Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writer: Thom Zahler
Artist: Tony Fleecs
Release Date: 21st May 2014

Bollocks. I knew this was going to happen. It’s time to come clean, there’s been a running joke among the reviewers here in BCP Towers that you’re not ‘legit’ until you’ve reviewed a MLP book, not because it’s bad, but because everyone goes into it with their own preconceptions and ends up coming out enjoying it. And, well, I fell into exactly the same trap.

I’ve known for a while about the phenomenon of MLP and it’s fan base that seems to range from little girls to fully grown adult males. Upon reading the book, it’s easy to see why. Its bright, colourful art is pleasing to the eye and Tony Fleecs has managed to make the anatomy of the animals seem unhumanoid so as to make it more realistic(?).

While the humour of the book airs more towards the lighter side of life (as it should, because at the end of the day, this is an all-ages book) I can still see there being enough here to keep the parental amused while reading with their kid. From the offset, I found myself genuinely laughing at the main joke of the book, which is that Fluttershy can now all of a sudden talk to animals. I mean why would a yellow and pink talking Pony be able to talk to other animals?!

The downsides of the book are few, but the constant rhyming got a little irritating after a while and, if I’m being honest, it’s just not my kind of thing. For an all ages book, I’ve read a lot worse, however, not much that were better. It’s something that I definitely feel I could get behind if I had kids or young children in the family, as it did have a solid overall narrative and even though I didn’t necessarily like it myself, the rhyming would definitely be appealing to a younger audience as it gives the book a nice ‘Dr Seuss’ feel to it.

Rating: 3/5.

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The writer of this piece was: Chris Bennett
Article: And Now For Something Completely Different
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