Archie's “Sonic the Hedgehog” Comics: 1992-2016?

If you're reading this blog, you've certainly heard the news already. Archie has not published a “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic book for six months, since the end of last year. After months of resoliciting titles to comic shops, the company has started quietly canceling pre-orders on the book. There's been no official word on why this is happening. Indeed, officially the Sonic comics – which includes the flagship “Sonic” title, “Sonic Universe,” the “Sonic Megadrive: Overload” one-shot – have only been mysterious delayed. But, for many fans, the writing has been on the wall for quite some time. The comic book, the current subject of the blog you are reading right now, is almost certainly canceled.

Initially, I was reluctant to jump to this grim conclusion. The hullabaloo started this past January, when fans noticed that Archie removed subscriptions for all “Sonic the Hedgehog” books from their online store and had a sale on all the back issues. This struck me as odd but not exactly concerning. The books were still being offered to comic shops. Next, upcoming issues started to be delayed. Fans were freaking out but I remained calm. After all, this was hardly the first time Archie delayed books. There was a lengthy delay in 2015, thanks to the company moving to a new printing facility. But then the delays kept coming, the books being held back for months and months. By that point, it was apparent that something was going on with Archie's “Sonic” series.

Fans really started to freak out when someone called Archie's office, asked about the subscriptions becoming unavailable, and was told the book was probably canceled. Sonic fans being the exceptionally passionate people they are, Archie's call centers were floated with questions about “Sonic's” fate. The initially grim statement about the book's future was immediately rolled back. Archie said that news about “Sonic” would be coming soon, that they were discussing stuff with Sega. As weeks turned into months, this statement remained unchanged and the comics still weren't coming out. Most recently, the writers and artists working on the book – who were just as surprised by this news as the fans were – have started looking for other work, seemingly confirming our worst fears about the comic's future.

By now, it's abundantly evident that no official answer about the book's fate is forthcoming. Some have speculated that Archie is intentionally withholding an answer so they won't have to refund subscriptions to the book. This is likely the same reason their “Megaman” book went on an “extended hiatus,” instead of being outright canceled. This is also, it's become increasingly clear, the kind of greasy tactics Archie is far too fond of employing.

If Archie isn't even willing to tell us whether or not the book is actually canceled, it's clear that we won't be getting an explanation for why this happened in the first place any time soon. This has, naturally, led to lots of baseless speculation from fans. At first, fans were eager to blame Ken Penders and Scott Fulop, the former writers who successfully sued Archie for ownership of the characters they created for the book. Archie faithfuls already hate Penders for necessitating the total continuity reboot that happened in 2013. It seemed reasonable to some, with Archie's mishandling leading to two separate lawsuits, that Sega would resend Archie's license to their characters.

This struck me as unlikely. If Sega was going to cut ties with Archie over this stuff, it probably would've happened in 2013, when Penders sued. Other theories have abounded. We know Archie has had money problems in the past. Some have wondered if launching the TV show “Riverdale” meant the company had to cut coast, leading to “Sonic's” cancellation. Maybe but I suspect that Archie is also making a decent amount of money from “Riverdale,” since they are licensing their characters to the CW and Berlanti Productions. (And the TV show has been successful, at least as far as CW shows go.) The theory that made the most sense to me was that, maybe, Sega wanted to take more control of their flagship property. Following a series of highly visible failures, and with two high profile video games and a possible movie coming soon, perhaps Sega wanted to make sure all their Sonic eggs where in one basket.

Most recently, a new theory has arisen suggesting this clusterfuck is entirely on Archie. A wholly unsubstantiated rumor has some corporate higher-up at Archie claiming the company, in the aftermath of “Riverdale” getting renewed for a second season, wants to focus on their own characters. That “Sonic” isn't really their thing. This is probably bullshit, since it strikes me as a little too neat, and now some Archie-verse comics are also getting delayed.

Truthfully, I imagine a mixture of all of the above is probably responsible for the book ending. Sega wants to tightly control “Sonic's” public image going forward, the lawsuits have made them weary of Archie, Archie is currently putting a lot of time and money into their own characters, and the company's fiances have always been mishandled. It's the perfect storm of bullshit to get a comic book that has run for twenty-four years suddenly canceled.

So that's the facts and the likely bullshit. How do I feel about this news? When cancellation rumors first started circulating, I was shocked. My initial unwillilngness to accept the comic's termination may very well have been an act of deliberate denial. As I've said in the past, I've been reading this comic book since I was six year old. The adventures of Sonic and the Freedom Fighters have accompanied me for nearly my entire life. These characters and their world mean way too much to me. “Sonic” was my fandom ground zero, the first fictional universe I was ever passionate about. That passion wasn't born through the video games but SatAM. And the comic book has kept the spirit of SatAM alive for much longer than the cartoon show ever ran, birthing its own weird, incredibly elaborate mythology. Archie's “Sonic” comic is one of my favorite nerdy past times. I mean, it must be if I've written so many damn words about it.

So, yes, I was bummed out by the idea of the comic book ending. It made me feel weird, almost as if a relative or exceedingly long lived pet had died. However, in many ways, the comic book I loved ended in 2013. And just as abruptly too. The reboot universe, given the unwieldy name of “The Post-Super Genesis Wave” continuity by fan historians, garnered a passionate fan following over its three year existence. There's no doubt that the rebooted continuity was far more consistent than what came before. Yet I found its attempt to latch the comic to the video game's frequently vague lore unsatisfying. Devoting most of the last three years to adapting “Sonic Unleashed,” a game I didn't like very much, was a bad decision. In truth, the rebooted comic was just beginning to win me over, thanks to characters like Jian the Tiger, Relic the Pika, or Shellcrusher's band of merry pirates. So the comic ending now only saddens me so much. Most of the stuff I loved about this book was abandoned quite a while ago.

(Another reason why my sadness over the book ending was measured has to do with how Archie has handled things. We fans have been waiting so long for some sort of official announcement concerning the cancellation that I've had plenty of time to get use to the idea.) 

Even with that being the case, it sucks that “Sonic the Hedgehog” should end this way. If the book had ended because the creative staff decided the series had run its course, that would be understandable. If the book had been canceled because it wasn't selling well, that would be another thing. Instead, the plug was pulled suddenly and without explanation. That's an inglamorous way for the longest running licensed comic book, not to mention the longest running comic to never be relaunched or renumbered, to end. The main series was just shy of three-hundred issues too, while “Sonic Universe” was about to cross one hundred. Granted, the reboot universe did conclude with a  bit more closure than the pre-boot universe. The “Sonic Unleashed” arc was finally wrapped up. The original continuity ended on a fucking cliffhanger.

Some fans have tempered their sadness over Archie's “Sonic” comic ending by hoping another publisher will pick up the license. And it's certainly possible. Assuming this entire ordeal hasn't soured Sega entirely on the American comic market, starting a new “Sonic” comic makes financial sense. The character has a faithful following in that medium. One that has kept the series running for over two decades, in a world where most licensed comics only run a few years. Publishers like IDW, Boom! Studios, and Dynamite Entertainment primarily specialize in licensed properties, so there are avenues to explore.

It's been noted that the entire “Sonic” creative staff, from writer Ian Flynn on down to every artist, is freelance. (Archie pays very few writers and artists a salary because they're cheapskates.) There's nothing stopping them from jumping publishers with “Sonic.” Sega, in fact, has final ownership of every character and concept to appear in the book, at least post-reboot. It's theoretically possible that IDW or Boom! could pick up the comic book right where it left off.

Possible but unlikely. We're talking a long line of successively more far-fetched Maybes here. Maybe another publisher will grab the license. Maybe Flynn and others will follow them. Maybe they'll continue the old book's universe. But let's consider the facts. Archie obviously signed some deal with DiC when the comic started, allowing them use of SatAM and “Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog” concepts. This agreement has apparently lasted in perpetuity. Sega, meanwhile, has discouraged the comic company from utilizing elements from other “Sonic” shows, like “Sonic X,” the OVA, and “Sonic Underground.” Presumably because there are complicated agreements and deals in place. Sega ultimately owns the Freedom Fighters and other Archie stuff but utilizing it for a new company would probably required cutting through a lot of legal red tape.

Would Sega  be willing to do this to promote a comic book that isn't being published anymore? And a cartoon show that's been off the air for twenty years? From where I'm standing, a new “Sonic” comic being published some day strikes me as likely. Ian Flynn writing it even strikes me as plausible, considering his obvious passion for the characters and their universe. But a new series continuing the Archie continuity, or even featuring SatAM elements, seems unlikely to me. And I don't know if I care enough to read a Sonic comic book that doesn't feature Sally and the gang. I mean, I probably would, strictly so I could write about it for this blog. But my heart wouldn't be in it.

Speaking of which, how does the comic book's widely presumed cancellation affect Hedgehogs Can't Swim? Simply put: It doesn't. Other than giving me a clear end point for my comic book reviews. I don't plan on abandoning this blog any time soon. Even after I wrap up my coverage of Archie's “Sonic” series, there's plenty of other hedgehog-related media to keep me occupied for years to come. I hope to keep Hedgehogs Can't Swim going for a while, assuming I don't impregnate some poor woman or get eaten by alligators or something.

And so I bring this rambling eulogy for Archie's “Sonic” comic to an end. The book means a lot to me. There's still a lot of it left for me to re-explore. I have a lot of cherished memory connected with this silly, four-colored world. The series ending suddenly, even with a boatload of reservations, makes me a sad. So let's pour one out for Sonic's longest lasting adventure, one that may be gone but will certainly not be forgotten any time soon.