Let's Review: Camp Bighoof #1

Attention campers! It's time for the review part of the day.

The Friendship Fellowship (Yes, I'm calling them that now) are counselors at a camp and might not survive their first round.

Check out the full review with some spoilers after the break!

So here we are, at the start of another adventure! The Friendship Fellowship has left Maritime Bay behind and are seeking the great outdoors. The great, pink and green outdoors!

For pink-ish mountains, majesty!

Today's comic features a different artist/colorist team than usual. Artist Kate Sherron provides the artwork while Reggie Graham creates the colors. It's hard to distinguish each's contribution because so much of this comic relies on visual contrast combined with surreal landscapes. Even the ponies themselves feature angular elements in their expression and movements.

The hills are alive with the sound of Hitch!

The camp setting features implied trees that are ovals with perpendicular branches and trunks, colored pink so as to stand out from other greenery. Vertical structures like cliffsides bend towards the lead characters, providing a line that draws the eye towards the intended attention. Every panel is bursting with colors, making sure to contrast background elements against the main focus. In particular, a campfire scene makes sure to include a heavy emphasis on blues, greens, and violet before giving way to absolute black. But sometimes the blackened foreest will have an almost neon-green outline to add definition even in the dark.

That horn looks more like a brain spike.

With the ponies, this surreal look can be more a challenge. The characters have some very stiff poses and their mouths are often presented as triangles with the hypotenuse angling towards the chin. Bet you didn't expect geometry to be a part of this review, did ya? The ponies also feature colored line art, which I find often blends them more with the background than intended. It can be hard to feel them standing out in a scene if they aren't set against a high-contrast background. Fortunately, Graham's color style offers ample options but there are times where the characters are getting swallowed by their surroundings.

Funny how when I take away the color,

the colt still stands out.

Ultimately, I consider this a visual experience for the sheer array of colors, but take away that feature and the character models can look off or suffer too static a pose. This comic is relying very heavily on a surrealist experience to keep people entertained.

White stands out on almost any background,

so Zipp's prominence is assured!

Story wise, we are presented with each mare leading a team of campers while Hitch serves as the camp manager. I'm glad for this because Hitch is often presented as a reactive character. It's nice to see him setting the stage and taking a leadership role when required. He guides the activities and knows when to shut down scary story time. Although he's not the stand-out character for this chapter, he is doing a good job without any fretting or hysterics.

Welcome to your future nightmare, campers!

It's also interesting to note the various teams' compositions. With the exception of Zipp, the various groups are a mixture of the pony races. The Friendship Fellowship seem to be trying to integrate the three tribes even further by making sure the foals all get to interact at an early age. Emphasis goes to a young colt who seems unenthused at first; wishing for home. Fitting that he is in Sunny's "Shooting Stars" team, which will talk about more shortly.

Nopony knows the trouble I've seen!

Nopony knows but Sunny!

This does beg the question of why Zipp's team is comprised entirely of pegasi. Rather than an effort at exclusion, I think it has more to do with Zipp getting some unofficial princess training. She has to mentor several young fliers, which could be a lead up to her eventual stewardship of Zephyr Heights. She may not realize this given that teaching young fliers will likely distract her from the larger implication. I think it would be hilarious of Queen Haven asked Hitch to arrange this without Zipp's knowledge.

I'm gonna give the creativity award to Zipp.

Only she found a way to fully integrate her cutie mark into her name!

That scary story time revolves around the legend of Bighoof/Bridlesquach/the Zeti, a being of mystery that appears in all three tribes' mythology. It's quickly established that each breed has its own version of this myth. Of course, this being Equestria, we know it's no myth.

Sunny's sense of worth is crushed further every moment.

This does bring up the concept of parallel myths, which we witness in the real world. Mythology is a story of people trying to make sense of the world. The unexplained takes on elements of the fantastic, and we populate the unknown with beings the represent our own desires, urges, and ideals. Carl Jung and people who follow his school of thought put a great deal of energy into comparing mythologies from across different cultures and noting the similarities. It isn't uncommon to find a myth of a world flood. A creation myth that often figures the death or dismemberment of a diety. Bighoof is a variant of the Wild Man; a archetypal figure who represents a connection to the unknown wilderness that modern people in urban environments have lost.

It's simultaneously a dangerous but appealing figure. A connection to the natural world in both its beauty and brutality. We often depict these Wild ~~Men~~ Beings as elusive figures that shun contact with the civilized world, or take up violence against it. They are primal figures, as depicted by the roar that startles the campers.

The Wild Being can also be a guide or mentor in the wild. Several stories depict their knowledge of medicinal plants and herbs, and their efforts to protect a wild environment. Even the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series has featured several such depictions. My guess is that this Bighoof will be a more benevolent figure than hostile. It's just very vocal.

Forget "Bigfoot".

Look at the size of that mouth!

If there's a standout member of the group, I think to goes to Sunny. This is as welcome a presentation as a confident, organized Hitch. Since unifying the three tribes, Sunny seems to have taken a back seat to the other ponies' ambitions. Just look at the most recent set of specials and ask who was the lead character. I would point to Zipp and Pipp, with a strong support by Izzy. Sunny has perpetually struggled with the question of "What now?" after becoming an infrequent alicorn.

Sunny stands out more with color.

But that colt is still center focus.

So it's gratifying to see her reach out to the hesitant colt and help him feel more at ease within the group. She is showing her drive as a community leader. However, we also see that she is still blinded by her ideal of magic's restoration. A moment's reflection would tell her that practicing magic requires a safe area. Instead, she has her team practice their various skills in a narrow passage and accidentally sparks the larger conflict.

Uh oh. They're going for form over fuction.

Rarity would be proud!

Though this conflict seems to have a very artificial feel. The ponies claim that they are trapped even though the pegasus members could easily fly the foals to safety and bring back help for the adults. Or Sunny could become an alicorn and likely save everyone. We'll see next month if there's a further reason why the obvious solution isn't available.

Anyone else remembering that

Fluttershy meme from "Bridle Gossip"?

For now, this is a visually interesting introduction. A little light on story but it's setting up for more elements later. Give it a look and see if the style appeals to you.

I'm Silver Quill. Thanks for reading!

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