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MythrilMoth


LOOOOOOOOOOOOONG LOOOOOOOOOOOOONG MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!

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Apr
8th
2017

IDW MLP Comics Review: SUPER ROUND-UP EDITION, PART ONE! · 1:10am Apr 8th, 2017

It's been a VERY long time since I've done one of these, so this weekend I'm reviewing FOUR, yes that's right FOUR, comics! It's such a big comic reviewapalooza that I'm splitting it across two days!!

Saddle up and strap yourselves in, because today I'm reviewing Friends Forever #37 and the 2017 Annual! And tomorrow I'll be reviewing Friendship is Magic #51-52!!

Friends Forever #37

It's Rarity and Trixie! Yay!

Rarity and Sweetie Belle arrive in Manehattan for Sapphire Shores' fitting. Right off the bat, Sweetie Belle brings the snark.

Oh, and Babs is in this issue. This is the first time Sweetie Belle's seen her in a long time, so they're both seeing each other's Cutie Marks for the first time. (And I guess we're seeing Babs' Cutie Mark for the first time, since we've never actually seen her with her Mark in the show...)

Oh, and Babs and Sweetie are in this issue for no apparent reason than to fill panels, because a few pages in, they head off for Sweetie's stayover with Babs' family and a roller derby.

Sapphire Shores' new tour is called..."The Formation Riding Tour".

How...exciting? And...poppy?

Oh, and Madison Mare Garden. Yes. I'm serious.

Anyway, Rarity enters to find all hell breaking loose backstage. Sapphire Shores greets her and explains the problem: She was originally booked for a smaller venue, but then her latest single blew up so huge that her concert sold out in a day, so her manager booked Madison Mare Garden. This created a problem for Sapphire because the show she had planned was too small for the venue, and the change of venue means she needs to go bigger and flashier so all the ponies attending can enjoy the show.

I have...a lot of issues with the logic behind this, but I'll hold my tongue.

Anyway, basically everything has had to be redone: Sapphire had to hire a bunch of new dancers who are having trouble with the routine, the lighting has had to be upgraded, the effects have all had to be changed, and Rarity has to design an entirely new wardrobe for Sapphire to go with the new show. And since everything needs to come together and not look cobbled together last-minute, that means Rarity has to coordinate with Sapphire's new special effects wizard...

THE GREAT!

AND POWERFUL!

TRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIXIE!!

Rarity immediately throws a fit.

After speeches from Trixie and Sapphire Shores, Rarity decides she needs to be as grown-up as Sweetie Belle and "forgive and forget" just like the CMCs did with Babs, but she warns Sapphire that she will be the one in the middle of the fireworks.

Wow, Rarity. Just...wow.

Anyway, Rarity agrees to work with Trixie, but "agrees" is a strong term for what she actually does, which is brusquely shoot down every suggestion Trixie makes. Because Rarity refuses to work with Trixie and each one does their own thing without coordination, Trixie's special effects and Rarity's dress design don't interact very well during the dress rehearsal, and Sapphire Shores catches fire.

Sapphire calls Trixie backstage and reams her out for this fiasco, blaming the entire thing on her, but Rarity comes in and tells Sapphire to give Trixie another chance, because this mess is as much her fault as it is Trixie's.

(No, Rarity, it's ENTIRELY your fault, because you refused to work with Trixie in the first place like you were supposed to, you marshmallow COW.)

Sapphire is pissed with both of them, but they both promise to work hard to make things right.

Best line of the comic: "If there's anything Trixie and I have in common, it's an almost irritating persistence."

So they get everything fixed up and the show goes off without a hitch and Rarity goes home and Sweetie Belle gets a really fucked-up manecut from Babs because funny. The end.

2017 Annual: Guardians of Harmony

This annual is comprised of several mini-issues by different writers and artists:

Shadowbolts:

We open on Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy having a pet playdate slash oldest-friends-get-together, even though Rainbow feels like she needs to be out distracting Pinkie Pie so that Cheese Sandwich can plan a party for her. Unfortunately, playtime is disrupted by Applejack barging in announcing an emergency: Chrysalis and her forces are attacking the Crystal Empire. (Wait...what?) Fluttershy is despondent that Rainbow Dash is flying off to save the day and doesn't have time to spend with her.

...things I wanna say here, not gonna say 'em...

Anyway, Rainbow Dash is flying over the Everfree when suddenly the Shadowbolts flank her. Not the Crystal Prep Shadowbolts, the original Shadowbolts, from waaaaay back in S1E2. Rainbow is confused by their appearance since they're not real, but then they buzz her and reveal themselves to be real! Rainbow is torn between heading off to join the Wonderbolts at the Crystal Empire or chasing the Shadowbolts to keep them from causing trouble, and ultimately follows them into the Everfree Forest to confront them.

...I think I see where this is going... :pinkiegasp: Is this...is this comic filling in the biggest plothole in the season six finale?!

Anyway, the Shadowbolts goad Rainbow Dash into a race, and when she obliged, they play dirty, bashing her in the air and riling her up. She finally gets the upper hand, and they crash into a log and get stuck...

And then reveal themselves to be Changelings sent to distract her from joining the other Wonderbolts.

So...I was half-right. They WERE Changelings, but apparently this issue has nothing to do with filling in the gaps in the S6 finale. Le sigh. Oh well. Let's move on...

Pinkie Pie:

Cheese Sandwich and his Party Panzer are in Ponyville planning a party for Pinkie Pie.

The word "birthaversary" is thrown around here as though it's a common pony word for birthdays, showing that the writer of this issue didn't bother to watch the episode where Cheese was introduced at all. (It was a "birthaversary" because Rainbow Dash moved to Ponyville on her birthday.)

Anyhoo, Twilight promises Cheese that Pinkie is sufficiently occupied out of Ponyville so he can work without ruining the surprise. So naturally, Pinkie Pie shows up in the next panel after Twilight leaves. When Pinkie asks Cheese what he's doing with all the party supplies, he panics and says Lyra asked him to throw a party for Sweetie Drops.

...um. Isn't Lyra literally the only pony in Ponyville who knows that name? Doesn't everybody else know her as Bon-Bon? Isn't that what the show canon has established? Of course, the show canon also established "birthaversary" as two special occasions being celebrated at the same time, but this writer chose to ignore THAT too.

Anyway, while Pinkie is interrogating Cheese, neither of them notices a huge swarm of Changelings descending on Ponyville right behind them. Pinkie is geeking out over Cheese's new party panzer and doesn't notice the Changelings grabbing him and hauling him away and replacing him...

When Pinkie realizes what's going on, she gets mad at the Changelings abducting and replacing her boyfriend party planning pal, so she goes in for some Pinkie style ass kicking. Using the party panzer, she launches surface-to-air rubber chickens at the Changelings, freeing Cheese. With Cheese back on his hooves, the two party ponies convert their partillery to...partillery that blows up Changelings, and go to work on the swarm. After the battle, Pinkie asks Cheese if he's really there to plan her party, he admits he is, and they work together on it.

Because really, the best birthday present you can give Pinkie is letting her plan the party she's going to share with her friends, am I right? :pinkiehappy:

Shining Armor:

The Crystal Empire is under siege, and Shining Armor wants to be out on the front lines kicking bug, but Cadance won't hear of it, for fear he'll be replaced by a Changeling. Frustrated, Shining Armor decides he has to do something, then asks himself "what would Twilight do?"

The answer, of course: RESEARCH! In a book about Princess Amore, he learns about powerful secret magical weapons and relics Princess Amore created that are hidden in caverns deep beneath the crystal castle, protected by traps and guard beasts.

While exploring the caverns, Shining Armor comes across...Fluttershy?

:facehoof: Shining Armor, you're not stupid enough to...

...aaaaaand he is. :ajbemused:

Except, in a twist, it's NOT a Changeling! It's a test set in place by Princess Amore to determine the worth of a pony's heart, and Shining Armor passes! A magical imprint of Amore opens the secret chamber where the ancient weapons and spells were stored...only it's pretty much a wrecked ruin, with nothing left but a single vial of something. Shining Armor has no idea what it is or what it does, but he takes it in the hope it'll save the Crystal Empire...

Twilight Sparkle:

Ponyville is under attack! In the chaos, Bon Bon finds Lyra and rushes over to her to protect her, but Lyra is acting like a complete and total bitch. (Shouldn't...a Changeling not be acting like that? I mean, isn't that the exact opposite of how Changelings feed?) Anyway, the fake Lyra reduces Bon Bon to a sobbing mess, but the real Lyra shows up and throws a lyre at the Changeling like a boomerang, while Twilight Sparkle swoops in behind her.

This scene...is just too GOOFY for words. So I'll just let the panel speak for itself:

A few panels later, Bon-Bon asks Lyra where the hell she got a "friendship action harp". Lyra's response:

"Oh, it's just my normal harp, but I threw it extra hard. Because friendship."

:rainbowlaugh: Okay, sorry, I...that's...actually pretty... :rainbowlaugh:

So while they're returning to the castle, Twilight muses about how she can deal with this endless changeling invasion, when Lyra points out that Twilight's flank is flashing. Gee, Lyra, your marefriend is standing right behind you and you're checking out the princess' butt? When they arrive at the castle, Spike tells Twilight the Map was calling her home, and Lyra makes an old horror movie trope reference.

Anyway, Twilight's Cutie Mark is hovering up at the top of the castle, so Twilight goes for a flight and she finds a SECRETDOOR!SECRETDOOR!SECRETDOOR!! that definitely wasn't there before and has a weird inscription on it.

(I couldn't resist. Obvious setup is obvious, kek. :trollestia:)

Joking aside, it turns out the SECRETDOOR conceals the magical, mystical, Saban-made-it-up-for-Power-Rangers-because-it-damn-sure-wasn't-in-Super-Sentai ARMOR OF FRIENDSHIP. Yes, friends, the comics gave Twilight Sparkle a Battlizer.

During Twilight's first outing as Iron Mare, there's a Changeling disguised as a stallion with heavy stubble and a Cutie Mark of the Batman logo with a pencil through the middle. I'm gonna guess this is a stab at a DC writer? I got nothin'.

Oh, and the ARMOR OF FRIENDSHIP? Is basically a giant golden raisin scoop. Yeah.

Honestly, this was the weakest part of the issue.

Wonderbolts:

...Jay Fosgitt saw the above statement and handed me his beer. :ajbemused:

So have we. Time and again. And yet no matter how much we beg, threaten, and plead, they keep hiring this asswipe to draw ponies he can't draw. :facehoof:

The Wonderbolts are summoned to Canterlot so the princesses can send them to the Crystal Empire, which has "no air support" even though we saw armored pegasus guards flying around in formation back in Shining Armor's segment.

Anyway, the Crystal Empire is way too far for the Wonderbolts to get there in time, and Soarin points this out, but Spitfire has a plan. Soarin gathers the Wonderbolts, and when they assemble, Spitfire passes out a batch of prototype sonic gliders that can produce a sonic rainboom and launch pegasi at supersonic speeds but might also explode.

Sure, why the fuck not.

And that's it. They take off, they bust a couple of changelings, and we don't even see any rainbooms. It just ends with them arriving in the middle of the swarm.

Big Spike:

Back in Ponyville, the Mane Six and Spike assemble. Twilight receives a letter from Celestia warning her that Chrysalis and the swarm are headed for Ponyville. There's no time to put up a barrier around the town. Shining Armor comes running up, saying he ran all the way from the Crystal Empire to give Twilight the thing he found in Amore's lab.

So wait. Let me get this straight.

Shining Armor ran from the Crystal Empire to Ponyville, on hoof, in roughly the same amount of time it took the Wonderbolts to heed a Royal Summons, assemble a fighting force, and fly experimental supersonic gliders to the Crystal Empire from Cloudsdale?

No. Just...NO!! All the no! Every no in the whole goddamn NO WORLD!!

So anyway, Shining...ugh...ran all the way to Ponyville from the Crystal Empire which has perfectly serviceable express trains that are kind of heavily armored to bring Twilight a flask of unknown potion that he doesn't even know what it does or if it'll do anything helpful at all.

SURE! WHY NOT! *throws up hands*

So Twilight drinks a little of the potion, gets a drug trip, and zaps her friends and Shining Armor with magic armor. Meanwhile, Spike keeps yelling at her to get her attention and is constantly ignored, even though he seems to have some idea of how to make better use of the potion. Spike tries to tell Twilight she needs to use the spell on HIM because he saw an image of a dragon in the potion, but Twilight ignores him and tells him to get to cover.

Chrysalis and her swarm arrive, battle ensues, the armored ponies are outnumbered. Spike finally convinced Twilight to spell him up, and she does so, and he turns into a GIANT ARMORED DRAGON, and what should be an AWESOME sequence is...

Completely and utterly destroyed and robbed of all coolness by Fosgitt's horribly childish art.


And thus endeth the most boring 60-page toy commercial ever written. I'm not gonna lie: I came up with better stories for playing with my toys when I was eight years old than this group of grown-ass writers and artists came up with to market those very same toys. There was so much wasted potential in this issue, and it's so disappointing that each mini-story ends on such a whimper.

And that's all for today! Tune in tomorrow for FiM #51-52!!

Comments ( 15 )

Yeah, IDW completely messed up on the Guardians of Harmony annual. I mean really, the toyline was ripe for a spin-off comic series at least, so you'd think IDW would put some effort into it. But no, they hire a bunch of different writers, don't double check their work with the show to make sure they're not missing something, and then they just push it out there with all these different artists and writers and think that's okay?! I really hate having to keep harping on IDW, but this is the kind of stuff that isn't excuseable in any line of work! Editors exist specifically to catch these kind of errors and make sure the products meet some kind of standards!

It's even more insulting because from what I've heard, none of IDW's other comic series get this kind of shabby treatment. So why do they treat quite possibly their BIGGEST comic line so poorly?! I know Hasbro probably doesn't have a lot of other options, but they NEED to do something about IDW. Maybe start demanding they get their act together, or they will PULL the MLP license! I think the fandom would rather not have anymore official comics, rather than have poorly made comics!

During Twilight's first outing as Iron Mare, there's a Changeling disguised as a stallion with heavy stubble and a Cutie Mark of the Batman logo with a pencil through the middle. I'm gonna guess this is a stab at a DC writer? I got nothin'.

In case you're wondering, it's Andy Price, the artist for this chapter. I don't know if he wrote this part, though. He often puts in his ponysona as an Easter egg.

(No, Rarity, it's ENTIRELY your fault, because you refused to work with Trixie in the first place like you were supposed to, you marshmallow COW.)

HOW DARE YOU!? :raritydespair:

So...Shadowbolts aren't real? :applecry: SOMEDAY MAYBE HASBRO WILL DO IT! But I'd love a Iron Mare episode...Just saying.

The comic sounds like a trainwreck but that scene with Lyra is funny. (We need more Lyra and Twilight cause they're buddies, right Minuette?)

But that Lyra and Bon Bon....Damn. :trollestia:

Oh, and Madison Mare Garden. Yes. I'm serious.

After they did Madisoat Square Garden in the wrestling issue? :facehoof: What's wrong with Madison Square Paddock? Or continuity?

And yeah, given what I've seen of the annual, it's blatantly toyetic in the worst possible way. A shame. (And then there's the possibility that Fosgitt copied off of Equestria Prevails for those armor designs, perhaps by accident.)

I don't think Fosgitt is that bad an artist as people make him out to be. I really don't. I don't think he is the best, but then again he fits in a comic series that is in a franchise that was made to sell toys to little kids.

4488560 No, Fosgitt is a terrible artist...at least insofar as My Little Pony is concerned. I've seen his character designs for his own original stuff and they actually work there. If he were doing a DuckTales comic, it'd be the best DuckTales comic ever comicked. But he does not have any business being ANYWHERE NEAR My Little Pony, and his MLP comic work is his absolute laziest work.

Some artists just aren't meant to do certain things. Fosgitt drawing My Little Pony is like Liefield drawing Strawberry Shortcake.

4488571 Fair enough. I just don't think he deserves as much hate as you do give him though, but that is just me.

4488588 I think he deserves to be repeatedly clubbed upside the head until he cries like a little bitch and swears he'll never draw another pony ever again. So we'll agree to disagree here.

4488611 Fair enough.

4490030 I'll agree on that much, but Fosgitt really should be fired, especially since he's yet again been accused of plagerism. Once is hopefully an accident, but second onward makes it seem intentional, and considering how lazy Fosgitt is he unfortunately doesn't present the best case for himself of NOT being a plagerist. And in today's world plagerism has become an increasingly serious offense.

4490176

Fosgitt really should be fired

Out of a cannon! :pinkiehappy:

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