My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #29 Review


My Little Pony returns for a standalone story about…wrestling?! How does it fare? Let’s take a look!

Here’s the official description from IDW:

Cherilee gets a visit from her sister who happens to be one of the most famous wrestlers in Equestria! A long-simmering grudge between the siblings threatens to explode unless Rarity and friends can figure out a way for the two to mend hurt feelings.

This issue is an interesting change of pace. The last couple of issues were basically a big arc, this one is more of the classic “slice-of-life.” The way it’s told however makes it seem more fitting for a Friends Forever issue, because really Rarity is teaming up with Cheerilee for the majority of the time with the other ponies as the backdrop. While this issue has a couple of problems, the story remains a nice read from beginning to end.

MyLittlePony29-covATed Anderson crafts a tale much like ‘Sisterhooves Social.’ While the stories are completely different, the endgame moral is the same: for sisters to have a rekindled relationship. Cheerilee has always remained one of the bigger non-Mane 6 and non-princess characters. Since she’s rarely had a starring role  in the show or comics, it was definitely cool to see her as the focus. Sadly, she was written rather off. She did not sound like Cheerilee in the slightest. In fact, you could have replaced her with a generic new pony and it wouldn’t have made much of a difference. This doesn’t ruin the story, it’s engaging from start to finish. Rarity in particular is written pretty well as she displays her element of generosity.

The art by Jay Fosgitt is perhaps my biggest problem besides the characterization of Cheerilee. There is nothing wrong with a distinctive cutesy style, (in fact, sometimes nothing beats it!) but it makes all of the ponies look like fillies. When Cheerilee said “One of my students mentioned it” I couldn’t help but chuckle since she herself looks like a student. The main cover by Jay gets the job done and sets the mood for the wrestling story within. Cover B by Katie Longua is a great alternative, though the more I look at Rarity’s eye the more creeped out I become. The RI by S-bis, while having nothing to do with the comic, offers a uniquely-drawn piece with a picture of friends ice skating.

Overall, a solid issue of MLP. Cheerilee’s portrayal and the art could use a little work, but really what we have is an engaging issue of two sisters rekindling their lost relationship.

OUR RATING
8
  • +Nice sisterly story
  • +Rarity has a great role
  • -Cheerilee's characterization is off
  • -Art makes the characters look like fillies

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