Fillies, gentlecolts, and foals of all ages, welcome to another edition of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic comic book recap/review. Well, this week didn’t provide a new episode, but to help keep the bronies from feeling too bored, IDW delivered once again with the third issue of their comic series. And boy, there was definitely a lot to go over in this issue.
Before I get too in depth with the review, I definitely want to talk about one of the two retail covers for this month. There were two major retail covers this month. One being a cute cover with Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie ice skating, and then this cover with Queen Chrysalis and changeling versions of the mane ponies. This is a surprisingly dark cover for what is often perceived as a kiddy franchise for little girls. But, as we’ll see throughout the comic, it’s becoming more and more apparent that this comic is definitely not made with the youngest audience in mind.
The story in this month’s comic continues the four part “Return of Queen Chrysalis” storyline. In the last issue, the mane six were starting to drift appart after being tricked to believe that they were being insulted by each other, although that was a set-up by Queen Chrysalis and her changeling army. The book ends with the ponies now split into three groups of two, and all set to find Chrysalis on their own.
We open issue three with a backstory on exactly where Queen Chrysalis and her army ended up at the end of the season 2 finale “A Canterlot Wedding”. It just so happens to be a lovey dovey happy place with cutesy creatures filled with love. Plenty of love to feed the hungry changelings. We also learn that Chrysalis’ plan all along has been to get revenge on Twilight Sparkle for ruining her plans in Canterlot. However, she still has to deal with the annoying banter of the fillynapped Cutie Mark Crusaders.
The comic focuses mainly on the now split up pony groups, Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, and Applejack and Rarity, as they each set out on their own to make it to Chrysalis’ hideout. On their way, each group has to deal with some deadly perils, including giant carnivorous flowers, a group of wild jackalopes, and a vicious chupacabra. All while Chrysalis watches on. Without spoiling much else to the comic, the group do finally join up in the end, and the way their troubles wrap up is not only hilarious, but pretty dark.
And honestly, that’s the best way to describe a lot of this issue. Pretty dark, from some of the humour (including Chrysalis splattering one of the cute critters in front of the CMC), to the visuals. If the cover alone wasn’t proof that this was definitely made for the older brony market, then the content within is definitely proof of that.
Another positive to this comic is that it doesn’t feel as fast in story as the last issue did. With the split up groups, we now had a lot more time to focus on multiple adventures, and it really helped add much needed length to the adventure. Also the comedy was again spot on, with some dark humour, as well as a clear-cut Simpsons reference. The art is once again fantastic as well. The ponies all have a great look to them, the world around them looks incredible, and some of the dark imagery used for Chrysalis is honestly a little bone chilling.
Overall, this has been the best issue so far in my opinion. It’s really the point in the story so far that has brought the most energy to the whole adventure, and with one more part left, it will be fun to see how issue 4 wraps this adventure up. This is a must-have for bronies, or even those looking for a fun adventure comic. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Issue #3 is available now in comic stores, and also on iTunes.