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Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2020 10:22 pm
by Ransom
This inspired me to re-read the Nightmare Rarity arc again too! I was so blown away by her design. Good times.

There are some aspects I would change (I prefer Nightmare Moon being sealed “in” not literally “on” the moon, maybe have Nightmare possessing creatures in the Everfree forest and holing up in the Castle of the Two Sisters?), but assuming we establish Luna created the “Nightmare Forces“ (which I’m assuming the comic actually did indicate?) or the Pony of Shadows or whatever we call it, I actually am left feeling...man, we needed something like this in the show in the first 3, preferably 2 seasons. Luna directly confronting her past as Nightmare Moon really should not have been relegated to a single episode all the way in season 5 (which I actually like, despite being mad Celestia didn’t show up).

Also, I will fight anyone who craps on Celestia lassoing the moon, that was beautiful and Equestria doesn’t follow anything so stale as real world physics!

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 7:15 am
by pessimizer
Ransom wrote:
Sat Sep 19, 2020 10:22 pm
This inspired me to re-read the Nightmare Rarity arc again too!
I recently read it for the first time, and I felt it was too fast paced in a lot of places.
Especially the dream nightmare sequences start and end very abruptly, often being resolved within one page.
I can understand they had to keep them short because they had to "get through" all the characters every time, but I still wish they had explored those further.
The one with Spike was pretty good though.

Perhaps my favorite scene was when they turn back Rarity and you can see all their happy memories (with a callback to the fart joke from earlier :P).

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 10:35 am
by Ransom
pessimizer wrote:
Mon Sep 28, 2020 7:15 am
I recently read it for the first time, and I felt it was too fast paced in a lot of places.
Especially the dream nightmare sequences start and end very abruptly, often being resolved within one page.
I can understand they had to keep them short because they had to "get through" all the characters every time, but I still wish they had explored those further.
The one with Spike was pretty good though.

Perhaps my favorite scene was when they turn back Rarity and you can see all their happy memories (with a callback to the fart joke from earlier :P).
Oh yes, I won't actually dispute (for the most part) complaints about the technical side of things, I just really enjoyed certain aspects of it and felt having an arc like this say, as the season 2 finale for instance would have been great, not just as a good episode but for developing and setting up future episodes. Again, I'm mostly saying this as a fan for whom the Sun/Moon lore was perhaps the most interesting thing about the show for me and was super bummed at how Celestia and Luna seemed to be made less and less relevant even as we finally got some episodes focusing on them.

Glad you also liked the ending. It's similar to the memory spell solution to Discord's corruption but it makes sense as a way to counter Nightmare's deception. Maybe if you had had Luna link up the whole town in a combined dream to accommodate the "memory feed" it would have been a better way to display Luna defeating her old demons (to combine another aspect of Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep).

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:06 am
by pessimizer
Ransom wrote:
Mon Sep 28, 2020 10:35 am
Oh yes, I won't actually dispute (for the most part) complaints about the technical side of things, I just really enjoyed certain aspects of it [...]
Maybe that came across as too negative; I surely enjoyed it, too!

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2020 6:47 pm
by Hedonism Bot
Ransom wrote:
Sat Sep 19, 2020 10:22 pm
Luna directly confronting her past as Nightmare Moon really should not have been relegated to a single episode all the way in season 5 (which I actually like, despite being mad Celestia didn’t show up).
It really shouldn't have amounted to Luna basically committing self-harm.

Also, I just read "The Good, the Bad, and the Ponies" (issue 25-26, main series). So according to Twilight, using magic against a non-magical citizen of Equestria is wrong when you're trying to stop crimes against common citizens, but totally kosher when you're stopping a crime against the government. Oh-kaaayyyy...

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2020 9:58 pm
by SigmasonicX
Friendship is Magic #90
We finally get issue 2 of season 10!

The story starts with Zecora backstory, showing parallels between her and Twilight. On some level, it's disappointing that Zecora's unique characteristics aren't something that are actual parts of zebra culture, with rhyming being something she reads enhances magic spells and potion making something she was inspired to do after reading about Mage Meadowbrook. On the other hand, it's good that the zebras aren't "literally Zecora".
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The issue focuses on introducing Zecora's relationship to the new characters, though only three of the five new characters are really defined. We also get some comic relief with the ponies accompanying Zecora, particularly Tempest being very conquest-focused. Also the comic forgets she can't use telekinesis.
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The kelpies have some fun worldbuilding, and the two kelpie characters are more defined than the adaba characters.

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It's established that zebras aren't magic, so it's a bit odd when Prince Abraxas shows up in a flash of light. What's his deal? Not considered a zebra in the same way that alicorns aren't unicorns?

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Silver Quill's review is oddly harsh on Zecora's teacher for saying that zebras aren't magic in class, which I don't really get. He points out that Farasi is far more similar to Equestria than possibly makes sense, but he'll wait and see how it goes next chapter.

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Overall, good chapter.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2020 11:51 pm
by Ransom
I won’t go into Do Princesses Dream...here but I do get why people have problems with that. As I said, I’m more of the opinion that the show would have benefited from a 2 part season opener or finale style arc in the fashion of the Nightmare Rarity arc, even if it wasn’t perfect.

With regards to #90: Obviously, the most important aspect that I find in this comic is that it doesn’t address the rhyming zebras from the Journal of the Two Sisters so 0/10 for me.

Joking...I think. Actually I do like this origin for Zecora and it’s pretty neat that she was inspired by Mage Meadowbrook. Did they ever interact?

I confess I’m not sure what to think of the 1 to 1 parallels with Zecora essentially being set up as Zebra Twilight. It’s not ‘exact’ per se but pretty close, right up to having our Zebra Celestia. I get where Silver Quill is coming with the teacher, she was a tad blunt in telling kids they had no magic. I don’t know that Cheerilee would describe Earth Ponies in quite that way.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2020 1:52 am
by SigmasonicX
My Little Pony / Transformers #3
Issue three is here, and it's the best yet, I think. Mainly due to the hilarious and adorable concept of Fluttershy treating Soundwave's cassette animals as actual animals.

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Discord is here too, bringing some nonsense. On some level, I'm not a fan of including him here, since he destroys any sense that Fluttershy could be in real trouble. However, he does have some good gags, including Soundwave reacting to him.

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The art here is pretty good, and succeeds in making Fluttershy really cute.

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The second story was Rainbow and Windblade having a race, only to be interrupted by a bunch of Starscream clones (seeming to rub in that Starstream himself doesn't encounter Rainbow). It was odd that Rainbow would be the one to have a trick to avoid missiles and redirect them back to the attackers, but it was nice. It felt like there was a lot less to it than the Fluttershy part, though.

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Silver Quill's review reminds me of how the character I knew as Rumble is referred to as Frenzy here, which apparently has been a thing since the original toys. For the second story, I forgot that the first issue already showed Windblade encountering Rainbow, which is a story beat that's clearly been abandoned. Reading about the characterization changes for Windblade and even Misfire, I can definitely say the second story is on the weak end. However, it's still fairly fun. Also, the horse Transformers that cameo at the start of the race are from the Beast Wars and Beast Wars Neo toylines.

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Overall, definitely worth checking out, if only for the first story.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2020 6:24 pm
by Hedonism Bot
SigmasonicX wrote:
Wed Sep 30, 2020 9:58 pm
The issue focuses on introducing Zecora's relationship to the new characters, though only three of the five new characters are really defined. We also get some comic relief with the ponies accompanying Zecora, particularly Tempest being very conquest-focused. Also the comic forgets she can't use telekinesis.
Tempest is basically a deconstruction of the disability-related saying "focus on what you can do, not on what you can't do. "Oh, 'what I can do' is violence and destruction? Might as well do that, then!"

It would have been hilarious if her breaking point was someone speaking that line to her while she was asking around Equestria's medical community for a solution. Or, for that matter, if someone was starting clinical trials of a prosthetic horn (like what you see on a fair amount of her fan art) right as she was joining up with the Storm King.

Plus, her telekinesis looks quite different from that of somepony with an intact horn. Perhaps she had been undergoing the magical equivalent of physical therapy, with Twilight helping her get whatever non-violent magic she can out of what's left of her horn.


Zecora's backstory also had me thinking: It might have been fun to see some mad science experiment with artificially instilling magical abilities in a non-magical creature. Perhaps it could result in a brand new villain to fight?

And the idea of dreaming of the abilities of a different species kind of reminded me of that Wind Sock dude from issue 81. Judging from the various examples of heavier-than-air flight technology from the show, he must not have been the only non-pegasus to take an interest in flying.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2020 11:01 pm
by Ransom
My take on Tempest was that she ran from home at an early age more from feeling rejected, which she associated with her broken horn, as opposed to some lost dream of being a super magical unicorn. Once she set out on her own outside the safety of Equestria, it was get tough or die, reinforcing her worldview.

Also, I’m stubborn and going to headcannon that there was still a Zebra tribe in the Everfree forest, one that worked with Mage Meadowbrook, and spoke in rhyme and Zecora is copying their mannerisms (The idea that her speaking in rhyme aids in her magic is interesting actually, is Zecora subtly performing certain low level spells as she speaks?

Finally, the Transformers crossover looks fun. I’m only sad that it looks like we won’t get the Optimus Prime/Celestia team up.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2020 2:43 pm
by Hedonism Bot
Ransom wrote:
Sat Oct 10, 2020 11:01 pm
My take on Tempest was that she ran from home at an early age more from feeling rejected, which she associated with her broken horn, as opposed to some lost dream of being a super magical unicorn. Once she set out on her own outside the safety of Equestria, it was get tough or die, reinforcing her worldview.
That was most likely the initial catalyst, but why then would she have been so damn obsessed with finding something to regenerate her horn? It probably couldn't have been about getting her childhood friends to un-reject her, what with her having rejected the very notion of friendship. Though it's still very possible that it was more about her wanting to be normal for the sake of being normal than wanting to do anything magic-related with her life (in which case a prosthesis may not have been a satisfactory solution to her, even if it were functionally fit for a princess).

For what it's worth, I'd been thinking that having one of her friends (We've only been introduced to one so far, right?) get into prosthetics research while Tempest was running around parts unknown could be a fun idea for a fanfic (being an engineer and not a writer, I doubt I could ever do it justice). The idea being to have Tempest discover that said friend not only hadn't written her off as broken, but had been busting her flank trying to help her.

And as for "Friendship in Disguise": Need one have any knowledge of past events in the comics to understand what's going on? The idea sounds like something I'd love to check out, but I'm still way behind with reading the main comic series.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2020 11:36 pm
by Ransom
I suppose my interpretation is that the broken horn still represents everything she hates about herself, and makes her feel weak. In my mind it’s less about being magical as being stronger.

Horn prosthetics are an interesting idea, though I guess I’m willing to accept unicorn horn is a difficult substance to grow or duplicate. The ponies do have magical artifacts, maybe a compromise would be a magical horn topper that can “hold” one or a very limited number of spells. Like basic levitation. All the better if she has to pop it off dramatically to unleash her more destructive blasts.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2020 9:48 am
by Hedonism Bot
Ransom wrote:
Sun Oct 11, 2020 11:36 pm
All the better if she has to pop it off dramatically to unleash her more destructive blasts.
I was actually thinking the exact same thing - the perfect "you just messed with the wrong pony" moment for whatever villain made the mistake of pissing her off.

Your idea reminds me of real-world prosthetics research: we have body-powered and myoelectric arms (which offer limited functionality relative to the human hand), and also preliminary research into neural interfaces (which could theoretically be just as good as the human hand, but will require a LOT of R&D to get anywhere near there). Perhaps the situation with Equestria's medical community could be similar: one could get a spell-specific prosthesis now, or wait Celestia-knows-how-long while researchers figure out a 1:1 replacement for unicorn horn. Though if Tempest already has her levitation back*, she might not have much interest in a spell-specific prosthesis. If, however, she's looking for ways to atone for her past, I could see her offering herself as a guinea pig - perhaps in hope that it might stop some other unlucky kid from turning out like her.

*If that actually was the result of magic physical therapy with Twilight as per my headcanon, it would have been sweet for the comic to show us a bit of that - it would have tied in beautifully with the movie's message of friendship. It may not be as good as growing a whole new horn, but it's way more than the Storm King ever did for her.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2020 1:04 am
by SigmasonicX
My Little Pony / Transformers #4 (FINAL)
And here we are, at the finale!

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First of all, Applejack has to deal with an Insecticon infestation, but then Discord summons the entire Apple Family to help out in an Avengers moment. This was pretty good, though also didn't have much in the way of characterization.

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And then the final story, with the big battle, complete with its own Avengers moment. The splash page for this was great (best part is Rarity driving Arcee into a Decepticon), and Twilight combined her magic with the Matrix of Leadership, but again, the chapter was light on characterization. It also felt a bit strange to bring in the Student Six and Cadance at this late point, but it isn't a big problem.

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Really not too much to say. This miniseries was a lot of fun, and the biggest problems involve not getting more of it. Thankfully, the issue does end with some sequel baiting. Who knows if we'll get it, though.

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Silver Quill's review mentions that he would have liked for the Decepticons to have gotten the upper hand at one point for this finale, to make them a bigger threat, but he's fully satisfied by this crossover.

If this series at all seems interesting to you, I definitely recommend checking it out.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2020 10:07 am
by Ransom
I'll have to pick this up sometime...I'm sorry to ask, but did Celestia or Luna show up in this crossover at all? I'm guessing that more or less confirms it takes place after season 9 but I'd be a bit disappointed if they just don't show up.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2020 4:54 pm
by SigmasonicX
Ransom wrote:
Fri Nov 06, 2020 10:07 am
I'll have to pick this up sometime...I'm sorry to ask, but did Celestia or Luna show up in this crossover at all? I'm guessing that more or less confirms it takes place after season 9 but I'd be a bit disappointed if they just don't show up.
I don't think they appear, no. Note that the first issue opens with Quibble Pants and a comic seller talking about the story being out of continuity, anyway.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2020 5:31 pm
by Ransom
SigmasonicX wrote:
Fri Nov 06, 2020 4:54 pm
I don't think they appear, no. Note that the first issue opens with Quibble Pants and a comic seller talking about the story being out of continuity, anyway.
Yeah, it just disappoints me because I can remember all the Celestia and Optimus Prime team up fan art from the show's early days and always viewed them as very similar characters, noble and dignified leaders.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2020 7:41 pm
by PonyHag714
It was a pretty good issue, and series. Certainly a change of pace. Chrysalis fan that I am, I can't help wondering what happened to her at the end (Megatron didn't have her when he was pulled into the space bridge) unless she was pulled in anyway and ended up somewhere else. Image

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2020 2:46 pm
by Ransom
Issue 91 is here.

Indeed, there was singing, and quite an attempt at a full fledged song too I might add.

The big reveal at the end of course, is going to divide some people but, well, it does make sense that the Tree would have other sprouts/other versions out there in the vast world. One thing I'm curious about, people keep assigning the Mane Six elements to Zecora's gang (as with the young six), but I should point out the Pillars had 'different but similar' virtues that corresponded with the Elements (Bravery->Loyalty and so on). Perhaps this tree will disperse new elements based on new virtues.

It actually strikes me further though, the original elements, the gemstones anyway, are gone (depending on how you interpret Twilight's ability to do the rainbow beam and saying they were only ever symbols in the finale). Starswirl said he felt them snuffed out. While the treehouse grew out of the original TOH remains, any new elements distributed by this tree would be the only EOH.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2020 3:16 am
by SigmasonicX
Friendship is Magic #91
Part 3 is finally here! This mainly served to showcase the abada characters, who didn't get much focus before. Biggest surprise is that Dust Devil is nonbinary, a first for G4.



This was a good issue, though there isn't much to say, really. It's them coming across problem after problem that's solved by a different focus character, like the second episode. Then it ends with a surprise, but we'll have to wait until the next issue for what it all means.

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There was a song sequence that was cute, though I couldn't figure out how it would sound. Also, Tempest the hypocrite doesn't like songs.

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Silver Quill's review doesn't have much else to add. I was reminded of the oddity of a roc appearing with a completely different design than what we saw in the show (and with the ability to talk), but imagine it's just a regional difference.

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Overall, good issue.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2020 6:23 pm
by Ransom
Issue 92!

I'm actually just a little disappointed we didn't get unique virtues this time. I'm a little curious how this ties in with the Pillars planting the tree (albeit I sort of don't like the Pillars explanation anyway, for a number of reasons), but it is pretty cool to see Zecora's dream become fulfilled like that. I'm skeptical that the Commander will be a full on villain, though I have to note the rotary phone in the glass at the end? Maybe I'm reading too much into that.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 12:38 pm
by SigmasonicX
Friendship is Magic #92
Finally, we've reached the end of this arc. It's been four issues over five months, but with the delay before #89 even started it, it has felt even longer.

The issue confirms that yes, there is indeed a Tree of Harmony over in Farasi, and there appear to even be five total around the world. Kind of surprised they didn't go with six, really, since that's seemingly a special number for Harmony.

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It was interesting seeing the abandoned temple that housed the Tree, and how the characters examined it.

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Rockhoof and Tempest fighting the Grootslang was fun, though Tempest did less than I would have liked.

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With Zecora staying behind in Farasi, I expect we'll see more of that land and its characters later in season 10. However, there are still a lot of aspects I wish it could have spent more time on, such as showing off other kelpies and abadas, and explaining what's the deal with Prince Atraxa.

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I enjoyed this story arc, though I did think it played things too safe by sticking closely to the structure of the first two episodes of the show. Plus, while Andy Price's art is as beautiful as always, I did think the pop culture references made it confusing at times what's just a background gag and what's legit lore about Farasi. I think in this case, the setting would have benefited from a less reference-heavy portrayal.

Silver Quill's review points out that the hints at other Trees lifts this out of being just a repeat, and I must admit that was the case for me too. I had reconciled this Tree existing and the Equestria Tree having been planted by the Legends as the Tree being a sort of inevitable outcome, but the existence of temples to them does raise questions about this.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 2:31 pm
by Ransom
I’m guessing in the same way there are five ‘standard’ elements plus “Magic” as the ‘leader’ one that appears with friendship, the 5 temples activate a 6th hidden one.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2021 3:02 am
by SigmasonicX
Friendship is Magic #93
Stepping away from what the older ponies are doing, we have a pretty cute story about Scootaloo and her family, with no appearances from other ponies.

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It's pretty straightforward, with her parents trying to get her interested in their work but it simply not working for Scootaloo. She's afraid her parents won't like her because of that, but they still do, and bond over other things. Her aunts comfort her during this.

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It's a nice enjoyable story with good art.

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Silver Quill chose to make a 10 minute video about this instead of his text review, and I'm not going to watch that. That does mean fewer pictures, alas. It does seem like he liked it from the thumbnail, though.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2021 9:43 pm
by Hedonism Bot
I wonder if the comics will show us Apple Bloom coping with Zecora moving back to her homeland. Will she find somewhere else to continue her alchemy studies now that Twilight presumably no longer has time for "Twilight Time"?

Numerous fans criticized "The Last Crusade" for not doing the "mature" moral of having Scootaloo actually move away. Never mind that given Scootaloo's home life to that point, taking her away from the ponies who had actually functioned as her family would have come off as an unforgivable dick move.

Perhaps this would be a better opportunity for that sort of story.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2021 3:02 am
by SigmasonicX
Friendship is Magic #94
This issue starts a two-part story explaining how Pinkie and Cheese became a couple. This is one variation where they both already have crushes on each other, but can't bring themselves to say it; so if you wanted more of an explanation, you won't get it. Personally, I'm not particularly a fan of this couple, but there were still several cute moments.

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So we've come to the point where a full year passed since a season 9 episode, since this is the second Festival of the Two Sisters (and the first without Celestia and Luna). It's a bit of a shame that Twilight is still freaking out, but well, that's Twilight for you. It is interesting to see that she actually seems pretty perceptive of Pinkie's interest in Cheese, though.

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The art is great here, as expected from Pencils. There's a good variety of characters here, and they all look good. The pony explaining the sinkhole is a bit odd looking compared to the others, though; I wonder if she's a reference.
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Aside from the Pinkie and Cheese story, we also see Fluttershy and Discord hanging out. The story ends with all sound being muted, but there doesn't seem to be a real connection to the Discord story that's been hinted yet.

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Overall, good issue.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2021 7:29 pm
by SigmasonicX
Friendship is Magic #95
With the ponies all muted, the girls scramble to help people, and Pinkie and Cheese are able to discover the solution all together.

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I enjoyed this issue a lot, though there was a fair amount of cheating with the premise. There's quite a lot of onomatopoeia, although they're jokey overdescriptive ones like "effort" and "defeat". Though there were fun gags with this, surely there was a better way to handle the lack of sound. Also, a key part of the story is Fluttershy getting animals to help, but it's hard to figure out how she actually got her instructions to them.

That said, there are some fun examples of the ponies helping, like Rarity showing a mother that her baby is crying. Also, a lot of ponies falling for some reason. There are a lot of cute panels, particularly including Mane Six with suave expressions grabbing mares with scrunchy faces.

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Despite the smaller focus, I think this issue did a better job selling Pinkie and Cheese's romance, by showing them have fun together.

One weird thing about the story is how Discord's involvement turned out to be a complete red herring. Though no one even brought him up until he popped up again at the end, so that aspect was oddly handled.

The art was quite good, and very cute. The use of obvious OCs (at least one of whom was positively identified) and ponified celebrities stuck out, though.

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Overall, oddities aside, this is a good issue.

~~~

May 2021 solicitations

Friendship is Magic #98
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Artist: Akeem S. Roberts
Writer: Celeste Bronfman
Cover Artist: Akeem S. Roberts

When a painting brings up memories of the past, Celestia and Luna must confront their fears in order to move on—which means coming face-to-face with the kraken, that terrible creature that attacked their ship so long ago! But things aren't always as they seem in Equestria…

Odd to see Rainbow and Fluttershy on the cover for a Celestia and Luna story.

Friendship in Disguise II #2
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Artists: Priscilla Tramontano, Trish Forstner
Writers: Ian Flynn, Sam Maggs
Cover Artist: Tony Fleecs

The Seekers and the Wonderbolts have formed an uneasy alliance—can Starscream and Rainbow Dash work together to stop the evil attacking Cybertron?! Plus, Applejack and Wildwheel come face-to-face in a wild, wild showdown for the ages!

So Starscream and Rainbow aren't fighting, but teaming up! Interesting.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 4:34 pm
by Ransom
Thanks for doing these reviews! I enjoy them.

Interesting to see some Celestia and Luna post retirement. Kindof weird that they didn't show up at the festival made in their honor?

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2021 2:31 am
by SigmasonicX
MLP: The Manga: A Day in the Life of Equestria Volume 3
MLP Manga volume 3 was good, though the fact that the previous volumes already covered time travel and alternate realities so thoroughly means there isn't really much new here, just more of the same. The same is fun, but still the same.
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The story starting with the epilogue designs was an interesting hook, but then time shenanigans made them revert to their present day designs.
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Discord steals the Elements of Harmony from the Nightmare Moon fight and scatters them through alternate dimensions (accidentally leaving Twilight to be affected by the initial timeline warping, so she is a unicorn), so they all go on independent adventures. However, in each timeline, they run into alternate versions of themselves and many of their friends.
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I feel bad for Twilight in this story, since she's native to the "Nightmare Moon wins" timeline. Her status does make a bit hard to find humor in her situation, especially since she thinks Discord is helpful rather than the cause of her plight. Still, the story is overall a lot of fun.
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It's a shame this is the end of the MLP Manga. Hopefully we at least get more art from Shiei.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2021 1:30 pm
by Ransom
Okay, I haven’t read this but I really like the G1 manga pony design. Like I might actually like it better than the FIM style.

BTW, I recently have been catching up on pony comics and got around to Nightmare Knights...and I really liked it! It was an absolute romp and something I would have loved to see in the show, somehow.

Oddly enough, something that stuck out to me the most was Daybreaker. She’s so much different from the basic, “Nightmare Moon, but Day” or Celestia being power hungry interpretation. Daybreaker here actually comes off as extremely fragile and frightened of being too weak, despite having overwhelming power, and clearly reacting to years she spent as a slave. And it’s clear to me she regrets betraying her sister, ironically putting her in a similar boat to our Celestia, having to deal with the loss of her sister, except this time she’s never coming back.

Although, she is sitting on a hub of several different worlds, I could imagine this Daybreaker, scouring other realities, hopelessly looking for a Nightmare Moon that’s at least close to the one she lost.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:06 am
by SigmasonicX
June solicitations

Friendship is Magic #99
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Writer: Thom Zahler
Artist: Robin Easter
Synopsis: Marble Pie is off to college! It seems like the only pony fit for the job of planning her going away party would be the fabulous Pinkie Pie herself-but Pinkie's having a bit of trouble feeling happy about her sister heading so far away... looks like she's going to need a little help from Cheese Sandwich to plan the bestest party ever!

Surprised to see another story about Pinkie and Cheese.

My Little Pony / Transformers: The Magic of Cybertron #3
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Writer: James Asmus / Tony Fleecs
Artist: Priscilla Tramontano
Cover Artist: Tony Fleecs
Synopsis: Sombra's evil plans continue to spell trouble for our unlikely heroes! Meanwhile, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, and Soundwave have to figure out how to work together-what could possibly go wrong?!

First, looks like the series is shifting to being named The Magic of Cybertron rather than just 2.

Second, surprised the villain is Sombra.

Third, didn't expect Vinyl and Octavia to get a showcase.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:54 am
by SigmasonicX
Friendship is Magic #96
We get back to the world travels (wait, when does this take place relative to the last issue?) at last, and now we're visiting the land of cats! Though it has dropped its vaguely Egyptian theme (IIRC) from before, in favor of what I'll call the Bioshock Infinite aesthetic, complete with cops everywhere.
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It was pretty fun seeing Fluttershy try so hard to cooperate with the cops, while Trixie goes all ACAB. Them just happening to have magic-sealing collars that worked on Discord felt contrived, but it did lead to a nice scene between him and Fluttershy.
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The set up with Capper not wanting to see his old friends again felt reminiscent of Zecora's storyline, but thankfully they go in a different direction, with Capper more than happy to see them again once he sees they don't blame him for anything. Capper's friends have good designs; Shadow seems especially popular, what with her basically being Cat Rarity. I feel like Admiral Fluffington any second now is going to give a speech about how this world is impure.
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The jail break was a lot of fun, especially when the yarn and laser pointer came into play. And with that ending, we finally get back to Chummer after he disappeared in the Movie prequel comic four years ago. Or should I say Punished Chummer?
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Also, typo.
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This was a pretty packed story, and it was good, though cat land feels aesthetically boring. Silver Quill's review (back to text!) points out that for all the talk of the citizens living in fear, the streets are completely empty of anyone other than cops, and we don't even see anyone peeking through windows. I'm curious to see how this is possibly all resolved in one issue.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2021 9:24 pm
by SigmasonicX
https://www.cbr.com/idw-my-little-pony- ... 0th-issue/

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #100—Season 10 Episode 12
Jeremy Whitley (w) • Andy Price (a & CVR A) • TBD (CVR B) • TBD (1:10 RI CVR)
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In this landmark issue, Rainbow Dash and her companions Spitfire, Celaeno, Lyra, and Bon Bon find themselves in the Bird Kingdom, where old friendships are tested and a new, enigmatic enemy lurks in the shadows. Together, the ponies will unravel the mystery of the Knights of Harmony!

The article also mentions that there will be a backup story by Katie Cook.

This will release in July.

I'm surprised that the issue is mainly going to continue the season story and not focus on the entire main cast, but I assume the backup story is going to cover all the 100th issue stuff.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2021 12:59 am
by SigmasonicX
My Little Pony Transformers: The Magic of Cybertron #4
Ian Flynn, James Asmus (w) • Casey W. Coller, Jack Lawrence (a) • Tony Fleecs (c) Bethany McGuire-Smith (c)
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Spike and Grimlock return! When the Dinobots are attacked by Sombra's minions, can Grimlock's little purple buddy save everycreature? And don't miss the epic conclusion to the hit crossover series! Is friendship really magic? Can Transformers and ponies really work together? And how in the world are they going to stop Sombra?!

Surprised that Spike and Grimlock are teaming up again. Shame to see this come to an end again.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 2:40 am
by SigmasonicX
Friendship is Magic Annual 2021
In an unusual choice for an annual special, this is actually part of the "Season 10" arc, following Rarity's group meeting with the Diamond Dogs.

From the start, I was unsure about this story's choice to deviate so much from how Diamond Dogs were depicted in the show. Unfortunately, the story didn't convince me that it was a worthwhile decision. I understand that keeping them too goblin-like would have made it difficult to do the Tree of Harmony storyline with them, but they could have found a middle ground between that and having them just act like ponies.

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That said, I found the exploration of the Diamond Dog character relationships interesting enough for most of the issue. However, the source of the conflict between them didn't feel justified, and it was resolved way way too quickly. They come across an imminent problem, immediately find the Tree, talk out the family problems then and there, and save the day.

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The pony characters largely weren't used well. It easily could have been Rarity and Maud by themselves without having to change anything. Meadowbrook just served to explain the relevance of Maud's observation about lead and cure the queen in the epilogue, and I don't think Big Mac did anything at all aside from jokes.

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Overall, this was the weakest part of Season 10 so far.

Silver Quill's review seems to be much more positive than mine, pointing out the high quality of the art and the bits of interesting interactions between Meadowbrook and Rarity.

Since he didn't point it out, I'll bring up the fact that Big Mac rushes off to eat golden apples, but then all the apples in panels after that are red.

~~~

The first issue of the sequel is out!

My Little Pony / Transformers II: The Magic of Cybertron #1
The premise of this sequel is that as opposed to having the transformers in Equestria, we have the ponies on Cybertron. That said, the bits at the start of Decepticons on Equestria made me want to see more of that. If the setting is indeed restricted to Cybertron for the rest of it, then that runs into the issue of the locations all looking samey.

The part with Decepticons reading and appreciating Equestrian comics was cute.

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Having Sombra be the villain of this is unexpected. Him surviving the FiM season 9 premiere and his mind control working on Transformers, and three of the Mane Six before they could respond, is pretty contrived, but hey, that's the nature of crossovers like this. Also, this is notably the season 9 version of Sombra rather than the comic version of Sombra.

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The art in the first story was quite solid overall.

The second story featured Scootaloo's aunts, which is an interesting choice of characters, teaming up with Arcee and Greenlight (who themselves are a couple in the current IDW continuity it seems). The art is generally solid, except for the fact that Arcee and Greenlight more or less never change expression; a rather infamous issue for Transformers comics in general I hear. It's a cute enough story, especially when they find Scootaloo at the end. That padding with Lofty stretching for most of a page was odd, though.

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Overall, it's still a fun series.

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Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Thu May 20, 2021 4:00 am
by SigmasonicX
Friendship is Magic #97
In this issue, Capper reunites with his old friend Chummer, but now's the time to act and see what the king has hidden away in a secret chamber.

This issue had a rushed ending again, but it at least made better use of its characters than the Diamond Dogs issue. The cats not as much as the pony side, but that's more forgivable.

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Funny that the cat that looked like Rarity as a cat turned out to be the one associated with Magic instead of Generosity.

I do wish they were given more time to explore this, especially with the character history involved. Also the unexpected tie in to comic-original cat people introduced well before the Movie. That's the single biggest problem with this issue: it really needed at least another issue to fully explore the characters and setting.

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As is, the story is fine, but there's so much that they just barely mention or gloss over that could have been expanded a ton.

Silver Quill's review points out that the guards are too reminiscent of Equestria's guards. I thought it was odd after they established the normal cop look in the previous issue; where are all the cops now? Especially odd when one uses a police club.

Fluttershy had a good showing here, like he mentioned, showing strong leadership skills and taking action.

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Overall, fine issue, but really could have used more space.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Thu May 27, 2021 3:36 am
by SigmasonicX
My Little Pony / Transformers II: The Magic of Cybertron #2
Issue two is here, with two stories!

The first at long last features a team up of Rainbow Dash and Starscream! Though they don't interact as much as I would have liked. What happens is that Starscream wants to attack some brainwashed Transformers and ponies, but Rainbow just wants to capture them. Starscream lets her and the Wonderbolts go ahead, they succeed, and Starscream thinks he'll get the credit, but Rainbow does instead. Starscream doesn't do anything during the actual operation.

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In addition, the action itself was pretty boring. Just the Wonderbolts dodging energy blasts. However, we still got some good bits with both characters.

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The second story was more interesting, featuring Applejack wandering the deserts of Cybertron, following advice from Pinkie that I'm curious was the original context for.

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That said, the events of the issue were a bit confusing. I saw that Quickstrike was knocked out, but I have no clue who knocked him out and how. Still, it was fun.

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Overall, this was an enjoyable enough read, and the art in both stories was good, though not much was done with the stories.

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Silver Quill's review is more positive about the action in the first story. He was similarly confused about the Quickstrike bit in the second story.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2021 3:23 am
by SigmasonicX
Friendship is Magic #98
We now have a one-shot story focused on the post-retirement royal sisters! Celestia is reminded of how she and Luna lost their dolls of themselves to a kraken when they were very young, and decides to confront her at long last. Also, we get a semi-canonical look at where they live now!

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It's kind of interesting to have Celestia have to confront childhood trauma, now that she's moved on to a new stage of her life. I'm actually reminded of a part in Fist of the North Star where the villain Raoh decides that to complete his mastery of a technique, he must confront and kill the one man who frightened him with his strength when he was younger. Like this issue, the source of his fear is peaceful. Unlike this issue, Raoh kills him.

I liked how it was pretty clear that Celestia changed and exaggerated things in her memories, yet also didn't spell it out too much.

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That said, it was strange seeing Celestia act so emotional, and be so prejudiced about the kraken even after hearing what Fluttershy said.

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Of course, it turns out the kraken was good the entire time, and actually saved everyone from a whirlpool, and all is cleared up. I liked that Celestia was actually able to just destroy the whirlpool, now that she's come back much more powerful than she was as a filly.

Silver Quill's review matches my thoughts. The art is indeed stiff and the characters oddly proportioned.The first half with Celestia's childish reactions is much weaker than the second half. And lastly, it was nice that Luna was the one to push them into action.

If this is the final Celestia and Luna issue, it isn't the best sendoff, but it's still a decent enough issue.

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Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2021 10:59 am
by Ransom
Yeah, I'm pretty much in the same boat with this issue. I suppose at this point I shouldn't be hoping for the grand Celestia story I always dreamed of, but comparing this to say, the Micro Series issue where she helps out Inkwell really stands out. Quill comes close to expressing my thoughts that as the show went on they seemed to want to 'humanize' for lack of a better term, Celestia after her portrayal in the first few seasons, but at times ended up stripping her of the royal dignity she had, which was one of the things I liked about her. Second half of this issue was a bit better, but between the promise of getting an extended flashback or a real look at what the sisters' life is like post retirement, I can't help but be a bit disappointed.

Re: General Comic Chat - 75 Issues of FiM and Counting

Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2021 3:26 am
by SigmasonicX
Oh shit, never posted this here.

https://www.equestriadaily.com/2021/06/ ... -pony.html

Comic will end with issue 102, then be followed up by a miniseries crossing over with G1. I have to imagine this means we're getting a G5 comic.

It'll be a shame to no longer have any consistent official G4 media once the miniseries ends. I was kind of hoping that for G5, they would wait until they had a couple seasons under their belt before making a comic ike with G4, since I thought that helped a lot in making sure the stories better reflected the characters and what fans would be interested in. However, I understand that waiting years to release a comic isn't advisable when you know you have an audience that will read it.

Covers for the Generations miniseries are in the link, but I'd rather wait for the solicitation for those before embedding them.

September 2021 solicitation, and last one for the main series

Friendship is Magic #102
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(Writer) Jeremy Whitley
(A / CA) Andy Price


An oversized adventure caps off over a hundred issues of Pony fun! Don't miss this thrilling conclusion to the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic comic!
The climactic battle of Season 10 ends here! With the Knights of Order attacking Equestria, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity must face a foe that seeks to take the Elements of Harmony. Good thing they have a lot of friends-old and new!-upon whom they can rely!

In Shops: Sep 15, 2021

Hopefully this issue acts as an ending well enough.