Previously, on My Little Pony...
Embrace the EARWORM! For it is GOOD! And it shall live inside you FOREVER!
And now we welcome Misty to the IDW comics!
So, how was it?
It's alright. Not amazing, not disappointing...just alright. (It's all right because it's all white...and black and blue...heh)
The art's decent, but it doesn't really wow. Everyone's on model, if maybe a little stiff. It's definitely not bad. It's just...fine.
And writing-wise it's also just decent. There aren't many memorable or note-worthy lines. But, the plot's decent enough, if maybe a little uneventful. But, we do get some cute antics and set pieces. There's a attempt at a deeper moral, here. It's just so...safe, that it kind of becomes unmemorable, I think? Violette and the cast from issue #14 is back, and this issue DEFINITELY assumes you've read that issue. It's nice to see them again, and watch them have a bit of fun. But, it's not the most eventful comic.
Which kind of makes it hard to recommend at a $6. It's fine, but it doesn't really feel like a "special" issue. They could have cut down the pages a smidge and had it just be a regular $4 comic. It's nice that Misty is finally in a IDW comic, but...that's probably going to be the biggest draw. Misty comes at a premium. And I'm not sure if it's enough. It's fine. I think you'll enjoy parts of this if you pick it up. It just doesn't really justify the added price, in my opinion.
Embrace the EARWORM! For it is GOOD! And it shall live inside you FOREVER!
And now we welcome Misty to the IDW comics!
So, how was it?
It's alright. Not amazing, not disappointing...just alright. (It's all right because it's all white...and black and blue...heh)
The art's decent, but it doesn't really wow. Everyone's on model, if maybe a little stiff. It's definitely not bad. It's just...fine.
And writing-wise it's also just decent. There aren't many memorable or note-worthy lines. But, the plot's decent enough, if maybe a little uneventful. But, we do get some cute antics and set pieces. There's a attempt at a deeper moral, here. It's just so...safe, that it kind of becomes unmemorable, I think? Violette and the cast from issue #14 is back, and this issue DEFINITELY assumes you've read that issue. It's nice to see them again, and watch them have a bit of fun. But, it's not the most eventful comic.
Which kind of makes it hard to recommend at a $6. It's fine, but it doesn't really feel like a "special" issue. They could have cut down the pages a smidge and had it just be a regular $4 comic. It's nice that Misty is finally in a IDW comic, but...that's probably going to be the biggest draw. Misty comes at a premium. And I'm not sure if it's enough. It's fine. I think you'll enjoy parts of this if you pick it up. It just doesn't really justify the added price, in my opinion.
We start our story as Misty starts everyday (pre-MYM Chapter 5)...getting yelled at by Opaline. This comic gets their relationship mostly right. I would've liked to have seen Opaline be a little more "petty" or "vain" in her dialogue, because she's just "mean" here, not "comically self-absorbed" like she can be in the show, but that is the most minor nick pick possible. This DOES get their relationship across well enough for anyone who hasn't seen either show.
I do wonder what this "golden flute" was going to do, though. And how it would've comically backfired on them all.
Also...in IDW, I guess Opaline just has a basement FULL of ancient magical artifacts that she can use in her evil schemes. We've seen a *little* of stuff like this in the two shows, but not quite like this.
And a broken magic crystal ball leads Misty through a illusionary wall to find our MacGuffin for this issue. And...we never really get a explanation for ANY of this. Why the crystal ball lead Misty here. Why Opaline has a fake wall in her basement. Why there's a oddly-phallic looking crystal that steals colors for some reason. None of this gets elaborated on AT ALL. It sort of bothers me but...I guess this is fair enough for MLP. Random magical artifacts that come out of the literal walls are kind of par for the course.
Anyway, I guess Misty lugs this suggestive-looking giant crystal ALL the way to the Brighthouse, because she has a slumber party to get to!
Everyone's watching "Betwitched", a old black and white movie series about twins. There's obviously a lot of Bewitched, from the logo. But, probably a fair amount of Twitches, the old Disney Channel movie, too, since it features twins. It's a nice little reference, even though it oddly doesn't become that important to the story.
The most unrealistic part of this issue feels like the children being REALLY excited to watch their first black and white movie. From my limited experience...kids don't like black and white shows. Good for these kids, though, I guess.
Hitch is also here...which seems kind of awkward. Hitch really needs to find some guy friends, I guess.
Also, Zipp is REALLY going to town on some ponycorn. And they made if specifically because Misty likes it so much! D'aww! That's sweet.
And during the slumber party, the girls play..."Silly Prankovers" on the sleeping Pipp and Zipp. Giving them little paper sleep masks. That's a...weird way to phrase that, but I'm guessing the writers got a note from Hasbro asking them to make it clear it was a harmless prank?
Also, we get our sleepover pillow fight...as is required by law from all authors when they write anything about sleepovers. *nods*
Anyway, Misty activates the curiously well-endowed crystal, which she THINKS will remove everyone's magic, but it just takes away all the colors except for blue...for unexplained reasons.
And we get a two-page spread of all the colors vanishing....which feels like it's kind of let down by the coloring. It's just not dramatic enough to make the two-page spread feel impactful. Honestly, if they had to cut down on pages...this two page spread would be the first to go. It's just not done well enough for justify it's page real estate.
And...everyone freaks out about this...for reasons. I don't know, this seems like such a minor inconvenience that I don't feel like anyone would really...care? There'd be questions, sure, but....this really isn't a big enough deal to freak out about.
I DO like that Izzy thinks that it's just a REALLY elaborate prank at first, though.
And the black and white and blue art is fun to look at. It's different. They don't really do anything interesting with it, but it looks different than a normal comic. It's a fun gimmick.
Also, this is a minor complaint, but...they seem to mix up BLUE and GREEN in this issue? Like...I would say that both Hitch's mane and Sparky are GREEN, but Hitch's mane is considered "blue" here while Sparky is "green" and therefore monochromed....it's just a little weird. I'll admit, Hitch's mane is RIGHT on the edge between blue and green, though.
And, again...IZZY is the most level-headed and reasonable one here. She makes the children (and Misty) flapjacks and assures them everything's going to be alright. IZZY is the most responsible pony in this comic...and it's WEIRD, but kind of welcome?
So, Izzy and Misty and the kids all decide to cheer everyone in town up from losing all their colors by putting on a fashion show. Yeah, okay, fine.
The kids showing everyone in town a good time by doing jump rope is kind of fun. Random, but fun. It's a cute scene, and Pipp joins in.
I DO like that Posey is here and gives a drive-by insult to their attempts before peacing out of this comic. This girl knows that sticking around will only lead to her being dowsed in blue paint or something. Posey's rage...can't even be bothered to work up any effort on this one. It's beneath her.
You can see Hitch and Zipp playing detective in the background, looking for clues. It's a nice touch. But, of course...nothing really comes of it.
So, Izzy takes Misty garbage-diving. It's one of the most graceful and elegant dives face first into garbage that you'll ever see.
Also, Izzy is a student of the Lucy Van Pelt School of Psychiatry. Nice. "This is a safe space, if a bit stinky"
And then we get what this issue is REALLY supposed to be about. Misty feels singled out since she's one of the only ponies who got to keep her blue coloring. This is all supposed to be a metaphor for being a minority...again. To this issue's credit, I think it's actually done better here than in issue #14, since there isn't anything contradicting this metaphor in this story. But, it IS pretty similar to that other issue, from not that long ago, by the same writer. And...again, it kind of feels like a under-explored subplot. More of a outline of a idea that they wanted to explore, rather than something this comic is really equipped to dive into in depth. But...meh, it adds just a tinge of depth to a story that really doesn't have much going on. So, it's fine.
At least...sort of? The ponies who are mean to Misty don't KNOW that she IS the cause of all this like in that other issue. So, the crowd's anger feels more unfair and oddly directed here, since there SHOULD be other blue ponies in Maretime Bay. But...Misty DID intentionally cause this...so she kind of deserves the guilt. Yeah, okay, this writer isn't great about making their "victims" ACTUALLY being the one's responsible for the problems they're "unfairly" blamed for. I think I just talked myself out of this one. Hmm...
And then they go to the beach! That's...a little bit of a tonal whiplash, but it's cute so...meh!
Anyway, eventually, Misty feels bad and tries to undo the magic of the artifact. And she pops the crystal out of existence, undoing the magic. So, yeah...everything wraps up pretty quick. It didn't really come to much, but it was fun having a issue about Misty. She got to hang out with her friends.
I do wonder what this "golden flute" was going to do, though. And how it would've comically backfired on them all.
Also...in IDW, I guess Opaline just has a basement FULL of ancient magical artifacts that she can use in her evil schemes. We've seen a *little* of stuff like this in the two shows, but not quite like this.
And a broken magic crystal ball leads Misty through a illusionary wall to find our MacGuffin for this issue. And...we never really get a explanation for ANY of this. Why the crystal ball lead Misty here. Why Opaline has a fake wall in her basement. Why there's a oddly-phallic looking crystal that steals colors for some reason. None of this gets elaborated on AT ALL. It sort of bothers me but...I guess this is fair enough for MLP. Random magical artifacts that come out of the literal walls are kind of par for the course.
Anyway, I guess Misty lugs this suggestive-looking giant crystal ALL the way to the Brighthouse, because she has a slumber party to get to!
Everyone's watching "Betwitched", a old black and white movie series about twins. There's obviously a lot of Bewitched, from the logo. But, probably a fair amount of Twitches, the old Disney Channel movie, too, since it features twins. It's a nice little reference, even though it oddly doesn't become that important to the story.
The most unrealistic part of this issue feels like the children being REALLY excited to watch their first black and white movie. From my limited experience...kids don't like black and white shows. Good for these kids, though, I guess.
Hitch is also here...which seems kind of awkward. Hitch really needs to find some guy friends, I guess.
Also, Zipp is REALLY going to town on some ponycorn. And they made if specifically because Misty likes it so much! D'aww! That's sweet.
And during the slumber party, the girls play..."Silly Prankovers" on the sleeping Pipp and Zipp. Giving them little paper sleep masks. That's a...weird way to phrase that, but I'm guessing the writers got a note from Hasbro asking them to make it clear it was a harmless prank?
Also, we get our sleepover pillow fight...as is required by law from all authors when they write anything about sleepovers. *nods*
Anyway, Misty activates the curiously well-endowed crystal, which she THINKS will remove everyone's magic, but it just takes away all the colors except for blue...for unexplained reasons.
And we get a two-page spread of all the colors vanishing....which feels like it's kind of let down by the coloring. It's just not dramatic enough to make the two-page spread feel impactful. Honestly, if they had to cut down on pages...this two page spread would be the first to go. It's just not done well enough for justify it's page real estate.
And...everyone freaks out about this...for reasons. I don't know, this seems like such a minor inconvenience that I don't feel like anyone would really...care? There'd be questions, sure, but....this really isn't a big enough deal to freak out about.
I DO like that Izzy thinks that it's just a REALLY elaborate prank at first, though.
And the black and white and blue art is fun to look at. It's different. They don't really do anything interesting with it, but it looks different than a normal comic. It's a fun gimmick.
Also, this is a minor complaint, but...they seem to mix up BLUE and GREEN in this issue? Like...I would say that both Hitch's mane and Sparky are GREEN, but Hitch's mane is considered "blue" here while Sparky is "green" and therefore monochromed....it's just a little weird. I'll admit, Hitch's mane is RIGHT on the edge between blue and green, though.
And, again...IZZY is the most level-headed and reasonable one here. She makes the children (and Misty) flapjacks and assures them everything's going to be alright. IZZY is the most responsible pony in this comic...and it's WEIRD, but kind of welcome?
So, Izzy and Misty and the kids all decide to cheer everyone in town up from losing all their colors by putting on a fashion show. Yeah, okay, fine.
The kids showing everyone in town a good time by doing jump rope is kind of fun. Random, but fun. It's a cute scene, and Pipp joins in.
I DO like that Posey is here and gives a drive-by insult to their attempts before peacing out of this comic. This girl knows that sticking around will only lead to her being dowsed in blue paint or something. Posey's rage...can't even be bothered to work up any effort on this one. It's beneath her.
You can see Hitch and Zipp playing detective in the background, looking for clues. It's a nice touch. But, of course...nothing really comes of it.
So, Izzy takes Misty garbage-diving. It's one of the most graceful and elegant dives face first into garbage that you'll ever see.
Also, Izzy is a student of the Lucy Van Pelt School of Psychiatry. Nice. "This is a safe space, if a bit stinky"
And then we get what this issue is REALLY supposed to be about. Misty feels singled out since she's one of the only ponies who got to keep her blue coloring. This is all supposed to be a metaphor for being a minority...again. To this issue's credit, I think it's actually done better here than in issue #14, since there isn't anything contradicting this metaphor in this story. But, it IS pretty similar to that other issue, from not that long ago, by the same writer. And...again, it kind of feels like a under-explored subplot. More of a outline of a idea that they wanted to explore, rather than something this comic is really equipped to dive into in depth. But...meh, it adds just a tinge of depth to a story that really doesn't have much going on. So, it's fine.
At least...sort of? The ponies who are mean to Misty don't KNOW that she IS the cause of all this like in that other issue. So, the crowd's anger feels more unfair and oddly directed here, since there SHOULD be other blue ponies in Maretime Bay. But...Misty DID intentionally cause this...so she kind of deserves the guilt. Yeah, okay, this writer isn't great about making their "victims" ACTUALLY being the one's responsible for the problems they're "unfairly" blamed for. I think I just talked myself out of this one. Hmm...
And then they go to the beach! That's...a little bit of a tonal whiplash, but it's cute so...meh!
Anyway, eventually, Misty feels bad and tries to undo the magic of the artifact. And she pops the crystal out of existence, undoing the magic. So, yeah...everything wraps up pretty quick. It didn't really come to much, but it was fun having a issue about Misty. She got to hang out with her friends.
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