Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 19

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 19
Publication Date: July 24th, 2019

Let’s talk about covers. As is typical by this point, issue 19 of IDW’s “Sonic” book has three available covers. A standard cover, a variant, and a Retailer Incentive cover exclusive to comic shops. I don’t know who decides what artwork gets used for which variant but I think they screwed up this time. Ryan Jampole’s art most represents the issue’s contents — informing buyers that, yes, Team Dark is in this one — but all the characters are in awkward poses and slightly off-model. Sonic also seems way too jovial for such a grave situation. Lamar Wells’ B-cover is better, showing Sonic grimly surrounded by Zombots in a dark area. Though it doesn’t reflect what’s different about this issue versus the other recent ones. The retail incentive cover, from Nathalie Fourdraine, is by far the best. It throws Team Dark into the classic zombie movie scenario of holding a door shot against a horde of incoming ghouls. It’s obviously the best of the three and I could have forgiven story accuracy for coolness factor.

But enough about that. Even though all these issues are a part of the longer Metal Virus/Zombot arc, Flynn feels the need to break the story into smaller installments. So this is “Crisis City, Part One.” Sonic rushes into Sunset City, where a Zombot outbreak is totally out of control. Team Dark is doing everything they can to fight back the tide and get non-infected people to safety, but it’s not enough. Sonic attempts to help but even he can only do so much. Shadow soon arrives and attempts to fight off the Zombots by himself... Which only results in getting himself infected.

The first half of “Crisis City” in no way shakes up the formula Flynn has been following for the last few issues. Sonic races into a new city overrun by Zombots, teams up with some old friends, internally wonders how much longer he can keep this up, before being forced to move on again. What does make this issue a little different from the last one is the ethical debate Sonic and Shadow have after the black-furred hedgehog arrives. Shadow contends none of this would have happened if Sonic had just let him kill Eggman back during his Mr. Tinker days. This is the old “Imagine how many people would still be alive if Batman killed the Joker the first time” debate. Sonic refuses to back down on his moral high ground, sticking to his guns that everyone deserves a second chance. Shadow maintains that he was right. I wish this issue grappled with this topic a little more, even if the middle of a zombie outbreak probably isn’t the right time to really get into it.

Of course, Shadow is right. It was inevitable that Eggman was going to relapse and pull a stunt like this, endangering hundreds of thousands of lives. At the very least, Sonic should have let Eggman be imprisoned or something. The book would never acknowledge this though, cause Sonic is our hero and I don’t think Flynn or Sega is interested in interrogating his moral perspective too much. As if to somehow prove Shadow wrong, Flynn has the other hedgehog act like a showboating asshole. He tries to take on the Zombot horde singlehandedly and, of course, gets infected. I guess this isn’t especially out-of-character for Shadow. I don’t think Archie Shadow, a more shrewd tactician, would do this. But maybe IDW Shadow would. Sega’s original is pretty conceited about the whole Ultimate Lifeform thing, after all. Still, it’s definitely a bit heavy-handed. Shadow disagrees with the hero and is immediately punished for it, via his own hubris.

Of course, there’s another reason this issue ends with Shadow becoming a Zombot. It gives Sonic and Shadow an excuse to fight next time. You can tell Flynn is itching for a big fight scene, as this issue is even heavier on action than the last few. Both Sonic and Shadow, over the course of this issue, spindash into big tornadoes, trying to clear paths or crowds. Sonic spin-kicks, buzzsaws and runs over enemies. Shadow, naturally, goes down fighting as well. It’s neat to look at but you also feel like the action beats are buffing up what is, otherwise, a fairly thin issue where the story doesn’t actually move forward much.

However, this issue does have one benefit over the previous one. Rouge and Omega are a lot more endearing than Cream and the new lame version of Gemerl. It’s cute that, even when the city is overrun by zombies, Rouge still takes the time to note that Sunset City was previously home to some excellent jewels. Sonic openly asks the bat why she’s so invested in helping the rabble before she notes that, hey, there will be no fun thieving to do if the world ends. As for Omega, he is the same lovable psychopath as always. Amusingly, when Sonic attempts to give Omega the same speech he gave Gemerl about not using lethal force against the Zombots, it does not work. Because Omega straight-up doesn’t give a fuck. And that’s why we love him.

Lastly, I want to shout-out the excellent artwork from Jack Lawrence. Just over his last few appearances, Lawrence has quickly become a fantastic “Sonic” illustrator. His action sequences remain highly energetic, which really helps elevate this issue in particular. I love how expressive his faces and body language is. You can really tell a lot about what the characters are thinking and feeling just by looking at them. This even extends to the background characters, like the family of bears Sonic rescues at one point. The dude also has a strength for realism. Omega or the armored truck Shadow makes his entrance in are both life-like in their detailing. I’m glad IDW has brought a new artist into the “Sonic” fold that really feels like they always should’ve been here. (Bracardi Curry’s overcast and tense colors also go a long way to improving this one.)

So it’s another issue I have mixed feelings towards. It has a little more depth than than last issue and better action without really addressing any of the problems I had with things. After a strong start, the Metal Virus arc still has yet to find its footing again. We’ll see if that improves. [6/10]