Well, IDW snuck this up on me with little preview or fanfare. But no comic shall go without review!
Let's see how MLP handles some of the darker tones of this more modernized fairy tale. Walk the spoiler-bricked road after the break!
Today's comic has a few shockers. Not necessarily linked to the original story, but Jeremy Whitley casting characters in the most bizarre roles while continuing the fourth wall breakage. This time, the fourth wall humor doesn't demand that the story stop for them to address the issue, but rather has fun with the casting and quickly continues the story. For we are in the section that is the book's most famous elements and darkest ideas.
This is not one of those dark moments.
So adorable!
Next we have the appearance of some griffons, whose beaks seem to be more prominently displayed than pony muzzles. For some reason, their beaks lend themselves to a more three-dimensional suggestion than the flattened features we see on the mane cast.
I guess having the beak be presented as separate from the body grants
a sense of freedom to shape it.
Then there's the greatest surprise: a G5 cameo that looks completely off-model due to the size of her noggin! All of this art really drives home that Ayoub's style can work with a variety of characters, but My Little Pony is that one show that doesn't quite match up. This depiction of Sunny really drives the point home. Proportions are like proper spelling. We only realize it when an error takes place. Otherwise, it's taken for granted. Here, Sunny's head is so small and lacking depth that it makes the rest of her proportions absurd. A slightly larger head would at least help the overall composition. But perhaps the biggest artistic hurdle is a celebrated villain.
Dear God, Sunny... What have they done to you.
How often has Queen Chrysalis shown up in the comics and not been drawn by Andy Price? In the multitude of issues, I can only recount three times. The first was Guardians of Harmony by Jay Fosgitt. Two other instances by Tony Fleecs in Friendship in Disguise crossover with the Transformers. Anytime else, Price has rendered Chrysalis as feral monster. All fangs and snarls that emphasized a beastial nature with an insatiable hunger. It feels unfair to expect that from Ayoub given a very strong stylistic difference. Chrysalis is depicted much the same as the ponies. A few indents to suggest holes and a strange eyepatch on her right side. Otherwise, she's not much different from our core cast.
Pick your favorite!
Make no mistake, we have a full cast. With the Cowardly Lion/Fluttershy now a part of the team, it's off to see the Unicorn! The cover may give it away, but we're not yet at the part where we can peek behind the curtain. Instead, this issue is all about the journey. We get a great deal more hardships before the group on their way than in most visual adaptations. The first being the aforementioned Kalidahs: beings with tiger heads and bear bodies. But with Diamond Dog cores to help bring the idea back to MLP. In the original story, the Tin Woodsman chops a log serving as a bridge and sends the Kalidahs plummeting to their deaths. Of course, we can't share that here so Tin Rarity simply dissuades them with a mild threat.
Rarity makes even death threats look classy.
We also have a section of the story that emphasizes that shortcuts are often treacherous in the form of a poppy field that puts half the party to sleep. It's only thanks to the aid of the mice that the group is able to stay together and overcome these challenges. In fact, many of their successes are due to smaller animals helping, thus emphasizing both the power of a group–no matter how small–and a respect for the natural world. We also get hints that the Unicorn of Odd takes on many forms and rarely sees visitors. Thus we reach the part where the group meets the Unicorn individually.
I get the sense that Rarity would have liked this version.
The task is direct: kill the last wicked witch/princess. Of course, Chrysalis isn't taking this lying down, so she sends any number of obstacles against the group. Each member of team gets to show their best in overcoming one of these odds until they are confronted by the Flying Wonderbolt Monkeys. A great dig against the team than any I could imagine and Rainbow Dash knows it.
Sorry, Rainbow. All the other roles are taken.
This is where the book and the movie differ the greatest. Instead of being the Witch's defacto servants, the Winged Monkies are a very special and powerful force that can only be summoned three times via a magical cap. They tear the Scarecrow to shreds, dash the Tin Woodsman into a scapped mess, and whisk the remainder away to the Witch. Of course, MLP avoids that much brutality until the latter seasons. Melty Twilight and petrified Cozy Glow can attest to this.
I'm not really feeling the intimidation.
In the book, Dorothy endures several days as the Wicked Witch's endentured servant until she gets so fed up that she throws water on the hag, leading to the famous death. As mucha as L. Frank Baum claimed he wanted to create a story that retired the classic fairy tale villains and their gruesome fate, it seems Witches can't catch a break. This particular depiction is a much faster chain of events with less suffering for Dorothy-Jack and far more meta commentary.
Hey! Leave the nitpicking to me!
It's all I got.
Even Dorothy-Jack wonders what can be accomplished with another full issue to go, but the Wicked Witch wasn't a big factor in the actual book. There is a great deal of resolution to go through. Especially restoring the party to health. I find that this issue handles the fourth wall humor much better than others. Mostly because the scenes don't call for a full stop to the story and instead move it forward with meta commentary along the way. The surprise cameos–while the art style might not do justice–are still fun. I would consider this the strongest entry in the series so far.
Most adorable threat!
We've got one more issue in store and then the year closes out. Let's see if this can go out on a high note. I'm Silver Quill. Thanks for reading!
Imagine if this was the last sound you made
before shuffling off this mortal coil.
