Written by: Barbara Kesel
Art by: Brenda Hickey
Publisher: IDW
As much as I hate the acronym, IDW seems to be pumping out My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: Friends Forever (MLP:FiM:FF) comics, so I guess I’m stuck using it. I suppose a long winded acronym is a fair price to pay for more ponies, even if these Friends Forever issues have been more miss than hit. As a quick refresher: Issue 10 was bad and Issue 11 was adorable.
Issue 12 decides to shift its focus to Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle, and the comic itself is about what you’d expect from a Pinkie Pie episode of the show: high energy, fourth wall breaks, more crazy than logic, and tons of quick-fire jokes. There’s little substance, and there’s zero complexity, but Pinkie Pie has always been more of an energy drink than a nootropic.
Ponyville is hosting its annual Snack Cart Invasion, and Pinkie Pie needs Twilight’s help to avoid the affair like the plague. Last time these snack carts came around, a certain pastry called the phenomnomenons turned her into a quazi-heroin addict. Pinkie does not want to risk the bellyache or embarrassment again, despite craving the brown sugar on a physical level.
That’s it. That’s the plot. There aren’t any big twists at the end; the chocolate rocks aren’t secretly evil or filled with bad magic. The white stuff is only sugar.
What the comic does offer is a high dose of jokes, and most of them landed quite well for me. I laughed out loud a handful of times, and I plan on going through the comic again to see what background gags I missed out on.
Pinkie and Twilight are a good duo, being complete opposites in most respects. Pinkie lacks control and Twilight fixates on schedules and logic. It’s fun watching both have near meltdowns over salt (and I’d imagine eggs, butter, and other bakery ingredients).
On the art front, the comic looks good. It didn’t strike me, but I’ve become used to well-done ponies. Their designs just lend themselves so well to different interpretations. There are a few high-energy moments that I found hard to follow though, yet that almost added to the joke of it all. Pinkie Pie is crazy.
Issue 12 of MLP:FiM:FF isn’t perfect, but it’s a solid dose of fun. I’ll happily give it my stamp of approval.
