My Little Pony: Friends Forever #18 Review

The two main Pegasi star in the latest issue of Friends Forever! How does it fare? Let’s take a look.

Here’s the official description from IDW:

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy have always had a really neat friendship in the show. It’s much like Helga & Phoebe in Hey Arnold and Tommy & Chuckie in Rugrats where we have one outgoing character and one shy character. In real life these type of friendships are truly special. This is the first time the two ponies have truly starred together in a long while. Aside from questionable art, this issue of Friends Forever is one of the most heartwarming yet.

Christina Rice crafts an engaging story that mimics a real life reunion. One person might have been popular and has fond memories but another may have been made fun of, therefore not having quite as positive recollections. It can be easy to write off Fluttershy as overly sensitive, but the writer succeeds at delivering her character here as we see she’s reluctant to participate in the reunion for good reason. Rainbow Dash is also written very well. It can be easy to write her off as arrogant and annoying, but the writer nails her perfectly. It’s nice to see her as a caring friend. The entire conversation under the table was fantastic. And as a little side-note, her narration in the beginning was quite cool since rarely do we see the ponies in the show or comics deliver monologue.

Now the art by Jay P. Fosgitt is when things get interesting. He has a very intriguing style. It would work a lot of better if this were a story with fillies, flashbacks, or a parody like Teen Titans Go!, but as something set in the modern day it just doesn’t work. For example, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are literally able to fit under a table. The art shrinks down the ponies and gives them bizarrely drawn, way too thin necks. I’m not saying the art is necessarily bad, because generally speaking it’s cute. It just doesn’t make sense for adult ponies. The main cover by Amy Mebberson is a nice, bright depiction of the Cloudsdale reunion. (At this point, Mebberson is the queen of cover artists!) The subscription variant by Fosgitt humorously depicts what’s inside, though again those necks can be pretty distracting.

Overall, a great issue of Friends Forever. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are both written well. The dialogue features some truly heartwarming and unforgettable moments. It also gives readers a solid look at the friendship the Pegasi have. The art unfortunately just doesn’t work for most of it, though it doesn’t distract from the fantastic climax.