IDW Comics Revisited - Main Series #10 · 3:26am Sep 26th, 2020
The comics had been going through some ups and downs, but managing to make it to ten issues is quite impressive in hindsight considering how many short lived side series were lucky to get even half of that (and it seems IDW has given up on trying to have a side series all together now. Since "Feats of Friendship" wrapped up they've announced nothing to fill the gap). Still, the decision to take a relatively simple slice of life story and make it a two parter was a decision that seemed kind of odd, especially when stories announced afterward were getting more attention due to fandom drama and debate. So, was this issue able to be a good continuation of a good slice of life story, or did it only prove that IDW was wrong to try to stretch out this story instead of giving it to an arc that could use more polish? Well, let's find out.
After an opening narration from Spike about the situation, Big Mac realizes he'll have to go back into the Summer Wrap Up Festival and Hoedown to find the hardware store owner, Torque. He is soon bowled over by the CMC as they reveal that they burned down the crafts tent with their fireworks, and then Snips decides to demonstrate his cutie mark's talent by biting through the ropes on the fireworks launcher (again, I must ask, who is giving school aged foals fireworks? Does Equestria not have any sort of child protection laws?) and sends the fireworks flying. Sweetie Belle wonders where that batch will land, and you can probably guess it's gonna be somewhere important to the plot.
Big Macintosh continues his search, soon getting sidetracked after participating in a carnival sideshow where he gets three throws for free (trying saying that three times fast). He's able to use his back legs to buck the ball and knock over the bottles, winning a stuffed version of the Pinkie Pie costume from "The Return of Queen Chrysalis" and he gives it to a still delirious Fleetfoot. It only gets worse when the festival's annual parade gets underway and the crowds intensify. Big Mac tries to sneak around, only to be mistaken for one of Sapphire Shores' back-up dancers and roped into performing. He unintentionally creates a new dance craze trying to spot Torque, which gets dubbed "The Navigator" and several more comedic antics ensue. I should mention that various members of the mane six mention something about an adventure they went on that we didn't get to see, which serves as a constant background gag.
At last the sun starts to set and Big Mac is ready to give up altogether, convinced the day has been a bust. Zecora asks him if it really was, and Big Mac comes to realize that it wasn't entirely as he thinks back on the fun moments he did have. So he decides to just have fun for the rest of the festival, even after discovering "The Navigator" that he helped to create. At the end of the night, after the festival is over, Big Macintosh encounters Torque thanks to a chance encounter with Cheerilee and learns that the farm had nails all along. Torque borrowed some from the clubhouse to fix up his shop, and then says he dropped off lumber since Big Mac will need it tomorrow.
The next day, the festival is struck down as the ponies sing an alteration of "Winter Wrap Up" that supposedly confirms pony months are the same as human months when they mention October. And what about Big Mac? He finds out that the gazebo was destroyed by the fireworks launched when Snips bit into the rope. The story doesn't quite end there though, because after the teaser for the next comic, we see over the course of two pages what unfolded across Ponyville over the next day, including not just the gazebo repair but also many of the ponies and non-ponies Big Mac interacted with going through things.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the issue? Well, I still believe most of this could've been squeezed into one comic, probably if they'd just cut a few scenes out of the previous one. My guess is that they had too many jokes and didn't want to create too lengthy a comic, hence the splitting up into two issues. And while this one doesn't lean as much into fanservice as the previous one, I feel like this one is more straightforward focused on its story whereas the previous one relied quite a bit on its humor to carry it. You'd think that would make this issue the stronger one, but it actually makes this one seem weaker since it doesn't feel like as much really occurs. Still, it and Main Series #9 were the definitive high point for the comics up to this point with only a few minor complaints to hold against them. It really did seem that like the show itself, the comics were best when they stuck to simple slice of life tales, instead of big, epic adventures. So for sure you should pick this one up, canon or not you won't want to miss out on it.
And there you have it, come back tomorrow when we'll look at a more... unusual comic arc with "Neigh Anything" in Main Series #11.
Keep these coming!
Even as someone who enjoys the first two arcs, this one was definitely the best of the first 3.
5364362 I like the first arc despite its roughness, but the second was just a mess.