The cultural significance of My Little Pony is hard to quantify, let alone explain. Of all the children shows with large portions of adult fandoms, the “bronies” were some of the most…fanatical. Not being a “brony” myself, I approached “My Little Pony: Set Your Sail” #1 with a curiosity as to why this premise of magical ponies became one of the first cartoons marketed specifically to children to grew in popularity online among adults.
Written by Megan Brown and Casey Gilly
Illustrated by Amy Mebberson
Colored by Reggie Graham
Lettered by Johanna NattalieSet your sail for the Seven Seas because the Seaponies are swimming into comics for the first time ever! See the mane six totally transformed. Pestering the queen into sending messages in bottles to the fabled Seapony kingdoms is just one of the many perks to having royal besties… which is exactly what Izzy has been doing ever since first reading about mythical Seaponies in Sunny’s old history book. So when Queen Haven hears back from the Queen of the Sparkling Seas, Izzy is eager to dive into the adventure of a lifetime. Pipp, on the other hoof, is not excited about her princess duties or having to reschedule a new song release (plus, saltwater totally ruins her shiny mane). The voyage should be smooth sailing, but the tides are changing, a storm is brewing, and Izzy and Pipp are swimming right into it…
The lighthearted tone of My Little Pony comes across with the bright pastel color scheme Reggie Graham and his team recreate, as do the elastic drawings of the Amy Mebberson which adds a lot of personality to the dialogue. But the dialogue, admittedly out of necessity, crowds the panels. At times, it was easy to get lost amidst the exposition and the abundance of ponies despite the variants in color pallets. This is where something is lost in adaptation, as the different voices and animation styles can do a lot to distinguish one pony from another.
Megan Brown and Casey Gilly are burdened with the task of introducing what an MLP wiki tells me is the fifth generation of My Little Ponies. They also must introduce a whole sea pony kingdom, as well as integrate a soft pony magic system, get the motivations of each of the characters, all the while keeping a rapid pace of jokes and gags to engage the reader. It’s rare to laugh out loud at a comic, but a carmel onion analogy, and the sun having a face and wincing when Izzy falls over, and Princess Pip being swarmed by a flock of seagulls in the background did a lot to elevate the comedic chops of the comic. The more visual gags were more entertaining than the conversations in front of them.
Seeing the capacity in which the art team have introduced the reader to the Galloping Ghost and its crew makes me excited to see what the art team could do with the undersea world Izzy and Pipp have uncovered. The dynamic panel layouts for the opening of this issue gives hope for more impactful artwork in the rest of the series.
In the first issue of a three part mini series, the creative have introduced characters and raised the stakes; expect more dynamic panel work in the following issues, seeing how Amy Mebberson and Grahm were able to accentuate the dialogue while bringing in their own visual humor throughout the opening issue.
Final Verdict: 6.0 – A fine start, but with art that felt a little safe and a lot of world building, “My Little Pony: Set Your Sail” #1 feels more like the start of something than an issue that can stand on its own.
