My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #35 Review

Written by: Jeremy Whitley

Art by: Andy Price

Publisher: IDW

Before we begin, let’s all dance a little victory for a four-issue arc. We haven’t had one of those in all of 2015! The My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic comics have a bad tendency to end abruptly, and while Issue 34 certainly set up a big plot, bigger pony comics have been forced to wrap up in two issues. So yes, let’s be happy.

But not too happy. It isn’t perfect.

Issue 35 begins by examining the past, when Sombra was but a little filly and best friends with an orphan pony named Radiant Hope. It’s a cute section at first, watching the two play and hang out, but as it progresses, it gives more back story to Sombra and what kind of creature he is. As it turns out, he isn’t a pony.

I like these MLP:FiM comics on the whole, but I don’t really consider them canon. On the one hand, it’s cool to see Sombra before he became a villain; on the other hand, I don’t like this sudden explanation that he’s not your standard pony but something else. It comes off as forced and, in the context of Crystal Empire lore, makes little sense.

It’s one of those things that’s completely serviceable if you don’t think about it too much.

However, that’s it for negatives. Everything else about the comic is pretty great. I like the fairy-tale styled beginning, which while heavy on exposition, is cute, charming, and just self aware enough to work. I also like the basis of Sombra’s downfall, which plays with the trope of destiny in a pretty interesting way.

When the nine or so pages of backstory are over, the comic returns to the present and is mostly non-stop action. Apparently the battle that spanned most of Issue 35 was far from over. It’s solid work, just fun enough to not be too threatening, yet still tense and a little badass at points. Twilight Sparkle and Chrysalis go head-to-head, and it’s pretty awesome.

Actually, Chrysalis really steals the show during the latter half of the comic. She’s such a great character, and I’m glad she’s been given more room to shine in the MLP comics, since I doubt we’ll see her again in the show. She can really bring the evil, and it helps that she’s backed up with her own personal army.

The artwork is spot on as usual, being both flashy and easy to follow. The comic is adorable when it needs to be, tense when it needs to be, and the action is fun to look at from start to finish. There are also some nice little gags in the background, as per usual. Basically, Andy Price does good work.

And in true four-issue arc fashion, this one ends on quite the cliffhanger!