“Inspiring”
- Writer: Ian Flynn
- Artist: Sara Pitre-Durocher
- Colorist: Joana Lafuente
- Letterer: Jake M. Wood
“They Eat Ponies, Don’t They?”
- Writer: Sam Maggs
- Artist: Casey W. Coller
- Colorist: Joana Lafuente
- Letterer: Neil Uyetake
- Editor: Megan Brown
- Consulting Editor: David Mariotte
- Group Editor: Bobby Curnow
Thanks to IDW Publishing for the review copy!
After reading the first issue of the MY LITTLE PONY/TRANSFORMERS series, I had an existential crisis. Rational me said this is a ridiculous series that had no reason to be made. And yet … here I am gladly reading issue 2. As was the case in the first issue, this issue is split into two stories. Having established why Transformers and My Little Ponies crossed paths, this book seems content to move on to digestible mini stories, as opposed to an ongoing cohesive narrative. This serves the series pretty well.
Issue 1 clung to the tenuous connection between Transformers and My Little Pony, as they both are about changing or transformation or something. Issue 2 takes things to the next level in its first story, bringing Grimlock (a robot that turns into a T-Rex) together with a My Little Pony character named Spike who is a dragon. A dragon-dinosaur team-up is a cool link between the two disparate franchises. In the first issue, when the Transformers got sucked into My Little Pony world, Grimlock got left behind. Apparently, the little dragon dude got sent through the portal to him. This, in my opinion, was the stronger of the two stories, but I admit my judgment might be clouded by dinosaurs. The art was sharp and Grimlock’s dialogue was in keeping with his ‘me Grimlock’ lexicon. The story also had a nice message.
The second story featured an Autobot named Gauge (who I’ve only come to know through the IDW main comic series) joining a cooking show with a pony named Pinkie Pie. Being less familiar with Gauge and having no idea who Pinkie Pie is, I wasn’t able to connect as much with this story. It also seemed like a bit of a throwaway one shot, as opposed to advancing the story like the first story did. It did have some decent action and one of my favorite bad guys. The characters’ coloring (pink and blue) were a nice contrast, which made the back half of the issue pop.
As I mentioned in my review of Issue 1, this seems like a great way to sneak Transformers into a comic geared towards My Little Pony fans. The Transformers look like they should and generally are consistent with prior depictions of the characters. I can’t say whether this holds true for the ponies, but I did like the little dragon dude in this episode. This series is suitable for younger readers, with only mild cartoon violence, no cursing or scary parts. If you are cool going with the flow without knowing how this crazy mash up came to be, there’s no reason why you can’t start with issue two, especially if you know who Grimlock is.
MY LITTLE PONY/TRANSFORMERS #2 is now available.
Check back in a few weeks for my thoughts on MY LITTLE PONY/TRANSFORMERS #3
Are you going to pick up the issue? Have you already read it? Feel free to chat with me on Twitter or leave a comment below!
