Skip to Content

‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’ #28: environmental smack down

‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’ #28: environmental smack down

MLPCover

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #28
Written by Katie Cook
Art by Andy Price
Colors by: Heather Breckel
Published by IDW

After a few weeks of delay, Katie Cook and Andy Price wrap up their latest arc of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Last time the pony crew found themselves in the middle of a crisis between a secretive kingdom of deer living in the Everfree Forest and a sleazy construction company building an amusement park on forest soil, causing the sentient woods to lash out on nearby pony villages. With no one else to call upon, the ponies must stop this catastrophe before all of Equestria is over run.

While this issue is certainly a fun read, it still suffers from the hang ups the arc started with. It feels odd that the construction crew doesn’t care that their work is causing untold damage to the whole of Equestria nor is that ever brought to their attention. The story fully condones the boss Well-To-Do, making him out to be little more than a Captain Planet villain. That being said, it’s surprising to see how far Cook pushes the politics of this book. She uses the caricature of Well-To-Do as a means to sound off against shady copyright laws and corporations cynically using environmentalism as just another trend to exploit. There’s not much character development for any of the main cast though they retain the same rich chemistry that makes this series so enjoyable. While it’s a shame this story doesn’t try to work out the ethical greys of that few children stories try to address, it’s satisfying in that it eventually comes down to an all-out brawl between mythical monsters and construction vehicles.

Andy Price is, as ever, on point. His artwork bumps this series onto a whole new level. He populates the back and foreground with dozens of great sight gags and references that make one want to go back for and root out. He makes use of inter-panel space to great effect, albeit not as well as last time. There are few moments where the artwork cuts loose into the extreme shots that show just how talented Price is as an artist, but the ones that do are great. Of special note is a panel done in extreme close up which shows Well-To-Do reflected in an eyeball. Heather Breckel is also a fantastic colorist as she’s been carrying this series through since issue one. There’s a reason so many panels look this dynamic and it’s her.

MLPImage

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #28 ends up coming a bit on the simple side. It’s a bit disappointing, especially given how the franchise often seeks other ways to solve problems beyond brute force. Then again, the cast try to resolve things nicely and every time they’re snubbed and sometimes beating sense into people is sadly the only option. While not the best issue of the series, it’s certainly a fun distraction.

[wpchatai]