Sonic the Hedgehog (Original Mini-Series): Issue 3

Sonic the Hedgehog (Original Mini-Series): Issue 3
Publication Date: February 1993


As the original “Sonic the Hedgehog” started to wind down, the series was already getting better. The third issue of the series, which was numbered 2, had a single story line which slowly started to build up the Archie’s series long history of convoluted mythology. As the final issue of the mini-series rolled out, an on-going continuation was already in development. The last part of the mini-series, which was bafflingly numbered three, sees the quality of the series back-slide. It’s a goofy story with little affect on the on-going plot line of the series.

Issue 3 features two stories. The first of which begins with Sonic being chased over a cliff by Robotnik in an Egg-Mobile. He has an annoying dream about being a boy and growing up with Robotnik as a child, revealing their rivalry beginning in boyhood. The second story of the issue shows Boomer devising a disguise so that Sonic can personally infiltrate Robotnik’s base. While there, he plans to rescue his Uncle Chuck and his dog Muttski.

The first half of issue three, entitled “Sonic Flashback!,” is, thus far, the worst “Sonic the Hedgehog” story I have read for this retrospective. It begins with a generic action beat, with Sonic stomping on Crabmeats amid a barren green field. When he falls from the cliff and becomes unconscious, Robotnik doesn’t murder our hero in his sleep. What follows is a bizarre combination of flashback and dream sequence. We see Uncle Chuck forging Power Rings which is an acceptable if incongruous image. Afterwards, we see Sonic and Robotnik as kids, squabbling and arguing. The villain makes robots out of Chuck’s tracker, which results in a crash, causing him to receive a fierce tongue-lashing. As revenge, he cooks up a killer robot out of random crap lying around.

It’s bad. Thankfully, the comic doesn’t even pretend that such a ridiculous origin story is cannon. It is immediately dismissed as a dream sequence and an “imaginary story,” by the end. Imaging the hero and villain growing up together as kids is a lame, hackneyed idea. Basically, this story makes your average episode of “Muppet Babies” seem like a masterpiece in comparison. Sonic directly addresses the audience, asking us if we want to see more imaginary story. Considering how bad this one was, and that we never got any more, the general audience’s response was as negative as mine.

The second story is slightly better but still hugely inconsequential. Rotor’s robot disguise is literally just a pair of robotic jaws and swirly red contact lens. Sonic’s flawless infiltration of Robotnik’s lair involves him telling the evil tyrant that he’s totally a robot now, guys, I swear. His subterfuge climaxes with him blowing up a robot factory, which I suppose it’s fairly substantial. I know this is a goofy comedy comic at this point. Yet it really discredits Robotnik as a threat that he would buy this trick at all.

What bit of art this stupid story has comes when Sonic finds his uncle and dog. This meeting occupies a page plus one panel. Afterwards, Sonic gets super-pissed and goes on a warpath. This certainly makes his following actions understandable. (Though if he had his arch-enemy right there and was especially angry at him, you’d think his actions would be a little more extreme.) If you’re wondering, Sally and Antoine put in a brief appearance in this story. Antoine gets humiliated and Sally shares some more belligerent sexual tension with Sonic.

As the end to the original mini-series, issue three is certainly an underwhelming piece of work. Dave Manak would provide the art for this issue, quickly becoming the main artist during the book's early years. His work is similar to Scott Shaw's, with a comparable cartoon edge. However, his work can also be quite sloppy which makes it less visually appealing. Sonic goes horribly off-panel on the second panel of page five, for example.

Archie’s Sonic series is still in its infancy at this point and would remain so for about another year. As the dawn of the regular series arrives, all I can say is: It gets better. I swear! [4/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog (Original Mini-Series): Issue 2

Sonic the Hedgehog (Original Mini-Series): Issue 2
Publication Date: January 1993


In the third issue of the “Sonic the Hedgehog” mini-series (which, once again, I must point out is issue 2.), the comic series begins to resemble its Saturday morning cartoon counterpart a little more, while still featuring lots of goofy humor. Mostly, issue 2 is where the series’ complex, convoluted mythology started to take shape. A further sign of the series’ slow tonal evolution is present in this issue’s construction: Aside from a few gag comics, the entire issue is devoted to one story.

That plot concerns a specific item: King Acorn’s Crown. Attached to the tips of the crown are four round emeralds, called the Freedom Emeralds. The jewels exuded some sort of magical powers and reportedly, while in the hands of a member of the court of Acorn, will ensure the kingdom’s protection. Considering King Max got overthrown in the first place, it looks like they did a bang-up job with that… Anyway, as Sonic and Sally open the jewelry box, turns out the emeralds have been stolen, forcing Sonic and friends to race around the area in search of them. The Crown of Acorns would later be established as one part of a trio of magical MacGuffins that the kingdom acquired. This story would entirely be retconned out of existence, like most of the comic’s early years, later on. However, “A Crowning Achievement” still represents the comic’s first attempt at building up a mythology for itself.

The story also ups the stakes slightly. In first part, Freedom HQ is threatened by a Robotnik android disguised as a part of Antoine’s royal guard. The pig threatens to explode, which forces Sonic to make a dash for the surface. Obviously, the hedgehog survives. However, the moment, along with the robot’s deranged swirling eyes and evil smile, generates some mild suspense. The story also introduces what would be Robotnik’s primary goal for the comic’s first fifty issues: Locating the Freedom Fighters’ secret hide-out and murdering them. Granted, this issue has two of Robotnik’s lackeys discovering the locale, before they are conveniently destroyed. Because the robots couldn’t just beam that information back to Robotropolis? I guess Wi-Fi wasn’t invented yet. Anyway, the situation is a little more serious.

The story line also features the series building on its continuity. Sonic ventures back to the underwater cave he was in last time, fighting with Jaws once again. (And also swimming again, because the title of my blog is more a vague idea then a concrete concept.) The relationship between the characters’ continue to build, as Sally’s outright affection for Sonic is confirmed, along with his rivalry with the snooty Antoine. The badniks also continue to be a presence in the comics, with SWATBots, Bat Brains, Buzz Bombers, and the newly introduced Burrobot all playing a bigger role in this issue. Hell, we even see Tails fishing again. Apparently, this was a hobby he once had, probably because there wasn’t a whole lot for him to do at this point, besides moon over Sonic.

Sonic is defined beyond his ‘tude and ability to deliver puns. He starts to use his super-speed in clever ways. He kicks up some flames to start the sprinkler system, in order to reveal the robotic spy. He uses a series of badniks as mid-air stepping stones in order to reach a target, a move which wouldn’t make a proper appearance in the video games until the Dreamcast era. Beyond his ability to run fast and spin in a ball, the character has always been clever too. It’s nice to see that in the comic.

So Issue 2 is more focused and serious. Which isn’t to say it still isn’t full of goofy bullshit. The character’s communicate mostly in puns and silly jokes. Antoine continues to be treated as a pompous asshat. His hot-air seems to power a balloon in one panel. A blimp declares its association with Robotnik’s regime by having a giant red mustache. Jaws is defeated when he swims into a drawling Sonic and Tails quickly made on a wall. They did this underwater, where they also carry out full conversations. A sassy SWATBot makes a cameo. And the comic continues to feature winking, meta jokes. Sonic comments on Sally’s changing hair color. The story ends with Robotnik bemoaning his few appearances in this issue. Which takes an entire page, by the way. A one-page gag makes fun of the current comic environment. It references David Letterman, Archie’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures” comic, the Energizer Bunny, X-Men, Batman, Spawn, Michal J. Fox, and the “Death of Superman” story line. While mildly amusing for those that remember the comic scene in the early nineties, this does seem like Archie, a perpetual fourth-placer in the sales rack, taking cheap potshots at companies out of their league.

Scott Shaw’s artwork continues to be sharp, cartoony, and colorful, though he goes off-model a few times. In the Sonic-Grams letter section, Gabriel from Texas asks when the action figures based on the comic are coming out. Archie says they’re working on it. 22 years later, I’m still waiting. As for Issue 2, over all? It’s the best so far. [7/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog (Original Mini-Series): Issue 1

Sonic the Hedgehog (Original Mini-Series): Issue 1
Publication Date: December 1992

In the second issue of the Sonic mini-series, which is bafflingly issue one, things are already looking more normal. Sally’s hair is the black curl she wore in the original SatAM pilot, though her figure is still less then svelte. Robotnik receives his black eyes and red pupils, showing that he’s part-machine and all-evil. He is shown transforming fleshy humanoids into mechanical robots, though the machine is called a “Robo-Machine,” instead of a Roboticizer.

There’s still plenty of early installment weirdness here. Robotnik has plenty of opportunities to just kill the heroes at this point but doesn’t, because this is a kid’s comic. Antoine wields a gun in one panel. Rotor’s nature as the team mechanic is more prominently featured. However, he’s still called “Boomer” throughout the comic. He also provides yet more goofy one-liners. Apparently, Sonic is the whipper-snapper while Rotor is more sarcastic and low-key. Sally, meanwhile, is super bitchy, yelling at her comrades like a spoiled brat. The comic still freely mixes cartoon and video game elements, as the second story has Sonic rumbling with Jaws, a badnik from the original “Sonic” Sega game, in what appears to be the Labyrinth Zone. (Distressingly, it would appear that hedgehogs can still swim. You’re messing with me, Archie.) Somehow, the characters can still talk underwater because comics.

Once again, the comic is broken up into two stories with several silly one-pagers padding the page number out. The first story is superior to anything from Issue 0, though just barely. As the kidnapping of Uncle Chuck was established as Sonic’s motivation last time, here we get more information on Sally’s father being captured. In the first story, Sally goes off to meet and negotiate with Robotnik. Sonic, Tails, and Antoine obviously realize this is a trap, especially when iron bars burst through the ground to capture them. The trio race into Robotropis to rescue the princess from the obvious trap. In what is a hilarious misunderstanding, it turns out Sally realized this was a trap. She planned to sabotage Robotnik’s roboticizer the entire time. The second story is far sillier, with Jaws interrupting Sonic’s fishing(?) trip, leading to a brief underwater scuffle.

The tone remains comedic, goofy, and meta. All the characters are comedic goofballs. When Sonic smashes Robotnik’s Robo-Machine, the evil dictator quips about how it’ll take two issues to repair it. Puns fly a-plenty, such as quips about “submarine sandwiches.” Tails references Otis Redding’s “Sitting On the Dock of the Bay,” a song I doubt anyone would be familiar with 11,940 years into the future. On the first page, Sonic throws dust into Tails’ eyes, which causes the young fox to run into a tree. Because Sonic should always be slightly characterized as an asshole. The book is filled out with goofy one-page gag strips, like Sonic playing baseball or tennis – that’s two separate comics, by the way – or Rotor joking about the postal service. As expected, Michael Gallagher’s script is very silly.

Well, I still like Scott Shaw’s artwork. Isn’t it weird how he draws Sonic’s back spines as one paper-thin stripe that blows in the wind? The characters’ faces are cartoonish and expressive. The artwork is silly but there’s certainly nothing flat or boring about it. Weirdly, a mid-book poster features a slightly off-model Robotnik and a seriously off-model Bunnie Rabbot, who hasn’t even appeared in this comic yet. As harmless entertainment for kids, this is fine. As entertainment for twenty-something internet hipsters, I can’t give this anything more then a [6/10].

Sonic the Hedgehog (Original Mini-Series): Issue 0

Sonic the Hedgehog (Original Mini-Series): Issue 0
Publication Date: November 1992

These days, an on-going comic series usually starts that way. Things were a little different back in the early nineties, when the comic boom was still on-going. New characters and series would often première in a limited run mini-series, in order to the test the waters. Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” book began this way as well, with a four part mini. It’s from these humble waters that the longest running licensed comic book began.

The early days of the comic were schizophrenic in their influences. This is clear on the cover. The weirdness is right there up front. For some reason, the first issue wasn’t marked with a big, bold number 1. Instead, Sonic’s premiere issue is number 0, for some reason. The cover of the comic features a Sonic that easily could have leaped off the Genesis box. Robotnik, meanwhile, is drawn in a cartoonish fashion and obviously based off the game design. The cast of the comic was drawn from the SatAM cartoon, their designs matching, with a few of the regular villains from the games also appearing. The tone of these early comics, however, were more heavily influenced by the goofy “Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog” cartoon. Robotnik has white eyes and he operates out of an office building. The Freedom Fighters hang out in an underground bunker. Rotor is called Boomer. Sally’s hair is yellow. What the fuck is going on here?

Many of these early issues were broken up into multiple stories, which where then broken up into several parts, for some reason. The introductory story, “Don’t Cry for Me, Mobius,” is split into two parts. And it’s an introductory story in the truest sense. Sonic is introduced being chased by Robotnik and a few badniks. All the while, he’s slinging goofy comebacks. Robotnik, floating around in his Egg Mobile, acts like a buffoon. Sonic breaks the fourth wall, literally introducing readers to his world and its situation. The power rings, as they were in SatAM, are basically plot devices, rising out of a well to provide Sonic with a power boost. The second story, meanwhile, shows Robotnik’s rise to power and Sonic’s first meeting with the Freedom Fighters. In-between the two stories, several one-page gags introduces us to the Mobians’ plight, Sonic’s abilities (which shows, contrary to this blog’s title, that hedgehogs can swim.), and Robotnik’s league of robot slaves.

The Freedom Fighters are reduced to simple archetypes. Sonic is the smart-ass, fast-foot hero. Sally is a mouthy worry-wart who obviously shares some romantic tension with the hero. Tails admires Sonic without fail and usually ends up falling on his ass, attempting to replicate his hero. Antoine is a blowhard and a nincompoop. Uncle Chuck is a kind patriarch, who supplies Sonic with shoes and chili dogs, and whose capture provides a motivation for our hero. Muttski is a regular dog, in a world full of furries, so mull that one over for a minute. Rotor… Cracks a bunch of lame puns? These are the characters in their infancy, is my point.

The tone of the comic in this first issue is silly and irrelevant. The first story concerns a leak in the underground HQ of the Freedom Fighters. The cause are literal weeping willow trees, sad that the rest of the forest has bulldozed by Robotnik’s industrial force. The second story is slightly more serious, showing Uncle Chuck and Muttski’s capture and Sonic becoming a Freedom Fighter. Unlike the cartoon and later issues, where the two are shown turned into robots, they are instead shown hypnotized into servitude.

Even then, there are plenty of jokes about Robotnik’s weight, Sonic being flattened by a wrecking ball, and pithy notes from the editor, which were endemic in these early issues. Robotnik’s rise to power is not shown as a military coup but as a sudden appearance, his robots tacking poster proclaiming his anti-happiness laws to public walls.

Even then, this first issue still establishes Sonic and the gang as rebels, fighting against an evil dictatorship. The ecological theme that would run throughout the series for many years, which it inherited from its cartoon roots, is in place right from the beginning. The Freedom Fighters live in a lush, green forest. Robotnik lives in a factory district, belching smog into the air. Living in harmony with nature = Good. Exploiting and polluting the planet = Bad. That’s right, kids. Sonic is a gerddurn tree-huggin’ hippy. He’s a planeteer. You can be one too.

Michael Gallagher’s script is never really funny, save for some random pop culture references to “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “The Flash,” which probably went over the intended audience’s head. However, Scott Shaw – or Scott Shaw! as he’s identified here – provides some loose, likably cartoon-y artwork. The characters are animated and fun to look at.

You really can’t judge the series to come based on these first issues. For what it’s worth, this is what the Sonic comics were like when I first picked them up, twenty-some years ago. It was a different world. It’s an easy read, if nothing else, and purdy enough to look at. I guess that equates to a [6/10].