Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 247

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 247
Publication Date: April 2013

In April of 2013, when I picked up issue 247 of Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” series from my local comic shop, I had no idea how significant it was. Yeah, it was seemingly wrapping up some long lingering plot lines. It was the last issue before the much hyped Mega Man crossover began. I – and most of the comic’s loyal readers – had no way of knowing that this was destined to be the final issue taking place in the original continuity. That this simple comic was were 21 years of stories, characters, and lore was going to end.

“At All Cost, Part One: Fate Interrupted” begins with Team Fighters cornering the Death Egg at its Arctic refueling platform. With the help of the Arctic Freedom Fighters, our heroes successfully enter the base. They are soon joined by Silver, who has finally deduced that Sally is the historical traitor he’s been pursuing. That saving her, and de-roboticizing her, will prevent his catastrophic future from coming to be. Robotnik, meanwhile, panics. After Sonic comes extremely close to his goal of saving his beloved princess, Eggman frantically activates another Genesis Wave. Thus begins a crossover. And that’s where the comic book, as it existed for twenty one years, fucking ends.

From the moment Flynn introduced him into the book, he’s had Silver the Hedgehog chasing this mythical traitor. And it’s always been dumb, an excuse to keep Silver coming back to the comic’s present. Fittingly, this dumb idea wraps up on an incredibly underwhelming note. Silver deduces that Sally must be the traitor, more-or-less by process of elimination. He realizes that there never really was a traitor. That the subtleties of events – Sally being turned into an evil robot against her will – got lost to the slow march of time. This could’ve been an interesting commentary on how history is shaped, often being distorted over the ages. But, because Flynn has always played this as a genuine mystery, instead of some Quixotic quest on Silver’s behalf, it comes of as a total shrug of a conclusion. The answer to the question has been in front of us the whole time.

Not only does this seriously give the impression that Flynn didn’t think up an ending to Silver’s quest until the last minute, it also disrupts the story’s pacing. This issue isn’t really about who Silver’s proposed traitor is. It’s about rescuing Sally. However, because Flynn has to shoehorn this half-hearted resolution in, the mission is interrupted. Team Fighters stops cold so they can argue with Silver about his deduction, seemingly forgetting they’re on a time-sensitive mission here. (Sonic is literally shown pacing the room at one point.) It’s a serious “get to the fireworks factory” moment. Stop the debates, you hedgehogs. We’ve got a princess to rescue. Maybe the people actually invested in Silver’s quest feel differently. But this is my blog, so I declare those people to be objectively wrong.

Putting this serious flaw aside, issue 247 is a solid action comic book. It’s fun seeing Team Fighters battle side by side with the often underutilized Arctic Freedom Fighters, even if they ultimately end up having very little to do in this issue. Ahklut the orca reappears, determined to get revenge on Sonic and Silver for freeing Rotor’s herd a while back, and smashes the underwater tunnel the team is traveling through. A super angry orca, flashing a mouthful of serrated teeth, turns out to be a very motivating threat. The fight with Mecha Sally doesn’t go on very long but is entertaining while it lasts.

Team Fighters’ mission in the Arctic is running parallel to some business back at home. Nicole’s unveiling of the newly rebuilt Castle Acorn is interrupted by the nanites going nuts. Cream then realizes that her Tails Doll has been missing every time something like this has happened. Its cover blown, the Doll then transforms into a giant, hideous monster.

This is a far more satisfying payoff than the reveal about Silver’s nonexistent traitor. First off, it plays off Tails Doll’s fanon reputation as a source of horror. Secondly, it shows Cream making herself useful by noticing something nobody else has. Lastly, I like the way Rotor immediately believes the little bunny, dismissing the cliche of the grown-up never believing the kid with the crazy story. If I had to look for a flaw in this subplot, it would be Tails Doll revealing his status as an infiltrator so quickly. But a little doll suddenly growing into a huge, grotesque horror actually is a decent cliffhanger, as opposed to the book’s primary ending.

On the artwork front, this issue sees the return of Evan Stanley. Stanley has gotten better with every appearance and her artwork really comes into her own here. Her art has a slightly more American style superhero comic book feel. Rotor and Gustav gain a more sinewy, heroic build. But everyone is definitely still on model. Stanley's action is excellent, especially the fight with Akhult. Her work on facial expressions are very good. Unlike a lot of artists on the book, who seem content just to emulate Yardley, Stanley brings her own style to the table. Which I like a lot.

It’s entirely impossible for me to separate my feelings for this individual comic book from my feelings about the decision to reboot the series. This comic book makes me mad. Five years later, I still feel an immense sense of frustration. I’ve spent way too much of my life invested in these characters and their world. Seeing it end would be one thing. Seeing it stop midway through a two-parter, to leave the characters at one point and then pick up in an entirely different universe, is another. Before, I’ve referred to the original continuity as ending on a cliffhanger but that’s not entirely accurate. This is more like the pages of a novel suddenly going blank three chapters from the end.

There is no sense of finality, of conclusion, of satisfaction. It is extremely obvious that Ian Flynn had every intention of wrapping this story up naturally after the crossover was done. But because Archie is bad at paperwork, because the company never valued the book and treated the former writers like shit, because Ian Flynn sucks at sticking the landing, a panel of everything fading to white in the middle of the action is the closest thing the comic as we knew it got to an ending. Yes, it pisses me off. Yes, I consider the decision to reboot midway through a fucking two parter a betrayal of the fans who supported this series for two decades, no matter how shitty it got. Yes, I believe Archie handled the fallout of the Penders lawsuit in as awkward a fashion as possible. Flynn is at fault too, for allowing the Mecha Sally storyline to drag on for an entire year. It really all should’ve been settled before the continuity nullifying crossover began anyway.

But this is not the time or place for that rant, I suppose. (Believe me, that rant is sure as fuck coming soon.) It is not fair to judge issue 247 as the very unexpected, clearly unplanned ending to twenty one years of comic book history it is. As a story, it’s fine. Some pacing issues but mostly okay. I’d give it a [6/10.] The massive amount of baggage that comes with Archie frantically slamming the restart button is not this individual comic book’s fault.

Sonic Universe: Issue 50

Sonic Universe: Issue 50
Publication Date: March 2013

“Sonic Universe” reaching its fiftieth issue should be a cause for celebration. None of the various Archie Sonic spinoffs have ever reached that goal before. However, we are now in a new era of corporate meddling. The general impression I’ve always gotten is that, for years, Sega barely paid any attention to the comic books. This allowed the writers to get away with almost anything. As long as the book published the promotional tie-ins they demanded or didn’t turn Sonic into a blubbering weakling, Sega more or less left the creative staff alone.

However, following the Frightful Pendering, Sega realized they should probably pay more attention to what this comic book was doing. Most of these truly inane corporate mandates would rear their head following the reboot but a few went in to affect right before. Originally, issue 50 of “Sonic Universe” was going to feature the conclusion to the long-canceled cartoon “Sonic Underground.” (Which does, after all, exist as a separate dimension in the Archie multiverse.) You can even find Spaz’s original cover art online. Sega, seeing no point in promoting a cartoon that had been out of production for fourteen years, put the kibosh on that idea. Around the same time, the company declared that there was only one Metal Sonic and that all imitators had to go. This second mandate would clearly inspire Flynn to write today’s cover story.

“Forged in Fire” begins by flashing back to issue 240’s invasion of Mobotropolis, where Shard easily bested another model of Metal Sonic. Aboard the Death Egg, Robotnik is incensed at this defeat. He builds a new model of Metal Sonic, with a power gem core. He also downloads the memories and experiences of all prior versions of the robot into this new one. Eggman quickly deploys the machine into Mobotropolis. Shard, who has found it difficult to fit in, quickly rushes into action against his double.

One of the many differences between the Archie comics and the Sega games is the treatment of Metal Sonic. In the games, there’s only one Metal Sonic and he’s Eggman’s most dangerous robot. (He, naturally, spends most of his time training for the Olympics.)  In the comics, Metal Sonic is just another mechanical goon, having been destroyed and rebuilt countless times. Sega, determined to streamline their corporate vision, demanded the comic be brought into line. So Eggman builds a new Metal Sonic, closer to Sega’s ideas. Flynn even tried to give this new Metal a little more personality but his corporate overlords were adamant. The comic version must match the game version. Thus, Metal barely talks and has no motivation beyond wanting to destroy Sonic. Bummer.

Issue 50 is another issue primarily devoted to action. The fight between the two robotic hedgehogs takes up most of the issue. And it is, admittedly, pretty cool. There's a bitchin' two page spread devoted to the two smashing, clawing, and shooting lasers at each other. This Metal Sonic is more clever than previous models, using a rock to jam Shard's cannon and generating a shield around himself. Of course, Shard's versatility and intelligence makes this more than an even fight. If you're looking for hot Metal on Metal action, well, issue 50 of “Sonic Universe” more than satisfies.

But that's not the most interesting thing about the issue. Before Metal storms into Mobotropolis like an asshole, we're greet to a scene of Shard and Nicole playing digital chess. It seems that the two A.I.s have been spending a lot of time together. Shard still doesn't feel like he belongs among the Mobians, due to his past as a killer robot. Nicole, considering her recent exile, more than understands. Moreover, there's a cute chemistry between the two that definitely has a flirtatious edge. The issue ends by confirming that Shard at least has a crush on the computer program. I really would've liked to have seen that play out.

In fact, Shard is really what keeps this specific comic book interesting. Despite only existing for ten months by this point, Shard already feels like a fully developed, lovable character. During his chess game with Nicole, he acts like a big kid. He continues that jovial mood during much of the fight with Metal Sonic, cracking jokes and one-liners. Yet the robot has a vulnerable side too. He knows Sonic doesn't trust him yet – confirmed by the blue hedgehog's sole appearance in this issue, where he wonders if Shard has truly reformed – and just doesn't feel like he belongs. At the same time, he rushes right into battle to protect the city. That's the definition of a hero, right there: Someone who protects innocents even when he's not sure they like him. He even takes the fight out to the barren remains of Knothole, so as not to endanger anyone.

Shard is a great character. So, of course, they kill him off. I mean, basically. The fight concludes with Metal Sonic detonating his power gem core. The blast completely destroys Metal and tosses Shard far away, seriously damaging him. His body mangled, he goes offline shortly afterwards. (Though continues to quip and flirt with Nicole as he does.) Now, whether or not Flynn truly intended to kill Shard is unknown. That would certainly be inline with Sega's new mandate. However, the last panel here lingers on Shard's power gem core, showing it cracked but not destroyed. I wonder if his plan was for Shard to take on a new shape, possibly as another A.I., so he could keep the fan favorite around in some form without violating Sega's rules. Of course, we'll never know because the reboot happened.

By the way, the cover makes a big deal about this being a 48-page special issue, the first book of that length that Archie has published since the end of the “Sonic Super Special” quarterly series. However, the main story only runs twenty-four page. In order to pump the issue up to its trumpeted length, this comic also includes part of Metal Sonic's first appearance from “Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 25.”

Notice I said part. Only the second half of the story is reprinted. Even then, the ending is clipped short so Archie can shill for “Worlds Collide” some more. It's a really odd decision. I can't imagine new fans would be interested in checking out an old story after reading less-than-half of it. (And the differences in tone between what the series was back then and what it was at this point are very evident.) I don't know, maybe an extra-long issue had already been committed to when Sega canceled the “Sonic Underground” story, forcing Archie to throw a half-assed reprint into the back instead.

But, hey, at least we get to appreciate some vintage Spaz artwork. Yardley illustrates the cover story and does a really good job. It seems drawing transforming metal hedgehogs is really his forte. He clearly enjoys penciling the various weapons and abilities the two can activate. That two-page spread includes Shard swinging a mjolnier-style hammer, for one example. He also manages to get some emoting out of Metal Sonic just through his battle language, such as when Eggman has to rein in his overwhelming desire to murder Sonic. So it's a good looking issue.

Oh yeah, did I mention that cover? It's got a glossy, foil sheen to it! I didn't even know comic companies were still pulling that foil cover bullshit by 2013! It's also hugely misleading, as Sonic and Metal Sonic never actually meet in this issue. Either way, this issue represents one of the better examples of Flynn dealing with the Sega mandates. Instead of kowtowing to them like a coward, he writes around them in a clever way. It also gets us one more issue of Shard being a bad ass. As the final pre-boot issue of “Sonic Universe,” it's a pretty good one. Honestly, I probably enjoy it more than I would've a “Sonic Underground” conclusion anyway. [7/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 246

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 246
Publication Date: March 2013

You might have noticed the small icon on the covers of the last few issues of Archie’s various “Sonic” books I’ve covered. The comics were counting down to the start of “Worlds Collide,” the much-hyped crossover with the “Mega Man” comic Archie was also publishing at the time. They might as well be counting down to the end of the pre-reboot universe. Sonic would leave Mobius for his team up with Mega Man and return to an entirely different world. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s talk about the penultimate issue of the preboot ‘verse, also the conclusion of the “Endangered Species” arc, first.

“Endangered Species: Part Four” splits the story in half. In the blasted-out remains of Albion, Team Fighters and Shard battle against the seemingly unkillable Krudzu-infected Metal Knuckles. Meanwhile, Knuckles and Thrash leap through his warp ring, taking their fight all across Mobius.

An interesting bit of trivia the Mobius Encyclopaedia points out about this issue: Despite being more-or-less the main characters of the issue, neither Knuckles nor Thrash have any dialogue! The two wail on each other all across the globe. They grunt and scream but nobody actually says anything. At first, this approach is interesting but it quickly gets dull. Even with the shifting locations, there’s only so much to be taken from watching two cartoon characters beat each other up.

Team Fighters’ battle with the Krudzu presents a few more interesting opportunities. Unlike Knuckles and Thrash, who are evenly matched and can’t really hurt each other, the Krudzu suffers quite a lot of punishment. Shard and Sonic drag him around the island. Amy hammers him through buildings. Eventually, the robotic plant is torn stem from stem. It’s a slightly more interesting battle. Steven Butler sure has fun drawing the big, monstrous Metal Knuckles. He also enjoys setting the fights against inclement weather, like snowstorms or lightning storms

The conclusion of this arc continues a theme that begin during the “Chaotix’ Quest” story. Despite swooping in and saving the day at the end of last issue, Sonic and the gang only recognize Shard as a threat. He has to quickly explain that he’s a good guy now. All throughout their fight, Shard has to constantly prove himself to the others. Tails ends up freeing Thrash’s devil dog siblings to help fight the Krudzu. This continues the theme of questioned alliances and forgiving past mistakes that Flynn has been stuck on lately. I’d like to read into shit and say this was Ian’s way of dealing with the Penders’ lawsuit. But who the hell knows.

As the impending reboot draws closer, Flynn continues to set up future events that he’ll never be allowed to pay off. After popping into the Tasmanian Devils’ ancestral homeland, Knuckles punches Thrash through a wall. Inside, we see an elderly Mobian Devil of undetermined gender laying in a bed, surrounded by loyal devil dogs. Who is this person? Thrash’s mom or dad? The clan elder who set him on his quest of vengeance? Who now, if the sorrowful expression on his/her face is any indication, perhaps regrets sending Thrash down such a genocidal path? It’s a beguiling image and one that will never be expounded on.

This is not the only future plot point that was left dangling by the reboot. The Krudzu’s adaptive technology is suggested as a possible cure for Sally’s mechanized state. Instead, she would just be back to (relatively speaking) normal following the reboot, without any further explanation. But, once again, I’m getting ahead of myself.

One can deduce that this was not the original ending Flynn envisioned for this story. Knuckles returns to the Shrine Island to be greeted by the mostly reunited Chaotix. They wonder where Julie-Su and Saffron are, though without mentioning their names. Ray picks up Julie-Su’s abandoned blaster, recognizing it. Knuckles punches the ground and screams to the heavens. On Albion, Amy cries a little over leaving behind a desolate, empty city that was once so full of life. Our heroes, in other words, have lost. It’s a downbeat, depressing ending and totally unavoidable. How could Knuckles rescue his girlfriend and his family if they’re now legally forbidden from appearing in the book? But this sad, unavoidable ending certainly leaves our heroes in a bad spot. And makes the entire adventure seem like a bit of a wasted trip.

So it’s hard to rate this one. It feels like an incomplete story because it basically is. There’s some solid moments. The team up with Shard is pretty cool. Knuckles’ agonized final state is certainly a striking sight. Butler’s artwork is, of course, top notch. Yet the most important, most emotionally valuable plot point is just left dangling. That leaves us, the reader, in a very uncertain place. [6/10]

Sonic Universe: Issue 49

Sonic Universe: Issue 49
Publication Date: February 2013

Issue 49 of “Sonic Universe” is a landmark issue in several ways. With issue fifty just around the corner, it represents the book’s four year anniversary. That’s a milestone no other Archie “Sonic” spin-off ever accomplished. It also, more pressingly, concludes the comic’s last story arc before the reboot. So it’s a bittersweet edition, more or less the last time we’d see this version of the Chaotix. Luckily, it’s also a really good issue.

The previous three parts of “All for One” skipped the grandiose subtittles but that habit makes a comeback with part four. Given the subtitle of “Friends, Foes, and Family,” the issue concerns itself with just that. The Sandblasters and the Chaotix Rush off the meet Beauregard’s Dark Egg Legion chapter, where Mighty is still pretending to be held captive. Beauregard is unprepared for Jack’s sneak attack, causing chaos to break out. In the midst of battle, Mighty, his sister, and the others were resolve some of their problems.

I don’t know if Flynn was learning or if the last minute rewrite just really fucked up his script. In the first half of “All for One,” Flynn had his characters lay out a rescue plan which then played almost exactly as they expected. This broke a cardinal sin of storytelling, that explicitly laid down schemes must always go awry. Otherwise, you’re just telling the audience everything that’s going to happen before it actually happens. Which is, you know, not a great way to generate suspense.

Luckily, Flynn does the opposite here. As they head to the rendezvous, Vector tells Espio what they’ll do when shit hits the fan. None of this works as the characters expect, which is far more satisfying from a reader’s perspective. So there’s some surprises and suspense in this issue, which is more than the first parts had going for them.

This also leads to some damn effective action beats. Mighty is locked into super powerful shackles. As soon as we see this, we know Mighty is going to tear his way free. When that happens, when Mighty is unleashed, it sure is satisfying. Flynn has certainly utilized Mighty’s super strength in a more visceral way than any previous writer. After tearing the super shackles apart, Mighty rushes through the battlefield. At one point, he rips the engine block right out of a Jeep and nearly crushes Jack with it.

Mighty isn’t the only character that shows off feats of strength. Vector stops a dune buggy in its tracks with his bare hands. Mathilda punches roadrunner into the stratosphere and then later point blank punches a missile. There’s a lot of laser fire and explosions in this one, lending an appropriate feeling of chaos without being chaotic to read.

But the bitchin’ action is not even what I really like about this issue. “All for One: Part Four” is a genuine weepy of an issue. At story’s start, Mighty is deeply distraught at his sister’s reaction. Beauregard deeply understands how a family divided feels. This sets up quite a few tearful revelations in the back half. This is an issue full of emotional declarations. This never overreaches into melodrama, however, because Flynn knows this characters so intimately. So the big action is married to some big emotion and both is beautifully executed.

Issue 49 also gracefully pays off several of the character arcs set up earlier. In the middle of the chaos, Ray flies over to the floating platform where Ray and Mathilda are standing. He delivers an emotional plea to Mathilda, showing the depths to which her brother went to find her. At the end, Mighty introduces Ray to Tilley as her brother, assailing his fears of being replaced and left out. It does a lot to build up Mighty and Ray’s brotherly relationship, which has always been more of an informed attribute than a shown one.

Flynn also does a great job of making the reader care about Tilly, despite her being a relatively new character. Her sudden influx of affection towards Mighty probably should feel rushed. Some how, Flynn pulls it off. Hearing her heartily declare herself to be Mighty’s sister, willing to tank a missile for him, is effective. So is the final scene, the tearful departure they have.

I’m happy to report that the last real “Sonic Universe” story ends on a fantastic note. It’s sort of funny the way “All for One” began as one of the weakest stories from this series and ends as one of the strongest. I really wonder if there was someway to skip the Robin Hood bullshit in the first half. Then again, it’s entirely possible I’m overrating this issue simply because it’s the last time we see the original Chaotix together. (It’s pretty frustrating that we’d never see more of Mathilda. I liked her.) But, fuck it, I’m giving this one a [9/10.]

Archie & Friends: A Halloween Tale

Archie & Friends: A Halloween Tale
Publication Date: September 1998

Happy Halloween, Hedgehogs Can't Swim readers! If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that I love this day. Halloween isn't just my favorite holiday, it's my favorite time of year. This spooky, scary festival means a lot to me. Sadly, the “Sonic the Hedgehog” franchise doesn't indulge in the macabre or morbid very often. I've bemoan the lack of existence of a “Sonic” Halloween special before.

Except... I was wrong. There is a “Sonic” Halloween special. It's even a part of my beloved Archie-verse! But you'll be forgiven for not knowing this existed. “Archie & Friends: A Halloween Tale” is a short, ten page comic book that was published strictly as a promotional gimmick in September of 1998. I had never heard of the book before reading about it on the Mobius Encyclopaedia. Though super obscure, it's not especially rare and can be bought fairly cheaply online. I'm happy to present my thoughts on this weird bit of “Sonic” lore to you on this happy Halloween.

The book is also another one of those ill-conceived crossovers Archie was attempting around this time. “A Halloween Tale's” sole story is entitled “A Festival of Fantasy.” It depicts Sabrina the Teenage Witch meeting Sonic before their crossover in Sonic Super Special #10.

“A Festival of Fantasy” has Sabrina's talking cat Salem, weirdly depicted primarily as live-action photos from the then-relevant TV sitcom, tasking Sabrina with picking up his comics. The smarmy clerk, who can't believe a woman would be interested in comics, quickly strikes up a conversation with her. Confused, Sabrina accidentally recites a spell over the long boxes. This zaps her and Stevie into the world of Archie's “Sonic” book, where Sonic and Knuckles are currently fighting with Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Desperate to escape, Sabrina zaps herself, Stevie, and Sonic and Knuckles back out of the comic and into her world. Strapped for time, Sabrina is forced to drag Sonic and Knuckles to Cheryl Blossom's Halloween party. There, the Mobian heroes get into a scrape with Archie and Jughead before Sabrina successfully zaps them away.

Aside from the mere existence of a “Sonic” Halloween special being cool, “A Halloween Tale” is  interesting to me for another reason. I had always assumed that Archie begrudgingly tolerated the “Sonic” series' success. I imagined Archie was far more proud of the stupid teen comedy series that gave the company's its name. That they dismissed “Sonic” as a lame licensed book, of little interest. They might still be true but “A Halloween Tale” has Sonic happily standing alongside Archie's titular characters and his supporting cast. At one point, Ken Penders' script even refers to “Sonic” and “Knuckles” as best-selling books! So that's nice.

Then again, Ken Penders' might have been serving his ego some with that line. “A Halloween Tale” also has someone excitedly grabbing the first issue of “The Lost Ones.” (Which wouldn't actually come out until the year 2000.) The issue also ends with Salem, atop a pile of comics, calling the story great and imploring the reader to pick up more comics by Penders and friends. Real subtle, Ken.

“A Festival of Fantasy” is primarily a piece of cross-corporate promotional synergy. Archie packs the thing full of cameos. Aside from Sabrina and Salem, Archie himself, Jughead, Cheryl Blossom in a Playboy bunny outfit, Betty, Veronica, and Reggie all appear. There's a spread showing a crowd at the Halloween party. That includes Josie and the Pussycats and Sabrina's archenemy Enchantra. Some of those vintage superheroes Archie likes to bring back occasionally appear too: The Shield, the Web, the Comet, Black Hood, Blackjack, Steel Sterling, and the Jaguar. (And Stevie's Halloween costume is of Pureheart, Archie's superhero alter-ego.) Even further in the backgrounds are non-Archie characters like Shadowhawk, Astal, Charlie from “Street Fighter,” and Penders' Particle.

You'll notice I'm talking more about “A Halloween Tale's”  status as a novelty than as an actual story. The plotting is pretty fucking thin and lousy. The jokes, as seems to be in keeping with the “Archie” titles at the time, are pretty lame. The characters are broad and annoying. Reggie is an unreasonable asshole who tries to pick a fight with Sonic and Knuckles. For no particular reason, Jughead's Halloween costume is Robotnik, leading to an especially contrived confrontation. Robotnik's presence is a continuity error, as the classic version of the character was dead by this point. If you think Archie Sonic fans overlook this, you severely underestimate their nerdiness.

The script is exactly as lame as you'd expect a ten page long crossover to be. Ken probably wrote this fucking thing in half an hour. Artwork wise, “A Halloween Tale” is a little more interesting As in “Some Enchantra Evening,” the Archie characters and Sonic characters are drawn by different artists. Dan DeCarlo draws the Archie crew and does slightly better than the later work of his I saw. He obviously enjoys drawing sexy girls like Cheryl or Betty. None other than Patrick Spaziante handles the “Sonic” cast. They look pretty damn great, expressive and stylized. The contrast between the two styles are extreme but it's always fun to see Spaz draw the Sonic crew.

As a Halloween special, “Festival of Fantasy” is pretty underwhelming. There's nothing spooky, scary, creepy, eerie, or even spoopy about this particular book. Still, it's mere existence is delightful to me. It's a mediocre comic book but the sheer novelty factor goes a long friggin' way. If you're a fan of stupid bullshit, like me, I'd recommend you try and find a copy. [5/10]

Sonic Universe: Issue 48

Sonic Universe: Issue 48
Publication Date: January 2013

The final “Sonic Universe” pre-boot arc is one of the most bittersweet for me. After a very rough start, it would solidify in its second half into a strong story. Moreover, it would focus on one character finally being reunited with a long lost relative... In a way that opened the window for future stories. Sadly, one of the mandates that Sega would begin enforcing post-reboot was that no Sega-created characters could have family members. So, even though Sega rarely even acknowledges that Mighty the Armadillo exists, his little sister was cast into the void. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

“All for One: Part Three” begins where we left off, with the Chaotix outside Sandblast City. Among the Sandblaster is “Flex,” who they immediately recognize as Mighty. At first, he acts like he doesn't want to associate with the other three but this is a cover, of course. The Chaotix pretend to be captives while Mighty heads over to the local Dark Egg Legion hang-out, ran by Bunnie's uncle Beauregard, and seeks out Mathilda, his little sister. Things, however, don't go as planned. Especially once the Sandblasters get involved.

Comparing the first half of “All for One” with the second is like night and day. This is the difference between writing a story where your central trio is surrounded by a bunch of lame new characters you don't care about and a story where they reunite with old friends and enemies. Part three is special for the way it deftly combines action and emotions. There are several solid action scenes. The story begins with a fairly well executed rumble between the Chaotix and the Sandblasters. Even better is a beat towards the end where Mighty casually walks into the Dark Egg Legion camp and begins to tear their tanks apart with his bare hands. The panels, which show him ripping treads off or opening up a tank like a tin can, are fantastically drawn.

These fun action scenes stand alongside major emotional moments, which are the main attraction of the issue. The best of these is Mighty's reunion with Matilda. After she reappears, Flynn gives us a brief explanation of her back story but this is almost unnecessary. Mighty hugs his sister, so happy to finally see her. Matilda's emotional growth, it seems, has been crippled by her tragic upbringing. She has no attachment or feelings towards Mighty. It breaks Mighty's heart, drawing attention to what makes this character so great: He's a big tough guy with a big soft heart. Reuniting with his sister has been his primary drive for a while now. Achieving that goal, but at the same time failing, is good drama.

This is not the only character development we get this time around. There's a small moment that shows some growth on Vector's behalf. When it's discovered that Mighty is merely pretending to be a Sandblaster, the other Chaotix rase him over the ways he's rejected Espio and Julie-Su (who isn't mentioned by name, due to the Fearful Pendersing), due to their uncertain loyalties in the past. At first, it seems Vector is going to be his usual obstinate self but, weirdly, he admits that he sometimes has a problem with forgiving people. That's... Surprising to hear. Self-reflection is not something we're used to seeing from Vector the Crocodile.

Ray the Squrriel has the exact opposite problem than many of the characters introduced around the same time. We know all about his backstory, how he spent a decade blipping back and forth through dimensions while clinging to a Time Stone. It's his personality that has been largely unexplored. We get a good probe into that here as well. While Mighty is away retrieving his sister, Ray expresses his fears that Mighty will abandon him, his surrogate family, now that he has a real family. The other Chaotix assure him this won't happen. But it's a good moment, letting us know that Ray also fears rejection and loosing those he cares about.

Another element improving part three over the first two parts is its antagonists. Lord Hood was a pretty lame baddie, with more-or-less nothing interesting about him. The Sandblasters, meanwhile, are compelling villains we've met before. The completely self-interested, treacherous, and isolationist Sand Blast Freedom Fighters are different from the usual power-mad tyrants or raving psychopaths the comic's heroes fight. The Sandblasters do not revel in their villainy. They believe their actions are totally justified. In fact, many of their goals aren't even evil themselves. It's their asshole methods that make them bad guys. This is evident in this issue. Jack Rabbit is still a petty bully and a ruthless thug. It's these elements that push the story towards conflict at the issue's end, leading to a fantastic cliffhanger.

Here's just the hard facts: Flynn is frequently at his best when playing in someone else's sandbox. His best work usually comes from improving upon or remixing someone else's work. Give him a group of interesting characters and he can grow them into something much stronger, as depicted here. Force him to come up with new characters on the spot, and we get the lackluster first two issues of this arc. This bodes well for the conclusion of “All for One” but not for the upcoming reboot. [8/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 245

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 245
Publication Date: January 2013

Let’s jump right into the plot synopsis. Part three of “Endangered Species,” which has the very odd subtitle of “Restoration Efforts,” begins with Knuckles and Team Fighter locked in mortal combat with Thrash the Tasmanian Devil. As the battle rages on, Knuckles learns more about his new enemy’s motivations. Meanwhile, Metal Knuckles is brought back into the fight when the Krudzu Hybrid Hydra takes over its mechanical body. Sonic, Tails, and Amy stay behind to fight the robot - with some unexpected help - while Knuckles pursues Thrash.

Once again, the last minute revisions to the “Endangered Species” arc are all too obvious. You can easily find Yardley’s first cover to this issue online and see that the Krudzu tentacles ensnaring Sonic were originally intended to be Lien-Da’s whips. The solicitation that was sent out to comic shops even said Lien-Da and the Dark Legion were going to be featured in this issue. The ramifications of Penders’ lawsuit are evident inside as well. Last issue ended with a stray piece of the Krudzu Hybrid Hydra infecting Metal Knuckles’ empty shell. This issue begins with a Krudzu-controlled Crabmeat scuttling into land, coming across Metal Knuckles’ vacant shell, and then taking it over. This itself is a sloppy retcon of the robo-weed’s last appearance, which showed it falling to its doom inside the body of a Titan Metal Sonic. Considering how tight Flynn’s continuity usually is, it is very clear that nobody expected the lawsuit to play out the way it did.

This issue, better than the one that proceeded it, is primarily driven by Knuckles’ rage. And that’s a powerful factor. Considering he’s been in a real funk since the Enerjak episode five years ago, it’s nice to see Knuckles really cut loose. He’s confused, grieved, but mostly extremely pissed off at Thrash. The reader is feeling the same thing, though for much more metatextual reasons, so we really relate with Knuckles here. That emotion makes this issue far more compelling than it probably would’ve been otherwise. (Though the issue does, confusingly, treat Julie-Su and the Albion echidnas as if they’re dead one minute and then like they’ve merely been kidnapped the next. This is presumably a side-effect of Flynn genuinely not knowing if he’d ever be able to use them again.)

No matter how powerful the emotions in the issue are, this is primarily another action driven issue. Knuckles is fighting with Thrash. Sonic and Team Fighter fight with Thrash’s devil dog siblings. When the Krudzu shows up, he has to fight everyone too. I guess some action is warranted, since the last issue was primarily devoted to set-up. Yet focusing on combat to the exclusion of everything else has the effect of making this feel like the first act, when the arc is almost over by this point.

Flynn does sneak in some cute moments though. During the fight with devil dogs, Sonic asks Tails and Amy to do the “spin-y thing.” It takes him a few panels to explain that he means some sort of tornado attack. When Amy doubts she can pull off such a maneuver, Sonic blatantly banks on her affection for him to convince her otherwise. This leads up to a pretty cool action beat of Sonic corralling the devil dogs in a kennel made from torn-up fence post. Comic relief like that should probably seem out of place in such a grim story but, I don't know, somehow Flynn makes it work.

Oh yeah, we also learn exactly what Thrash's deal is. If you read the Complete Sonic Comic Encyclopedia, you already knew that he's pissed at all echidnas everywhere for genetically modifying his race into unintelligent beasts thousand of years ago. Like his fellow purple comic book villain Thanos, he commits genocide in the name of balance. Now, there's only one Tasmanian Devil and only one echidna. As far as villainous motivations go, it's pretty vanilla. If I had to guess, I'd say this entire plot-line came about because Flynn was annoyed that there were no Tasmanian Devil Mobians, only the mobini devil dogs. (I don't know what his feelings about humans and chimpanzee existing together are.) Post-reboot, Flynn would completely resolve this Goofy/Pluto paradox by making every cartoon animal on Mobius an anthromorphized humanoid, even the fish and dogs.

Of course, a big problem with this issue is that there’s really no reason for the Krudzu to be involved. The machine is blindly following Robotnik’s orders, determined to destroy Sonic because that’s what it’s programmed to do. (Though personal revenge seems to be motivating it as well. Because, yes, this comic book exist in a world where a plant can plot revenge.) The robot/vine hybrid is just another thing for the heroes to fight. It doesn’t feed into the story’s plot or themes in any way. The surprise guest appearance at the end - Shard showing up, seemingly because of popular demand and because Flynn had no better ideas - is a similarly sweaty attempt to pad out a compromised story. Flynn has admitted that neither of these characters played any role in his original scripts. The guy was doing what he could but, boy, is it obvious that all of this was a last minute choice.

The “Endangered Species” arc continues to be deeply troubled by factors totally out of the writers/artists' hands. However, issue 245 manages to work okay despite these huge problems. Allowing the reader to get involved in Knuckles' rage and some deftly deployed comic relief keeps things afloat, even if no satisfying conclusion to this story is ever going to come. [7/10]