My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #20 Review

‘Reflections’ comes to a close. Is it a satisfying conclusion to what might be the greatest My Little Pony comic arc yet?  Most certainly, this issue has it all: excellent writing, fantastic art, incredible climax, and an amazing amount of emotion.

Here’s the official description from IDW:

The climactic conclusion to ‘Reflections’ is here! The fate of two Equestrias hangs in the balance as our ponies scramble to help their new allies. It will take an unexpected sacrifice to save day… but from whom?

It’s going to be hard for another story to surpass ‘Reflections.’ It’s been an amazingly consistent read every issue; every page is full of quality and suspense. #20 brings the epic to a close. As you would expect, the most important things happen here. Evil Celestia battles our Celetsia and the ponies are forced to use the Elements of Harmony. One unexpected thing happens at the end, which is sure to make fans of this character happy. While not having the Mane 6 run into their counterparts was a wasted opportunity, the conclusion to the story is another must-read and one of the finest MLP comics yet.

Katie Cook is a master of combining serious emotion with laugh-out-loud comedy. Somehow the two work; on one side we have basically the end of both worlds and on the other the ponies with their usual funny banter. One of the highlights was a simple piece of dialogue, when after evil Celestia’s blast struck our Celestia, Pinkie Pie shouted, “Hey you can’t do that! This is a kids comic!” It’s definitely one of the most brilliant lines from all 26 issues. Indeed, kids comics have a bad reputation with being devoid of quality writing and emotion. MLP defines kids comics in a whole new light, especially with this spectacular issue.

Andy Price’s art holds no bounds. Every page has fantastic detail. When even the characters in the background have detail, you know we have a winner. The main cover by Price is an epic piece depicting both Celestias and Lunas going at it. For Mane 6 fans, Cover B by Chad Thomas showcases a nice shot of the ponies with their Elements running against a rainbow background into battle. It lacks the detail of the main cover, but is still a nice piece. The RI by Sara Richard in contrast is very emotional, and just spectacular. If you like your pony art with a bit of sadness, pick up this piece.

Overall, ‘Reflections’ ends beautifully. All the parts come together nicely for a very satisfying conclusion. While much of the focus is on the Celestias and Sombra, each of the ponies get adequate page-time. The writing is at its finest; the scene where Celestia tells Twilight that the latter will make a great ruler of Equestria was amazingly done. Sadly the Mane 6 didn’t run into their counterparts, a truly wasted opportunity. (The backup, while funny. doesn’t make up for it.) Nonetheless, you’ll want to pick up ‘Reflections’ in trade if you for some reason haven’t been reading, it’s fantastic.