Now that the introduction is out of the way, let's go over a few terms I will be frequently using throughout my articles when it comes to the comic books.
THE SERIES
IDW has put out several comic book series since its initial launch in 2012. Friendship is Magic was their flagship series and is still running to this day. As of writing this article, they just released issue #50 and it doesn't look like it will be stopping soon. This series frequently has multi-issue story arcs that can span 2, 3, or even 4 issues.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Issue #5 Cover A
The Micro-Series was a 10 issue series that ran not long after Friendship is Magic launched. Each issue focussed on 1 particular character. The first 6 issues covered the mane 6 cast with the last issues being dedicated to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Spike, Celestia, and Luna.
My Little Pony: Micro-Series Issue #2 Cover A
Friends Forever is a series that pairs 2 characters from the My Little Pony world together in a stand alone issue. This series frequently say background characters being paired up with more popular characters from the show. It has been going on for several years now, but it due to end in the next couple months.
My Little Pony: Friends Forever Issue #5 Subscription Cover
FIENDship is Magic was a short 5-issue series that was released weekly for one month back in 2015. Like the Micro-Series, it focussed on one character (or group of characters) but instead told the backstory of the My Little Pony villians.
My Little Pony: FIENDship is Magic Issue #4 Cover A
There have been several special issues like the Annual (a comic released once a year but usually has more pages than the regular comics), the Holiday Specials (done around Christmas time), and the Equestria Girls comics (that features the alternate dimension version of the ponies of Equestria).
My Little Pony Annual 2014 Cover A
THE COMICS
The comics usually are released with multiple covers for each issue. The actual comic inside is the same but the cover is a different image. There is typically the main cover (what you will mostly likely see if you go to a comic shop) and a subscription cover (for orders that are a reoccurring subscription; which most comic shops have). The early issues had multiple main covers. These covers are generally $3-$4 a piece.
Friendship is Magic Issue 1 Covers A-F
After the main cover and the subscription cover, there is the retailer incentive. This is a program put in place by the distributor (IDW in this case) to reward comic shops who buy several issues. If the shop buys a certain about of comics of an issue, they can buy a retailer incentive cover. These covers are a little rarer that the main cover and subscription cover. For the My Little Pony series, the typical retailer incentive is a 1:10 (said as "one in ten"). So, the comic shop has to buy ten comics order to buy one retailer incentive cover. These typically sell for around $10 a cover, but the price is decided by the comic shop. Every once in a while there are even rarer retailer incentives that IDW makes. For Issue #2, there was a 1:50 retailer incentive. When IDW reprinted issue one under the theme Hundred Penny Press (an issue #1 to sell for $1) they had a 1:100 retailer incentive. These special rarer retailer incentives obviously will be sold for a premium price since it requires the comic shop to purchase a large bulk of comics. They can range from $50 up to $200 depending on how many the shop had to purchase.
Friendship is Magic Issue 3 Retailer Incentive
Another type of cover you will run across are retailer exclusives. These are covers that are commissioned by a specific retailer or comic shop. The most common retailer exclusive we are in the My Little Pony comics was the Hot Topic variant (a word used to mean a specific cover). They were sold at Hot Topic stores and on their website for about $5.50. Another retailer exclusive that was common was Jetpack comics and Larry's comics retailer exclusive covers. These were covers commissioned by comic shops. As they don't have the buying power of a major retailer like Hot Topic, there wasn't a whole bunch of these comics made. They are usually limited to under 1000 created or less (some even rumored to be as low as 125).
Friendship is Magic Issue 24 Jetpack Comics Exclusive
Lastly, there are convention covers. These are basically retailer exclusives, but instead of being tied to a specific store or comic shop, they are linked with a specific convention or event. There is almost guaranteed a convention cover every year at San Diego Comic Con. Several MLP cons like BronyCon and Everfree Northwest usually have a cover as well. These covers are first available to purchase for those attending the convention in person. If any are left over they may appear on a website for sale. These con covers are usually pretty limited so they can become one of the harder covers to get if you are not going to be attending the convention yourself.
Friendship is Magic Issue #9 San Diego ComicCon 2013 Cover
THE TEAM
It takes a lot to take a comic from an idea to sitting on a shelf in a comic shop. Several people work on the comic I'm different stages to get it in your hands.
The writer is the person (or persons) responsible for writing the story for the comic. If you've read a comic and thought "wow, that was a good issue!" then the writer is probably who you should be looking at to thank. There are several writes throughout all the MLP comic series. Katie Cook is probably the most know as she started writing for the comics since issue one.
The artists are the people in case of drawing out the comic that will appear in the pages. Just like the artists, IDW uses several artists through their series. Andy Price is the most common artists, frequently teaming up with Cook. (A lot of people feel the Cook/Price being the key storylines to read). Tony Fleecs and Agnes Garbowska are other frequent artists. Aside from the regular artists there is also cover artists. These are the people who drew a specific cover for that issue. While a lot of the regular artists will also draw covers, there are several covers artists who have only drawn covers, like Sara Richards or Mary Bellamy.
FIENDship is Magic Issue #1 1:25 Retailer Incentive
There are many more things to discuss about the comics such as sketch covers or original art pages, as well as things to go over like "how to find a comic you're looking for" and "properly protecting your comics" which I will go over in future articles. Keep coming back to check on more interesting things about the My Little Pony Comics.
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