My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Issue 2

[Trixie the Greatest 131]

 

My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Issue 2

 

 IDW Publishing

 

Written by Katie Cook

 

Cover Art by Katie Cook

 

The comic itself chronicles stories which are related to past events in the show.  This issue continues the quest to save the Cutie Mark Crusaders being held by Queen Chrysalis in her kingdom, which is now revealed to be within the forest near the Appleloosan Mountains.  On said mountains the 6 main hero ponies have to trasverse its many dangers inside in order to cross, something Rainbow Dash has objections to suggesting they should go over.  Twilight Sparkle states not all can fly, leaving Dash quite grumpy about the ordeal up ahead.  Soon they find themselves facing a giant cave troll who has a liking for anything cute, giant tarantulas not amused of their visit, and changelings who trick all into turning against each other, which Chrysalis has a great time witnessing from her own castle.  In the end, they all separate while still arguing about the entire ordeal, not knowing the evil Queen was behind said scheme.  Rainbow Dash then realizes just how deep she is in after Twilight dissapears with Fluttershy, since she is the only one with the magic map to guide them through the unknown.  Pinkie Pie who is stuck with her simply dismisses this and bounces into a forest named Leota which is how the current story ends until the next issue.

 

The comic version of the series so far trumps the show in many ways.  With the liberty and freedom that is limited with animation, artists and writers invoke quite many memorable moments within each panel of each page.  Just like in the show there are many unique facial expressions and references including Transformers within it, as well as one liners only those masterful at trivia can notice.  The artstyle is quite whimsical and brings forth a unique way the characters are drawn without ever leaving the reader with the desire to see their flash animated counterparts.  Spots mentioned like the Macintosh Hills and the Appaloosan Mountains indicate just how big the Apple clan is present in Equestria.  We also get to see Pinkie Pie turned into Pinkamena after the squabble started by the changelings makes the group turn against another.  The CMC seem to be quite comfortable within Chrysalis´ prison, not ever giving hints of despair and just worrying about getting their mark as they do in the show.  The wingspan drawn on Dash seems to be a lot larger than her show counterpart, which adds much more presence as a winged equine.  Seeing Fluttershy being Fluttershy is quite delightful as well.

 

At the end of the comic there is a one page fully detailed map which points to many places the show has yet to mention, adding to the mountains and the forest where the group must trasverse, there is a section called ¨Sight of the Battle of Discord (Quarantined)” pointing where Celestia and Luna might´ve battled the deity of Chaos thousands of years prior.  A Timber Wolf Territory near a watchtower from the Royal Guard, a lone structure simply named “The Old Mansion” with pony ghosts hovering above it, and a curious spot named “Elephant sightings reported”.   A footnote reads “Beware the dangers of the forest, they be too many a number to be documented, ye be warned”. One can deduce just how big of a foreshadow all these points on said map can tell, and if it is any indication, they may be settings for future issues and ones that I myself will greatly enjoy reading.

 

Although there is no mention of the Tartarus Gate as it was in the episode “About Time”.  Perhaps it might just pop up as a surprise in future issues.

 

Just as with Issue 1, there are different covers of the second issue, each with two characters dealing with small tarantulas in their own way. Except for Rainbow Dash, who gets hit in her belly accidentally by Pinkie Pie holding a boxing glove gun.

 

It is quite pleasing that IDW publishing is in charge of this comic, it is doing quite well and it deserves a lot of praise fans of the show devote to it.

 

A+