Not for young in age, but young at heart

I’m a kid of the 1980s and still a fan of good Saturday morning cartoons. One of those was The Transformers (okay good might be a loosely used term, but I stand by it) and sure, I was a little into My Little Ponies, but not like my younger sister (who btw is mom to a nephew I will mention in a bit, but as I only have the one sibling, that is redundant). When I saw that the powers that be had created a My Little Pony AND The Transformers graphic novel, I was SIGN ME UP AND GET ME TWO! (Only I only got one, and I think I might have trouble giving it to the nephew!) You see, that is because my nephew is technically a Bronie (Brony?) because he’s male and likes My Little Pony. But (as I don’t know the full definition) he probably isn’t that as he is more into the colors, sounds, action, music of the animation and not because they are MLP or they are ponies and he likes ponies (or unicorns, or a pegasus, etc.).

Regardless of why he likes MLP (or the Transformers, as Bumble Bee has a great story behind it) the book My Little Pony/Transformers: The Magic of Cybertron by various authors and illustrators, will be a bit hit. The colors are pony bold, or dark like Transformers. The humor is adult, but for him, it’s about the art. Therefore, if you are an older reader or an adult remembering fondly the Rainbow Dash or Decepticons of your youth, you probably should read this. The collection includes several single stories that unfold into one. There are old characters and new (I do not remember the hot female-Power-Ranger-colored-and-shape-inspired Transformers). Unfortunately, I realized afterwards that this is actually a second collection. I am now waiting for my package to arrive with what I think is the first. Until then, I will read the other books I got for me. I mean him…

The My Little Pony: Friends Forever Volume 2 is more of the same of what you loved as a kid, but with a modern twist. My Little Pony Friends Forever #9 is the same. There are some new ponies that some might not know. And there are the oldies but goodies. And there are the updated versions of those old faces. We see cutie marks, roller derby hair, magic, mischief, Diamond Dogs, and ponies. And Spike (the little dragon) and Discord (the big dragon). Also, a variety of authors and illustrators create the stories about friendship, doing the best you can, helping friends, listening, music, and friendship (I know I repeated myself, but friendship is very important). If I have one complaint, it might be that sometimes the characters can be a bit snarky, but that seems to fit with a more modern tone. Therefore, not for the young fan, still if they watch the movies, I am sure they have seen some of it already. The second thing I am not a hundred percent behind is the names of some of the newer looking ponies. Cheese Sandwich was a bit awkward to read, and the fact had a Daniel Radcliff playing Weird Al (without the ‘stache) look was a smidgen off putting.

I also picked up My Little Pony: Friends Forever Omnibus, Vol. 3. This was purely because it had a cover with the MLP as the Goonies Cast, and marketing got the best of me. However, browsing it and reading the others, you will find a handful of stories that are repeated from/in the volume 2 and volume 9 titles. Yet, The Transformers are solo collections. Of course, there are new stories, and a few in one and nine that do not show up in this omnibus. The solo MLP image is a story that is collected in volume 2 or 9.