IDW Publishing, an American comic publisher which published tie-in comic books to Hasbro properties from 2005 to 2025, began to publish monthly My Little Pony comics from November 2012 to January 2025. The comics are primarily based on the characters from the 2010 relaunch of the franchise and its television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, as well as the spin-off Equestria Girls. Beginning in 2022, many of the comics also feature the characters from the fifth generation of the franchise and its associated television series My Little Pony: Make Your Mark.
The flagship monthly publication, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, ran for 102 issues from November 2012 to October 2021, and was succeeded by My Little Pony, based on the fifth iteration of the franchise, which ran for 20 issues from May 2022 to December 2023. The release of the main series titles is typically accompanied by one or several secondary monthly titles. In addition to these publications, IDW has also published several one-off issues.
The comics follow the studious Twilight Sparkle (originally a unicorn, later given a pair of wings) and her friends in adventures throughout the empire of Equestria. Though the comic, like the TV series, is aimed at young children, the writers and artists have consistently taken risks, including expanding Sombra's storyline, the Friendship is Magic miniseries, introducing little violence, and more. They have been well received, having presented complex, multi-issue story arcs, and included material to appeal to the broad older fandom, featuring cultural references and show elements enjoyed by them.
The first issue saw more than 100,000 pre-orders prior to its release, making it one of the best-selling comics of both the month and the year, requiring IDW to issue a second printing; it was only one of two non-DC or non-Marvel comics to be in the top 100 comics sold in 2012. Subsequent issues were monthly best sellers and represented IDW's highest-selling property. Journalists in the comic industry noted that with the older fans likely buying comics for the first time in many years, along with child fans purchasing comic books for the first time, the success of the My Little Pony comic could aid the ailing industry. The first issue was highly praised for capturing the spirit of the characters and presentation of the show while providing a good introduction to its mythos for those who were unfamiliar with it.
In October 2025, Boom! Studios announced it had acquired the license for My Little Pony. Boom! Studios also launched a Kickstarter for a five-hardcover set of the IDW comics titled My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Rainbow Collection on March 31, 2026.
Concept and creation Hasbro's My Little Pony franchise, started in the 1980s, has had several animated television series and direct-to-video movies to help promote and sell the associated toy line collection; over the years, there have been five "generations" of designs and associated characters and setting. In 2010, Hasbro aimed to relaunch the My Little Pony line, following the recent success of the re-envisioning of the Transformers franchise, and brought in animator Lauren Faust as the creative developer for the show; in addition to developing the looks and characters to be featured in the toy line, Faust was also tasked with creating a new tie-in show as to provide programming for its new cable network, The Hub (now Discovery Family; owned by Discovery Communications and Hasbro). Faust's previous experience on shows like The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends led to her developing a show that would have cross-generational appeal to young girls and the parents that would watch the show with them. Her characters were designed to challenge the norm of girl stereotypes while still keeping the archetypes as familiar figures. Faust worked with several former co-writers from her previous shows (including her husband and animator Craig McCracken), and with the directors at DHX Media's 2D animation studio (formerly Studio B Productions) in Vancouver, British Columbia, where the show would be produced to fill out the world.
The resulting show, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, was well received by parents, but found another unexpected target audience through the Internet photo-board, 4chan, primarily adult males from 13 to 35 years old. Quickly expanding through the Internet, the fandom came to use the term "brony" (a portmanteau of "bro" and "pony") to describe themselves. The brony fandom is attributed to Faust and her creative team for including strong characters, cross-generational appeal, cultural references, the show's expressive Flash-based animation, and the ability for the showrunners to communicate and reciprocate with the fandom, such as including fan-derived elements within the show. Hasbro was also caught off-guard by this surprise demographic but have come to embrace it, using licensing deals to market clothes, media, and other merchandise beyond the toys to the older audience.
One such avenue was the creation of a comic series; there had previously been no mass-market My Little Pony comics, albeit it does have "stock comics" featured in various licensed children's magazines such as Sparkle World, which even continues to do so. Hasbro's Director of Global Publishing Michael Kelly had introduced the idea to Hasbro following success of IDW Publishing's publications of G.I. Joe and Transformers comics, where it initially met some skepticism. Kelly and IDW helped to show internally that the current iteration of the My Little Pony show was readily transferred to comics due to its style and humor. Hasbro and IDW announced its licensing deal at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2012. Katie Cook and Andy Price were announced as the first arc's writer and illustrator, respectively; Cook had previous experience at both DC Comics and Marvel Comics, along with her own webcomic "Gronk", while Price had been involved with DC and the Batman Archives series. Cook stated that she has been a My Little Pony fan from the first generation of toys, and found that with this series, "the characters are strong and lovable, the stories are well-written, and there's an underlying sense of humor to the show that's very hip", making it a "great all-ages property".
Cook aimed to write the stories for the comic to be something that she herself would enjoy "as a Pony fan and an all-ages writer", and planned to continue in the spirit of the show, avoiding the feel of a "freebie Barbie comic" that would otherwise be packaged with toys. She further stated that she wanted to write an all-ages book, something that parents can share and read with their children. Like the show, she had included pop cultural references that adults will get, but does not try to shoehorn these in. She used the first four-story arc as a means for herself to get comfortable in writing for the characters, thus bringing back an established villain as the antagonist for the first story. Cook does plan to introduce new characters and settings in later issues. She noted that the first story includes dark and scary elements, but she does not consider them any darker than the show itself. At the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con, Cook commented that in considering how dark to take the stories, "My personal gauge is Dark Crystal. If it's darker than the Skeksis sucking the life out of a Podling, I don't go there." Though normally Cook would write and draw her own comics, her work in the My Little Pony comic was her first foray into writing out a script and directing others to draw out the art. She expressed pleasure at working with Price has they have worked well together in the past. However, Cook does continue to do some of the art; the first issue contains a short two-page comic written and drawn by herself.
Price himself is influenced by works of comic artists including Don Newton and José Luis García-López. He himself includes some of the pop cultural references within the art beyond those written in by Cook. Price noted that his popularity, measured by Twitter followed, grew explosively after the comic's announcement, and compares working on the comic to his previous efforts at DC and Marvel, "being the artist on this book is an experience completely unlike any other".
Price has stated that Hasbro does give them freedom to write and draw the comic as they see fit, typically only asking for changes to achieve "a little bit more show accuracy". In one case, they had a story planned that Hasbro told them was being done within the show, and had to scrap it; in another case, they had initially planned to open the first issue with the Cutie Mark Crusaders camping, but found that the show already had a similar scene, within the Season 3 episode "Sleepless in Ponyville", and altered these pages for something different. Other elements of the show have been considered "off limits" for the comics until blessed by Hasbro; the villain Discord was considered one of these until the start of Season 4 of the show which changed aspects of his character, after which Hasbro allowed the comic to use the character. Price states they tried to keep their novel stories "copacetic" with the show, giving them the chance to take some risks; he stated that Hasbro was initially "scared to death" with their "Reflections" arc, which incorporates many science fiction elements such as alternate universe, but ended up pleased with the result.
Characters and continuity
The comics take place in the same fictional universe as the television show, in the land of Equestria which is populated primarily by ponies (including unicorns and pegasi), along with numerous other sentient and non-sentient creatures. The primary characters of the comic include: Twilight Sparkle, a studious unicorn (later alicorn) gifted in magic, who has come to learn the value of friendship since arriving in Ponyville. Spike, a baby dragon and Twilight's assistant, who uses his fire breath to send Twilight's messages back and forth to her mentor, Princess Celestia. Applejack, a hard-working earth pony in charge of her family's apple orchard, Sweet Apple Acres. Fluttershy, a timid pegasus with a fondness for animals. Pinkie Pie, a hyperactive earth pony who loves to throw parties. Rainbow Dash, a tomboyish pegasus who helps set Ponyville's weather and dreams of joining the Wonderbolts aeronautics team. Rarity, a glamorous unicorn clothing designer who runs her own boutique. The younger Cutie Mark Crusaders, consisting of Apple Bloom (earth pony; Applejack's younger sister), Sweetie Belle (unicorn; Rarity's younger sister), and Scootaloo (a pegasus that idolizes Rainbow Dash), who are in a hurry to get their cutie marks that show what their talent is for life.
The series provides stories based on the established fictional universe of Friendship Is Magic TV series; the comic usually follows the TV series' canon, but the show does not technically follow comic canon.
Publications
In addition to monthly single issue releases, IDW has also published collected volumes covering the individual story arcs.
Friendship Is Magic (November 2012 – October 2021)
The flagship title, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, was a monthly comic book series that debuted on November 28, 2012. The series was typically written in story arcs that span either two or four issues apiece; Katie Cook and Andy Price write and illustrate the first arc, respectively, while Heather Nuhfer and Amy Mebberson perform the same on the second.