Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 221

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 221
Publication Date: January 2011

Ian Flynn kicked off 2011 with a pair of character focused, dialogue-driven stories. “Changing Tempo” begins with Sonic and Sally attending Mina's new concert. In the crowd, they encounter Nicole, who has disguised herself as a regular citizen of New Mobotropolis. The trio is not prepared for the mongoose's new, politically-minded music. Nicole, specifically targeted by the songs, runs off horrified. Meanwhile, Naugus and St. John infiltrate the city and the wizard begins to spread his dark magic around.

If the terse interactions we've had over Twitter is any indication, Ian Flynn outright resists a political reading of his work on “Sonic.” One, however, can't help but see a social message in “Changing Tempo.” By spreading her concerns about Nicole through music, Mina opens up all of New Mobotropolis to fear. People do not act reasonably to her message, considering what Nicole has done for the city. Instead, they immediately begin to turn against the program in a very vocal way. If the message about the destructive power of fear isn't clear enough, Flynn reveals that an evil wizard is using this overriding fear to push his agenda on the public. It's not difficult to switch out “the A.I and nanites that run our city” with “immigrants” or “terrorists” or whatever buzz word the right wing is using these day to push their insidious agenda.

Then again, maybe looking for a serious message in this story is a mistake. Flynn's focus is much more on the personal cost of Mina's actions. There's a fantastic series of panels devoted to showing Nicole's reaction to Mina's songs. First, she's as enthusiastic as everyone else. Then, as she realizes what the mongoose is singing about, she become scared. Finally, she flees the concert venue in tears. Sonic and Sally later confront Mina and Ash. Not just because they're aware of the good things Mina has done for the city but, more importantly, because Nicole is their friend. They feel personally attacked by these changes because they care about Nicole.

In fact, a sense of panic and resentment traveling through the city is portrayed so well that making an evil wizard responsible for the change isn't even really necessary. Naugus takes credit for some of the reaction and rightly recognizes that this is an ideal environment to seize control. Mostly, these scenes allow the writer to expand on the newly revealed but apparently long-lasting relationship between Naugus and Geoffrey St. John. There's some amusing moment, where the skunk dislikes shadow bending or resents his master for not teaching him more than basic magic. This stuff still doesn't justify the entire business.

The meat of the story isn't bad but what I really like about it is the cute moments that open the story. While entering the crowd, Sonic notices that Sally is visibly nervous. Sally reveals that she was initially jealous of Mina, concerned that she might steal Sonic's heart away. Sonic is honestly surprised by this, as he never saw Mina as anything but a friend. This leads into Sonic discussing his own jealousy towards Sally. It leads to an even cuter moment when Sally finds Nicole in a hat and shorts. It's such an adorable design that I'm surprised the fan-artists didn't run with it more. Flynn's dialogue remains very strong, especially the little line about Sally dealing with killer robots better than personal confrontation.

That character focused bent continues in the back-up story. “Second Impressions: Part One” picks up with Nicole in a secret alcove, somewhere deep in New Mobotropolis' computer center. Her weeping is heard by Dimitri, who is still a robotic head plugged into a counsal. Their conversation is interrupted by Espio, who leaps down from the ceiling and wonders aloud if Dimitri is worth trusting. The three bond over their mutual status as people who have made mistakes and are in need of some forgiveness from themselves and others. We conclude with the newly virtuous Dimitri preparing for a meeting with Knuckles.

Nicole's status as an emotional being is further established here. It's hard to imagine the simple computer program Nicole once was, weeping on the floor. Dimitri, similarly, has also come a long way. Once a tyrannical villain with few goals beyond subjugating the Floating Island and the entire world to his mad will, he's now a reformed bad guy seeking to atone for his wicked ways. Espio not wanting to trust him is understandable, considering he spend a good portion of the last several years fighting him. Yet that's when the chameleon is reminded that, given his recent status as a turncoat, he should understand Dimitri's position more. The story is laying the rails for the more important meeting between Dimitri and Knuckles. However, I'm glad Flynn took the time to give us this calmer moment.

On the artwork front, issue 221 is fairly strong. Ben Bates' pencils on the cover story are excellent, especially the panels devoted to Mina's song. However, I do find that he draws the characters a little too cute, too squished and chibi-esque, on a few of the pages. James Fry provides the back-up and does solid work. There's one panel where Espio's nose disappears and he looks really weird. However, it's an improvement over his last few contribution to the series. All together, I really enjoy 221 as a character-driven issue. [7/10]