Comic Review: Issue #21 · 12:52pm Jul 16th, 2014
The sun doth murder me...
It's the second month in the SUMMER OF TRIXIE, and after last month's outing with the Diamond Dogs, the main series has come to pick up the slack. Can our heroes solve the case and clear their names? And will it end with Trixie falling in love with an alternate universe Twilight or something like that?
...No, the comic is never going to live that down.
Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy are escorting Apple Bloom and Babs Seed to a show at Manehatten's famous Carneighie Hall (insert groan here). But it's not just any show, mind you. They have been invited to a magical performance from the legendary GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE, former Queen of Diamondia and all-around awesome magician! And for her grand finale, she makes the famous Ostlerheimer Diamond disappear while also escaping from plummeting into a vat of deadly, flesh-consuming pudding!
Only one problem: the diamond doesn't appear on Trixie's head like it was supposed to. Even worse, Trixie is supposed to be working with the Manehatten police to track the down the legendary thief Rough Diamond, and a tracker was implanted on both the fake diamond Trixie used in the act and the real one safely locked away...and the real one turns up in Trixie's hat. And because of their past relationship with Trixie (and because the fake diamond turned up in AJ's hat), the police are ready to haul them all in. Can our heroes elude the cops and bring Rough Diamond to justice? Or is Trixie truly the guilty party this time?
Agnes Garbowska returns as the artist, having previously worked on the Rainbow Dash/Trixie Friends Forever issue, and once again her style is simple but effective here. Trixie is still adorable, and I loved the background gags with Manehatten's “finest,” particularly the two playing in the pudding vat while in the middle of a criminal investigation. If there is a weakness in the art department, it's that Trixie pretty much spends the first half of the comic as a biped; she doesn't go back on all fours until after the theft.
The story dwells quite a bit on Trixie's attempts to reform. While her adventure with Rainbow Dash was Trixie trapping herself with her boasts and needing help to bail herself out, here it feels much stronger. Assuming there's not some last-minute twist and she's the thief (which I doubt considering how this genre works), she invites ponies from a town she had conquered (something that is referenced multiple times in the issue) to see a show at one of the finest venues in Equestria, and is working with the authorities to track down the true culprit. Her reward is getting framed for the crime.
(Unless, you know, this was all an elaborate gambit on her part to drag the others into helping her solve this mystery. Can't say that doesn't sound like Trixie's style.)
Something else I liked was how the Mane...3 react to Trixie. Everypony gets into the performance except for Applejack, who just sits there like anyone would while watching their former dictator get a standing ovation. That, and I really don't see her as the type to enjoy what is essentially an artform built on lying to and misdirecting the audience; such things are not the Apple Family way. But when everyone else (including Rarity and Apple Bloom) is accusing Trixie, she's the first one to suggest that she might be telling the truth, and is the one who suggests helping her clear their name. (Admittedly, though, this is after everyone has gotten accused, so they'd need to prove their innocence anyway.)
The first two-thirds of the issue are devoted to setting up the plot, and while I like the slower pacing, I have to wonder how the next issue will handle things. The story certainly ends on a cliffhanger, even if it comes off as a rather contrived coincidence, and the idea of our heroes on the run from the cops is strangely awesome in its own way. I just hope that the next issue isn't just an extended fight scene or the like, and still leaves enough room for some sleuthing without the solution coming right the heck out of nowhere. Such is the danger of writing a mystery.
This is a good start to what should hopefully be a fun adventure. Let's see if this holds up next month.
I thought this issue was pretty good.
Let's hope they don't screw Trixie over here.
Just finished reading it, and it definitely has my attention. I too liked how the older ponies reacted to Trixie and how they are giving her a chance even though they have a rough history. I also found it astoundingly cute how Babs Seed and Trixie were introduced to each other.
I also like how this story doesn't include Twilight. While the Twilight/Trixie interaction would have been fun to see, she would potentially overshadow Trixie in her own comic arc. Plus, I've seen enough of that type of thing in the fandom to last me a while. This gives AJ, Rarity, and Fluttershy a chance to work their brains to solve the problems they face.
Looking forward to how this all goes down next time!
I dunno. I could see AJ as quite the pro wrestling fan...
Praise be to Trixie, and stuff.
I liked it.