IDW Bridlewoodstock Special!

[ZakuConvoy]

Previously, on My Little Pony...

If the Dreamlands were Jem and the Holograms, what would their Misfits be called? The Bit Players? The Destriers of Tambelon? The Draughts? The Fizzies? The Estates?

And now, some cover bands will play their version of Bridlewoodstock!

Fair warning: This takes place right in the middle of the Make Your Mark Bridlewoodstock episode. I don't think this issue will make ANY sense unless you've seen that episode first.

So, how is it? It's solid enough.

I think the most divisive part of this special will be the art. It's very stylized and simple...but I think it fits the 60s hippie vibe they're going for with Bridlewoodstock. It kind of feels like a old indie comic in places...in a good way! The crowd scenes FEEL like they should be full of references, but I don't think they are, which is a bit of a missed opportunity. Still, it's done well enough.

The writing's solid. This is basically a anthology where we kind of weave our way through a few different stories. And this is slight spoilers, but this special mostly focuses on background ponies. Who we've never seen before, and will most likely never see again. That might disappoint some people, but I think they did a good enough job with what they were trying to do. While I don't think any of these new ponies will end up being new favorites, they don't overstay their welcome either. This is just a nice slice of life story, kind of "behind the scenes" of the main Bridlewoodstock Make Your Mark special RIGHT before the main show on stage starts.

But, is it worth the higher $6 cover price? Eh...meh? We do get more pages, but I feel like they could have trimmed this up a bit and got it to be $4. It's not like this is something that MUST be extra-sized. Just trim up the stories here and there or cut one out, and we could live with a lower price. I don't regret buying it, but unless you MUST have every IDW MLP issue, this isn't exactly a must-buy either.

So...I give this a soft recommendation. It's good, but only if you can stomach that higher price tag.

Spoiler

We have a new band in this issue. The Hoofpicks, which seems to be a metal or grunge band. Apparently, a few OTHER bands are taking part in this show, in this version of the story. I'm sure this is a reference to some real-life band, but it's lost on me.

We have a new term to throw onto the pile of "vaguely-defined unicorn magic terms", alongside sparkle and luminescence. This time, Izzy mentions "Frequency", which seems to be..."vibes" or something. The energy a pony gives off while interacting with other people and things, kind of going along with their mood.

Rocky seems to be getting in on some meta-fun, holding a lightbulb above Izzy's head for her to get a idea. I kind of wish more stuff like that happened in the issue.

A fan of the Hoofpicks won't stop arguing with a fan of Electric Blue. Just kiss already! This is kind of relatable, really. I do wonder what this "nocturnas" she mentions is, though? I don't remember that from anything MLP before. Is that a reference to the band, Nocturnus? I only found that while googling.

Oh, and we get another band, The Foals. Again, my lack of musical knowledge fails me. I have no idea who these guys are supposed to be.

Pipp seems a lot more stressed out in this version of the story, just from making sure everything's running correctly. They don't even mention the problem with the headliners, here. The sweat beads are what helps sell it. This is a version of Pipp I could believe shrugging off the warnings about the Troggles, if only because she has too much else to worry about.

"Oh well, at least nothing else can go wrong, right?" "Oooh...let me tell you about a little something called speaking too soon" Heh, Izzy's pretty good in this issue.



Sparky's really enjoying those chips. He's really savoring every bite and just chillaxing.

A Troggle steals Pipp's microphone and Sparky must get it back! It's kind of weird that Pipp let that out of her sight, she loves that thing.

Apparently, even a red-mane on a pony is able to draw in a Troggle, making it think about rubies. This turns out to be Cherry of the Hoofpicks a little bit later. It's a nice touch that we get to see these stories criss-cross a little as the stories go on throughout the issue. We see some characters in the background from previous stories in the issue. It's a nice touch.

Heh, and Sparky's (-_-) deadpan face is pretty great. I like this version of Sparky. He's got a little bit more attitude. And he's a little more independent. Can we keep THIS version of Sparky around?



Oh, and we get to actually MEET the Hoofpicks, too. And one of them lost their voice (how could THAT have happen...you've already guessed, haven't you?)

And Zipp is called to solve the case of the missing voice! I...really don't know what they expect her to do here? At most, I would think they would assume she just blew out her voice practicing or she caught a cold. Zipp really can't do much.

"T-Minus 22 Minutes" "...Why's it worded like that?" There's a BOMB in the festival! (Not really...although, I COULD see this band rigging up pyrotechnics for their show) Although, that is a VERY specific neon sign. They must have had that custom made.

Pipp doesn't get this band's style of music and...is almost happy that the main singer lost her voice. Kind of mean, Pipp!

Oh, and...they just so happen to have a ruby necklace just lying around. That's...something all right. I mean, expensive jewels are common as GRAVEL in this world, but still.

Oh, and this is a interesting bit of detail the comic gives us. Apparently, the Troggles go INSIDE the rubies and fall asleep? I...don't think that was the case the the MYM special, but maybe something got cut for time along the way?



And one last story about a pony waiting in line to buy merch, and keeping her friend waiting. That's it. The line doesn't move for 10 hours. Maybe realistic, but *I* probably would have given up after the first 3. And Sunny gives her some good advice...even though she is HOURS late.

"We've forgotten the taste of fries. The sound of music. Our own names!" "...It's been 30 minutes" I like that they mentioned the fries.

Her friend still saves her a place in the front of the stage for her. She's a good friend.



And the issue just...stops right before the Troggles attack. So, yeah, just 4 little slice of life stories in this one.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

Writing was fine. It's not essential stuff, but the Bridlewoodstock special is thin enough that these little additions are welcome. Sparky was an unexpected star here.

But holy mother of God the art. It is really not okay that they are charging money for this. I know times are tough at IDW but this is not professional quality work.

 

[ZakuConvoy]

...Someone else actually read a IDW issue other than me...it's been so long *sobs*

Writing was fine. It's not essential stuff, but the Bridlewoodstock special is thin enough that these little additions are welcome. Sparky was an unexpected star here.

Yeah, the writing is actually a little more structurally ambitious than some of the main issues, with the various stories weaving in and out of each other. I...don't really remember any of the characters they created, but they're all fine and I don't mind any of them. I guess the Hoofpicks are the ones with the most "growth" potential, if they were to show up again.

There is some fanart of Cherry and Ellie from the Hoofpicks, so they are getting SOME love from the fans:

#3155707 - safe, artist:uotapo, idw, cherry (g5), ellie lane, human, equestria girls, g4, g5, bag, belt, bracelet, choker, clothes, duo, ear piercing, earring, equestria girls-ified, female, g5 to equestria girls, g5 to g4, generation leap, grin, jew

#3155707 - safe, artist:uotapo, idw, cherry (g5), ellie lane, human, equestria girls, g4, g5, bag, belt, bracelet, choker, clothes, duo, ear piercing, earring, equestria girls-ified, female, g5 to equestria girls, g5 to g4, generation leap, grin, jewelry, necklace, nonbinary, pants, piercing...

derpibooru.org

And, I liked Sparky, here, too. It's nice that he gets to do something that isn't tied to being "the baby".

But holy mother of God the art. It is really not okay that they are charging money for this. I know times are tough at IDW but this is not professional quality work.

I DID say the art would be the most divisive part of the issue. It's not exactly "nice" to look at. There aren't any scenes that you can really show off on their own. None of the art wowed me. But, at the same time, I don't think I can call it "bad", either.

Unlike some of the artists we've had on G5 comics, this artist at least understands panel layouts and flow. The panels aren't overly large and it "reads" well. You can tell what's supposed to be happening, in what little action there is.

The background characters do lack detail...but to me, it's in a more or less charming way? The little dotted eyes are a kind of style at least. I get a kind of "Where's Waldo" vibe from some of the pages. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but it does feel charming, in it's own way.

But...yeah, everyone's "mouth area" looks off. It takes getting used to. It's a bit of having too much "bean mouth" and...almost like having human faces on the ponies? I think there's something about the proportions that's just off. It's a little off putting. I think they might have been going for more of a Tell Your Tale style..but something went wrong along the way. I'm not sure what it is. It might be as simple as the line on the noses making me "read" it wrong?

And part of the problem MIGHT be the inking? All the lines are the same width, with seeming no variation. You just get lines that should be "finer" on the wings with the same width as what's around their whole bodies. It's just very uniform inking, giving everything the same "weight". That might be taking the art down a notch.

But, the characters ARE emotive. They seem to have expressions that match what's going on in the script. And I can tell what those emotions are. Plus...again, it just has a certain "indie comix" vibe to me, which works for a 60s inspired story.

I don't know, I guess it boils down to "I've seen worse"? *Shrug* This is not my favorite artist on the G5 books, but it's not my least favorite artist, either.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

It looks like a newspaper comic.

To give credit where it's due, this seems like an artist who does understand the theory but just needs a few more years of practice. This artist is at least trying to draw comic art, not just still frames from an animation. A lot of comic artists get that part wrong. Comic art is different, and requires careful planning that this artist actually seems to have done. The framing, layout, and flow are fine here. A more experienced artist would not need to start over from scratch to save this.

But the faces are just horrible. Sparky's part was my favorite because the art kinda works for him. This artist could do Sparky B strips at the end of every issue and I don't think anyone would have complained. But Sparky's head does not have the same geometry as pony heads, and this artist haphazardly applies the same style to both. You have to compensate for how different pony heads are.

 

[ZakuConvoy]

Yeah, if the problem is mostly the faces, I'll agree with that. To me, everything else is solid enough. But, the faces ARE a really important part of the art and they do look..."off" here.