My Little Pony reaches an achievement, cracking 25 issues! Is the start of a brand new arc a solid read? Let’s take a look!
The official description from IDW:
A new plot of land has been bequeathed to the Apple family and they, along with the rest of our favorite ponies, go to investigate the land’s worth! Unfortunately the land has been taken over by Cattle Rustlers who think there’s treasure hidden somewhere on it! It’s an epic Western-pony-style!
Eight days from today two years ago IDW launched its MLP Ongoing series. It was a hit then, and continues to be one of the company’s best-selling titles. This issue starts a new arc, throwing the ponies in a desert. It’s arguably an Applejack story, but it nicely encompasses the entire Mane 6. If you haven’t heard, Season 5 of the show won’t be coming until spring 2015.(!) The comic series will have to do in the meantime, and with stellar issues like this how can one complain?
Katie Cook writes one of her best scripts yet. Everything flows together extremely smoothy; the storyline is actually one of the most engaging yet. It’s a serious concept, but there’s so many laugh-out-loud lines that make the entire read an enjoyable action-adventure-comedy. For example, Fluttershy saying,“Bull” and Rainbow Dash responding, “I think that was uncalled for” is priceless. (You’ll have to read the comic to get the context.) Applejack’s portrayal is perhaps her greatest yet. Her getting angry at the Cattle Rustlers for stealing from ponies was both funny and admirable. The leader of the antagonists, Longhorn, is a pretty solid character. Unfortunately, a lot of these stories have a tendency of redeeming a villain, so hopefully that’s not the case again. Another highlight in the script is the small team-up between Twilight and Rarity with putting out the barn fire. These two are the only members of the Mane 6 to have magic, yet they rarely combine forces with that aspect in the show, so it was awesome to see.
Andy Price’s art is as usual fantastic. Applejack in particular gets most of the highlights. (Due to her being angry and riled against Longhorn and the Cattle Rustlers.) It’s hard to say anything else about the art without sounding redundant. To sum it up: A+ artwork. The main cover by Price is a nice piece celebrating the series reaching 25 issues. Cover B by Sara Richard is more aligned with the story. How can Applejack fans not want to grab it?
Overall, one of the best MLP comics yet. The story is engaging, which is of course mainly due to Katie Cook’s incredible writing, which is then complemented by Andy Price’s fantastic art. By now I shouldn’t have to say this, but if you haven’t been reading this series, it’s time to do so!
S#!T Talking Central