Welcome to a new edition of Pony Media as I have something different to cover this time. Let's once again take a break from MLP to focus on another pony theme series called Melowy. The comic comes from the book series that came out this year in January. The author's name is Danielle Star who has written eight books so far with five in English. However, I'll be checking out the first volume of the comic that got written by a different author by the name of Cortney Powell. There isn't much to find out about these authors as they both sound like unknowns similar to Lauren Faust before FIM. The story takes place in the magical world of Aura that's divided into four realms as the Castle of Destiny sits in the sky between the lands. In this world are these magic ponies known as Melowies who have butterfly wings and unicorn horns. The plot revolves around five friends named Cleo, Selena, Maya, Cora, and Electra. The group of friends will encounter adventures as they learn about friendship and how to use their magic. If you enjoy MLP, then without a doubt Bronies will feel at home with this new series. Now, I know what some of you are thinking, and you’re probably already saying how this is ripping off MLP. However, Danielle Star’s book series is not doing any such thing and the world of Aura comes off original. If anything, I say Danielle took inspiration from MLP as well as her five horses she owns. The world of Aura is a "Garden of Eden" like any magical planet that has monsters outside of its domestic areas. Among the four realms include the Spring, Winter, Day, and Night Realms. In the center among the clouds is the Castle of Destiny, an enchanted school for Melowies who have special powers. The way Danielle and Cortney presented Aura was very different and even unique compared to Equestria. Instead of focusing on one land, they explained the world first. It was also unique to divide the world into four realms each with their own theme. In the comic, there isn't much information that's revealed about the four realms aside their themes. The only traits we get of them are through the Main Five’s characteristics. I’m sure more about these four realms will get revealed later since this is the first volume. In the book, however, these four islands do have names so I’m not sure why Cortney left them out. We move on to the Main Five of Cleo, Selena, Cora, Maya, and Electra. Upon reading, these girls weren't exact copies of the Mane Six and were rather mixed and matched. Cleo leads her friends with a strong sense of friendship. Unlike Twilight’s upbringing, Cleo was already destined to act as a Melowy with unique special powers in friendship. However, compared to her friends, its unknown where Cleo was born. According to her origins, Cleo got abandoned on the steps of the Castle of Destiny when she was an infant. Of course, Cleo is little impulsive in making decisions but is loyal to her friends. I also love how mysterious Cortney written the special star pendent the mare wears around her neck. It's unknown what the pendent stands for but the thing gave Cleo power to overcome the test and encourage her friends even from a distance. The next one is Selena who comes from the Night Realm, and she has a reserved character but loves music. The power Selena wields is darkness as its strong enough to overcome most elements. The form of darkness she uses is nothing like Luna's power and it's considered an elemental magic. She is my favorite out of the five girls because of her loner personality that I could relate to. Next we have Maya who hails from the Spring Realm and has a shy and outgoing attitude. However, she does have some anxiety but loves to cook and bake as her talent. It's interesting for Maya to have the power of Heat (fire magic) even though she comes from the Spring Realm. However, Spring is a season where it's get warmer so her having fire-based magic actually makes sense. Usually, when I see a character with a fire element, I'll assume they either stand for the sun or represent passion. I just find it hilarious how the Fluttershy of the group has fire power and not someone like Electra. Now for Cora, she has an elegant personality and comes off fashionable as seen from her long skirt. She is from the Winter Realm and has a regal attitude like Luna from FIM. Of course, Cora has the power of cold (ice magic) and according to the book ice-skating is her talent. The comic never specified whether ice-skating is Cora's hobby or that she participates in any contests. The last one is Electra who hails from the Day Realm and is mainly known for her bubbly personality. Surprisingly, she’s the fashionista despite having the characteristics of Rainbow's boasting and Pinkie's happy attitude. The power she wields is that of Light which is to bring happiness and cheer to the world. Fortunately, this isn't any MLP Gen 3 story as the world of Aura does have an antagonist that threatens the world's harmony. I find it a little interesting how Circe the school’s librarian revealed her true intentions. She seems to act like a spy for the main antagonist who Circe called the Ruler. I'll assume whoever this Ruler is will get revealed later as the series progresses. It wasn’t revealed who the Ruler was but Circe made the case that the villain was looking for Cleo because of her unusual powers. Even Gia the principal of the school seemed to take note of Theodora's adopted daughter. The last part of the comic highlighted how Gia was about to explain something further about it being seventy moons later. However, she stopped herself and just said they must prepare for something terrible. It's a near perfect cliff hanger that makes Cleo and the Ruler who seeks her power come off as a mystery. There are so many questions left after the ending that it has me wanted to learn more about what is to come. I will look forward to who the main antagonist really is and what's his or her motive. The art displayed through the comic is truly brilliant, and I don't know how someone like me never paid attention to Ryan Jampole. If you don't know who Ryan is well he has worked on other comic series from Dexter's Lab to even Archie's Mega Man collection. I knew the art style felt familiar from this series and it was a good choice by Atlantyca to hire him for the job. Every environment showcased was really a thing of beauty which captures the moods they represented. Ryan really captured my imagination of Aura for me, and it's probably because I always love the idea of floating mystical islands. The unicorn designs are the standard anthropomorphic four-legged ponies. However, these ponies are very different from MLP as they have slender bodies and can actually stand on their back legs like they were bipeds. I don't understand how some could find them standing and sitting like a human jarring. Let's not pretend there weren't instances where Equestrian ponies didn't do those said things in FIM. Regardless, Ponies are still anthropomorphic so it shouldn't matter whether they switch between two-legged or four leg stances. The butterfly wings are probably the best feature for the Melowies and bring that fairy tale of magic to life. They have similar marks to that of a cutie mark but on the edge of their wings. It's similar, but the execution was very different from MLP as this doesn't truly give them their only talents. As for any side notes, I knew other Bronies saw this too, but Ariadne had a surprising resemblance to the Applejack. I love the reference Cortney put in with Ariadne who was one of the teachers. I can even hear a deeper version of Applejack from Ashleigh Ball speaking in my head when reading her dialogue. She also had orange tanned fur and a country outfit especially the stetson hat. I can say this was very enjoyable and a fun reference to FIM. Other background Pegasus's are Kate and Eris who serve as the arrogant and posh opposition to the Main Five. They are not antagonists by any means but more like an annoyance to the heroes like Trixie was to the Mane Six at first. Eris and Kate even boasted and claimed how they were already too good to fail the test. It wasn't revealed as of yet to what their passions (aka talents) are, but the two of them are clearly nothing like Trixie. The similarities end with their boasting as both of them seem to come off very knowledgeable and posh. They did provide some comic relief especially after the exam when Eris called the Main Five“the little miss perfect crew” as an insult. I also just love the typical pouting face she gave by the fact the Main Five passed the examination. Its really adorable when she made that expression especially when she also whined about how the test wasn't for her. I will look forward to the next issue which will involve them once again. The first volume was a blast to read and truly follows the standards set by Lauren Faust for a pony theme series. The world of Aura captured my imagination thanks to Cortney's writing. It's also thanks to Ryan Jampole's fantastic artistry that was able to bring these characters and environments to life. The story started out a little similar to FIM's Season 1 premiere but the difference is the villain wasn't introduced yet. The Main Five were actually put through a test of friendship that would teach them magic. The trial felt similar to the way the Mane Six got tested in the Everfree Forest. However, it was the story's execution of them facing these challenges alone while still being connected to each other as friends is what makes this different. Another plus was not revealing why Cleo has unusual powers since the magic she wields empowers others in friendship. I also found the cliff hanger of why the main villain was after Cleo enjoyable as this made it a mystery. Its elements like these in the writing that really engaged me and now I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out. It's an awesome start to a new series and the characters and the world of Aura came nicely together. Rating: 8.5/10 Great
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RETRO GAMER
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