Ethan is correct. Take it from a straight guy.
Shortpacked! by David Willis
Toys are serious business.
Convention appearances:
Calgary Expo Calgary, AB: April 26-28
Phoenix Comicon Phoenix, AZ: May 23-26, 2013
BotCon San Diego, CA: June 28-30
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego, CA: July 18-21
SPX Bethesda, MD: September 14-15
Phoenix Comicon Phoenix, AZ: May 23-26, 2013
BotCon San Diego, CA: June 28-30
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego, CA: July 18-21
SPX Bethesda, MD: September 14-15
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Sorcery 101
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Sorcery 101
Templar, AZ
The Transformers Wiki
Hail to the Slash
80 page GIANT
Axe Cop
The Book of Biff
Butt-Taco
Comics Curmudgeon
College Roomies from Hell!!!
Diesel Sweeties
Dinosaur Comics
Dr. McNinja
Dresden Codak
Fans!
Fleen
Gastrophobia
Girl Genius
Girls with Slingshots
Goats
Hark, a vagrant
Hijinks Ensue
Intrepid Girlbot
Legend of Bill
Medium Large
Not Invented Here
Octopus Pie
Overcompensating
Penny Arcade
PhDcomics
Power Nap
Questionable Content
Real Life
Rob and Elliot
Bad Machinery
Schlock Mercenary
Sheldon
So Far Apart
Something Positive
Two Lumps
Wapsi Square
Wonderella
Wondermark
Frumph.NET
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I second this. As another straight male, I have to say the new MLP is amazingly awesome.
That’s really gay.
Not sure “another” is the correct usage here, but…
And seriously, people are recommending MLP now? Well, lemme check if the Pacific is nice and sanguine or not.
(Wait, they aren’t using the Apocalypse Pony skit as the basis, are they? That would be kinda cool)
think “transformers animated” meets ponies.
They write plots, have snarky atitudes, have personalities, and joke around with established canon.
Its great.
And the “silly Twilight, stop reading about the upcoming apocalypse and make some friends!!” part of Ep 1 causes the apocalypse to happen, which is just fecking funny if you’re me.
Actually, no. There’s literally nothing Twilight could have done by studying that would have kept Nightmare Moon from manifesting. But by making friends, she was able to assemble that which was necessary to prevent endless night. The princess was being all sneaky, manipulating Twilight Sparkle into learning what she needed to learn, since just telling her to assemble a team of ponies that exemplified various virtues might not have actually worked.
Same, though for some reason I’d rather watch the Powerpuff Girls. (Okay now I know I’ll get flamed for that.) But hey, Professor Utonium is awesome in the show, not to mention the interestingness of Mojo-Jojo. And PPGZ has not only Utonium, but it shows he also has a son (which is not really totally canon to the original) Okay now I probably sound really like a geek.
Well, MLP:FiM was directed by Lauren Faust, wife of Craig McCracken, who created PPG, so that’s not surprising at all.
Also, bronies unite.
I (another straight male) never thought I’d say these words, but Friendship is Magic is awesome (really, something that title isn’t something I’d normally enjoy).
Story of my life.
I love the new My Little Pony series!! Way better than the original. I’d totally buy an action fig of Granny Smith Apple! *lol*
YES! The new MLP is freaking awesome. And I never even liked the franchise before.
So, who would be Ethan’s favorite pony? Rainbow Dash? Applejack?
Perhaps it’s the Aspergers talking, but I find it fascinating to have such a thorough(bred) examination of different aspects of friendship, during a comedy/adventure show.
Also, I totally expect Nightmare Moon’s armor-maker to be the big bad for the season ender.
Come on, y’all– there’s a poster with Sodomuffin for an avatar right there.
Huh. Looks like I’ll need to set my DVR to check this one out. But so help me god I must keep myself from buying the toys! I have too much to collect as it is!
*Jumps back in time and smacks self, holding a Rainbow Dash toy* WHY DO YOU NOT LISTEN TO YOURSELF?
Careful with the time travel. Paradoxes tend to cause oneself to explode, likely twice(past and present self, holy crap Spike and Pinkie Pie were RIGHT!)
Don’t worry, we’re safe. No paradox here. Instead, that act of jumping back in time and smacking himself actually helped perpetuate his urgre, seeing how he will eventually cave in to enough desire as to buy the toy.
I love me some Young Justice.
A shame it keeps getting so much flak, because it really is good.
Yeah, I love YJ too. For a cartoon, it’s surprisingly mature and deals with some really interesting themes. And the animation is great.
Honestly, this past spring has had several awesome cartoons. They finally finished the first season of YJ (about time, right?) and the second season of MLP, both with really epic season finales, and then they’ve got the new Thundercats cartoon that just came off hiatus, and Korra started a couple weeks ago…
However, if he was straight, he wouldn’t admit to watching it for fear that it would make him gay. (This is my trouble with trying to play Kirby’s Epic Yarn on a testosterone-flooded college dorm floor.)
Kirby’s epic yarn is awesome!
I guess only people that are already almost gay need to worry about accidently becoming gay
Man anyone can become accidentally gay. It is a serious problem.
They’d be walking down the street and then they’d trip over something and, BAM, instantly turned gay.
No one knows how. No one knows why.
It’s like spontaneous combustion. Nobody knows how it happens; one second you’re fine, and the next, you’re totally flaming.
I think that’s the funniest thing I’ve read on the internet all week.
despite being a transparent closet, people still cock an eyebrow when I pull out kirby’s epic yarn.
Play 2 player if you can, it helps if theres a Playable Character thats not pink.
It also helps if the second player is female; this is actually how I’ve gotten through most of it.
Ouch. Nothing hurts more than getting cocked right in the eyebrow.
Yeah I remember when Kirby Superstar came out for the SNEs. I lived in a boys group home at the time and all of us were addicted to the game… once we got passed that Kirby was a pink ball of fluff.
Oh hey, is there a new Teen Titan’s cartoon?! Cool, I used to love the original.
It’s called Young Justice and it’s AWESOME!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUjtr_WlRXk&feature=related
I heard about it recently! 8D AHHHH! It hasn’t aired yet, has it?
“We’ve tried persuasion, charm…whatever it is Pinkie Pie does…”
Pinkie Pie is like Robin on a permanent sugar high.
I thought that too. She was GLORIOUS
Lauren Faust is a golden goddess of joy. And My Little Powerpuff Pony is a wonderous thing.
The only thing I don’t like about the new MLP series is that it couldn’t have been on every weekday like Strawberry Shortcake’s Berry Bitty Adventures. Or instead of Strawberry Shortcake, which is the great franchise reboot disappointment of the lot.
Even Pound Puppies is pretty solid. Rene Auberjonois and explorations of gender identity? Win.
Wait, what? Please elucidate on that last bit, because the idea of rebooted 80′s franchises deliberately exploring the concept of gender identity sounds too good to be true! (Especially since, in retrospect, they’re probably pretty responsible for messing with my concept of the whole thing. Tenderheart, what the crap ARE you?)
Odd. Rene Auberjonois was in the Young Justice as well.
I love the man’s voice, so this makes me all kinds’a happy!
Reboot of Strawberry Shortcake? Gag me with a Smurf! There used to be a band here in central PA which could use rebooting. They called themselves Dingleberry Shortcake!
So far, I’ve only seen one reboot of classic TV worth watching. I only have two words to say about it: Be here. Aloha! \m/
You bastards. That was awesome.
foreshadowed much on yesterdays comment section ahhhhhhhh. nice willis.
Wait a minute… isn’t Robin gay, too?
Don’t you DARE start using logic and shit!
No, she’s bisexual. She’s dating a girl yes, but she’s also still is attracted to men as well.
The thing is many people often make more stereotypes jokes about gay men than gay women. With gay men, people often assume that if they like to date men, they must like “girl things” like fashion and cooking and apparently even children programing
And while lesbians often have the “home depot” jokes and stuff, those stereotypes are often ignored or overlooked.
It’s an interesting double standard I’ve noticed over the years.
Say what you will about the “lipstick lesbianism” trens in entertainment-for-men, it seems to have pushed the old “bull dyke” stereotypes into the background.
I second Mike’s comment. There wasn’t that much credibility to his statements before. People just ignored him instead.
He will need Amber to back him up on this, since she is the established pony authority.
Come to think of it, Amber seems conspicuously absent considering the subject of today’s strip. I want to know if she likes the show, or if she’s fallen prey to the cult of the G1 purists. “Rainbow Dash isn’t a lesbian” could be the new “Truck not Monkey.”
Heck, Pony Geewunners don’t even have to look to the lesbian subtext to have something to complain about. I was raiding Odd Lots for ponies to kitbash and I discovered that Rainbow Dash wasn’t a pegasus before, just a regular groundbound pony.
I can’t believe I am saying this with any amount of authority without using Google (FAUST, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?), but Dash isn’t a G1 pony. She’s G3, and no one gives a flying fuck about G3.
I’m surprised Ethan would like My Little Pony. The concept of the show itself never made much sense to me when I was a kid, nor did it make any sense to any girls I knew growing up. In fact, most girls I know only like the ponies so that way they can “edit” them and make their own ponies. You know, repaint their butts and stuff.
Course, I haven’t seen the new show, so I can’t make much judgment.
Your confusion is entirely due to your not having seen the show.
It’s a high fantasy setting, where the ruling species’ sun goddess lives among them and runs the country’s administeration. In the pilot, six adult females with different personalities are brought together to save the world from eternal night. After that threat is passed, their friendship (forged in fire) faces challenges of jealousy, rudeness, and fear, among others.
There are hints that the season finale will continue the pilot’s drama. However, most of the humor and plot is the same level as Powerpuff Girls or Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends.
Another straight man who loves the show here. “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” is indeed pretty awesome (and I’ve started reviewing it episode-by-episode at http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?p=13005403#post13005403 if you’ll forgive the plug).
But then again, I also think the ORIGINAL show was among the better cartoons of its decade.
This is the newest episode of My Little Pony. Watch it and be amazed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7AiEXz04hU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa6WBUOEuc8
What? Teen Titans?! WHERE?!
Lol. I agree with Ethan, the new MLP is adorably awesome. I could seriously talk to Ethan all day. <3
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is glorious.
This coming from a straght male TF fan.
Okay, on the strength of your recommendation, I just watched the episode with the sleeping dragon. It was good, not great, and not something I would consider watching full time.
Was that episode a weak one for the series? Or maybe something that would have been better had I seen more episodes? Or was it a fairly typical episode and the show is just not my cup of tea?
I personally thought it was the weakest episode, (it felt a bit too plot-driven on what is normally a very character-driven show) though some people had much more positive opinions of it.
It was the weakest episode so far, but it did explore how paralyzing fear can be. It focused on the group’s wallflower, and in my opinion, the moral summary at the end should have been about speaking up and stepping up in spite of fear.
Fluttershy is the guardian of Kindness, but she yelled at the dragon, and she allowed herself to be dragged along, slowing the group down. This could have been a great character development episode, in which she overcomes fears one at a time instead of failing each time. Instead, she comes across as codependent and broken. (Then again, it’s more realistic for shy people to not take a Hero’s Journey; your mileage may vary.)
Okay, I’ll give it another shot.
It’s always the rule of thumb that the one episode people watch on your recommendation is always the weakest.
Okay, okay, I just watched it.
Not bad. The writing gets a little “ponied” out (I’m sorry, but using the phrase “used her unicorn powers” in the first minute of exposition makes it sound like a five-year-old playing with her toys), but it’s pretty cute and snappy. I do miss good, none-Flash-esque animation in kids shows though.
Funny, I think I remember playing this story with my ponies. Only the purple princess was good and the pink one staged a coup, so the purple one had to rally the working class Trolls to revolt against her corrupt sister and evil adviser Barbie…
um..
while having their hair braided.
New my little ponies show? *head explodes in a cloud of rainbows and glitter*
Darn you America,why do you get all the awesome programming years before me T.T
The evil witch on the moon escapes after a thousand years and in response, a team of six friends is put together. It’s My Little Pony Rangers.
Plus lesbian subtext all over the place. They span the spectrum of femme to butch archetypes.
I’m gonna go with the Teen Titans-y thingee (Young Justice) just because I haven’t yet seen any of the others.
(MY sexuality has nothing to do with it.)
I’m really hoping the idea is tha it’s the biggest improvement. In so much that the others are mostly expounding what they’ve got. And MLP could only improve. I’m really hoping that’s the whole point. Yes? x.x … For the record, I haven’t seen any of the new cartoons. And I can’t decide if this disappoints me.
Huh. My earlier comment seems to have disappeared. Was it erased due to plugging my MLP review or something? Or just a glitch of the system?
Ah, “awaiting moderation”. I can see now.
Okay, FIM’s universe is waaaaaaaaaaaay too developed for My Little Pony. It’s… awesome. Rainbowdash is the Aspie pony.
Nah, Rainbow Dash is just a jerk.
As for being “too developed for My Little Pony”…Eh, I wouldn’t really say that. Sure, the franchise has produced some bowls of mindless sugar (“A Very Minty Christmas” wasn’t exactly the height of quality writing), but the original cartoon actually took place in a fairly creative (and dangerous!) fantasy land, with demonic overlords trying to destroy/take over the world, Nazi penguins trying to exterminate all the “unworthy” species, undersea monsters trying to raise the sea level, and a soul-stealing Michael Jackson pony. Just saying.
Rainbow Dash is the butchy butch (whereas Applejack is the cowgirl butch and Twilight Sparkly the nerdy semi-butch, etc). She’s more manly than any other character on the show, including all the male ponies.
I don’t see how Rainbow Dash has anything close to Aspergers. She’s just the Genki Girl. (Specifically, she’s Tomo from Azumanga Daioh.)
This is the Internet, not some people-actually-know-what-Aspergers-is place!
Let’s see…
Twilight Sparkle is asocial, never really bothered with having friends. And now that she DOES have some, she’s insecure and afraid of losing them all if she makes a wrong move.
Rainbow Dash is…Actually, “Tomo from Azumanga Daioh” isn’t a bad description.
Pinky Pie is a Loony Tunes character, minus the sociopathy.
Rarity is vain and shallow (but not selfish, though), and can’t tell her romantic fantasies from reality.
Fluttershy is terrified of people.
And Applejack has a stubborn streak a mile wide.
Looney Tunes minus the sociopathy doesn’t leave you with much.
Unless you’re talking about early Chuck Jones stuff.
No WONDER I love Rainbow Dash so much. I wish I realized the fact she’s Tomo sooner. D:
I’m really torn on the YJ show. I LOVED the comics series, and it’s looking like mostly what I liked was the specific characters. So giving me Dick instead of Tim, Wally instead of Bart, the new Aqualad, and an archer that isn’t Arrowette (although that remains to be seen, since she wasn’t in the movie thingy and the character designs look an AWFUL lot like a green version of Arrowette)? Oh, and Miss Martian, I guess instead of Wondy. I don’t know. I liked it, but I am really attached to my original YJ lineup, and I got all grumpy on Twitter last night. Wednesday talked me down a little, but STILL. If they’re not going to use the dynamic and lineup from the comic, why even call it Young Justice?
God, I’m old. That’s new.
Well, they can’t use Wonder Girl because of legal reasons (some decades-old mess involving the old live-action Wonder Woman TV show; suffice to say that WG can’t ever appear on TV or DC will get sued) and they used Wally because they wanted Kid Flash to be a cocky hotshot instead of a spaz.
The show feels like it’s closer to the original 1960′s concept for Teen Titans (all your favorite sidekicks are hanging out after school! Hijinks!) whereas the Titans cartoon was more based off the 80′s Wolfman/Perez revamp. But of course, they can’t call the show “Teen Titans,” so Young Justice it is.
Huh. That’s really strange, considering that apparently Wonder Woman is not part of that mess. Thanks for letting me know though, that explains it a little.
As for Impulse, you say spaz, I say awesome. But I am fully willing to admit that my feelings about the Young Justice comics are complex and irrational. I adored those characters and stories, and I was really excited to be getting that as a cartoon. So no matter how good the show ends up being, it’s always going to be working against that mental block for me.
Ethan is correct. Take it from a straight guy.
Unintentional hilarity!
I kind of want to see this show now. Damn my satellite provider!
You’re in luck, most of the episodes are available at the Hub’s website. And Youtube has the rest.
I have sort of the same problem. My satellite package (the word “satellite” is important to the meaning of the sentence) doesn’t have Hub. However, in December they had it in the free previews, so I managed to see a few episodes. It was awesome and I want more!
Yep, MLP is all the rage with /co/ males, I’ve noticed.
I found YJ to be pretty awesome. I don’t mind the lineup changes at all (I used to read the comics). DC deliberately changed it up to differeniate it as its own continuity (prob for the best). I really have no intersest in MLP, but if its good, I’ll dvr it for my daughter and watch with her. I think TFPrime was pretty good and will try very hard not to compare it to TFAwesomenated. GIJoe was the best IMO (I really dig the the A-team/Cobra$oft dynamic), surprised there’s not more talk about it
As usual, Mike wins.
“Take it from a straight guy.”
If I did that, you wouldn’t be straight anymore.
Comment of the week award, everyone else go home.
Haven’t you heard? Everyone is a little bisexual! Also, I’m sure there’s a rulebook somewhere that explains that if you’re the one giving, it doesn’t matter where to. >.>
Everyone is a little bisexual? Odd, I thought everyone was a little racist.
Huh.
MLP really doesn’t deserve to be this good. But it is! The new show really took me by surprise. It’s got some really strong characterization, is very funny (and not afraid to mock itself) occasionally flirts with epic adventure, and has a very sweet, cheerful feel that never feels forced or campy. That’s tough to pull off, but Powerpuff Girls and Foster’s both did the same thing, and the show boasts many of the same staff (Lauren Faust has really stepped out of her husband’s shadow on this series. It’s about time her talent was recognized.)
I was really certain I would not like this show. I didn’t WANT to like it. But I’ll be damned if it isn’t just infectiously charming. I am glad to be a convert.
Plus, Pinkie Pie is just adorable.
http://oculoid.com/my-little-pony-by-mari-kasurinen/
What I want to know is, if these were available at Shortpacked! and there were only one left (especially of the first one) who would get it/them–Ethan or Amber?
Anyone who doubts the popularity of FiM among adolescent males simply need to visit 4chan’s /co/ board on any given day, especially fridays.
Since the show first aired, there have been made literally dozens of threads and thousands of posts about the show.
I saw the first episode and was actually pleasantly surprised at how much actual PLOT there was in a cartoon for little girls. As well as some good old fashioned nightmare fuel and some fun characters with individual personalities… if I could catch some more of the show I know I’d be hooked.
“Friendship is Magic” has to be the best cartoon from North America currently on the air, in my opinion. Rainbow Dash is definetly my favorite character from that show. Plus I think her voice actress may have been Nefertina in Mummies Alive, but I haven’t actually looked it up. So, key people working on MLP: Friendship is Magic have previously been key people working on My Life as a Teenage Robot, Samurai Jack, Powerpuff Girls, and Fosters’ Home for Imaginary Friends. This show appearantly has some great people working on it, which is probably why it is honestly so much fun to watch!
Nice to see Weisman has another show… maybe this time he can make it past two seasons before getting canceled
Yay!
I no longer see dave willis in the bathtub for a special message every time I check the comic.
The bathtub one made me laugh.
The toilet one scarred me so badly I hid my wallet.
Pfft, Adventure Time and Regular Show are where it’s at
I have to agree, Adventure Time and Regular Show kick ass. However, MLP is awesome too.
I… actually liked that episode that was linked above, which surprised me no end. It was really good fun, and made me laugh out loud at one point
Yeah, it’s actually the only episode I’ve managed to catch so far. It was pretty awesome.
Silly people and their sterotypes.
I knew TwinkleStars’ voice was familiar. Same voice as Princess Clara’s.
It’s Twilight Sparkle, bro. TwinkleStars is much too silly a name for a pony.
OH REALLY?
Fuck Young Justice
ML Ponies 4LYFE
I think this guy has every episode of the new MLP so far:
http://www.youtube.com/user/pensivepine#p/u
Wow… I haven’t gotten around to watching Transformers Prime or Young Justice (no high hopes for the former, but Young Justice was my first comic book series), but based if y’all are correct they must really suck. It’s ponies learning lessons about friendship with the power of rainbows. I’m sorry, but I’m with Robin on this one- gay or straight, that’s just not as interesting as fighting robots that turn into cars (though I’ll concede it’s not necessarily any more ridiculous).
No, Friendship is Magic is simply that awesome ^^ Just ask Rainbow Dash.
Straight-up MLP fan yo. Don’ be hatin’. -:D
I was not exposed to My Little Pony as a kid being a 90s spawn, but modern children do need the sort of Saturday Morning Cartoon “life lessons” kind of toons they used to get with He-Man and such imaginative cartoons of its ilk. Me, I learnt my life lessons from Dragonball Z, which taught you such words of wisdom like this which I will paraphrase: “Eat your damn food or you’ll get left to the wolves!” and “Stop your whining or you’ll be weak and useless forever!”… yeah… I can see why I grew up with an inferiority complex. At least MLP doesn’t judge little girls for not being manly enough like DBZ tended to do. When I was young, your power levels had to be damn high. DAMN high.
Once again my determination to avoid judging something without at least giving it a chance has doomed me. I think I have to watch this entire series now (once I finish my SP! binge), but I will do so in a constant state of self-loathing.
Yay for My Little Pony: FiM!! I’m sad but also uber excited about the season finale this week!!
Ethan is the voice of my life.
*Bro-Hoof*
This is instantly one of my favorite comics because it’s true.
It’s also why I don’t announce I’m a brony in public.
Yay MLP:FIM FTW!
BRONIES 4 LIFE
This game you cannot win.
I have to admit the theme song scared the shit out of me.
My Little Pony, My Little Pony, aaah-aaah-aaah-aaaah…*gag*
*guitar riff*
MY LITTLE PONY!
O_O *mind blown*
Haha, yeah, I felt the same way when I first saw it.
Welcome to the herd. WELCOME TO THE HERD!
Another straight guy here, confirming that MLP:FiM is fricking awesome!
I feel the need to represent the Young Justice following here because it keeps breaking my heart in all the good ways.
I was fearing for the day this show would start appearing in the strip. I am not a bronie. I watched a part of the show and just could not see the appeal of it at all. Why are so many people obsessed with it?