My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is by far the hottest new property on the block. In just two short years it has gained an immense following. We have sites, plenty of fan fics, original characters, AMVs (or PMVs as we like to call them) and it’s really hard to find a bad review of the show. I once made a statement claiming it was the greatest cartoon of the 21st century, and I still mean it. There aren’t many of its kind, and with Season 3 currently airing, it won’t be going away anytime soon. Earlier this year it was announced that the show would be getting a comic series. That was pretty big, since the Ponies hadn’t really ventured out into other media. (I’m still waiting for a beat ’em up fighting game.) Over the past few months it had been getting pretty big hype, in fact, it had to be pushed back two weeks so it could finalize. Also, this first issue has nineteen variants, which was part of the big deal. Now the question is whether or not IDW has a good property adaption going on. Judging by this first issue, I’d say we have a real winner. Fans of the show shouldn’t hesitate to pick up this extremely fun comic.

Here’s the official description from IDW:

Welcome to Ponyville, home of Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and all your other favorite Ponies! Something’s not right in the town though, as some of the inhabitants are acting very, very strange! It’s up to the Mane Six to find the source of the weirdness before it’s too late!

It starts out with the Cutie Mark Crusaders in Fluttershy’s backyard doing what they do best, searching for their Cutie Marks. Soon the animals start to act weird and capture the three Fillies. The next day the Mane 6 see that everypony is acting incredibly weird, zombie-like. It’s almost as if they’d been replaced…if you’ve been following the updates, you would know that Queen Chrysalis and her Changelings are back. Katie Cook handles the writing, and she knows the characters well. I could hear their voices as I read, the writing captures the spirit of these Ponies. Highlights include Rarity noticing that Sweetie Belle is acting strange but gets crazy when she notices a hat needs more feathers, Rainbow Dash saying it’s clobbering time, and many, many more moments. What I like is how genuinely funny this issue is, I had a smile on the whole time. One of my favorite scenes is when the Mane 6 run into the library and everyone’s expression since they had escaped the zombie-like Ponies. Fluttershy hanging on to Rainbow Dash with Rarity and Applejack kind of in shock on the ground with Twilight breathing a sigh relief and Pinkie Pie shouting “What’s wrong with everpony?!” Indeed, I can’t think of a better writer for this. There’s also a very ingenious scene involving a certain blue Pegasus, probably the funniest part of the comic.

Andy Price handles the art, and I like it. The expressions on the characters match their on-screen counterparts extremely well. I also like how creepy the Changed-Ponies look in some panels. Ah, the covers. There are six main ones, with each of the Mane Six starring in each. The covers are gorgeous, it’s tempting to buy them all. The Stephanie Buscema variant is very nice, showcasing Pinkie Pie in the front with Fluttershy standing near her and Rainbow Dash chilling in the air. The subscription variant by Jill Thompson is a highly stylized one. It won’t appeal to everyone, but it’s unique. There are obviously too many retailer exclusives to go through, but it is cool to see IDW making a big deal out of the series. (There aren’t many comics that get nineteen variants!) The Ponies all get their share of character moments, with Pinkie Pie being the funniest. (When there’s zombie-like Ponies outside, what do you do to get past them? Act like zombies of course.) And one more scene regarding her is when she says to raise your hooves if you’re looking forward to exciting days of peril and the rest save Rainbow look at her like she’s crazy. It’s moments like these which define the comic and gives the reader reassurance that the creative team knows the show and its many fans.

5/5

Overall,is a worthy comic of the title. It successfully captures the tone and spirit of the show, you’ll be smiling the whole way through. So a tip of the hat to writer Katie Cook. Artist Andy Price handles the Ponies and characters extremely well in their reactions to the situation, cartoony in a good way. This is definitely a comic I, and as fans should, look forward to every month. (A great companion to Season 3, wouldn’t you agree?)