Friendship Is Magic Issue #5 Thread

[tacobob]

Looks like they already have previews for the next issue...

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2013/03/friendship-is-magic-5-preview-on-itunes.html

One of the covers.. "None shall pass!"

[SteelEagle]

I enjoy the style. It's very nice. I'd say it's even a bit more show-accurate than Price's while retaining great detail and style. Price's style may be more expressive, but that can sometimes bite you in the flank as well. So far, the art for the series has been awesome!

[tacobob]

I really like Price's style...At first I was kind of bummed that his team was only up for the first four issues...But I'm now really liking this artist as well. Would be nice to see some different styles pop up in these books..Would be even nicer to see a few fan artists pop up...I could see someone like Mad Maxx, or John Joseco do an issue or side-story....

[SteelEagle]

The art will continue to be amazing. The series is attracting some of IDW's very best.

[weesh]

Status: cautiously optimistic

Luna didn't have the presence she should have, or else she is royally freaked out and trying not to show it.

Rarity seemed similarly out of character.

It seems like a gimmick to get us to fear those creatures, but it is tough to take because terrified (and tied up) ponies are not "fun" to watch. The first series worked because the CMC were completely unafraid.

There is just too much that we don't know at this time. They have a great deal of power, but how much?

Someone had a comment on the Rainbow dash miniseries to the effect of "This reads like bad fan-fiction". It is too early to call this the same, but the thought came to mind.

The issue wasn't enjoyable, but it sets up the four issue series to be strong. If they can follow through.

[SteelEagle]

It was a solid 8/10 for me. Weesh is right in many regards, but most set-up stories follow this formula so it shouldn't come as a surprise. Art was good, most of the characterization was good. Lots of room for improvement, but set-up blues are commonplace. Very positive.

[Bellosh]

I'll rate this a 4/5 for the time being, but I'm not sure why Luna was drawn as her Season 1 self. That kinda threw me off.

[weesh]

...most set-up stories follow this formula so it shouldn't come as a surprise...

What formula do most stories follow? I thought I was describing deviations from standard formulas that made for a poor start.

I'll rate this a 4/5 for the time being, but I'm not sure why Luna was drawn as her Season 1 self. That kinda threw me off.

Oh weird. I hadn't noticed that.

[SteelEagle]

What formula do most stories follow? I thought I was describing deviations from standard formulas that made for a poor start.

Oh weird. I hadn't noticed that.

It's a fairly standard comic-book set-up device that I'm noticing at the start of arcs in a lot of comics I'm reading. If they're introducing something that hasn't been giving anything to jump off of in the previous arc or before, you see the same thing happen. It's an inferior method, but in the grand scheme of things, serves the plot.

[weesh]

Heh.

If they're introducing something that hasn't been giving anything to jump off of in the previous arc or before, you see the same thing happen.

You see what happen?

Characters acting out of character?

The tone taking a dive to the deep end?

[SteelEagle]

Heh.

You see what happen?

Characters acting out of character?

The tone taking a dive to the deep end?

That is symptomatic of a dramatic and sudden arc set-up. You have to force characters down a certain path to develop a certain plot for a certain arc, and if there gas been no set-up beforehand that this is going to happen...you have what you see in #5.

[starswirlthebearded]

Status: cautiously optimistic

Luna didn't have the presence she should have, or else she is royally freaked out and trying not to show it.

Rarity seemed similarly out of character.

It seems like a gimmick to get us to fear those creatures, but it is tough to take because terrified (and tied up) ponies are not "fun" to watch. The first series worked because the CMC were completely unafraid.

There is just too much that we don't know at this time. They have a great deal of power, but how much?

Someone had a comment on the Rainbow dash miniseries to the effect of "This reads like bad fan-fiction". It is too early to call this the same, but the thought came to mind.

The issue wasn't enjoyable, but it sets up the four issue series to be strong. If they can follow through.

As the person being quoted... I have to say, the thought did come to mind, but it wasn't NEARLY as bad as I felt in the Rainbow Dash Micro. At no point did I have to stop reading this because it was just that bad.

Steel has reflected my reasons for this. There are two sides to this story... The side of the mane 6 and the side of Luna. We only saw the lead up on one side of the story (I suspect because they want to limit info on the villain).

As for the CMC vs the ponies with fear here... I think that it might have been slightly overdone, but not much. Nightmares are usually primal or basal fears, and you can't fight those feelings. Couple that with the fact that the CMC knew who Chrysalis was and the ponies are dealing with the unknown (and there is a natural fear of the unknown, for referencing ponies and that... look no further than the very first episode with them going into the Everfree Forest) plus sleep deprivation. And I think you have a source of legitimate tension that the CMC wouldn't have had in the first series.

I do agree that the personalities felt a bit off. However I'll chalk that up to sleep deprivation for now. And Luna, as stated before, we don't know the lead up to that point on her side. If it is explained and makes sense I'll be fine, if not... well then... I'm not sure.

This has potential, so I'm optimistic. We'll see how it plays out.

[Motion Paradox]

I don't have my copy of the 5th issue but I did read a scan that somebody put up just over a week ago and I really enjoyed it.

First of all I've never really read American comic books, there have been a couple of series I've read that spin off of non-comic based franchises, but never anything with longer story arcs like this one. As such I don't know very much about comic tropes so I've enjoyed the book as it is without "I've seen it before" being an issue. Either way, visually the book is amazing. The artwork has both beautiful and adorable parts and I enjoyed how they told the story, it would be amazing if this ended up being made into an episode later on.

Though I don't understand the comment of Rarity being out of character through, she seemed fine to me (in fact, let's quickly take a look at everything she does in this)

-First we seeing her complaining about the nightmares she's been having like the others are and wearing a pair of sunglasses: We already know that appearances are important to her so it would make sense that if she hasn't been sleeping properly she would wear sunglasses to cover up the dark circles under her eyes, especially since a Pony's eyes take up most of her face.

-During the sleep over we see her forcing Rainbow Dash into having a makeover; Again this isn't really surprising, we saw her do this to Applejack during "Look Before You Sleep"

-During the nightmare sequence we see that her's relates to her friends abandoning her which some have speculated is why she was chosen, she's the only one that doubts her connection to her friends: Twilight's nightmare is that Princess Celestia won't be her teacher anymore which we've seen in numerous episodes as being a concern of her's but she would still have her friends supporting her, Applejack's is that she'll let her family down which again we've seen is an issue for her but again she would still have her friends, Fluttershy's is that her animal friends will run away from her but she would still have her pony friends, Rainbow Dash's is that she won't be able to join the Wonderblots or fly as well as she can but again she would still have her friends to support her and Pinkie's was that Ponies wouldn't find her funny (but then the one's she knows well would still care about her) while Rarity, if she lost her friends would only have her family and she doesn't seem to have the same depth of connection to them. And it does make sense that she would be concerned; one of her biggest faults is that she can't manage her priorities, she often starts out wanting to do the right thing but then ends up being side tracked and she frequently struggles with balancing what she wants to do with what she should do which causes her problems that the others often have to help her with. I could see how she would end up in a situation where she would think that they would get tired of her faults without realising that she has a number of good points that off set them and think that as soon as somepony who has her best traits without any of her faults that they would take her place.

-Finally her friends are confident that she'll be able to last waiting until they can rescue her and for the most part she is able to until she sees what her captors look like; if you recall in "Dog & Pony Show" we saw that she was capable of taking care of herself after being abducted by the diamond dogs and Rarity was confident that she could wait until her friends came to retrieve her until the Nightmares actually approached her. Which makes sense, in Dog & Pony Show if worst came to worst Rarity could have just used her magic to break off a stalagtite and knock the Diamond Dogs over the head, while the nightmares, first of all, don't seem to be solid and secondly probably have some sort of magical power which would make them much harder to take on (not to mention they are probably more intelligent than the Diamond Dogs were)

Personally the only concern I have is with the 3rd part's mention of Spike playing a role in saving the day, just because I wouldn't want this to end as a role reversed version of Secret Of My Excess. Mainly because it would feel more complete if the other girls helped to change her back; it would address the concerns that probably caused Rarity to be corrupted in the first place (because really, if your friends still try to save you when you're pocessed by evil forces you know they care about you). Compare having the friends you were sure would abandon you because of your faults come to rescue you resulting in your being changed back to normal to a 12 year old with a possibly one sided crush on you coming to save you while your friends are in the same general area but aren't with him

[weesh]

I do agree that the personalities felt a bit off. However I'll chalk that up to sleep deprivation for now.

Yes, my optimism is based in the hope that we learn why they were off, and that much of the strangeness is explained.

Though I don't understand the comment of Rarity being out of character through, she seemed fine to me (in fact, let's quickly take a look at everything she does in this)

You bring up good points, but note that even if it can't be explained, the fact that they felt wrong is enough to hurt the story. If you have to think about it to justify them not breaking character, then the author either failed, or has something planned and wanted to call attention to it. If it turns out to be important, great, it will redeem this issue.

The hardest parts of watching Rarity were the sweating, the cringing, clenching her eyes, and the unsteady voice. The whole last page didn't feel right. Her pose was beyond awkward, and being tied up wasn't necessary.

Since it is a new writer, it is more challenging to give the benefit of the doubt. If we had seen great characterization of the mane 6 and THEN this issue, it would be intriguing, rather than confusing.

[SunlightHeart]

That gravity falls reference.

But anyway, all in all it was a nice read. As an avid consumer or comics and books that tend to jump between creative teams im use to adjusting to different styles of delivery. So that aspect just isnt something I subtract points for.

[FrankT]

Am I to assume this takes place around Season 1 time?

[weesh]

Am I to assume this takes place around Season 1 time?

Are you basing that entirely off of the mane?

Is there any way that this could be before the nightmare night episode?

[FrankT]

Are you basing that entirely off of the mane?

Is there any way that this could be before the nightmare night episode?

Well... no, just a thought. ...alright, it was a stupid conclusion to jump to. Can I take it back?

[SteelEagle]

65 My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic 5 $3.99 IDW 36,354

[elsporko]

Nopony felt out of character to me.

I will agree it was not as good as the previous comics but it is a set up for the new story. It appears they are going to go from one adventure straight to the next which is going to lead to some awkwardness during the set up. If there is a comic with some downtime it makes it easier to ease into the new arc. You also have to consider that the ony comics we have had so far are the begining adventure which is going to have everything they could throw into it backing it up

[BaconofChaos]

Only just got around to reading it (stupid slow comic shop) and I enjoyed it. Not as much as previous issues, perhaps, but still good. The art was top-notch, as always, no one was out of character (IMO) and I could even overlook the random season 1 Luna. Yes, it was mostly just lead up to the rest of the story arc, but I felt it was entertaining on it's own.