

The first half of this two-issue arc was pretty solid and gained an 8/10 score from me. Nothing stupendously amazing, but it told a fun story in a reasonably well realised Manehattan with an unusual subset of the ponies we all know. So, is this second comic going to be one of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic classics, or will the story end up being a dud? Follow me past the break to find out!

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!