My Little Pony #3

[hyaroo]

I know I'm not the only one here who likes My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, nor the only one who has been thoroughly enjoying the IDW comic book by Katie Cook and Andy Price with its wacky-yet-kinda-creepy horror-comedy tone. There was some talk about the comic here before and after #1 was released... but since, as far as I can see, nobody's been talking about issues #2 or #3, I figured I'd try to do something about it. Because these comics deserve recognition.

So here are a few scans (two full pages, one three-quarter page and three page snippets, adding up to what I'd roughly estimate as three-and-a-half page) from the newest issue, #3, the penultimate issue in the Return of Queen Chrysalis storyline, for the most part centered around our villain-of-the-story, Queen Chrysalis. Who still manages to be a good deal creepier in the comic than she was in the cartoon.


In case you're just joining us, here's Spike the Baby Dragon (and Angel the Bunny) with a handy summary of the story so far:



 




And then, the villain being villainous -- as well as the introduction of the utterly sweet and innocent victims, whom the fandom have named the Luvcats... but I prefer calling them by the name their creator Katie Cook has given them, namely The Cute Citizens of Wuvy-Dovey Land, alternately The Adorable Citizens of Wuvy-Dovey Smoochy Land. 











Pretty foul, innit? 

I'll say that I love this comic's presentation of Chrysalis; she's creepy as all get-out, but she just oozes personality and a kind of wicked charm as well... especially when the imprisoned Cutie Mark Crusaders get on her nerves.













And apparently she eats/drains the Cute Citizens of Wuvey-Dovey land when she gets headaches.  Also, there's something really funny and really disturbing about how the Cute Citizens just keep on being happy, loving and smiling, ready to give the Changelings Get-Well cards and big hugs even when said Changelings have been draining their friends and neighbors.

Oh, and just because this bit is adorable and hilarious -- the three last panels of the comic, with Vaudeville Spike and Angel, plus a random Cute Citizen of Wuvy-Dovey Land:







Just look at Angel's expression in that last panel.


 

Comments

[crinos]

You left out the panel where Chrysalis messily devours one of the Luvy Duvy's right in front of the CMC (Its silhouetted, but still pretty nasty.)

[hyaroo]

I know... I did consider posting it, but since I could only post four pages and wasn't 100% sure I wouldn't be overstepping the page limit by doing so, I had to pick and choose.

[mistygeek]

It goes up to six later, so all you need do is hold on to it.

[hyaroo]

All right, that's two requests for a "Queen Chrysalis messily devours a ridiculously cute critter off-panel" scan. ^_^ I'll try to remember.

[benuben]

Make it three.

[nefrekeptah]

Actually, I don't think she did eat the Luvy.

Sure, we get the implications that she did something bad - we only see the sound effect and the fillies screaming - but the sound effect in question was a thump, which is not a sound I equate with eating.

Maybe she stepped on it? Threw it against the wall?

[silverzeo]

Anyone else getting a Ren and Stimpy vibe from this issue?

[hyaroo]

Not really, but then I don't like Ren and Stimpy...

[beoweasel]

For a series about adorable ponies and the magic of friendship, these scans are hilariously dark, and I find it really hard to imagine any of this getting into the television show (maybe that very knowledge is what allows the writers to push boundaries?)

[espanolbot]

Though the show is aimed primarily at kids and has a large alternative audience of teenagers and adults, the comic seems primarily aimed at older people.

Considering the amount of references in it (Blues Brothers and the Donald Sutherland version of Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, for example) I can't imagine many kids getting what's going on half the time anyway.

[hyaroo]

Interestingly enough, in an interview from yesteryear, Katie Cook claimed that she didn't do anything darker than the cartoon. I suppose technically there's nothing in the cartoon that doesn't have its root in the comics, but the presentation is darker and scarier.

But I think that you can get away with more things in a comic than you could on a TV show. Motion and sound makes the experience more "real" and therefore more intense.