THE 1995 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG COMIC BEST/WORST LIST!

1995 has to have been one of the busiest years for Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” series. Within the span of twelve months, the company would put out ten regular issues of the series, two separate three issue mini-series, and three one-shot specials. That’s enough hedgehog and echidna action to satisfy anyone, I’d imagine.

1995 was also a year of impressive growth for the comic’s mythology. This was the year Ken Penders – controversial as his name may well be – really started to build up the comic’s world. The groundwork for his divisive “Knuckles” solo series was laid, the main cast doubled, and myth arcs that wouldn’t be resolved for years were first introduced. ’95 was also the most serious year for the comic yet. Good or bad, for better or worst, this was the year the comic truly started to break away from the cartoon shows and video games that spawned it.

All right, enough yapping. Let’s get on with it. The issues covered in this retrospective are as follows:

Sonic the Hedgehog: #22-31
Princess Sally (Mini-Series): #1-3
Tails (Mini-Series): #1-3
Sonic and Knuckles
Sonic Triple Trouble
Knuckles' Chaotix

BEST COVER STORY:
Ken Penders, "A Scrambled Hedgehog" (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 27)

Issue 27 didn’t reinvent the wheel. The central crux of the story – hero gets bopped on head, looses his memory, and is recruited by the villain against his friends – has been done many times before and after. However, “A Scrambled Hedgehog” is a damn satisfying yarn. It doesn’t undermine the seriousness of Sonic turning on his friends. Sally and the Freedom Fighters are smartly portrayed, as they immediately realize something is off for Sonic. Moreover, this is an action packed issue, devoted to Sonic blasting through Knothole’s defenses, that moves so quickly that the flaws barely register.

WORST COVER STORY:
Ken Penders, "A Robot Rides the Rails" (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 31)

Like I said, Penders’ stuff is divisive. It’s not that “A Robot Rides the Rails” is a god-awful piece of shit. Instead, it’s an awkward story, held down by heavy exposition. The characters stumble towards their objective without focus. Despite its name, the Dynamac-3000 is not a dynamic threat. As far as evil robots go, it’s pretty boring. And neither of the main heroes defeat it either. If not the worst, this is easily the most forgettable story of the year.

BEST BACK STORY:
Mike Gallagher, "Growing Pains Part 2" (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 29)

While Tails’ mini-series proved disappointing, the back-up stories leading up to it featured the best characterization the two-tailed fox yet. Tails grows a lot over these two stories, as he feels betrayed by his idol, rebels, falls in love, gets his heart broken, and strikes a major blow against the enemy. The second part of “Growing Pains” is high-lighted as it features most of the action. The story borders on melodrama at times – what with Tails’ pronouncements about his lost youth – but somehow it works. Lastly, Tails’ tale wraps up on a bittersweet image, of the robotic Fiona Fox shedding a single tear.

WORST BACK STORY:
Ken Penders, "The Hunt is On!" (Knuckles' Chaotix)

Pender strikes again! “The Hunt is On!” has a mysterious threat appearing out of nowhere, defeating and capturing Knuckles’ friends. Where this threat comes from isn’t expanded on, the story lurching forward without much explanation. The way the enemy strikes – floating balls of doom, sudden robots – are deeply uninspired. The worst part is that all of this is a huge misdirect. The man behind all this chaos will soon be revealed as Knuckles’ mentor! That eventual reveal tells me that Penders was just making shit up as he went along.

BEST STORY ARC:
Ken Penders, "A Scrambled Hedgehog"/"Saturday Night's Alright for a Fight" (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 27-28)

I’ve already written about the pros of “A Scrambled Hedgehog.” Promising beginnings have been spoiled by weak follow-up before in this comic. However, issue 28 is a lot of fun too. It doesn’t wimp out on Sonic rumbling with his friends. Many characters get their abilities and talents shown off during the battle too. The ending is a little cheesy but these two comics make for a fun read.

WORST STORY ARC:
Ken Penders, "Fire Drill"-"First Contact"-"The Hunt Is On"-"Lost... and Found Part 1" (Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic Triple Trouble, Knuckles' Chaotix, Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 31)

As lame as “The Hunt is On!” was, it was part of an even lamer story arc that would stretch on into the next year. ‘Stretch’ is the important word there. The final part of the story to appear in 1995 was “Lost… and Found Part 1,” a story that ran for all of two pages and did nothing but belabor the point. In other words, all of these short stories are just saving time until the “Knuckles” mini-series started. It also features Penders’ worst habit: His self-involved myth-making that involves grand, terrible destinies that are rarely elaborated on. Booo.

 
BEST COVER ART:
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 29 - Patrick Spaziante

Spaz did a lot of good work in 1995. His covers for 21, 22, 25, and the one-shots are all quite good. (He wasn’t the only cover artist doing good work, as Art Mawhinney’s moody cover for issue 30 is a clear runner-up for this award.) However, issue 29 features his best work yet. It’s an unnerving image of Sally, gasping in terror while her famous red hair is tossed about, being transformed into a robot. Her flesh twists into machinery above her, emotion struggling against the robotization process. It’s no use and a sinister machine emerges. Meanwhile, Sonic and Dulcy watch, helpless to prevent the destruction of their friend’s soul. Intense stuff for a kid’s book, huh?

WORST COVER ART:
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 23 - Dave Manak

Issue 23 features one of the goofiest stories of ’95, though I have some mild fondness for it. The cover, on the other hand, I have less affection for. Car-Heeem glowers overhead, looking like a D-list Marvel villain. Sonic and Robotnik are squeezed into a glass orb in the alien’s hands. Robotnik looks constipated while Sonic looks like Sega clip art. The whole thing is presented against an uninspired space background.

BEST STORY ART:
Patrick Spaziante, "The 3 Stages of E.V.E." (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 21)

I nearly gave this award to Art Mawhinney’s work in issue 28, which featured some moody use of shadows and exciting action. Yet you can’t ignore Spaz’ proper debut in the book. The action explodes off the page, aided by Spaziante’s dynamic and excellent pencils. He contributes a fantastic sense of motion to an action-packed story. The combination of intimate detail and manga-influenced action makes issue 21 an awesome looking comic. Any time Spaz would draw an issue in the future, it would be an event. That’s the reason why.

WORST STORY ART:
Ken Penders, "The Hunt is On!" (Knuckles' Chaotix)

I’m not done bashing “The Hunt is On!” just yet. Penders is uneven as a writer but far worse as an illustrator. If Spaz’ action feels practically animated, Penders’ action is totally inert. When characters get tossed or beaten, they look like cut-out paper dolls stiffly moved around. His sense of scale is off, as Charmy and others shift size throughout the story. It’s not a good look. If Spaz’ pencils were greatly anticipated, Penders’ pencils were always dreaded.

BEST NEW CHARACTER(S):
The Chaotix

In 1995, Knuckles would go from being a loner to having a team of friends and partners. The Chaotix are clearly defined from their first appearance. They’ve also all got fuckin’ superpowers, which correspond to their personalities. Mighty is super strong, which fits his boisterous but also gentle personality. Espio is mysterious and knowledgeable, which is appropriate for a chameleon who can disappear. Charmy is flighty, since he's both a bee and the youngest of the team. And Vector… Okay, Vector is totally useless. Aside from him, the Chaotix have always been a favorite of mine.

WORST NEW CHARACTERS:
Guru Emu

I’m a fan of the Downunda Freedom Fighters too. (If Barby Koala had gotten a little more development, she might have claimed the above award.) As irritating as Vector is, at least he occasionally contributes something. What about Guru Emu? When you’re fighting a guerilla war against a robotic dictator, why would you want a pacifist hippy around? That’s Guru Emu’s biggest problem. He’s a lame visual joke that’s out of place.

BEST IDEA:
Deepening the World and the Cast

In 1995, five new teams of Freedom Fighters would be introduced. Sonic and his friends would travel around the world, into the depths of the ocean, to the freezing north, and to islands on the other side of the globe. Sonic’s girlfriend and sidekick would have adventures of their own, without their hedgehog companion, gaining new love interests and enemies. In the first two years, it felt like the comic rarely traveled beyond Knothole, Robotropolis, and the Floating Island. In 1995, Mobius began to feel like a real world.

WORST IDEA:
Mythological Wheel-Spinning

I’ve already mentioned Ken’s bad habit of setting up huge story lines that rarely paid off. Despite this, they were constantly referenced in grave tones. The crumbs of Knuckles’ grand, terrible destiny as a Guardian – and all the considerable baggage that came with it – were started this year. We also learn about Tails being a Chosen One, a myth arc the comic wouldn’t resolve for a long time. Hammered-home and unending gobbledygook like this would quickly became my least favorite thing about this book. And it all started here.