Hitch Trailblazer started a podcast! Can he solve the mystery of Pansy SIlverbell’s disappearance in MareCrime Bay? Find out in My Little Pony #12 by IDW Publishing!

MY LITTLE PONY #12

Writer: Casey Gilly
Artist: Amy Mebberson
Colorist: Heather Breckel
Letterer: Neil Uyetake
Editor: Riley Farmer
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: May 3rd, 2023 

Previously in My Little Pony: Magic returned to Equestria when Sunny Starscout and her new friends united the three pony types. After stopping Discord from getting rid of magic a second time, the Mane 5 now has a little downtime. Sheriff Hitch has decided to reopen some cold cases on his new podcast, MareCrime Bay!

My Little Pony #12 starts with Hitch informing the audience about the cold case. Pansy Silverbell went missing on her way to a bake-off where she was favored to win. Pansy was a good person who was an unbeatable champion and tried to connect people through a baking club and loved soups. Hitch’s two suspects are Jazz Hooves and Dahlia. He meets with Jazz Hooves, who tells him about accidentally crashing into Pansy the day of the bake-off but has no other information. Dahlia, however, used an anonymous social media profile to say mean things before the competition. During this investigation, Hitch and Zipp are eating soup from a food truck that is absolutely addicting!

Hitch then learns that Pansy entered the competition and won. Through his podcast, he receives an e-mail asking him to meet someone at Dockside Park. This mysterious stranger is Pansy herself, who uses her prize money to get out of public attention and open a soup-serving food truck. With this new realization, the case is closed!

I had to explain what a podcast was to my daughter when we read My Little Pony #12. Despite participating in and running several podcasts, the vocabulary wasn’t in my 5-yo zeitgeist. Out of curiosity, I messaged my 16-yo brother, and even he wasn’t sure what a podcast was, though he claimed he knew about it after I explained it. This mystery isn’t that complex but perhaps difficult for its target audience to understand. This book feels like it targets elementary school students, but some of the vocabulary and concepts aren’t familiar. This idea of a cold case and questioning didn’t engage my daughter, but at the very least, she understood the theme of wanting to get out of the spotlight. As an adult reader trying to share an interest in ponies with my daughter, I thought the story was interesting. I like the investigation tropes here, but it was straightforward, as it should as a middle-aged man reading a children’s comic. If it is too complicated for my daughter but not intellectually engaging for me, then who is the target audience?

The art is a standard affair for My Little Pony. The art isn’t complicated to overwhelm the reader but establishes the tone and personalities of the character. Good job from the artist and colorist here.

The My Little Pony title has been hit or miss. My Little Pony #12 is a miss for its target audience, even if the quality of the story and art is solid. With that in mind, this book is a 3.5 out of 5 stars, but I will continue reading this series with my pony-obsessed daughter!