Comic Review: Friends Forever #4 (Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor) · 5:23am May 19th, 2014
The next issue of Friends Forever is coming out, and I've realized something horrible: I haven't reviewed Issue #4 yet! Allow me to correct this terrible folly.
Our issue begins with Twilight packing up to visit the Crystal Empire. At long last, she'll get some private time with Princess Cada- I mean, Shining Armor, her Big Brother Best Friend Forever. And as a bonus treat, she's bringing along their old Monster-Pedia, which doubled both as a game tool for “Oubliettes and Ogres” and a real-world encyclopedia of various monsters and beasties thought to roam the land. As foals, they used the book to play as “Monster Trackers,” and she's hoping to use it to help the two catch up on old times.
When she arrives at the Crystal Empire, however, she learns that things are not well. Besides the usual bureaucratic nonsense about crystal berry and apple production, the palace has been beset by a number of strange smells and noises at night, and books keep disappearing from the library. Twilight immediately identifies the signs as part of the description of a Crystal Ghost, but Shining dismisses her findings after she only succeeds in terrifying the already-scared advisers. She goes to bed to dream of happier times, while Shining gets caught in an extended meeting...but then everypony else encounters the Crystal Ghost, and the two must use their knowledge of monster tracking to bring an end to this menace once and for all!
This issue was...okay. That's really all I can say about it. The art isn't amazing, but it isn't bad. The story isn't hackneyed and lazy, but it's also very generic. Twilight and Shining take half the issue to really interact, and the history of the Crystal Ghost is rather meh, but none of it trashes the issue. To put it simply, the comic is just average, much like the Applejack micro and the Discord/CMC issue.
Not to say there weren't some good parts. I love the idea that the equivalent of a D&D Monster Manual can also be used as an actual encyclopedia, seeing as they basically live in a monster-filled fantasy world already. Shining Armor's look of frustration and confusion as his advisers pelt him with contradicting demands and keep trying to break into another topic entirely was perfect, as was his overjoyed reaction at Twilight's arrival giving him an excuse for a break. And then there are the cameos and references. You have the obvious one with the Mario Bros. now being Crystal Pony plumbers who most certainly do not rescue princesses, but then you have Dr. Forrester, TV's Frank, and Pearl Forrester from Mystery Science Theater 3000 as ponies, and my head explodes from sheer joy. Heck, they even go the extra mile and have Pearl's pony form have Chicken-in-a-Biscuit as her Cutie Mark. (Anyone who gets that joke gets a free Internet hug.)
The only adviser to actually contribute, however, is Lex, who seems to be the Royal Librarian or something of that nature. He doesn't care if a supernatural beastie is haunting the castle; he just wants the library's freaking books back. I didn't care much for the extended joke about his glasses breaking and him stumbling through the same passage Twilight and Shining took to track down the ghost, but he's mostly harmless and a bit of fun.
And yes, this issue has a quick flashback to the two as foals (with Twilight having a blank flank) playing “Monster Trackers.” It doesn't add much to the plot outside of a couple of panels halfway through, but Filly Twilight is so adorable that it doesn't matter. Just don't read if you're allergic to adorableness; the idea of Twilight trying to get her Cutie Mark in Monster Tracking will probably kill you.
But then you get the chase, and it's really nothing but the two getting past obvious traps thanks to their incredible knowledge of a tabletop role-playing game. There's some exposition about how they're growing up and have all these adult responsibilities, but the theme's really not touched on that much, and especially not enough to have it be the moral they want to impart to you from this whole adventure. Yes, Shining's new job can kind of suck and they live far away from each other, but they still find plenty of time to just bond, and were going to do so anyway if there wasn't a Crystal Ghost to deal with.
And the Crystal Ghost's backstory...I don't like it. It tries to build up one of the show's past villains and give them some more history, but the thing is just so annoying (writing a verbal tic over and over again is a quick way to get on my bad side) and the ultimate stakes so low that it drains what tension was built up. Again, I'm fine with the idea (the Ghost had no idea the villain he's hiding from is dead), but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
In the end, the issue left me kind of disappointed, but I can't say what I read was terrible. It's certainly not on the level of true garbage like Issue #1, but it's just so mediocre that I can't help but shake my head sadly. At least it didn't fill me with apathetic loathing like her attempt to bond one-on-one with Cadance.
So far, the new series still isn't impressing me. Here's hoping Zecora and Fluttershy have better luck.
Seems like the main series comics are in general a bit stronger, bookworms aside?
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As it stands, yes. Although I have a growing concern over the latest storyline.
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You do? It looks pretty good to me?
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The dimensional mirror one? I'm really liking that one actually. Also Good Sombra X Celestia beats out Discord X Celestia any day!
The one thing I think we can agree on with this issue is that it shows Shining actually helping to rule the Crystal Empire. Even if if the rest of the issue was crap, just having them show that he isn't lazing around eating nachos or playing coach is kind of refreshing.
Headcanon confirmed: Shining Armor is the military governor of the Crystal Empire Protectorate