You know me, right? I love a crossover. And Transformers. Put both of those things together, regardless of the characters teaming up with the Cybertronic Warriors, and it’s pretty much *insert Futurama ‘Shut up and take my money!’ GIF*.

So I’ve already covered the complete first series of My Little Pony/Transformers and found it to be an unexpectedly fun and creative crossover. I was less enamoured with the first issue of My Little Pony/Transformers II, which I felt lost some colour and charm in the move from Equestria to Cybertron.

Thankfully, the second issue is a huge improvement and gets us back to the heights of the first crossover between Hasbro’s franchises.

The first story in issue two sees a surprising aerial alliance formed between the Decepticons and flying Equestrian team, The Wonderbolts, ending on a cute punchline.

Next up is a wild west pastiche starring quadrupedal cowgirl Applejack, in a dusty showdown with ex-Autobot Wildwheel. It’s really fun – and shows how much space there is to play with the crossover concept between the two big universes of both properties.

Another cover gallery, showcasing the beautifully colourful artwork that’s characteristic of the two crossovers so far, rounds out the issue.

After the shaky start to the second series, it’s great to see perhaps one of the strongest issues yet, with the second tale here being extremely well executed and cleverly written. It’s been a very odd ride so far with the two very different worlds clashing, but I’ve generally been very entertained and pleasantly surprised by the execution of the slightly odd concept. Great stuff – full props to IDW and the creative teams for making it work so well, particularly when it would have been just as easy to make a lazy cash in.