Comic Review: Micro #9 (Spike) · 3:31am Nov 14th, 2013
Well, recent car issues and my job's continued attempts to ruin everything aside, I guess we should get to today's review. So here's Spike's turn in the micro comics.
Twilight and Fluttershy are training Owlowiscious and Angel for the upcoming Equestria Pet Show, which kicks off a node of frustration in poor little Spike. Ever since he had to give up Pee Wee because of love and Twilight's eternal hatred of ice cream, he's been rather down in the dumps. But salvation comes in the form of a full-page comic advertisement: Sea Beasts. The poor baby dragon is completely taken in by the ad, going so far as to buy a giant aquarium in preparation for all his new pets. And of course, they turn out to be nothing more than little specks. But when Twilight and Owlowiscious leave for the pet show, Spike figures out a way to make them grow...until he found out Twilight took the magic wand with her, so he settles for magic growth food...
The rest of the comic deals with Spike transforming his uninformed purchase into a rapidly-evolving civilization of green, tadpole-esque creatures. They begin to grow legs and walk on land, become more intelligent, and even start turning their trade towards war. Can Spike find a way to undo the mess he's caused?
The basis for the Sea Beasts is obviously Sea Monkeys. Ads for these things graced comics for decades, right next to Spider-Man stopping Doctor Doom from nuking Manhattan by giving him Hostess Fruit Pies, and for many children, they ended up being their first encounter with the evil that is advertising. The first part of the comic follows that route, from Spike becoming overly-excited at the thought of the Sea Beasts to his desperate attempts to justify his purchase. (I imagine this is the same process anyone who bought a Wii U is still going through.)
Once the things start transforming, though, the story changes to Spike dealing with his blunder. And to the comic's credit, I like how they worked the lesson in this time, with Spike watching a mother talk to her daughter about how growing up works. The creatures themselves are also rather cute, looking appropriately alien and bizarre while still having a general adorableness to everything they do. This is helped by the art, which isn't as expressive or bombastic as some of the other people working on the comic, but still does a good job capturing the show's cartoony style.
The actual dialogue and writing, on the other hand, is not quite as good. There's a weird sense of wrongness in some of the things the characters say, like this was being written by someone who had just watched the show for the first time ten minutes before they began writing. The ending is also...well, weird as heck, even for a story like this. And there is one flaw I cannot forgive: ANGEL WINS THE PET SHOW. That's only because Gummy tried to nibble the judges and Tank knocked one of them unconscious. You got lucky this year, bunny. (Although he does get some comeuppance thanks to how Spike taught the Sea Beasts.)
In the end, this isn't a standout issue, but it's still a good one. The Sea Beasts are amusing, Spike is fun to watch this time, and the art is generally within the show's aesthetic. It's not up to my current top three for the micros (Rarity, Celestia, and Pinkie Pie), but it still holds its own.
Next month, we finish off the Micro Series with Luna's story, which will no doubt be far more popular than that stinky, good-for-nothing Celestia's. It'll be fun, assuming I'm still around.
I liked Celestia's...
1506700
So did I, but I know this fandom all too well.
Weird as heck is an excellent way to describe the ending. Amusing enough comic, however.
I wouldn't mind getting a Wii U if I had Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate.
Can't both princesses be liked equally? Guess I have to buy this one...doesn't seem as horrid as the RD/Fluttershy & AJ comics...
1506927
Of course they can. I joke about Luna and all that, but I'm looking forward to her issue next month. I think it'll be a good note for the Micro Series to go out on.
1506703 1506700 I agree I like Luna, but I prefer Celestia... problem is if I wrote a comment on EQD i'd probably get flamed out of existence.
Seriously Luna fans... put a lid on it.
I like the WiiU. Just saying. (get Pikmin 3!
)
Anyways, good review. Btw, what is it with the fandom with Celestia vs Luna thing? I don't hang out in the forums, so I don't know.
1511671
It's just that Luna is usually the more popular of the two, while Celestia tends to be reduced to a troll, tyrant, molester, or outright villain.
It's not really all that true these days, but back in the early days, it was a constant presence.