Comic Review: Issue #1 · 9:49am Nov 28th, 2012
Well, I've picked the show apart. I guess I can try looking at the comic. Don't know if this'll be a permanent thing, but we'll give it a try. Oh, and spoilers.
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At long last, the first issue of IDW's My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic series has arrived. After constant delays and pushbacks, will it finally deliver? Will we get comics we can be proud of and not those monstrosities where Twilight is an anteater and the writing would make a one-year-old think it was for younger children? Let's find out.
Main Story: "The Return of Queen Chrysalis"
Well, you already know the twist. Curse you, spoiling titles!
First, let's talk about the art a bit, since that's pretty much the area I'm least qualified to talk about. When I first saw preview images and the covers for the comics, I wasn't terribly impressed. But now that I've seen the thing as a whole, it actually works quite well. The ponies are very well-drawn and expressive, and there are more than a few legitimately impressive scenes, such as the massive crowd shot three pages in. It's obviously very cartoony (even moreso than the show in some areas), but it works perfectly with the story.
Now for the writing.
The story begins with the CMC doing what they do worst: earning their Cutie Marks. In this case, they've decided to camp out in Fluttershy's back yard and earn their marks by becoming zoologists. Unfortunately, all of the critters (including lions and bears, but no tigers) soon beset them at all sides. The next day, all three fillies have green eyes and are behaving in the strangest manner, as is nearly all of Ponyville. When Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash tell this to Twilight, however, all six are suddenly attacked by the entire town. As it turns out, nearly everypony in Ponyville has been replaced by Changelings! Even worse, Celestia is unavailable to help, leaving our heroines as the only normal ponies left. Can they discover what's going on before they are absorbed into the hive as well? And what about that comet that'll be passing overhead in three days?
Obviously, the story owes a lot of its inspiration to "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," down to the captured ponies being stored in pods while Changelings take their place. (Pinkie even refers to them as "pod ponies" at one point.) But it actually does a good job making the premise of alien infiltration work in a MLP setting. Obviously, the themes of paranoia and those dirty commies are nowhere to be found, instead being replaced by action and more than a little comedy. The story also works in bits of zombie fiction, included a bit where the ponies rip off "Shaun of the Dead" and act like zombies to get past the Changelings. While some of the buildup feels a little rushed (Twilight figures out it's the Changelings awfully fast), the general story is quite solid.
The characterization is also generally good, and supplies a good amount of the comedy. The situation obviously plays up Applejack's big sister instincts; she's the first one to dive into the big battle at the end, and is the most adamant about going on the journey that'll take up the rest of the series to save the kidnapped CMC. Rainbow Dash's incredulity that Scootaloo wouldn't want to spend time with somepony as awesome as her is hilarious, although she does drag it out a bit too long. Rarity is her usual hammy self, throwing herself into battle by imagining the Changelings all wearing last year's fashions. (Admittedly, that's a little bit of a stretch, but nothing too far out there.) Pinkie is her usual self, as is Fluttershy. Twilight mostly just serves as a means of exposition (like in the show), but does have one really funny joke where she freaks over Celestia sending her a FORM LETTER! There are also some rather funny moments not involving our heroes, such as the way Derpy gets captured and how the Changeling imitating her gets the eyes right, as well as the previously mentioned "Shaun of the Dead" scene.
If there was one bit of characterization I was bugged by, it was the CMC. One of the last scenes is Chrysalis using an orb to reveal that she has the real fillies in her Kingdom, but all the fillies can do is ask whether or not this will help them get their marks. Applejack takes this as proof that it's them, and it's obvious Chrysalis is at her wits' end just holding them hostage. Okay, the joke's amusing, but I really hope this isn't what they're sticking with the whole story arc. The CMC are foolish sometimes, but this is an incredible level of stupid.
The fight scene between the Mane 6 and the Changelings is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, there's an added element of danger since they're fighting in a room full of cocooned ponies, and can't risk hurting the hostages. It also works by showing off how each pony works in a situation, from Rainbow Dash getting her ass kicked to Fluttershy terrifying the Changelings into submission with The Stare. The ending is also great, and shows a lot of depth for one of the characters. However, the hostage part never seems to come into play after being announced (it's a kid's comic, and one of the few that can honestly be classified as such these days), and the Changelings only change into Pinkie for some reason. (Okay, it's so they can make Rarity redo Pinkie's mane in her style, but still...)
Overall, this is a promising start to a new series, one of epic adventures and worldbuilding that the show itself probably could never pull off with its time constraints. Here's hoping the rest of the series is just as good.
Backup Story: "How Much is that Pony in the Window?"
This is a two-paged gag story, a style that will apparently be copied by every issue. Rarity is using Pinkie to model her new dress, but makes the terrible mistake of leaving the room while telling her to stand still. Spoiler: It ends with Pinkie ripping off Carol Burnett. This was a funny enough strip.
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So, that's the first issue. Let's hope for many, many more.
Ok, I was gonna get it anyway, but I was gonna wait till Christmas. Now?
AH WANT IT NAO!
>will it finally deliver?
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I wasn't planning on picking up the comics, but you make it sound pretty interesting. I dunno, maybe I'll grab it if I see it.
Was that a jab at Arthur?
550029
No, it was a jab at the horrible vectors Hasbro used in their official merchandise for some time, where Twilight looks like something between an anteater and a lion.
550069 Agreed...