My Little Pony Transformers Friendship in Disguise #1 Group Review
Transformation is Magic
Written by: James Asmus
Art by: Tony Fleecs
Colors by: Tony Fleecs and Lauren Perry
Lettered by: Jake M. Wood
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Shine Like a Diamond
Written by: Ian Flynn
Art by: Jack Lawrence
Colors by: Luis Antonio Delgado
Lettered by: Neil Uyetake
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Dear readers I’m about to share a little peek behind the CTG curtain! Friday nights are a big night for the team. No we’re not getting bottle service at the clubs or playing in a high stakes poker game in some crazy underground casino, we’re on Facebook calling dibs on the comics we want to review the following week!! One title that caught all our attention this week was My Little PonyTransformers Friendship in Disguise #1! We couldn’t give such a crazy concept title to just one reviewer. The only fair thing to do was a group review! We hope you enjoy our thoughts on this wacky crossover idea and please let us know on Twitter and Facebook what you thought of this unique title.
First up is Carlos who was intrigued immediately upon seeing the title on our review list. He couldn’t believe such a crossover existed. Find out if he chalks this one up as a cash grab or if he was pleasantly surprised by the fun of these two universes crossing over!
Carlos
In recent years we’ve seen a number of interesting crossovers like Green
Lantern/Star Trek, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and
Mars Attacks/Judge Dredd. However, My Little Pony Transformers Friendship in
Disguise is the first crossover title to make me do a double take. At first, it seemed so
absurd to have these universes collide, but the further I delved into this issue, the more I
found myself enjoying the story and thinking “wow, this is pretty fun!”
This issue is split into two stories, the first of which is Transformation is Magic
and details the events of what brings the Autobots and Decepticons to Equestria. The
opening scene to the story assures readers that the creators are aware of the
nonsensical crossover and to just sit back and enjoy the ride. James Asmus creates a
believable scenario that brings the Transformers to Equestria and delivers on making
this an amusing issue. Tony Fleecs and Lauren Perry design Cybertron and Equestria
to be different, but the color palettes used make them feel similar and lends greatly to
the animated feel of the story.
The second story of the issue, Shine Like a Diamond, is a great story by Ian
Flynn that brings together Autobot Arcee and Unicorn Rarity for a friendly team-up. I
loenjoved Rarity’s interactions with Starscream and Arcee and appreciated the
development of Rarity’s and Arcee’s friendship. I loved Neil Uyetake’s sound effects for
Arcee’s transformation and love how Uyetake and Jake M. Wood differentiate speech
patterns for the Transformers and Ponies. Lawrence and Delgado design this story for a
quick pace and the action scenes have a great flow.
My Little Pony Transformers Friendship in Disguise #1 sets out to provide an
entertaining story and wholly delivers. The stories move quickly but are highly enjoyable
and well thought out.
Score:
9/10
Next up is Wes, usually our resident Batman expert! He’s going to let you know whether you should lie or not to the comic shop whether this book is for you or for your kids!
Wes
So I have to be honest, when I first heard about this book I was sure it was just an
attempt by IDW to bring a couple of kids favorites together to try and make some quick cash but after reading this issue I realized it is “more than meets the eye”.
I ended up enjoying this issue so much more than I thought I would as a 31-year-old man and
I don’t care who knows it. It stays true to the two original franchises but it’s the
blend of the two that makes it so much fun. Right off rip the story attempts to
break the fourth wall and it makes fun of itself as well as comic fans by having the
ponies ask where a crossover event comic would even take place in continuity
and why crossovers like this shouldn’t exist in the first place.
The story does a great job of keeping readers of all ages entertained. It stays friendly enough for children to read but also has a few more suggestive tones for its older readers and
long-time fans of both franchises. The art is actually a lot better than I would have
imagined as well. The creative teams really put their all into delivering a
fun and fresh book that everyone could read and enjoy. If you are picking this issue up for
your kids, make sure you give it a read as well. If you are just telling the clerk
you are buying it for your kids but it’s for you, feel no shame because this is a fun read that all comic fans should give a chance!
=Wes Greer
Nick does not shy away from licensed comic characters but they usually tend to be part of the Buffyverse! He leaves his usual reading habits this week to jump on board this review! On our Facebook chat he seemed somewhat skeptical on the quality this issue would hold. Find out if his initial thoughts were right on or if he was pleasantly surprised!
Nick
When I read Transformers/My Little Pony were doing a crossover my brain stopped working. There was a does not compute moment where I couldn’t possibly comprehend how or why such a thing would exist. I had to read it.
The first page does a great job of describing the crossover. In it, a pony is reading a comic, which is a crossover between two comics within the My Little Pony world, and describing it as a nonsense crossover. A brief discussion of continuity pokes fun at comic fans, and the response it that’s it’s just supposed to be fun. Yes it’s nonsensical, and if you think about it too much your brain will hurt, but if you take it on face value you’ll have a good time.
The basic plot follows the dastardly Queen Chrysalis summoning changelings from another
dimension, which is where the Transformers come in. There is a certain amount of logic to it, and what follows is various team ups between the good guys and the bad guys, without any of that overdone misunderstandings between the good guys and inevitable fight between them. It’s a surprisingly fun and silly read, which is exactly the goal.
The art is classic My Little Pony, and in all honesty that’s probably the target market. It’s aimed at a younger generation anyway, who’ll take it at face value and have a good time.
Last up is one of our resident Marvel True Believers, Charles! Usually Charles only covers Marvel titles. Let’s see how this fantastical idea sat with him!
Charles
When your radar gets blipped with an absolutely insane premise, there's only one thing you can hope for when you open up the comic: That the creators attack the idea with a reasonable degree of sincerity.
The creative team behind Transformers/MLP #1 has certainly done that. When complementary technobabble/magic (a combination of a Cybertronian spacebridge and a spell from Queen Chrysalis) dumps a clutch of Transformers into Equestria, the characters waste no time aligning themselves along good and evil lines. Sweet characterization and thrilling conflict appear in nicely-balanced measure.
A sign of the creators' sincerity is some very solid art. The Ponies are clear and on-model, and the Transformers carry appreciable detail without clashing with their surroundings. Jack Lawrence's highly-detailed Arcee in the B-strip stands out in particular, carrying the combination of robo-intricacy and cartoony setting just as far as it can go.
While this introductory issue doesn't have the depth and profundity to sway an antagonistic reader, it's richly rewarding to one who's willing to play along. If you're a fan of either franchise and you don't find yourself inherently offended by the concept of the crossover, Transformers/MLP makes a nice little dessert to cap off your pull list.
8/10
Well there you have it 4 positive reviews with everyone pleasantly surprised on how much fun that was! Upon seeing the title the cynic in us all thought this was a ploy to merge two popular universes to get some fast cash. It turned out to be a wildly entertaining issue! We’re all looking forward to the rest and as Wes said no need to be shy about picking this one up! Let everyone in the shop proudly know it’s for you and encourage them to do the same. After all in 2020 we can all use every bit of fun we can get. We deserve it!
Written by: James Asmus
Art by: Tony Fleecs
Colors by: Tony Fleecs and Lauren Perry
Lettered by: Jake M. Wood
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Shine Like a Diamond
Written by: Ian Flynn
Art by: Jack Lawrence
Colors by: Luis Antonio Delgado
Lettered by: Neil Uyetake
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Dear readers I’m about to share a little peek behind the CTG curtain! Friday nights are a big night for the team. No we’re not getting bottle service at the clubs or playing in a high stakes poker game in some crazy underground casino, we’re on Facebook calling dibs on the comics we want to review the following week!! One title that caught all our attention this week was My Little PonyTransformers Friendship in Disguise #1! We couldn’t give such a crazy concept title to just one reviewer. The only fair thing to do was a group review! We hope you enjoy our thoughts on this wacky crossover idea and please let us know on Twitter and Facebook what you thought of this unique title.
First up is Carlos who was intrigued immediately upon seeing the title on our review list. He couldn’t believe such a crossover existed. Find out if he chalks this one up as a cash grab or if he was pleasantly surprised by the fun of these two universes crossing over!
Carlos
In recent years we’ve seen a number of interesting crossovers like Green
Lantern/Star Trek, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and
Mars Attacks/Judge Dredd. However, My Little Pony Transformers Friendship in
Disguise is the first crossover title to make me do a double take. At first, it seemed so
absurd to have these universes collide, but the further I delved into this issue, the more I
found myself enjoying the story and thinking “wow, this is pretty fun!”
This issue is split into two stories, the first of which is Transformation is Magic
and details the events of what brings the Autobots and Decepticons to Equestria. The
opening scene to the story assures readers that the creators are aware of the
nonsensical crossover and to just sit back and enjoy the ride. James Asmus creates a
believable scenario that brings the Transformers to Equestria and delivers on making
this an amusing issue. Tony Fleecs and Lauren Perry design Cybertron and Equestria
to be different, but the color palettes used make them feel similar and lends greatly to
the animated feel of the story.
The second story of the issue, Shine Like a Diamond, is a great story by Ian
Flynn that brings together Autobot Arcee and Unicorn Rarity for a friendly team-up. I
loenjoved Rarity’s interactions with Starscream and Arcee and appreciated the
development of Rarity’s and Arcee’s friendship. I loved Neil Uyetake’s sound effects for
Arcee’s transformation and love how Uyetake and Jake M. Wood differentiate speech
patterns for the Transformers and Ponies. Lawrence and Delgado design this story for a
quick pace and the action scenes have a great flow.
My Little Pony Transformers Friendship in Disguise #1 sets out to provide an
entertaining story and wholly delivers. The stories move quickly but are highly enjoyable
and well thought out.
Score:
9/10
Next up is Wes, usually our resident Batman expert! He’s going to let you know whether you should lie or not to the comic shop whether this book is for you or for your kids!
Wes
So I have to be honest, when I first heard about this book I was sure it was just an
attempt by IDW to bring a couple of kids favorites together to try and make some quick cash but after reading this issue I realized it is “more than meets the eye”.
I ended up enjoying this issue so much more than I thought I would as a 31-year-old man and
I don’t care who knows it. It stays true to the two original franchises but it’s the
blend of the two that makes it so much fun. Right off rip the story attempts to
break the fourth wall and it makes fun of itself as well as comic fans by having the
ponies ask where a crossover event comic would even take place in continuity
and why crossovers like this shouldn’t exist in the first place.
The story does a great job of keeping readers of all ages entertained. It stays friendly enough for children to read but also has a few more suggestive tones for its older readers and
long-time fans of both franchises. The art is actually a lot better than I would have
imagined as well. The creative teams really put their all into delivering a
fun and fresh book that everyone could read and enjoy. If you are picking this issue up for
your kids, make sure you give it a read as well. If you are just telling the clerk
you are buying it for your kids but it’s for you, feel no shame because this is a fun read that all comic fans should give a chance!
=Wes Greer
Nick does not shy away from licensed comic characters but they usually tend to be part of the Buffyverse! He leaves his usual reading habits this week to jump on board this review! On our Facebook chat he seemed somewhat skeptical on the quality this issue would hold. Find out if his initial thoughts were right on or if he was pleasantly surprised!
Nick
When I read Transformers/My Little Pony were doing a crossover my brain stopped working. There was a does not compute moment where I couldn’t possibly comprehend how or why such a thing would exist. I had to read it.
The first page does a great job of describing the crossover. In it, a pony is reading a comic, which is a crossover between two comics within the My Little Pony world, and describing it as a nonsense crossover. A brief discussion of continuity pokes fun at comic fans, and the response it that’s it’s just supposed to be fun. Yes it’s nonsensical, and if you think about it too much your brain will hurt, but if you take it on face value you’ll have a good time.
The basic plot follows the dastardly Queen Chrysalis summoning changelings from another
dimension, which is where the Transformers come in. There is a certain amount of logic to it, and what follows is various team ups between the good guys and the bad guys, without any of that overdone misunderstandings between the good guys and inevitable fight between them. It’s a surprisingly fun and silly read, which is exactly the goal.
The art is classic My Little Pony, and in all honesty that’s probably the target market. It’s aimed at a younger generation anyway, who’ll take it at face value and have a good time.
Last up is one of our resident Marvel True Believers, Charles! Usually Charles only covers Marvel titles. Let’s see how this fantastical idea sat with him!
Charles
When your radar gets blipped with an absolutely insane premise, there's only one thing you can hope for when you open up the comic: That the creators attack the idea with a reasonable degree of sincerity.
The creative team behind Transformers/MLP #1 has certainly done that. When complementary technobabble/magic (a combination of a Cybertronian spacebridge and a spell from Queen Chrysalis) dumps a clutch of Transformers into Equestria, the characters waste no time aligning themselves along good and evil lines. Sweet characterization and thrilling conflict appear in nicely-balanced measure.
A sign of the creators' sincerity is some very solid art. The Ponies are clear and on-model, and the Transformers carry appreciable detail without clashing with their surroundings. Jack Lawrence's highly-detailed Arcee in the B-strip stands out in particular, carrying the combination of robo-intricacy and cartoony setting just as far as it can go.
While this introductory issue doesn't have the depth and profundity to sway an antagonistic reader, it's richly rewarding to one who's willing to play along. If you're a fan of either franchise and you don't find yourself inherently offended by the concept of the crossover, Transformers/MLP makes a nice little dessert to cap off your pull list.
8/10
Well there you have it 4 positive reviews with everyone pleasantly surprised on how much fun that was! Upon seeing the title the cynic in us all thought this was a ploy to merge two popular universes to get some fast cash. It turned out to be a wildly entertaining issue! We’re all looking forward to the rest and as Wes said no need to be shy about picking this one up! Let everyone in the shop proudly know it’s for you and encourage them to do the same. After all in 2020 we can all use every bit of fun we can get. We deserve it!
A Look Inside
