The My Little Pony Micro-Series is back, this time featuring everyone’s favorite Fillies. These issues have been either great, or just ‘good.’ This one thanks to the great writing manages to rank as one of the better ones, even if the story is a bit uninteresting.

Here’s the official description from IDW:

On a hike through the woods the Cutie Mark Crusaders come across a creature unlike anything they’ve ever seen! When their new friend shows off an incredible ability, the Crusaders see an opportunity to earn their Cutie Marks! But their new friend is hiding an important secret that is sure to have a big impact on our tiny trio!

The Cutie Mark Crusaders rank as the most important ‘secondary characters’ in the show. They have quite a few episodes to themselves, mainly about them trying to get their cutie mark through insane endeavors. It was almost a given that a post-Mane 6 Micro-Series comic would feature them promptly. What we have here is an entertaining read for fans of the trio. The ‘moral’ in the end is basically that you should let friends be what they want to be, and not forcefully shape them into what you want. Pretty decent and covers new ground for the team.

Ted Anderson writes, he was the one that did the absolutely stellar Pinkie Pie issue. He’s definitely the best writer I’ve seen on MLP besides perhaps Katie Cook, he truly knows how the characters talk and react. (I’d like to see him do an arc in the Ongoing.) There is no forced dialogue or any ‘out-of-character moments’ here, the Crusaders are the same lovable bunch from the show. ‘Imp’ is the new character. She’s more of a plot device than actual character. It was great seeing Twilight and Rarity, they didn’t steal the show but rather added to the fun. Applejack’s cameo was also great.

Ben Bates does the art. It’s mainly a hit…with a few misses. In some panels the Crusaders look off. But for the most part the art faithfully captures the look of the show. Cover A is a pretty cute one of the three having a PJ slumber party. Cover B is more exciting, featuring…two Winonas?! (You’ll see why that is in the comic.) However, the best cover is easily the beautifully artistic RI. As for store exclusive variants, there are only two and Larry’s is easily the best. Nothing beats a little Derpy.

Overall, the Cutie Mark Crusaders star in a pretty fun adventure. The Imp story is admittedly kind of disappointing however. Still, Ted Anderson knocks it out of the park with his writing of the Crusaders.

4/5

Daniel’s first episode from the show was ‘The Show Stoppers,’ so he’ll always have a soft spot for the Crusaders. You can follow him on Twitter:@Destroyer_199