Comic Review: Issue #13 (Pirates, Part 2) · 2:16pm Dec 18th, 2013
Welcome back, mateys! When we last left our swashbuckling little ponies, they were at the mercy of a fiendish crustacean from the spirit world, intent on guarding the map to the dread Captain Hoofbeard's treasure! Will our heroes manage to find the booty, or shall they end up permanent guests at Davy Jones' Locker?
The issue opens up right where we left off last time, with Rarity [strike]effortlessly beating[/strike] failing miserably to beat the giant enemy crab. The way the crab actually does get defeated is actually better, though, and goes together perfectly with Pinkie's character while also making good use of a plot point from the last issue. But once they get the map and realize that the old crew was, well, pretty much right about Hoofbeard, the situation turns to thoughts of mutiny. And from there, it just gets...weird.
Don't get me wrong, the comic was already strange enough as it is. It's about magical ponies becoming pirates (and the fun “Avast, ye landlubber” kind, not the “Rape and kill everyone, although not in that order” style throughout history), opened up with a ghost crab guarding a treasure map, and is still better than 99% of the schlock Marvel and DC are putting out these days. Any of that would be plenty of weirdness for anyone. But the last act features a lot of stuff that isn't really set up all that well, and the way the ponies get home comes right out of nowhere.
The rest of the comic features both good and bad decisions. The crew eventually deciding to mutiny is fine, especially considering how Hoofbeard's mind seems to have walked the plank a long time ago and they're trapped in the middle of the ocean. Any crew would eventually break down. Where I have a bit of an issue is just how fast Rainbow Dash decides to go along. On the one hand, she's a dedicated pirate fanfilly who has completely become one with her role, and a chance to take command would obviously be too much for a greedy scallywag. But she's also supposed to be loyal, and up until the mutiny she's clearly on Hoofbeard's side because he's the captain and somepony she admires. So what changes her mind? Is it her loyalty to her friends overriding her hero worship, causing her to do the right thing and put an end to Hoofbeard's insanity?
Nope, she just wants to be a pirate captain.
On the good side, though, Fluttershy finally gets a chance to learn to stop being a psycho. Granted, it was an annoying character trait that really came out of nowhere and kind of undermined her in the last issue. The whole Misery thing with Gil was, to put it frank, pushing Fluttershy's love for animals way too far. But around the same time the main story is beginning to shift, there's a really good moment where she shows the imprisoned Hoofbeard Gil...and realizes both of them look equally sad at their confinement. And in the end, she's the one who manages to save the day by simultaneously being awesome and delivering a message about true love and how you can't force someone to be with you.
(WARNING: THERE BE SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT!)
Which brings us to the mermares. They're obviously seaponies in all but name (marking the second attempt to bring them into G4, although this one at least doesn't look like something from my darkest fever dream), which is cool and all, but the only clue we got that anything was going on is when Hoofbeard mentioned going on a one-way trip to “Wavy Bones' Locker” last issue. And beyond that, not much is really done with the idea other than the ship getting bashed around, Fluttershy using the power of true love to save the day, and Twilight giving Hoofbeard gills so he can reunite with his beloved.
I dunno. I just wanted a bit more out of the return of the seaponies, I suppose.
(NOW IT BE SAFE, YE SALTY DOGS!)
Besides that, however, the issue does have a lot of fun moments. Just like last issue, the art is great and the ponies are all wonderfully expressive. The mermares are also very well designed and I would kill to see them animated. The Mane 6 all take pirating lessons off-screen so that they can all have a role in the mutiny, and the fight with Hoofbeard is all kinds of fun. (My favorite part is Rarity fending him off by imagining the plank as a fashion runway.) And there's some really good humor throughout, plus the aforementioned stuff with Fluttershy. But while the issue's pacing is fine for the first half, keeping the same pace up for the ending makes things feel far too rushed. It's still a fun issue if you like pirates, swashbucklers, or Rainbow Dash in a pink dress, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed in the end.
Well, that's that. Time to...
Wait, there are TWO comics today!
Seconded.
1620893
Thirded.
1621300
Fourthed
Didn't make me laugh once, the story was meh and felt far too rushed, and the art, while okay, lacked the delightful expressiveness of Price's work. I, for one, am glad to see the pirate arc over since that means we'll hopefully be getting something better for the next multi-issue story.
Also, immediately thought of this when the mantahawk came into the picture: