My Little Pony Micro-Series #5: Featuring Pinkie Pie
Written by Ted Anderson
Illustrated by Ben Bates
Lettered by Neil Uyetake
IDW Publishing
Release Date: June 19, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Bubbly and hyperactive Pinkie Pie goes totally fangirl when she meets her beloved clown role model Ponyacci in IDW’s latest My Little Pony Micro-Series: Featuring Pinkie Pie. This comic delivers exactly what readers expect from the My Little Pony line: snappy dialog, a clever plot, and clean and bold artwork.

Writer Ted Anderson puts Pinkie Pie through the nearly the entire emotional spectrum, starting with an elated celebration after winning tickets to see Ponyacci perform live.

She meets a sad pony while waiting to enter the show and is so concerned about his mood that she offers to give him her own ticket if it would make him happy. He refuses, so she enters and watches the show with her friend Twilight. The two are awestruck with the performance and can’t wait to go backstage to try and meet the legendary clown. When Pinkie Pie comes face-to-face with her idol, she discovers that the pony behind the makeup is the same sad pony she met before the show.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Defenders Of The Lost Temple
Script by Justin Aclin
Art by Ben Bates
Colors by Michael Atiyeh
Cover Art by Mike Hawthorne
Dark Horse
Release Date: March 26, 2013
Cover Price: $7.99

While many fans are mourning with the winding down of The Clone Wars animated series, Star Wars fans can still delve into the wealth of expanded universe material that focuses on the famous conflict that dominated an era of the in-universe history, and saw the rise of an empire.

And as we advance into a new epoch in which the sequel trilogy will dominate our attentions, Dark Horse seems to be also beginning to wind up their Clone Wars coverage, with the release of Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Defenders Of The Lost Temple.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #20
Story Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz
Script Tom Waltz
Art Ben Bates
Color by Ronda Pattison
Lettering by Shawn Lee
Covers by Ben Bates, Langdon Foss, and Kevin Eastman & Ronda Pattison
Editor: Bobby Curnow
IDW Publishing
Release Date: March 20, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

From the opening panel, I didn’t think I would care for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #20. ONLY because I am NOT a fan of the Turtles in space. Never have been, don’t think I ever will be. I prefer the Turtles fighting crime, underground in New York City. Was my mind changed? Let’s find out…

Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz craft a VERY entertaining story in this issue, one that, I’ll admit, made me a fan of Turtles in space. When the series began, one of my fears was “How long before the sci-fi element comes into play?” It took awhile, which I’m thankful for, but what’s different about THIS time is that evolves logically throughout the course of the series. There’s no dinosaur guy appearing out of nowhere and dragging the Turtles off to a distant planet. But, back to this issue in particular: It’s the climax to the Turtles’ war with Krang and his forces and it’s VERY entertaining. There’s action, cliffhangers, and a few laugh out loud moments. All in all, a really fun comic.