Written by: Katie Cook
Art by: Andy Price
Publisher: IDW
As a fan of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, I’ll be the first to admit when something involving the franchise just doesn’t work. Equestria Girls (both movies), for example, are absolute trainwrecks. The comics too have had some terrible issues, and they’ve been given terrible scores to compensate.
But when MLP:FiM does work, I’m pretty much nonstop happy for however long the episode/comic/strange YouTube video lasts. Issue 27 of MLP:FiM is the franchise working, a nonstop happy ride of wonderful artwork, fun gags, balanced characters, and a message that’s a bit more serious than your average, “friendship is magic!”
Issue 27 starts off with a bang as Zecora flees into Ponyville with two timberwolves in hot pursuit. However, the two canines are the least of everyone’s worries as the Everfree forest begins to expand and destroy everything in its path.
There’s a frantic, busyness to every page as the forest plows through pony civilization, and it all looks fantastic. Between the vines, the trees, and various monsters, everything just looks so vibrant and inviting! The characters themselves also look great, and despite having so much going on visually, every page is easy to follow and no characters feel lost in the background.
As the characters wade into the forest to figure out what’s wrong, they run into a civilization of deer. The more we learn about the deer, the more they remind me of elves. They’re very nature based, their homes are built within trees and in harmony with the forest itself, and they’re a bit haughty. I like what I’ve seen, and I like the expansion on MLP:FiM lore.
With the deer come more characters, and I’m honestly quite impressed with how many characters Issue 27 is able to juggle without leaving anyone out. When you have seven main characters already, adding another two or three or four into a 30-something page book seems like a recipe for disaster, yet that isn’t the case here. Somehow, everyone brims with personality, and each character gets in at least one solid joke.
But perhaps the most surprising thing about Issue 27 of MLP:FiM is the message it appears to be looking at. There’s always some kind of message to the series, each episode ending in a letter to Princess Cellestia about what was learned, but the messages are mostly slice-of-life affairs. Be accepting, listen to others, etc. The message here, though, is much bigger than that, and honestly, a little political.
I won’t spoil it, but I’m impressed on how well it’s handled thus far. Every side has been given a fair look, and it seems like Twilight Sparkle has found herself in a predicament with no easy answers.
Issue 27 of MLP:FiM is great. I had so much fun reading through it, and I look forward to the next one.
