MLP-Silver-Quill
After the Fact Update
and 
that the comic reviews we had slated will not move forward.After the Fact Status Update
First and foremost, I have not stopped doing episode reviews. It's never been my intent to stop. I do enjoy character studies and learning more about what my favorite characters might represent. Yet I apologize if the wait between reviews has given this impression. Part of this due to overload. Scare Master was my last episode review, which doubled as a Halloween special and featured a collaboration between myself and seven other reviewers. The next few episode reviews are slated to be collaborations as well.
Let's break down what's coming up:
Everfree Northwest: I'll be attending EFNW along with Dr. Wolf and Thespio, plus a slew of talent from the show and the fandom. My panels will be Dissecting the Mary Sue, Story in a Box, and Vectoring with Silver Quill. I will also be hosting Q&A panels with members of the show staff and look forward to seeing friends both old and new.
Brotherhooves Social: A collaboration with
that tackles one of Big MacIntosh's biggest appearances. I'm currently gathering resources including guest vocals and custom music. Thankfully, I'm nearly done with gathering the resources and after EFNW I will be devoting my energy to finishing the review before May closes. Crusaders of the Lost Mark: This will be a solo review. I've had a lot to say about the CMC and the idea of a group cutie mark, and so this is an important one to cover. I'll also be doing a supplement video on the idea of a group cutie mark and what I think it means.
Neigh Anything: A comic review collab with Sketchy the Changeling
We're going to take a look at the comic's take on how Cadance and Shining Armor began their courtship. This one will likely take a while to produce due to a high graphics demand. June 20th – Celestia Day: I've heard folks talk about Celetia's rule versus the alternate future we saw where Nightmare Moon reigned. I'm going to take a look at the two worlds and offer my own views. Because this is a hard deadline, I may have to delay other projects to meet it. Thankfully, character reviews are usually less graphic-intensive so I can go to editing earlier. The old rule still holds true, however. One minute of video translates one hour of editing.
The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows: A solo review in which I'm going to try to give Pinkie Pie her due, even though the temptation is to talk about Cadance and Shining Armors expected foal. It'll be funny to look back on it given what we've seen with Flurry Heart since.
Crystal Mountain Ponycon: Details on this are still in development but I have every intention of attending this Utah-based convention.
Root of the Problem: Another comic review with Commander Firebrand
. This review has been pushed back multiple times and Firebrand has shown tremendous patience. As with Neigh Anything, this will require a lot of graphical work. Newbie Dash: Jumping ahead for this one because it's a collaboration with DustyKatt
. We're going to take a look at a very controversial episode that means different things to different fans. Aside from Celestia's video, I can't offer set dates for these reviews because of many factors in my life. In addition to a day job and friends outside the brony fandom, I will continue with written reviews on Equestria Daily, Pinkie Pie Says Goodnight comics, my Imani comics, and group projects such as TF2 Analysis Anarchy projects. I appreciate everyone's patience as I work on these videos!
Looking forward to Ponycon!
Getting ready to attend Ponycon. My first time at this convention and I have a special treat.
If you register on their site and enter the code SILVERQUILL25 you'll receive a 25% discount.
Ticket sales close on Sunday, so best hurry!
Looking forward to seeing east coast Bronies!
Anyone who claims that boys don’t cry wasn’t part of the 1986 audience that first witnessed Optimus Prime’s death. I bawled for the lost character, which in later years made me appreciate how much we can connect with fiction. I’ve witnessed other people’s reactions over time.
Another man grew up to be a head creative director for the Alamo Drafthouse and would show the 35mm film again in 2015. Addressing the audience, he said that the movie showed him at a young age that not all heroes survive. Not all causes can be won without sacrifice.
Another man became an artist and featured his craft at comic and anime conventions. Many of his pieces featured Hot Rod in various states of injury, destruction, or humiliation. He never forgave the young Autobot’s blunder.
Don Figueroa saw the same movie as well. His recent comic, Transformers Deviations, carries the tone of someone with a similar vendetta. Deviations is a “what-if” comic issue that asks how the movie might have unfolded if Kup had prevented Hot Rod’s intervention.
A single issue attempts to encapsulate the movie, even though IDW allowed a 4-part adaptation in 2006. If you thought the movie went fast, better bring a neck brace for this!
When I say this story carries a vendetta it’s because the plotline does its best to eliminate all the “new” Transformers from the movie. With Megatron slain, none of the discarded Deceptions have bargaining power with Unicron and are devoured. So no Cyclonus or Scourge. Starscream instead makes a deal with the world eater and becomes Megascream, a Decepticon able to form a gestalt. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the Combiner Wars toyline. Ultra Magnus and most of the other newcomers are killed in the course of the events, cursing Hot Rod’s name.
Oh yes, Hot Rod is the focus of this comic’s contempt. It may seem natural at first that he would doubt himself after seeing that Optimus could handle himself. Yet every other Autobot insults him, questions his loyalty, and wishes he wasn’t there. They’re less forgiving than when he actually got Prime killed. To have Hot Rod doubt himself would be natural character development. To have everyone else hate him for trying suggests that the author is projecting his own resentment.
Optimus, by contrast, is shown in a position of absolute power. The Autobots in the movie were constantly in flight, chased by Decepticons across space and accomplishing a last-minute miracle. Optimus never suffers that vulnerability. He keeps the Autobots together, lands safely on Quintessa with a full force to overthrow the Quintisons, then goes off to confront Unicron, solo.
While Optimus appears mighty, the stakes are much less than in the original storyline. There is no desperation. No sense that the Autobots are facing an impossible task. Optimus is perfect, and thus no force can stop them.
Hot Rod’s only redemption is to sacrifice himself against Unicorn, taking out Megascream, Soundwave, Astrotrain, Dirge, and Thrust. Can you imagine how ruined the cartoon and toy line would have been if this had happened? Rather than opening up future adventures, this comic kills off most of franchise’s iconic characters except Optimus.
And yet I get the impression we’re supposed to be glad that Prime lived, even though the Autobot body count is actually higher than the movie. The movie cast is mostly dead or left forgotten in the void, but that’s all fine because Optimus is still there to quote movie lines.
Looking at this comic, I realize that however poorly conceived Optimus Prime’s death might have been, its impact had so much more meaning. Sacrifice for a cause has little affect when Ultra Magnus and company are killed, for they have no presence. Had this been the true storyline, the audience wouldn’t have cared.
Hot Rod is the target of years of resentment, whether consciously or not. He is all but vilified while Optimus is elevated. If there’s a lesson to take from this, I urge readers to understand that promoting one character at the expense of the another cheapens both. Characters and real people show their strongest when they are surrounded by others who put forth their best.
I find that this comic was too rushed, too crowded, and too personal a grudge to really work on its own. I can’t help but compare it to actual movie, as it’s trying to present an alternate flow of events. The tragedy and triumph we remember in that film had meaning because something important was lost. A story that relies on hero worship may vent a grudge, but does not make for its own great tale.
Odds and Ends, Ends and Odds
Been a lot of changes going on for me recently. 2016 has proven to be a wild ride thus far. I wanted to give a general update on events:
Comic Posts
Last week I was very humbled by the excitement and energy people showed as I posted a review on Equestria Daily. It's a thrill to have been invited to contribute and to have so many people read my thoughts. A consequence is that I can't post my reviews here on DA the night before. Having talked with the EqD staff we decided to aim for midday posting so people who want to see the comic spoiler-free have time to purchase it. I'll be sharing my thoughts on MLP FiM #40 tomorrow.
Videos
For the last two weeks I've been working on backgrounds, objects, and characters for a collaborative project that will not be featured on my channel. Despite my efforts it looks like the video will not be completed on time. Having poured a lot of energy into this I hope that it will be finished by this weekend. An unfortunate side effect is that it's made me reconsider how much to invest in collaborations. I welcome people's thoughts on my past collabs. Were they enjoyable? Did the other reviewers enhance the video or detract from it for you?
On the positive side, I have a script for Canterlot Boutique ready and I'll be plunging to graphics. I already have a special scene that I think folks will find delightful.
But one thing I really want to tackle is...
Imani
I have gone a long time without posting a new chapter for Clutterstep's adventure. I think it would renew my spirits to get that going again. I have a sketch ready and it will be a "two-page spread", digitally speaking. Hope to have that for everyone soon.
Thanks much!