My Little Pony Annual 2013 Review

By Daniel Alvarez on Tuesday, October 29th, 2013

The first ever My Little Pony annual has arrived! Is it as good as the regular sized comics? You bet! It’s basically a longer MLP issue, which is a good thing.

Here’s the official description from IDW:

The world of My Little Pony expands in this special oversized Annual. Straight from the new, hit movie Equestria Girls comes all your favorite Ponies like you’ve never seen them before! New Looks, New Friendships, and New Dangers!

Join IDW in exploring this brand new tale that ties in closer to Canterlot than you may think!

This annual has a very interesting story. Instead of it being a one-shot adventure or collection of short stories, it actually decided to be two things. One, it was going to be a prequel to a major thing in the series. And most importantly it would be taking place in the Equestria Girls world. By now the hate for that film has died down. I certainly enjoyed it. It’s what anything high school related should strive to be like. The Annual traces the events before the film, but most importantly it showcases how Sunset Shimmer became a bad unicorn. It’s an all around great, cute read with a bittersweet ending.

Katie Cook and Ted Anderson are the primary writers. The first story, ‘The Fall of Sunset Shimmer‘ is the one done by Cook. It’s a great read since we see some very detailed backstory on Sunset Shimmer. This was mentioned in the Equestria Girls movie, so it’s really cool to see. The writing succeeds in making her an anti-Twilight, what Twilight could be. The film did a good job with that, but the comic did it better. Andy Price draws this section, and it’s naturally fantastic. That is just pages 1-8, the main part of the story is focused in the Equestria Girls world before Twilight arrived there.

Some still don’t like the Equestria Girls high school take on the series, which is fine, but personally I think they’re missing out. This is a very sweet story showcasing how these friends met. It’s interesting to see the various personalities and how they ‘adapt’ to the school. Applejack’s country look doesn’t seem to mesh well, and she wants to fit in. Fluttershy is so quiet and shy that when she’s called a loser, you’ll feel very sad when she runs away crying. The story mimics the high school world well, just like the film did. Ted Anderson nail the writing on all the characters. “We all need a little kindness every now and then.” ~Rarity. It’s a pretty emotional story throughout. The pacing is perfect, this would have not been as good if this was just a regular sized comic. The extra pages helped develop the story better. Tony Fleecs handles the art here. It’s definitely solid and mimics the Equestria Girls look well.

A negative I think everyone might have is that despite being on the covers, Twilight does not appear. (Aside from a few background shots as a filly in the first story.) So that was disappointing since the second cover showcases her front and center. The main cover by Fleecs is very clever, being the classic shot of the ponies in Equestria Girls form, fantastic. The RI by Amy Mebberson is pretty unique and has a very manga-like look. I’m kinda disappointed that only jetpack and Larry’s have store exclusive variants, I would have liked to see what other places could have done with the Equestria Girls look.

Overall, the My Little Pony Annual is a great comic. It’s a must-read especially for people that saw the movie. (And if you haven’t, I’d recommend doing so.) Twilight doesn’t appear, which was admittedly disappointing. But it doesn’t hurt the story, you get a fantastic book worthy of your $8. Now I personally wouldn’t mind an ongoing Equestria Girls comic!