My Little Pony: Friends Forever, Vol. 9 (MLP Friends Forever)

If there's one great tragedy about this book, it's that it concludes a comic series that didn't deserve to end. Whereas the main series of IDW "MLP" comics have greatly fluctuated in quality, "Friends Forever" managed to maintain a fairly consistent level of artistic merit. Maybe it was because FF had a more dependable formula in its team-up premise, while also providing enough room for the characters to really interact with one another. Every issue was quick and to the point, avoiding the pitfalls the main series sometimes had with dragging stories on for too long. Regardless, “Friends Forever” is over, and the best thing the writers could do is provide a satisfactory conclusion. Fortunately for us, they most certainly did. Not a single story in this collection flops; some are a bit mediocre or even fail in their central premises, but all were very entertaining to read and explore. For ease of categorization, it’s easier to just go through each issue:----- FF #34 (Pinkie Pie & Cheese Sandwich): Pinkie Pie gets swallowed by a living house, finding her equally-goofy acquaintance Cheese Sandwich and a few other fillies trapped inside. Now, they must all work together to escape and stop the house before it captures anypony else. One of the best things about this issue is that it mixes comedy (Pinkie and Cheese’s silly shenanigans in the house) and tragedy (how the house came to be a monster) to such great effect. The story works as a funny adventure that the intended audience will enjoy, but also as an adult exploration of just much people are willing to do to repeat the happiness of the past, even at the expense of others’ happiness. It’s one of best examples of the IDW comics matching (or maybe even exceeding) the main show’s quality.----- FF #35 (Twilight Sparkle & Starlight Glimmer): Main character Twilight and her pupil Starlight Glimmer visit the Castle of the Two Sisters, ostensibly to tidy it up some after years of disrepair. However, their distrust in one another starts to make an ancient power in the castle regain its strength, and it doesn’t like trespassers… Though there have been plenty of episodes in the show that do examine Twilight and Starlight’s relationship (particularly “No Second Prances” in Season 6), this comic is the first one that really looks at how the two would have difficulty working with each other, given their previous hostility in Season 5. It’s a tad simplistic in terms of the story, but it works at showing the conflict. The one downside is Jay Fosgitt’s art, which really makes the characters and environments look too squishy and cartoony for their own good. If you can look past this, it’s a relatively decent issue.----- FF #36 (Rainbow Dash & Soarin): Rainbow Dash finds her winter holiday interrupted by her Wonderbolt commander Spitfire, who tasks her with finding and retrieving her AWOL squadmate Soarin. Dash soon finds him at a remote mountain lodge, but discovers Soarin might have deeper problems than simple fatigue. This comic’s greatest strength is that it examines what Dash’s relationship with another one of her Wonderbolt comrades, and it really shows how close she is to them. This hasn’t always been shown very well on the TV show, but this comic makes it clear that they are very much her friends and partners. It’s also interesting to see the story largely driven by Soarin’s own insecurities than any tangible monster or threat. This makes the story feel more grounded (ironic, given both characters can fly) and more like a character study. Soarin’s never really been a particularly interesting character to me personally, but Christina Rice really makes him a sympathetic and intriguing stallion.----- FF #37 (Rarity and Trixie): Rarity goes to Manehattan to help Sapphire Shores with her upcoming concert. However, she finds Trixie working with Sapphire as well, and must overcome her previous enmity with the mare in order to make the concert run smoothly. On the one hand, this is definitely the worst comic of this collection. Not only is the premise inherently flawed (Rarity already got over her hostility with Trixie in the “Manehattan Mysteries” arc in the main series), but it relies too much on accentuating Rarity’s negative traits to make Trixie completely blameless for the ensuing events (e.g. constantly ignoring Trixie during concert preparations). Anybody who has seen the show knows Trixie is FAR from perfect, and it just feels dishonest to portray her as a pure victim. That being said, what saves the issue is the interactions between Rarity and Trixie. Both are notorious drama queens, and combining them together just makes hilarity occur on every page. Throwing Sapphire Shores in the mix also makes things sillier (my favorite bit: “It is time for you to see the work of…THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!” “So it’s ready for a dress rehearsal then?”), and the three of them definitely make this entertaining to read. The story may be subpar due to the inherently flawed premise, but there’s no denying that it’s funny to experience.----- FF #38 (Princess Celestia and Princess Luna): The grand finale of the series, this comic focuses on the titular rulers of Equestria finally getting fed up with one another and deciding to spend some time apart. However, the Sisterhooves Social is coming up, and the two must reconcile before their shenanigans cause too much mayhem for their subjects. The biggest weakness of this comic is the insertion of the butler character Kibitz (who most would remember from the Micro-Series Issue #10 and the Reflections Arc). While not a bad character per se, he definitely feels like a third wheel in a story that should be focusing on the two sisters. This becomes less of a problem towards the middle and end of the comic, where the story drops him, but his inclusion at the beginning definitely drags the story down. With that in mind, the comic definitely delivers as a fitting grand finale for “Friends Forever”. The story is simultaneously silly and heartwarming, with the sister’s pettiness towards each other leading to things like a 100 foot possum and Celestia thinking she's a chicken (long story). There’s also a certain satisfaction in seeing the two leaders being the central point for the first time in the series (something that wouldn’t happen in the TV show until Season 7’s “A Royal Problem”). They’re the biggest side characters, so they deserved to have the final say. And what they say definitely shows why everypony in this series will be “friends forever”.

I bought for my niece and she love it

Great!