Is there a chronological order for the various comic series and books?

[Tilgoreth 1,915]

I'm going to start reading the comics and books soon. Is there any official chronological order?

[Denim&Venöm 16,515]

Only for the arcs, which are typically done in groups of 4. As long as you start w/ the first issue for each, you should be good. Other than that, the Micro series and the Friends forever offshoots can be started with any issue. 

[Daring_Do 552]

Only for the arcs, which are typically done in groups of 4. As long as you start w/ the first issue for each, you should be good. Other than that, the Micro series and the Friends forever offshoots can be started with any issue. 

Not quite. That's generally the case, but the comics do sometimes make callbacks, or the different series sometimes tie into each other. To be safe I'd recommend looking up release dates and reading everything in release order.

 

The books sometimes even reference the comics, and vice versa. The pirate arc of the comics actually makes references to the Under the Sparkling Sea picture book.

Edited February 25, 2017 by Daring_Do

[Naruto_Fan963 1]

I think they're in order of the issue number, unless stated otherwise in the comic.

[AlbaTross 1,581]

The comic issues and books are supposed to be in chronological order. Moreover, they often reference periods in the show, such as the early comics being pre-Twilicorn and the first six chapter books being post-Twilicorn but occasionally mentioning the Golden Oak Library and most, if not all, mentioning the journal that was dropped after season 4. More modern comics and chapter books include references to more modern aspects such as Starlight Glimmer making her debut in both series. So, yes, there is an order, and it can generally be guaged with particular seasons of the show, and/or the EQG series, which also has comics and chapter books and has been mentioned at least once in the main series of each, even if it's just in passing. Moreover, contrary to popular belief, the comics aren't one coherent canon, but rather, each writer seems to have his or her own canon within the comics and may reference previous stories written by that author, but may not acknowledge stuff written by other authors.

 

It's not nearly as confusing as it sounds though, and most comics and books don't require the reader to have read everything previous, or even any of it at all. At most, they might reference events from the show and/or EQG, so having familiarity with them is recommended, but you probably know enough about them anyways. There are one or two moments where previous comics and/or chapter books are mentioned but I can only think of one case off the top of my head where it's more than a passing reference, and that's Luna's issue in Fiendship is Magic, which would probably make less sense if you haven't read Nightmare Rarity. G.M Berrow sometimes references older comics in her books, but doesn't acknowledge later ones, which only really creates a minor plot hole in one instance in Cadance's book as she mentions something relating to Sombra that the comics retconned.

 

Don't overthink it, and it's usually all relatively self-explanatory when comics and books take place. It's rarely as simple as being able to nail a story down to one particular point in the show, but it's usually easy enough to figure out a ballpark such as what season it takes place in. Whether you plan on reading all the comics and books or just want to check out some, it's not worth losing sleep over. If you want to PM me, I can let you know what order I read the comics and books in if you're really that interested, but if you go with your gut it shouldn't be too bad, and this really isn't a series where mixing up the order of two comics is going to throw you off.

Not quite. That's generally the case, but the comics do sometimes make callbacks, or the different series sometimes tie into each other. To be safe I'd recommend looking up release dates and reading everything in release order.

 

The books sometimes even reference the comics, and vice versa. The pirate arc of the comics actually makes references to the Under the Sparkling Sea picture book.

Yeah, but the reference is literally just that the mane six know what a Mantahawk is, and as someone who bought that book to get the reference, I was kind of disappointed when it got no introduction and just ended up being the thing they rode on to get to Aquastria. Ok, there's also the matter of knowing what Mermares are, but that really just amounts to them knowing what Mermares are. None of it is worth fretting over unless you really are a completionist. I found out that I really wasn't missing much, but I guess I get the reference now.

[Daring_Do 552]

The comic issues and books are supposed to be in chronological order. Moreover, they often reference periods in the show, such as the early comics being pre-Twilicorn and the first six chapter books being post-Twilicorn but occasionally mentioning the Golden Oak Library and most, if not all, mentioning the journal that was dropped after season 4. More modern comics and chapter books include references to more modern aspects such as Starlight Glimmer making her debut in both series. So, yes, there is an order, and it can generally be guaged with particular seasons of the show, and/or the EQG series, which also has comics and chapter books and has been mentioned at least once in the main series of each, even if it's just in passing. Moreover, contrary to popular belief, the comics aren't one coherent canon, but rather, each writer seems to have his or her own canon within the comics and may reference previous stories written by that author, but may not acknowledge stuff written by other authors.

 

It's not nearly as confusing as it sounds though, and most comics and books don't require the reader to have read everything previous, or even any of it at all. At most, they might reference events from the show and/or EQG, so having familiarity with them is recommended, but you probably know enough about them anyways. There are one or two moments where previous comics and/or chapter books are mentioned but I can only think of one case off the top of my head where it's more than a passing reference, and that's Luna's issue in Fiendship is Magic, which would probably make less sense if you haven't read Nightmare Rarity. G.M Berrow sometimes references older comics in her books, but doesn't acknowledge later ones, which only really creates a minor plot hole in one instance in Cadance's book as she mentions something relating to Sombra that the comics retconned.

 

Don't overthink it, and it's usually all relatively self-explanatory when comics and books take place. It's rarely as simple as being able to nail a story down to one particular point in the show, but it's usually easy enough to figure out a ballpark such as what season it takes place in. Whether you plan on reading all the comics and books or just want to check out some, it's not worth losing sleep over. If you want to PM me, I can let you know what order I read the comics and books in if you're really that interested, but if you go with your gut it shouldn't be too bad, and this really isn't a series where mixing up the order of two comics is going to throw you off.

Yeah, but the reference is literally just that the mane six know what a Mantahawk is, and as someone who bought that book to get the reference, I was kind of disappointed when it got no introduction and just ended up being the thing they rode on to get to Aquastria. Ok, there's also the matter of knowing what Mermares are, but that really just amounts to them knowing what Mermares are. None of it is worth fretting over unless you really are a completionist. I found out that I really wasn't missing much, but I guess I get the reference now.

 

The comic writers do sometimes acknowledge each other's stuff (like Whitley's Rarity/Babs FF referencing Anderson's Manehattan Mysteries arc). There's also bigger tieins... Like the FIENDship is Magic series tying heavily into the Siege of the Crystal Empire arc, or how Whitley's Discord stories bounce between the Friends Forever and main lines.

 

As for Under the Sparkling Sea and the pirate arc - Twilight's spell too, don't forget that. Wait, darn, did you buy the book just because of me? I'm sorry... A better example would probably be Whitley's increasing tendency to reference the Journal of the Two Sisters and the Cadance backstory from the first Twilight Sparkle chapter book.

Edited March 5, 2017 by Daring_Do

[AlbaTross 1,581]

Twilight's spell too, don't forget that. Wait, darn, did you buy the book just because of me? I'm sorry...

Heh, thanks for the concern, but no. I bought it a good while ago because I can be a total completionist at times, and I did want to get the reference after reading that arc in the comics. I believe it was a Silver-Quill episode that prompted me to check it out. Then, because I decided I had already opened that box that I should have kept shut, I made a point of buying Goodnight Demon Baby and The Dragons of Dazzle Island too when they came out. Now those...I'd have an even tougher time justifying the purchase, but that was a decision I made ages ago. There's definitely more merit to owning Under the Sparkling Sea than those other two, though I guess that's largely thanks to the references from issue 14 of the comics. Oh well, I suppose those books don't collect any more dust than the rest of my MLP spinoff media collection as until such time as I feel like going back through and re-reading some or all of it, I'm mostly only looking ahead to what's coming out, which I know is such a first world problem.