Happiness Is Not A Pony's Friendship

by Vince Brusio

The breadth of comics fare on the market is mind-blowing. And what seems to be growing in the market are kids comics, most notably IDW Publishing’s My Little Pony. The book increasingly gains an audience each year and has become a fan-favorite, which moved IDW into thinking the time was right to release a weekly series kicking off with My Little Pony: Fiendship Is Magic #1 (FEB150313). Because the question that many fans have been asking is when are the bad guys going to get their due in the stories? Without good fiends, a story falls flat. So wouldn't it be cool to have the attitude of "bring on the bad guys" in a My Little Pony series? In this PREVIEWSworld Exclusive interview, Editor Bobby Curnow sheds light on IDW's answer to the "bad guys" question, as well as why My Little Pony has endeared itself to so many readers worldwide.

My Little Pony: Fiendship Is Magic #1 (FEB150313) is in comic shops April 1.

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PREVIEWSworld: This is the first mini-series event for My Little Pony. What’s the reason for a 5-week long weekly “Fiendship Is Magic” series?

Bobby Curnow: We felt like it was time to try something new with MLP, so we discussed what would be an interesting thing to do with the Pony studio, and they mentioned they didn't have plans to get into the origins of many of the show's villains.

We discussed five good candidates, and then saw that this April happened to have five Wednesdays. Everything fell into place from there. 

PREVIEWSworld: Who are the creators named to the series, and what ideas do they bring with them to the MLP?

Bobby Curnow: Many of our regular writers and artists will be bringing their pony power to the page: writers Katie Cook, Heather Nuhfer, Ted Anderson, Christina Rice, Jeremy Whitley, and artists Tony Fleecs, Andy Price, Brenda Hickey, and Agnes Garbowska. Each one is having fun with the opportunity to focus on a bad guy, and doing a little something outside the norm as a result.  

PREVIEWSworld: Do readers have to have a knowledge of previous MLP stories to understand the dynamics in this new Fiendship Is Magic event?

Bobby Curnow: No— as these are largely origin stories, they are a perfect jumping-on point. That being said, being familiar with Equestria and it's denizens will make for a richer reading experience.

PREVIEWSworld: What is it that you think attracts readers to My Little Pony? Why is it such a big book for IDW?

Bobby Curnow: I think there's a couple core factors: the series is anchored in several interesting and distinct personalities. Every reader can find a pony they can connect to. Add that to an extremely rich, funny supporting cast, and a world where virtually anything can happen, and you've got a recipe for tons of fun stories. The fact that so much of the narrative is devoted to personality, and exploring friendship, also makes it a very refreshing world, compared to all of the doom and gloom found in many comic books. 

PREVIEWSworld: Is there any particular web site readers should visit should they want to talk to the books’ creators?

Bobby Curnow: Virtually all of the creators have a strong web presence, but Twitter is probably the easiest place to find them all.