Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 8

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 8
Publication Date: December 1993

Let me tell you a story. Back when I began this project at the beginning of the month, I mentioned how issues 17 and 18 of Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic were the first issues I ever read of the series. I got lucky, as it wasn’t much longer before the series actually started to get decent. For years, I wondered about the content of those first 16 issues. Trade collections are common place now but, back in the mid-nineties, hadn’t become everyday practice for all comic companies. It wasn’t until 2006 when Archie started to reprint these early issues in the Sonic Archives collections. That is the point when I was first exposed to the truly inane, incredibly silly early days of the series. Out of all the stories I read, I think issue 8’s “’Bots All Folks” struck me as the dumbest. Maybe it goes to show how my taste has involved because, nearly a decade later, I re-read the story and kind of enjoy it.

So what’s “’Bots All Folks” about? Robotnik becomes enraged when he spots Crabmeat reading a collection of comic books. (Which, inconceivably, includes “Sonic the Hedgehog” comics.) However, the superhero comics inspire Robotnik to build a series of superhero-inspired robots as his latest plan to crush that pesky hedgehog. In the back-up story, “A Little Sonic Goes a Long Way,” Sonic and friends discover a hidden cache of musical instruments. Enraged by the music, Robotnik heads after them with his new shrink ray.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Both of these stories are dumb, dumb as hell. “’Bots All Folks” trades in the most obvious kind of parody. Sonic battles Bot-man, a barely connecting riff on Batman. He fights robotic parodies of Magnus - Robot Fighter, Captain Marvel, and Mighty Mouse. Unlike a lot of the dumb parodies in the comic’s early years, there is some free-wheeling absurdity to this story. While Robotnik ordered a robot version of Wolverine, instead he gets a robot version of Steve Urkel. (The comic then ruins the goofiness of this gag by pointing out that both Urkel and Sonic are played by the same actor, esteemed thespian Mr. Jaleel White.) Probably the dumbest yet somehow amusing gag in this strip is the appearance of SPAWNMOWER, a lawnmower version of Todd McFarlane’s definitive nineties anti-hero. Something else that’s great about this story is that, unlike a lot of other early silly Sonic comics, this one was still canon!

Mike Gallagher also peppers the stripe with jokey references to these comics. While Archie’s constant finger-pointing at what was popular on shop racks at the time can go a bit far, a few of these lines made me chuckle. Such as Spawnmower stopping every couple panels to pose dramatically or a sight gag about “McFar Lane.” Or dialogue mentions of “Valiant” or “Image.” Har har. There’s no threat to this story, as Sonic easily demolishes each of the machines but it’s mildly amusing.

The second story is not as good. It is notable for remembering, once again, that Bunnie exist. It’s also the first time we see Snivley actually acting as Robotnik’s assistant, which is nice. Mostly, the back-up story shows off the wild divergence in quality of Dave Manak’s artwork. Manak really is getting better. His action scenes are a little more dynamic here and the characters go off-model far less often. A few panels even make it look like Manak had been studying the official Sega art of the time. Yet, in the same story, it also shows the major flaws of Manak. When the Freedom Fighters are shrunken down, it’s frequently difficult to tell how small they are. They more-or-less look the same size as they always are. It’s weird that an artist can create some compelling action images yet struggle with something as basic as perspective.

Maybe I’m developing Stockholm Syndrome. I actually slightly enjoyed this issue while acknowledging that it’s still not very good. I’m allowed. It proves that, when it comes to the early, goofy days of the comic, Michael Gallagher wasn’t exactly a good writer. But he was slightly better then Angelo DeCerse. I’m sure that helps him sleep at night. [6/10]