Comic mini-review: Friends Forever #34: Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich

Tony Fleecs' cover brings us Weird Al in 2-D!

Friends Forever time again, and this issue brings together two characters who, again, it's not exactly a surprise to see paired up. I can't say I'm a huge fan of the plot Thom Zahler has written for this one. A giant, walking, apparently somewhat malevolent house doesn't really feel right for Equestria – the only time we've seen such a thing in the show was in a dream. Agnes Garbowska's art is generally serviceable and rises above that at times, but it's not strong enough to overcome the limitations of the storyline. A little bit of a missed opportunity, I feel. ★★

Comic mini-review: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #45

I like the little heart shape Tony Fleecs included in this

And so we come to the end of this slightly disappointing three-issue arc. You'd think Thom Zahler, Tony Fleecs and Heather Breckel could have done a little more with the premise, really. This final part is a small step up in entertainment value from last month's issue, enough to push it into the three-star band. In contrast to some reviewers, it seems, I actually quite like how the Nightmare Moon thing turns out, and some of Fleecs's dark-tinged panels are really rather striking. The resolution of several ponies' stories (including Fluttershy's) is disappointingly sudden, though, and Zecora's dialogue still grates on the ear. As a whole, the arc goes into the "mildly diverting" category, no more than that. ★★★

Comic mini-review: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #44

I have no interest in Rom, but Andy Price's cover is great anyway

I have a new favourite bit from "Stranger than Fan Fiction" – Daring Do wonders how she missed the doors thing, then Quibble goes, "I've been asking myself that ever since Book Four!" That strongly suggests that he does read the newer books, but basically only so he can find new things to complain about. It's exactly the same as the people who comment repeatedly on EQD about how the show's been rubbish since Twilicorn/since Lauren Faust left, but are still miraculously watching it now, in Season Six. :D

Okay, on to the actual comic review. I was undecided about the first issue in this arc, and was hoping that Thom Zahler, Tony Fleecs and Heather Breckel would pick up the pace this time and show us something special. Again, though, I came away with mixed feelings. I rather like the artwork, and Pinkie is reasonably fun-sinister (though I stubbornly still refuse to find clowns creepy). Fluttershy nearly works, but doesn't quite gel in her evil role. Twilight has only a tiny part after the first few pages, too, and the final reveal is frankly so-so rather than thrilling. All in all, not dreadful, but a little disappointing all the same given the plot's potential. ★★

Comic mini-review: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #43

No credits for the team on Sara Richard's sub cover? Boo!

After the triumph of the issue #42 one-shot, we're back to multi-part adventure arcs in the main comic series. This is the start of, unusually, a three-parter, with Thom Zahler writing, Tony Fleecs drawing and Heather Breckel colouring. It generally looks good – one large panel featuring Twilight is particularly striking – though Fleecs still doesn't always convince with some of the more unusual angles. As for the story: we've had Mane Sixers going bad before, even aside from the "ha ha, fooled you" stuff in Reflections. It does take a while to get going, Rainbow Dash's part is one-note and boring, and you do wonder if there may be rather too many characters to give everyone a go. Still, the last few pages set up a nice cliffhanger. File this under "cautiously interesting" for now. ★★★

Comic mini-review: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #33

Before the comic review, a fashionably late signal boost: go and have a look at Resolution, an Equestria Girls fic by xjuggernaughtx. It's not quite finished as I write this, but I did have a look at what is there and thought it was interesting. (It's on my RiL list, so will get a proper review... er... sometime.) Also, the author is a good guy and deserves more than 150 views on this fic. So shoo! I'll wait here until you get back.

Right? Right. The latest IDW comic, then.

Though I can't help thinking Flutters looks like a Muppet...

Last month, I reviewed comic #32. It wasn't very good, but I mostly bought it for the great cover. Same again this time? Well, nearly, yes. I really like Andy Price's subscription cover, so that's the one I picked up. The story itself is a bit of a mess, as you'd expect, though a more enjoyable mess than last month's issue. Tony Fleecs' art is decent, with one memorable page of Flutterbat by moonlight. Thom Zahler's story is meh: not the worst I've read by any means, but I can't help feeling that, for a B-movie comic, it's not B-movie enough. Heather Breckel's colours are fine as usual. Just scrapes a three, mainly for the art and the Twilight joke everyone's expected for years. ★★★

Comic mini-review: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #32

The wear and tear is printed on. Even I don't treat comics that badly!

First things first: I paid a little more than usual to import the SDCC cover of this (above), and I don't regret it at all. However, I might well if I'd paid out for the story alone. The concept – evil apples take over Ponyville – is potentially awesome in a B-movie kind of way, but the execution is lacking. Thom Zahler's writing isn't that great, though Pinkie in particular has her moments, and on one or two occasions it doesn't really match the art. (Also, "remnants ... it returned" – grr.) Tony Fleecs' artwork is fine, on a par with his other recent stuff, and colourist Heather Breckel is reliable as always. The wait for a really good main-series story goes on, though. ★★

Comic review: MLP Friends Forever #6: Rainbow Dash & Trixie

Blue is the colour...

It's been a little bit of a wait, but now I have the sixth Friends Forever comic to look at. I've generally found that this series has been slightly more child-targeted than the main series, though there's not always a lot in it. I suppose I can't complain about that: this is My Little Pony, after all! Writing duties are again handled by Thom Zahler, doubling up after last month's FF. The artwork is by Agnes Garbowska, who we last saw drawing the Spike/Celestia issue. Is it any good? Let's see...

Comic review: MLP Friends Forever #5: Fluttershy & Zecora

This is the standard Cover A, by Amy Mebberson

Despite their random-number-generator release schedule, IDW have now provided us with Friends Forever #5, teaming up Fluttershy and Zecora. We've seen a little bit of these two in My Little Pony on-screen, but not much recently other than the scene in "Filli Vanilli". We have Thom Zahler returning to Pony for the first time since the iffy Twilight micro, Tony Fleecs drawing (as he did for the also-iffy Fluttershy micro) and the ever-reliable Heather Breckel as colourist. I went the electronic route this time; past the break for spoilery reviewy stuff!

Review: MLP:FiM Micro Series issue #1: Twilight Sparkle

Cover A, by some distance the best of the regular covers

I've been in two minds about the Micro Series of IDW's My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic comic for some while. Given the stellar quality of the main comic so far, could the spin-offs be anything other than a disappointment? For whatever reason (weather-related shipping delays have been suggested) Thom Zahler's debut, concentrating on Twilight, hasn't yet arrived on the shores of Blighty, so I bit the bullet and ordered this one from Comixology. I don't much like reading on a screen, but it only cost me £2.66. Was the comic worth it, though? Come with me past the jump to find out...

Twilight (Micro-series #1) news

A couple of related things to report this time around: first, Comic Book Resources has this interview with Thom Zahler, who's going to write and draw the first of the Micro-Series comics in the IDW line, focusing on Twilight Sparkle. It's nothing too deep, but it's a good read and makes me feel that Zahler knows what the fans want. A shame in a way that we didn't see that Mars Attacks crossover come to fruition, though!

Second, The Round Stable has posted previews of the first few pages of Zahler's comic. (Actually they're from iTunes, but TRS's are easier to read.) I'm not sure what to make of them, to be honest. On first look, I don't like the artistic style as much as Andy Price's — it seems simpler and more like what you'd expect a "kids' comic" to look like — and I'm not convinced by the repeated use of Twilight's full name.

Still, there's not enough in the preview really to judge how good the writing is, and that's obviously of immense importance. I shall certainly be buying the Twilight comic, and of course reviewing it here, but it's going to have to be incredible to match up to the Cook/Price masterpiece currently unfolding in the main series. Naturally, I would love it to be that good!