Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 126

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 126
Publication Date: August 2003

When Knuckles died a while ago, Archie's “Sonic the Hedgehog” series sent the echidna on a wild trip through the afterlife. Or, at least, that's what was supposed to happen. Similarly, after Sonic “died” in issue 125, editorial decided to send the hedgehog on a similarly unexpected journey. The “Tossed in Space” story arc saw Sonic bouncing around bizarre alien planets, having adventures among extraterrestrials. This decision was not well received, many “Sonic” fans deciding explicit science fiction was a poor fit for the series. Well, this is Hedgehogs Can't Swim and I'll be the judge of that!

For as yet unexplained reasons, causing the Quantum Dial to collapse in on itself tossed Sonic across space. He awakens on the planet of the Blodex, psychic, insect-like aliens. Aliens that are currently at war with another insect like race, the Bzzzz. Sonic, being who he is, decides to help the underdog. When he grabs several red Chaos Emerald-like jewels that decorate the city, something unexpected happens. Super Sonic emerges... As a separate entity from Sonic. And he's kind of an asshole.

The sci-fi stuff seems especially poorly regarded by Sonic dorks. A lot of people considered the Xorda reveal trite. I guess several issues of similarly themed, alien-filled adventures weren't very exciting for those people. I, however, don't mind the Xorda. Moreover, I'm a fan of trippy, European sci-fi comics. “Tossed in Space” seemed like an opportunity to bring some energy like that to this book. Archie “Sonic” series has always been kind of weird anyway, after all. The series has been slightly directionless for a while. Maybe an experiment like this could've righted the ship?

“Red Chaos,” the first part of “Tossed in Space,” fulfills a little bit of that possibility. Steven Butler is no Moebius but the Blodex, Bzzzz, and their asteroid-like world is an interesting sight. I like the little amoeba like plants that decorate the surface and the insect-esque vehicles the Blodex travel in. However, the alien culture ends up being thinly developed. The Bzzzz are simply described as fascist shitheads, wiping out any race they feel is inferior. The Blodex don't even get that much development. They communicate telepathically, live in cities, and don't have space travel capabilities. That's all we learn about them.

Ultimately, “Red Chaos” is not about the Blodex or Bzzzz. The story is more about the “Sonic vs. Super Sonic” fight the cover promises. As a likely homage to DC's Red Kryptonite, the Red Chaos Emeralds split Sonic in two. The Super Sonic that emerges isn't as virtuous as our hero. Instead, he's an amoral asshole. He declares himself beyond good and evil, before deciding to destroy the moon for some reason. This, it turns out, is also a homage to another comic book. In the British “Sonic the Hedgehog” comics published by Fleetway, Super Sonic is not just a super-charged version of Sonic. Instead, he's a separate personality, power hungry, chaotic, and very dangerous. Introducing an equivalent to this Super Sonic is a random idea but a potentially interesting one. What will Sonic do, when forced with a more powerful, more unhinged version of himself?

Disappointingly, he does what he always does: Run real fast, crack corny jokes, and punch things.  The fight between Sonic and his chaotic neutral other half is real underwhelming. They tussle for a page and a half. Sonic tackles the gold version of himself, before receiving a series of blows to the face. Right when Super Sonic is preparing to deliver a killing blow, he fades out of existence. Turns out, he could only sustain himself for a short while. Which doesn't make for much of a climax. Instead of outwitting his foe, Sonic survives because of dumb luck. This Super Sonic would never return, probably because the comic already had an abundance of evil Sonic clones, but I sort of wish he could've been developed further.

The cover story is flawed but at least it had an interesting idea at its center. The back-up story, “Better Read Than Dead,” was never a good idea. The tale is set in the world of Off-Panel, the gag stripes that conclude nearly every issue of “Sonic.” These stripes function on the premise that Sonic and friends are just actors, interacting with the writers and editors of the book. In “Better Read Than Dead,” Sonic and editor Justin Gabrie comment on Off-Panel getting a back story to themselves. This conversation is interrupted by Deadline, a grim reaper-like spectre that reduces Sonic to a line drawing, threatens everyone, and then pitches a bunch of lame story ideas. Gabrie's super-duper editor powers is enough to defeat him.

“Better Read Than Dead” is best described as a pointless act of self-indulgent, auto-fellatio for editor Justin Gabrie. In this story, Sonic isn't the hero. The hedgehog we're all here to read about is sidelined early into the story. Instead, it's up to Gabrie to save the day. This kind of writer is even worst then when Ken Penders or Frank Strom introduce their pet heroes that are never wrong or challenged. At least Penders thought up Locke and the Brotherhood. At least Strom created Monkey Khan. Here, Mike Gallagher just drops Justin Gabrie himself into the story, making this a very literal bit of self-insert fiction. Gallagher either did this to flatter his boss or Gabrie insisted the idea go to print.

But maybe if “Better Read Than Dead” was funny, it wouldn't matter. The likes of Charlie Kaufman and Dan Harmon can get away with meta bullshit like this because they're clever and insightful. Gallagher's story, meanwhile, is mostly set up for some extremely lame jokes. The villain's name is a pun. He wields an hourglass called the “horror-glass.” He pitches extremely dumb story ideas, like Knuckles' dad being Elvis or Mammoth Mogul getting flees.

Gabrie defeats Deadline by calling on all the talented writers and artists who have worked on the book. Considering Archie has published things like “Sonic Live!,” the Image crossover, and the works of Many Hands, this conclusions comes off as pompous, if not delusional. (Hands, notably, is left out of the list of names.) It's likely “Better Read Than Dead” was created to defeat a real life deadline. And because this is a Mike Gallagher joint, it ends by asking the reader if they want to see more stories like this one. I suspect that question was met with a resounding “no” but we would get a few more extended Off-Panel stories anyway.

This is not the most promising start, is it? The cover story has potential and proceeds to waste most of it. The back-up story was just a bad idea. At least the artwork is pretty good. Butler does solid work as ever on the first story and even Dave Manak does alright during the Off-Panel thing. If only the script was up to that level. Once again, I must emphasize the patience of we Sonic fans. [5/10]