IDW comics

The Friendship is Magic franchise extends to several comic books. Outside of the short strips published in My Little Pony magazines, there are three series of ongoing comics published by IDW Publishing. The first issue of the comic's main series was IDW's most successful book in 2012 and the company's top-selling book overall, placing 90th (61st by dollar value) overall for the year. As of October 2013, the comics have sold over one million copies. Other statistics can be found here.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
The main series consists of original stories and story arcs set after the second season of the show:
 * 1) The first arc (issues 1-4) is entitled The Return of Queen Chrysalis and features the return of the eponymous villain, who plots her revenge on the Mane 6 following the events of A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2.
 * 2) The second arc (issues 5-8), entitled Nightmare Rarity in a tumblr post by Brenda Hickey who drew a later comic, features the return of the Nightmare Forces, which are related to Nightmare Moon, turning Rarity into the new Nightmare Moon.
 * 3) The third arc (issues 9-10) is entitled Zen and the Art of Gazebo Repair and focuses on Big McIntosh.
 * 4) The fourth arc (issues 11-12) is entitled Neigh Anything and focuses on Shining Armor and Princess Cadance.
 * 5) The fifth arc (issues 13-14) is entitled My Little Pirate: Friendship Ahoy and sees the main cast becoming the unwilling crew of notorious pirate captain Hoofbeard.
 * 6) The sixth story arc (issues 15-16) features a bookworm that eats all the books in Twilight's library and brings fictional story characters, both good and evil, into Ponyville.
 * 7) The seventh story arc (issues 17-20), titled Reflections, involves the Mane 6 entering an alternate universe where another version of Celestia rules Equestria with an iron fist, along with evil versions of Princess Luna and the Mane 6.
 * 8) The eighth story arc (issues 21-22), titled Manehattan Mysteries in a tumblr post by story author Ted Anderson, involves Trixie being framed for a crime in Manehattan and Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy attempting to prove her innocence and catch the real criminal.
 * 9) Issue #23 is a standalone story that involves the Mane Six's pets working together to save a troubled Ponyville when their owners are incapacitated.
 * 10) Issue #24 is a standalone story that involves Fluttershy, Discord and the Cutie Mark Crusaders travelling back in time.
 * 11) The ninth story arc (issues 25-26), titled The Good, the Bad and the Ponies, is a Western-themed story centered around Applejack and "new villains".
 * Further arcs are to be released in the future.

My Little Pony Micro-Series
The micro-series consists of single-issue stories, each focusing on a single character. The first six issues focus on the main six characters, and further issues focus on other characters. Issue #10 was released as the last issue.

My Little Pony: Friends Forever
Friends Forever is a new ongoing series that replaced the micro-series after it concluded its run. It started in January 2014, and consists of single-issue stories, each focusing on two characters (the first of which focuses on Applejack and Pinkie Pie).

Annual editions
A My Little Pony annual was released in October 30 2013. It is written by Ted Anderson and Katie Cook, drawn by Tony Fleecs and Andy Price and colored by Tony Fleecs. It is 48 pages long and features two stories based on the My Little Pony Equestria Girls movie. The first story, entitled The Fall of Sunset Shimmer, is 8 pages long and was originally published in the 2013 San Diego Comic Con version of . It tells the origin of Sunset Shimmer. The main story is about the human versions of the mane six struggling as freshmen at Canterlot High.

My Little Pony Annual 2014 is set to be released on September 24, 2014. It is written by Ted Anderson and drawn and colored by Ben Bates. The official synopsis states "Check out the original Power Ponies in action! When Mane-iac assembles an all-star team of villains, the Power Ponies may be outmatched! It will take a familiar face from Equestria to even the odds! Get ready for super powered adventure like you’ve never seen it!"

Compilations
A 104-page trade paperback book which collects issues #1-4, entitled My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Volume 1, was released on May 28, 2013. Volume 2 of the series contains issues #5-8 and was released on September 24, 2013. Volume 3 of the series contains issues #9-12 and was released on January 28, 2014. Volume 4 of the series contains issues #13-16 and was released on May 20, 2014. Volume 5 of the series contains issues #17-20 and is to be released on September 30, 2014. Volume 6 of the series contains issues #21-24 and is to be released on January 20, 2015.

A 152-page TPB entitled My Little Pony: Pony Tales Volume 1, collecting Micro-Series issues #1-6, was released on November 5, 2013. A translation was released in Japan on January 20, 2014. Volume 2 contains issues #7-10 and was released on March 4, 2014.

IDW Limited will release a deluxe hardcover edition of the first four issues (including a cover gallery); these will be available in red, black, and blue labels, each with increasing exclusive content.

My Little Pony Omnibus Volume 1, a compilation of the first twelve issues of the Friendship is Magic series of comics is to be released on October 28, 2014.

My Little Pony: Adventures in Friendship Volume 1, a 76-page hardcover compilation of, , , and original artwork by Sara Richard, is to be released on December 16, 2014.

Other releases
IDW Limited released comicfolios for Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash on April 15, 2013. Each comicfolio contains a variant cover comic book and lithograph in a hardcover portfolio; they are limited to 500 copies. Comicfolios for Rarity and Fluttershy were released on May 7, followed by Applejack and Pinkie Pie editions that were released in July.

A 72-page "Color Me" Treasury Edition was released on June 12, 2013, containing the first issue in black and white as well as "all forty-eight" covers for the first four issues.

My Little Pony: Digest-Size is to be released in trade paperback volumes, each 6x9 inches and containing 52 pages.

My Little Pony Animated is a series of trade paperback books published by IDW Publishing intended for younger readers. The books consist of frames from the show with dialogue balloons (taken directly from the show scripts ), sound effects, etc. Volume 1, entitled My Little Pony: The Magic Begins, which is 112 pages long, was released on August 27, 2013.

My Little Pony Cover Gallery! series is to be released, each 32 pages of issue covers; issue #1 was released in August 2013.

Coinciding with Halloween 2013, IDW released a free "Halloween Edition" mini-comic of My Little Pony.

IDW also made a deal with Madefire to release motion book versions of the main series comics.

A "48 page Equestria Girls Holiday Special" comic is due for release on December 24, 2014. The official synopsis states "It's holiday time at Canterlot High! Sunset Shimmer is still getting used to life on campus, and her new friends. When mean rumors start to circulate, all signs point to Sunset as the source. Will she be able to find the true meaning of the holidays and clear her name?"

Art
The cover and page artists often release their own versions of the final cover designs and page art.
 * Heather Breckel's gallery contains some page art.
 * Katie Cook's gallery contains some cover and page art.
 * Tony Fleecs' gallery contains cover art, including the Hot Topic covers and Larry's/Jetpack Comics combined cover final versions.
 * Andy Price's gallery contains preliminary character studies, the art for issue 1 covers A-F, and some original page inks.
 * Sara Richard's gallery contains her original cover art.

Galleries

 * IDW comics image gallery
 * Main series gallery
 * Micro-Series gallery
 * Friends Forever gallery