My Little Pony: Friends Forever #20 Review

Friends Forever reaches 20 issues in the latest installment! How does this intriguing team-up fare? Let’s take a look.

Here’s the official description from IDW:

Discord has been having trouble sleeping. And bad sleep for Discord means trouble for anyone around him! Princess Luna delves into Discord’s chaotic slumber to try and identify the source of the problem.

Princess Luna and Discord are pretty huge fan favorites in the show. Of course, every character is a favorite, but whenever it’s announced that an episode will be starring either or, there’s an extra amount of hype. Putting these two in a team-up was the greatest idea since sliced bread. This issue has a great message underneath the story throughout, then it’s made nicely apparent in the final few pages. It’s done at the expense of Discord looking rather awful most of the time, but is still a very enjoyable read if you can get past that.

Jeremy Whitley knows how to write a compelling Luna. The Night Princess has gone over her past quite a bit in the show and comics, but almost every time it’s used to such great effect to illustrate a point. Here we have her reveal to Discord that the old her (and in essence the old person in everybody) is still there, but she always reminds herself that she is a new person. (Or pony, in this case!) There’s a lot of excellent dialogue in the climax as we see that caring about others doesn’t make one weak. Reputation is meaningless if it’s built on being arrogant and uncaring. This is probably Discord’s worst appearance however character wise. A lot of his lines feel forced and out of sync. Big fans of his might not be too pleased.

Brenda Hickey offers solid visuals throughout the story. There are a couple of noteworthy shots, such as Discord’s reaction to Luna talking about a job and dream Rarity screaming at the realization of his betrayal in the boutique. Luna is drawn very well, which is of course enhanced by Heather Breckel’s coloring skills. The main cover by Amy Mebberson is quite a cool piece featuring the two characters in a buddy cop-like manner. (Could be disappointing for those going off the cover hoping for a story like that, hopefully we’ll get one someday!) The subscription variant by Brenda is a more humorous, detailed piece. While being more on the funny side, there’s no denying the awesome factor of the main one.

Overall, Issue 20 of Friends Forever offers some excellent writing and a fine message to end on. Luna has one of her best comic appearances yet. Sadly, Discord fans might be disappointed with his portrayal. Still, this was a very good, humorous read from beginning to end.