I’m a bit behind on my comics reviews, aren’t I? Let’s see how many I can get out of the way.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #1

You can’t really call me a Brony. I’ve watched the new “My Little Pony” cartoon, and I think it’s clever and funny and entertaining, but I haven’t gotten into it like a lot of people have. Still, I heard from a lot of folks that the new MLP comic book looked like a winner, so I picked it up.

I’m going to assume that you have some familiarity with the show. Because if you don’t, well, dadgummit, I don’t have time to explain all of this stuff. Sorry ’bout that.

The story begins with a group of young ponies who are trying to figure out how to get their own cutie marks (small magical tattoos related to interests, hobbies, or professions) when they’re suddenly attacked by unseen, menacing creatures. The next day, we finally meet up with our main characters, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Spike, who first discover that the younger ponies have become emotionless, unenthusiastic zombies — and then that almost everypony has been similarly transformed. The culprits are quasi-demonic changelings, and the friends may have to discover a solution to the problem all by themselves.

Verdict: I’ll thumbs it up — the story and art by Katie Cook and Andy Price are just fine, with lots of funny character moments and background gags. I probably won’t be picking up more of these, though — like I said, I’m not a brony, and while I think this was a nice comic, I’m not interested enough to keep reading…

FF #1

Well, it looks like the Fantastic Four are going on a working vacation — they’ll be gone for a year, but for the rest of the Earth, it will seem that they’ll be gone for only four minutes. And because Planet Earth can’t handle the Fantastic Four being gone for even four minutes, they’ve decided to recruit some replacements for the Future Foundation for those four minutes. So Reed Richards recruits Scott Lang, Ant-Man, Sue Richards calls in Medusa of the Inhumans, Ben Grimm invites the She-Hulk, and Johnny Storm completely forgets that he has to recruit anyone, so he picks his latest bedmate, socialite actress Darla Deering. Most of the rest of the issue focuses on the underage members of the Future Foundation to explain who they are and what the FF means to them.

Verdict: Thumbs up. It’s a completely idiotic premise, but Matt Fraction’s writing carries it, and Michael Allred’s artwork pushes it over the top. I enjoyed it, I really did, even with the ridiculous egotism that the Fantastic Four, which travels to other planets and other dimensions almost constantly, suddenly believes that the world will end if they’re gone for less than five minutes.

Love and Capes: What to Expect #4

This issue has a lot of emphasis on a couple other than Abby and Mark — namely, Darkblade and Amazonia. Her mother had a stroke, which makes Amazonia the Queen of Leandia, her other-dimensional homeworld, at least temporarily. Amazonia, in fact, doesn’t want to be the Queen, but has no choice, and as long as she’s the Queen, she’s not allowed to go off-world at all, which makes her relationship with Darkblade problematical. Meanwhile, Abby’s bookstore is having financial troubles, Amazonia’s sister, Oriana, is assigned to take over her superhero duties, and the Spencers are enjoying making plans for baby showers.

Verdict: Thumbs up. Good funny stuff, lots of great characterization, all the wonderful stuff we’ve come to expect from the “Love and Capes” comics.

Today’s Cool Links:

I’m still thinking a lot about the end of City of Heroes, so here’s some more links about the best dang superhero MMO ever.

• Real World Heroes is a charity created by and for City of Heroes players, supporting four worthy organizations. I think it’d be great if they had their best year ever. Would you consider donating to them?
• A team of friends finishes one of the biggest task forces in City of Heroes mere seconds before the servers are shut down. Watch the video and be amazed.
• Champions Online competed with City of Heroes, but Cryptic Studios created both games. Champions had their own excellent statement of support after CoH was closed down.