The first appearance of a character in comic book form is often the most valuable issue featuring that character. It's a nice place to get started in My Little Pony, if it's within your budget.

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• MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC [2012] #1  (1st appearance of MLP (G4))

There were no MLP comic books released in the United States until Generation Four (G4). IDW has had the license to publish MLP comics, and it is one of the strongest of their various licensed properties, typically with multiple offerings each month. MLP is not part of IDW's shared Hasbro Universe based on mulitple Hasbro properties. The UK published a long-running series (224 issues) and another lengthy series (51 issues) of comics associated with MLP (G1) from 1984-1994. Everything in the following list is G4.

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• MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC [2012] #1-  (flagship ongoing series)
• MY LITTLE PONY: MICRO SERIES [2013] #1-10
• MY LITTLE PONY [2013-DIG] #1-  (digest-sized adaptations of animated television show episodes)
• MY LITTLE PONY ANNUAL 2013 [2013]
• MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDS FOREVER [2014] #1-38  (long-running, second ongoing series)
• MY LITTLE PONY ANNUAL 2014 [2014]
• MY LITTLE PONY: FIENDSHIP IS MAGIC [2015] #1-5  (mini-series)
• MY LITTLE PONY HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2015 [2015]
• MY LITTLE PONY ANNUAL 2017 [2017]
• MY LITTLE PONY: DEVIATIONS [2017]
• MY LITTLE PONY: LEGENDS OF MAGIC [2017] #1-12  (maxi-series)
• MY LITTLE PONY: THE MOVIE PREQUEL [2017] #1-4  (mini-series)
• MY LITTLE PONY: MOVIE ADAPTATION [2017-TPB]   (movie adaptation; first time in print)
• MY LITTLE PONY HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2017 [2017]
• MY LITTLE PONY: LEGENDS OF MAGIC ANNUAL 2018 [2018]
• MY LITTLE PONY: PONYVILLE MYSTERIES [2018] #1-  (likely maxi-series)
• MY LITTLE PONY: NIGHTMARE KNIGHTS [2018] #1-5
• MY LITTLE PONY: IDW 20/20 [2019]
• MY LITTLE PONY: SPIRIT OF THE FOREST [2019] #1-3  (mini-series)
• MY LITTLE PONY: THE MANGA [2019-DIG] #1-  (kid-friendly original manga stories)
• MY LITTLE PONY: THE FEATS OF FRIENDSHIP [2019] #1-3  (mini-series)
• MY LITTLE PONY HOLIDAY SPECIAL [2019]
• MY LITTLE PONY EQUESTRIA GIRLS: CANTERLOT HIGH--MARCH RADNESS [2020]
• TRANSFORMERS/MY LITTLE PONY [2020] #1-4

If you've already enjoyed some of the series listed in the Main Publication History above, series from this secondary publication list are very good places to further your exploration. Everything in the following list is G4.

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• MY LITTLE PONY COVER GALLERY [2013] #1
• MY LITTLE PONY: HALLOWEEN COMICFEST [2013-MINI]
• MY LITTLE PONY ART GALLERY [2013]
• MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDS FOREVER--HALLOWEEN COMICFEST 2014 [2014]
• MY LITTLE PONY: EQUESTRIA GIRLS HOLDIAY SPECIAL 2014 [2014]
• MY LITTLE PONY: HALLOWEEN COMICFEST [2016]

A key issue can be an acceptable place to get started with My Little Pony, but they are more of a collector's checklist, as they can carry high price tags.

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• MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC [2012] #1   (1st appearance of MLP (G4))

In modern comic publishing, it's common (and expected) for individual comic book issues to be collected into compilations of trade paperbacks and/or hardcovers, as well as other special compilations. Unlike the individual source issues, the collected editions typically stay in print for long periods and are less 'collectible.' If individual issues are out of reach or are not of interest to you or if you just need reading copies, the following collected editions of My Little Pony comic books are the most recent in-print editions and are the perfect alternative to get started right away with My Little Pony. The following compilations are presented in a chronologically-based suggested reading order with softcover editions before any hardcover editions (unless the only in-print editions are hardcover--these are integrated into the softcover list).

The omnibus versions of the trade paperbacks below are just compilations of the same series as the respective non-omnibus versions with more issues per trade. The following list is huge because nearly everything from IDW is still in print as a compilation!