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].