Okay, technically, it’s more than 5 but there are over 100 comics, I had to make an exception here. Especially as some of them are multi-parters that are hard to separate from one another. Also it’s not a top 5 as I couldn’t choose a number one story and so on.

The Boys from Red Fountain: The third comic introduces the Specialists as the girls see them for the first time during the dance. Not only is Timmy literally (and embarassingly) bumping into Tecna (in the butt of all places) awkwardly hilariously,, it adds a fun sort of tension in their coming interactions as she continues to see him a clumsy fool. Musa begins her pining for the reclusive Riven who spends most of the dance sulking. Plus there’s fun interactions with Sky, Brandon, Bloom and Stella that have the tension of readers knowing Brandon and Sky aren’t who they say they are. Also it just has the girls bonding and talking about their crushes, and showing their early dynamics, their differences in opinions and their closeness as they encourage or advise.

#5 Prisoner of the Dark: After learning about her powers, Bloom is questioning her place in Magix and leaves to cool her head only to end up ensnared by the Trix. I enjoy this one for showing Bloom at her best, showing her vulnerabilities and anxieties in being thrust to this new world and what her true heritage might be. It also shows the intense bond of the girls and Sky as they go look for her, heartwarmingly reminding Bloom that she may feel lonely as the last of her kind but she’s not truly alone. It also continues the hilarious interactions between Tecna and Timmy and she begins to soften to him just a little in seeing his usefulness despite his non-typical Specialist skills.

#6 The Swamp Monster: This one is purely for the ship tease in that I always had a sof spot for Darcy and Riven which comes in full force along with Musa’s heartbroken jealousy. But that’s just a small part of the story. It shows Bloom getting a job at Magix at a local cafe which I think shows some extra dimension to Bloom and make the world more real, showing that Bloom has other responsibilities besides fighting witches and Alfea schooling. It also depicts more of Red Fountain’s curriculum with the guys sent to the swamp to investigate the animal carcasses popping up. It also has a meaningful conversation that Stella would still care for “Sky” even if he was just a carpenter which is meaningful considering “Sky”s real origins.

#14 Alone Against Everybody: A late night party jumpstarts the the infamous Musa-Riven romance as Musa tries to get closer to him while he rudely pushes her away. Even so, there’s a third player in the midst-Musa’s ex Mitril. I so love this addition because it shows Musa having options, showcasing why she’s abit mistrusting and unsure of acting on her feelings for Riven when the on-paper-perfect Mitril is there, and framed for crimes he didn’t commit!

#16 King Nobody: This Musa-centered tale sees her helping a dead man trapped in an ancient curse find his true face. As now, he takes form of a person’s greatest desire which allows each of the Winx confront some of their insecurities and fears which is always an intriguing concept done to full effect here for even though his illusions confuse and hurt the girls, they also reveal some inner truths.

The following string of stories are #20-28 that sort of feed into one another so I couldn’t decide between which story I liked best. #20, An Evil Wind takes place after season 2 and brings things to the status quo almost with the Trix being humilated after Darkar’s defeat. On the run and embarassed, they decide to give the entire realm amnesia. Only for it to backfie on them so they don’t remember their previous actions, they don’t even remember the Winx Club beyond a gut-instinct dislike for Bloom. I found this very clever as it allowed for the writers to continue using them stories while side-stepping the realistic outcome that they should be in jail after trying to take over the realm twice. Since they have no memories, they’re allowed back at Cloud Tower to continue to wreck havoc.

This ends up biting the fairies on the butt in #23 with the Return of the Trix Girls as Lucy breaks the oath and tells the Trix about their previous crimes. While they intially don’t believe her, they start to see the upside to being the only ones who know that they have their memories back. Now they can start scheming against the Winx while pretending to be deviously innocent such as #26, The Seed of Disagreement bringing chaos to the magic realm by splitting the Winx apart with a disagreement spores. Again, love the creative twist to returning the status quo.

#21-22 The Shaab Stone and Treason is a two-parter that shows a different side of Helia when the Shaab stone gets into the hands of greedy pawnbrokers. He goes deep undercover, pushing away those who care about him like Flora and butting heads with Riven over percieved favoritism as Saladin’s grandson. This brings a personal change to Helia’s life as he decides to move out and live on his own while working as a specalist part-time. So lots of character development and growth for Helia as well as his relationship with Flora which is nice as they’re often pushed aside on the show.

In #24, Love Potion you can guess what happens. A witch gets a crush on Brandon and uses a love potion to seduce him away from Stella. And that witch is. . . Shrilly. Yeah totally new character separate from the show. hat I really enjoy about the comics is that it expands the Winx’s world, introducing other characters that show the Winx don’t live in a closed bubble. Plus it shows how witch/fairy interactions go outside of the Winx/Trix rivalry. Those interactions with witches and fairies are still anatagonistic but can also be kind as Bloom comforts the lovelorn witch.

Another love issue comes in #25 in Logic and Love. We finally meet Tecna’s parents! Apparently she’s a princess on Zenith and she has an arranged marriage courtsey of her father’s best, smartest computer that has found a man with 95% match rate compared to poor Timmy’s 84%. This brings Tecna’s doubts to her mind. She wants to be with Timmy but what if the computer is right, what if this other man would be a better choice? But her heart is crying out more for Timmy. Logic and love are both powerful forces and has been a long-running conflict for Tecna so I enjoyed seeing another path into this battle for her.

Another Tecna centered story I enjoyed was #52 The Black Comet that introduces her homeworld as the girls save them from the path of a dark comet. It shows how the system is run, the type of government plus the action of invading armies!

#27, Darko the Black introduces the titular character who is so cool and manipulative that I wish he made it on the show. Darko is the son of a witch mafia and childhood friend of the Trix. Now he’s all grown-up and Icy schemes and manipulates him to becoming her boyfriend as well as setting him up to target Bloom. It’s a bit of a twisty love triangle as Darko targets Bloom for her riches and powers, Icy chases after Darko (Icy does have feelings but there’s also some potential power grab here as she has to force him to date her? Witch love is complicated) that continues on to #28 Witch Love in a devious two parter.

#30 Love for Layla puts her in the spotlight with the Pixies trying to get Layla out on the field, learn to flirt and she seems to hit off with a young specialist, Jordan but is he perfect for her? Meanwhile the rest of the Winx are having their own problems as Stella meets her mother’s new boyfriend whose attempts at friendliness only turn her off even more. On the other hand, Tecna’s father heartily disapproves of Timmy which leads to them confronting some of the deeper issues in Tecna’s relationship with her dad.

Another Layla-centric romance story is #71 Layla’s Courage not only has her get back in the dating game after Nabu’s death but introduces her childhood friend. It’s a bittersweet story considering the circumstances as well as the bitterness in finding how time has changed their easy friendship so that it can’t bloom to romance.

#31 The Return of Diaspro puts Bloom and SKy’s relationship on the rocks. Well not more than usual as Bloom is always insecure when Diaspro comes into the picture. This is technically one of Diaspro’s first returns (the other being on the show, I’m not sure which one would be canonically first here or there?) and she still is smarting from their break-up. However in her attempts to break him and Bloom up she ends up in big trouble leading to a surprise team-up between Bloom and Diaspro where she is not only a good ally but they end up having a grudging respect for one another. If only, their relationship could have stayed this way in the show.

It doesn’t as one can see in #79 Conflicts of the Heart post-Erakylon revolt (a comic only storyline which again I wish it was shown in the show, it was so intruiging to introduce kingdom politics rather than just witch vs fairy fights). Sky invites her to a celebratory party for their efforts to quell the rebellion much to Bloom’s ire. Something I find a bit immature as Diaspro is an ally to Erakylon and will have to interact with them at political events but tact is not Bloom’s strong suit when Sky is involved. It also sees Musa get back into the dating game after breaking up with Riven.

#52 Infernal Concotion isn’t too special or unique of a story as Icy creates a potion that will help her fellow witches ace exams at Cloud Towers but with the price of suffering awful drug-like addiction symptoms. Simple plot but I enjoyed it. Another simple plot that still worth a read would be #54, Pandora’s Box as the Winx, and the Trix visit Oskuria College (totally not based on Japan wink wink), a wizard college that adds to the lore of the world. Plus I just enjoy Greek myths.

#62 Stormy Skies has Bloom return to Gardenia to help her foster parents’ troubled marriage while the Winx deal with a power mad wizard in Magix. While the latter has the usual-save-the-day plot, I was interested in seeing Bloom return home and the focus on her adoptive parents with the very mature issue of marriages, drifting apart, and working to communicate in the future.

#97 The Dark Dimension, the Wizards of the Dark Circle return with vengence and their nightmare smoke forces the girls to face their worst fears. While it’s a typical trope, I enjoyed how it focused on Layla’s grief over Nabu and her feelings with the aftermath. Very emotional.

Finally, #65, New Love: This shocking story has a Brandon/Stella break-up of non-magical means. Distressed by her mother’s struggles with the divorce, Stella’s feelings on love and relationships are also thrown into doubt and she breaks up with Brandon. What’s more, she actually begins dating someone else. Shocking since they’re such a solid couple but I enjoyed the concept of trying to find yourself and experiencing other romances so you can better appreciate what you have and know you truly care for the other.