THE 1994 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG COMIC BEST/WORST LIST!

  

Boy, 1994 went by as fast as a video game hedgehog, didn’t it? Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” series grew a lot in its second year. The central cast had their personalities further established. The first of many one-shot specials were published. Most importantly, the book began to move away from the silliness of the earliest stories, creating more dramatic and focused plots. While not the best year for the comic, the series started to get a lot better.

The issues covered in this retrospective are:

Sonic the Hedgehog: #9-#20
Sonic the Hedgehog: In Your Face

BEST COVER STORY:
Angelo DeCesare, “That’s the Spirit” (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 20)

As I mentioned in my review, “That’s the Spirit” is a favorite of mine from childhood. I can’t tell you how many times I read this story as a kid. I’m happy to say that it holds up pretty well. Yeah, there’s still plenty of the silly humor and broad sight-gags you associate with this era of the comic’s history. Yet DeCesare was trying to get at some real truth here. The Freedom Fighters believe Sonic has died and their grief plays out in (generally) realistic ways. That kernel of emotional truth – along with a decent gimmick, of Sonic believing himself to be a ghost – helps elevate what would otherwise be a typical story.

WORST COVER STORY:
Angelo DeCesare, “Rockin’ the ‘Bot” (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 15)

As in 1993, the same writer wrote both the best and worst cover stories of the year. “Rockin’ the ‘Bot” features DeCesare’s worst habits as a writer. The set-up, of Sonic rescuing a talking frog who then gifts him with several magical stones, is inane. The story has one reoccurring gag, where Sonic mixes up which gem does what, that it repeats for fourteen pages. Since Robotnik attacks the heroes inside a bug-shaped robot, the story is also laced with the laziest puns possible. Without being out-right terrible, “Rockin’ the ‘Bot” is still as stock-parts as a Sonic story could be at this point.

BEST BACK STORY:
Mike Kanterovich and Ken Penders, “Sally’s Crusade – Part Two: In the Still of the Night” (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 18)

“In the Still of the Night” is not just the best back story of 1994 but one of the best stories to ever appear in the comic, period. Sally witnesses the death of her teacher, Julayla. The flash-backs that follows give us a peak into the Princess’ past without loosing sight of what’s at stake in the present. This is the first time we’ve met Julayla but the script gives her passing relevance. The story also concludes with one of the best Sonic/Sally moments, as the hedgehog consoles his teammate as the night fades into morning. The result is a story that keeps building on this universe while making time for some honest and touching emotion.

WORST BACK STORY:
Mike Kanterovich and Ken Penders, “What’s the Big Idea?” (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 15)

I swear I don’t plan this but, twice in a row, the worst cover story and worst back story appeared in the same book. While “In the Still of the Night” showed what Penders and Kenterovich would do with these characters, “What’s the Big Idea?” shows the same writers limiting the personalities of the cast. A series of silly gags that attempt to give insight into the characters’ heads, the story comes up short, not getting any laughs or providing much information about the cast.

BEST STORY ARC:
Sally’s Crusade – Mike Kanterovich and Ken Penders (Sonic the Hedgehog 17-18, Sonic the Hedgehog: In Your Face)

Like many future Penders-penned story lines, “Sally’s Crusade” starts strongly before dissolving disappointingly in the back end. While “The Quest,” appearing in the “In Your Face” special, was an underwhelming fetch quest with some lame monster fights, the first two parts of “Sally’s Crusade” stand out. The first part, “First Star I See Tonight,” has Sally reflecting on her past and potential romantic partners before discovering Nicole. As already discussed, “In the Still of the Night” was surprisingly powerful and emotional. These two stories show that, when the writers bothered to explore the characters’ minds, this comic could rise above its status as a cheap book designed to sell video games.

WORST STORY ARC:
The Anti-Sonic Stories – Mike Kanterovich and Ken Penders (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 11, Sonic the Hedgheog: Issue 19)

Truthfully, neither of these stories are that bad. Issue 19’s “Night of 1000 Sonics” wastes a boat load of potential, features some sloppy exposition, weak Robotnik characterization, and some goofy slapstick. Issue 11’s “The Good, the Bad, and the Hedgehog” isn’t much more than a ramble between Sonic and his evil counterpart. However, neither story really does much with the Mirror Universe concept. The number of pop culture references both stories feature suggest Penders and Kanterovich were really phoning it in with these two.

BEST COVER ART:
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 20 – Dave Manak

We’re right on the edge of Spaz taking over cover art duty from Dave Manak, which would be a massive improvement. While leading with Manak’s sometimes jagged artwork wasn’t always the best idea, issue 20 has an undeniably eye-catching cover. Sally, Tails, and Rotor all weep while kneeling before a memorial statue of Sonic. The emotion on the heroes’ faces count for a lot and the sight fo Sonic’s grave stone is certainly striking.

WORST COVER ART:
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 12 – Dave Manak

For most of the comic’s first two years, it was rare for the cover art to relate to the stories inside the book. Usually, it was another silly sight gag, commenting on Sonic’s speed or his perceived superior coolness. Issue 12 has one of the lamer sight gags, with Sonic’s super-fast piano playing setting the musical instrument ablaze and Sally commenting on his speed. Worst than that, both Sonic and Sally seem slightly off-model. It’s not Manak’s best work.

BEST STORY ART:
Art Mawhinney: “Deadliest of the Species: Prologue” (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 20)

Art Mawhinney, probably the definitive “Sonic” artist of the series’ early years, did a lot of great work in 1994. However, my favorite of his stories is this one, the prologue to the “Princess Sally” mini-series. There’s very little dialogue in this one, the story instead relying on Mawhinney’s steady pencils. Set at night, with Sally sneaking into and destroying one of Robotnik’s base, there’s some great action, clever perspective shots, and a moody use of shadow and moon light.

WORST STORY ART:
Dave Manak, “Do-It-Yourself Sonic” (Sonic the Hedgheog: Issue 14)

As I’ve said many times before, Dave Manak’s artwork can be shaky even on a good day. “Do-It-Yourself Sonic” was a silly idea to begin with, the dialogue balloons left empty so fans could submit their own words. Manak’s pencils are fairly weak. Robotnik and Crabmeat look silly inside the submarine’s cramp compartments. The action is stiff, with Sonic and Tails clumsily sailing away from the attacker. There’s a general lack of continuity between the panels. It’s not too hot.

BEST NEW CHARACTER:
Knuckles the Echidna

What other choice was there? Up until the introduction of Shadow the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna was the second most popular character in the “Sonic” franchise for years. His sole appearance in 1994 doesn’t give Knuckles too much to do. It does, however, establish the broad strokes of his personality: Brass, likes to rumble, doesn’t chuckle, gullible. In times, Knuckles would develop some nuances and subtleties of his own, perhaps even surpassing Sonic in terms of complexity. All of that is a while off but, even in his first appearance, it’s obvious that Knuckles has lots of potential.

WORST NEW CHARACTERS:
The Nerbs

Oh, fuck these guys. Visually patterned after the then-stereotypes of “nerds,” the Nerbs are obnoxious, spending their entire story being massive assholes to our heroes. That makes it difficult to care about their lives being threaten. If they had been drown, I wouldn’t have missed them. Unsurprisingly, the Nerbs would be forgotten by most everyone immediately after their debut issue.


BEST IDEA:
Accepting death.

You’ll notice the two best stories of 1994 have something in common: Death. Julayla dies in the one story and everyone believes Sonic has died in the other. You wouldn’t expect a comic book about a cartoon hedgehog who runs fast to approach such a topic. Furthermore, you wouldn’t expect either story to be pretty good. Yet death is something everybody has to deal with, even cartoon hedgehogs, and approaching the grim subject makes a wild universe seem more human, more personable.

WORST IDEA:
So many Sonics!

I don’t dislike the Anti-Sonic concept. However, an evil double of the hero from an alternate universe where good is evil and evil is good was not a novel idea in 1994. Spinning these concept off into a whole multi-verse of bizarre Sonic variations – ranging from Surfer Dude Sonic to Magician Sonic – was not the best decision. It seems Archie was operating under the logic that, if readers love one Sonic, they’ll love a hundred! This logic was flawed.