Comic Review: Transformers/My Little Pony #3

Transformers/My Little Pony #3

IDW Comics

Writers: James Asmus, Sam Maggs

Artists: Priscilla Tramontano, Jack Lawrence

My Little Pony and Transformers. A crossover that probably shouldn’t work and yet it does. Not only that but this series has actually made a brony out of me. My Little Pony has spent such a long time just being this repetitive, bland show that never went anywhere. It’s why I never enjoyed it as a child. This series has convinced me otherwise though. These ponies can be fun and have interesting personalities. Now we’re on the penultimate issue with stories focusing on Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Will it maintain the quality of previous issues or will it crash and burn? Let’s dive in and find out.

As per usual, there are two stories in this issue. The first, “Pet Sounds”, features Fluttershy and Discord encountering Soundwave and his cassettes. I definitely enjoyed this issue. Fluttershy seemed a little more assertive than I’m used to in this story. That may be due to a development in the comics or the show that I’ve yet to see though. Discord was fun too but what I especially loved about this issue was Soundwave. All of the other stories involved the ponies helping an Autobot defeat a Decepticon. This one doesn’t. There is no heroic Autobot and the Decepticon isn’t really evil. It’s a story of a pony and a robot bonding over a mutual love of their pets. I love it for taking such a different route with the story.

The second story is titled, “The Flyin’ Fox Trot” and this is more of the usual stuff. Rainbow Dash encounters the Autobot called Windblade and after some bragging, they end up racing one another. Naturally, some Decepticons appear to cause trouble and the duo has to deal with this. It’s another fun story and the characters are written well but it’s hurt by coming after “Pet Sounds”. If this story started the issue then it wouldn’t be overshadowed so much by the Fluttershy tale. It’s certainly not bad though and I enjoyed reading it. It’s just the weaker of these two stories.

The art in both stories looks great. I’ve mentioned this in previous shows but the art fits the “My Little Pony” series so well. The characters look fantastic in it and the Transformers look great in this cartoonish, vibrant art style too. There are some brilliant details in the characters and backgrounds throughout these issues. Things like the interior and exterior of Fluttershy’s house and the little vents on Laserbeak’s back. They’re nice little touches that really help you immerse yourself in the story of this crossover.

Lettering is another positive for this issue. The usual bold letters highlighting keywords and phrases are there. You also get some great little touches throughout both stories. Things like sonic boom sound throughout the race in the second story really make it feel like serious competition. There’s also some nice onomatopoeia with the different animals Fluttershy looks after. Each makes a unique sound effect when Soundwave lands and scares them. Speaking of Soundwave, he has rectangular speech bubbles that look like they’re modeled on a tv screen. Lightning bolt symbols attach the bubbles to him and there’s static affecting the shape of those bubbles. It’s a great creative choice. Soundwave has such an electronic, emotionless voice in Transformers cartoons and this really gets that across in the text. The letterers really did a great job here.

In summary, this is a great issue and both stories included are brilliant. One is definitely more interesting than the other but that’s fine. Most comics containing multiple stories are like that. As a fan of Transformers, I’d highly recommend this. The MLP brand may put you off but the ponies are actually really fun and interesting. They add a lot to these stories and they’re good characters in their own right. As a recent fan of My Little Pony, I also recommend these. The numerous writers on this series are nailing the personalities of the MLP characters. They’re not just doing this crossover as a gimmick, there’s a real heart to this series. The first issue surprised me with how good it was and it hasn’t let up in terms of quality so far. There’s only one issue left but you should definitely give this series a try if you like either brand.