Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 26

 
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 26
Publication Date: July 1995

I’ve commented before about the wild tonal shifts this series underwent in its early years. It still varies from issue to issue at this point. Last time, I reviewed the “Sonic & Knuckles” one-shot, whose tone was relatively serious and closely in line with the SatAM series. Now, here comes Issue 26 with a story that feels like its right out of “Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.” Heck, Robotnik even hangs out in a hill-top tower, like he did in that series, and Snively is reduced to a pun-slinging sidekick, recalling the role played by Scratch or Coconauts. At times, the constant back-and-forth between mostly serious and mostly silly can really give the reader whiplash.

In “Way, Way Past Cool,” Sonic and friends are enjoying a pleasant summer day down by the stream. That is, until a freak snowstorm blows in. Soon, the entire area is below zero and everyone is freezing. Naturally, Robotnik is behind this freak weather change. He has created a device to drastically change the weather, expecting to wipe out the Freedom Fighters with me. When the frost-bitten furries take coverage in a cave, they meet another group of Freedom Fighters which may help them turn the tide.

This is a fairly basic story. The bad guy cooks up a standard plot – a big ass freeze ray is not exactly the most original scheme – the heroes scramble for a while before regrouping and finding a solution. The early scenes of the Freedom Fighters wandering through the snowstorm is mostly devoted to goofy puns and threating about what’s happening. Robotnik is in pure silly mode, yelling and screaming in a mock-serious fashion, acting like a comic relief villain. Though freezing to death is a fairly serious threat, the story doesn’t treat it very seriously.

If Issue 26 has anything memorable about it, it’s the introduction of a new group of Freedom Fighters. I’ve always liked new teams being introduced, as it makes Mobius feel like a more fleshed-out world. It’s good to know that Sonic and his friends aren’t the only ones out there rebelling against Robotnik’s regime. However, this issue doesn’t get much time to develop the Arctic Freedom Fighter’s personality. Guntiver the Wolf is the blandly heroic leader. Augustus the Polar Bear is the big guy. Flip the Penguin is the carefree, fun-loving one. And Erma and Sealia are the girls. All Erma does is help chip Sonic and friends out of a block of ice later one. Sealia does nothing. The character designs are funny and interesting but the team is so thinly sketched, it’s hard to care much about them.

 
Still, there’s some okay moments in “Way, Way Past Cool.” The scene of Sonic sliding on the ice in the cave is mildly amusing, showing that his speed isn’t always enough to make it out of a situation. Seeing the two teams come together is mildly satisfying, as is the catapult the heroes build out of nowhere. Snivley is in groveling, suck-up mode here, doing his best to appease his boss, which is one of my favorite Snivley modes. Mostly though, I wish the story made better use of its snowy setting and its new cast. Dave Manak’s angular, goofy artwork doesn’t help matters much.

The back-up story, “Fortified,” is a lot better, if equally disposable. While exploring the woods, Sonic twists his ankles. This leaves the Freedom Fighters without their most valuable member. The group explores the woods before coming to an abandoned wooden fort. Robotnik is right on their trail, in a tree leveling bulldozer. With Sonic out of commission, Rotor builds Bunnie a suit of armor from the old scrap metal lying around the fortress.

First off, it’s always nice when this series remembers that Bunnie exist. I don’t think she’s contributed to a story since Issue 23. The comic was still finding a use for her at this point. In this story, the writers seemingly realizes that she is actually the most powerful member of the team. When Rotor whips her up some body armor, she easily shreds a whole team of SWATBots. The sudden appearance of an old fort really comes out of nowhere. However, the story is breezy and fun. With Art Mawhinney’s typically spot-on artwork, forested setting, and a focus on the ensemble, “Fortified” really feels like a lost episode of SatAM. Not a super memorable one but an entertaining one nevertheless.

So I guess what I’m saying is you can skip the cover story and go straight to the back-up. [6/10]

Sonic & Knuckles

 
Sonic & Knuckles
Publication Date: May 1995

Knuckles has been such an essential part of the Sonic cast for so long that it’s hard to remember a time when he wasn’t a part of it at all. The Sonic cast was still fairly small at the time. In the years since his first appearance, Sega has increasingly characterized Knuckles as dumb muscle, a strong doofus. This was not how it was originally. Though gullible, Knuckles was originally the mysterious bad-ass of the Sonic-verse, a character with an unexplored back story with links to ancient, mysterious legends. He was tougher then Sonic, more willing to strike first and ask questions later. His allegiances were initially ambiguous. Though he would soon be established as a good guy, his morals were obviously different then Sonic. This made Knuckles a big deal. (Shadow has largely usurp Knuckles’ role as the mysterious bad-ass of the series, which is probably why Knuckles has been recast as a dim-witted goofball.)

Despite that, Sega was slow to capitalize on his popularity. His developer, Takashi Yuda, never considered Knuckles anything but a supporting character. Though he got his own game in 1995, with “Knuckles’ Chaotix,” that was on the little-played Sega 32X system. It wouldn’t be until the “Sonic Adventure” days before Knuckles actually started to receive merchandising of his own. Fans wanted more Knuckles but Sega seemed reluctant to give it to them. Archie, on the other hand, understood fan demand. The 1995 one-shot “Sonic & Knuckles” was ostensibly made to promote the newest Genesis game, basically the second half of “Sonic 3.” In truth, the issue was designed to properly add Knuckles to the comic’s cast, develop his own mythology, and make him a major character that would eventually headline his own series.

The first of the annual’s three stories is “Panic in the Sky,” a very loose adaptation of the “Sonic & Knuckles” plot. Aside from some scenes in the Mushroom Hill Zone, an appearance by that lumberjack robot, and a brief sequence in a lava-filled area that we can assume is the Lava Reef Zone, the comic doesn’t resemble the game much. Instead, the plot concerns itself with the Floating Island flying wildly off-course. The Island is floating in-land, towards Knothole Village. Concerned, Sally sends Sonic and Tails to investigate. They discover Knuckles, who is still antagonistic to them, and an island fortified with automatic turrets and robot traps. Yep, Robotnik has taken over the Floating Island, utilizing it in his latest scheme to crush the Freedom Fighters.

“Panic in the Sky!” has a few plot hole issues. Robotnik’s idea depends entirely on him knowing where Knothole Village is. This runs counter to most every other Sonic comic Archie would publish in the near-future, where locating Knothole Village was Robotnik’s central objective. Knuckles and Sonic still being at odds, despite their previous team-up in “Sonic #13,” seems like an obvious excuse to get them to fight. Penders and Kanterovich really pull the conclusion to this one out of their ass. Knuckles smashes the Chaos Emerald that keeps the island afloat, forcing Robotnik to flee suddenly. Knux then immediately reveals that he smashed a duplicate, prepared for scenarios just like this. After seeing the Floating Island resume floating in his rear-view mirror, don’t you think Robotnik would have flown back and continued his plan? Truthfully, “Panic in the Sky!” is not Ken Penders at his strongest, as the story is fairly heavy on exposition and awkward dialogue. Such as a two page spread where Sonic talks exclusively in puns for no reason.

 
Despite its problem, I still like this story. Incorporating some of the “Sonic & Knuckles” elements makes the Floating Island seem like an even stranger, more mysterious location. Yes, Sonic and Knuckles fighting before teaming up to take down Robotnik is a plot we’ve seen before. However, there’s always something a little satisfying about it. If this story is meant to develop Knuckles more then anything else, it shows him as a flawed hero, someone who is brass and temperamental but also resourceful and quick-witted. Another thing worth liking about the story is Art Mawhinney’s once-again excellent artwork. The story begins with a gorgeous two-pager of the Floating Island looming over a happy Mobian beach. Dave Manak takes over in the second half and, though Dave does better then usual with the action, it’s still a noticeable drop in art quality.

This being a double-stuffed annual, “Sonic & Knuckles” features two further stories. Showing that this book truly was written to capitalize on Knuckles’ growing popularity, both are devoted exclusively to the echidna. “Fire Drill” was both written and drawn by Penders. It would lay the foundation of the mythology he would soon build around the character, for better or worst. In it, Knuckles pursues an unseen intruder on the island, stumbling into a series of different traps, surviving each by the skin of his teeth.

If there’s anything the internet has criticized more then Penders’ writing, it’s his artwork. And, yeah, over the years he would contribute some awful illustrations to this series. However, “Fire Drill” looks okay. The backgrounds are flat and simplistic. A scene of Knuckles exploring a temple features some odd-shaped buttons on the wall. However, Knuckles never goes wildly off-model like he would in later stories and there’s a generally okay flow of action here. Plot-wise, there’s not much to “Fire Drill.” It mostly exists to exert the Floating island’s mysteriousness again and show that someone is watching over Knuckles. Knuckles spends the entire story talking to himself. On one hand, this is probably because he spends a lot of time alone. On the other hand, it inflicts a lot of awkward Penders’ dialogue on the reading. The story is middling work but nothing bad.

“Lord of the Floating Island” is another Penders’ joint focused on establishing a part of the echidna’s personality. This story focuses on his role as the Floating Island’s protector. In it, a solar eclipse causes some strong winds to blow through the Island. Knuckles rescues a lost kangaroo joey, avoids a stampede of dingos, and returns the kid to his mom. That’s it.

Since the Floating Island has always been portrayed as desolate, it’s weird to see other character occupying it. It’s also weird to read Knuckles referring to dingoes as “harmless,” as later issues would establish echidnas and dingoes are eternal enemies. The kangaroo kid is slightly annoying and his mom’s sudden appearance at the end is anti-climatic. Hearing Knuckles proclaim himself protector of the island makes him sound egotistical. The story also features Harvey Mercadoocasio, who usually works as an inker, contributing some seriously awkward pencils. There’s no motion to Mercadoocasio’s work and the characters are slightly squishy, always on the verge of going off-model.

In short, none of “Sonic & Knuckles” is mind-blowing work. The lead story is fun, if unimpressive. And the back-ups are varying degrees of just-okay. Still, as a young kid eager to learn more about this Knuckles guy, I really appreciated this special. It was one I thumbed through constantly when I was young. For nostalgia reasons alone, I’ve got to bump this up from a [6/10] to a [7/10.]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 25

 
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 25
Publication Date: June 1995

As I’ve established in my previous reviews, I’ve been reading Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” series for a hella’-long time. As a kid, I didn’t have a by-mail subscription to the comic or even a box at my local comic shop. I bought the comics with my meager allowance and a yearly subscription seemed out of my price range. The circumstance of this was that I sometimes missed issues. An issue I always desired by never owned was Issue 25, the two year anniversary issue and the first appearances of Metal Sonic and Amy Rose. It is an issue I’ve never read…

Until now.

All of Issue 25 is devoted to “Go Ahead… Mecha My Day!” The Freedom Fighters have become aware of a pocket dimension called the Collision Chaos Zone, a tiny, unstable world that weirdly resembles the stages in a 16-bit platformer video game. Robotnik has plans for the zone. By kidnapping Amy Rose, an obsessive Sonic fan, he intends to lure Sonic into the zone. There, the hedgehog will be ambushed by Robotnik’s most advanced machine yet… Metal Sonic! Mecha Sonic! As a bonus, the robotic dictator has also captured Tails. So Sonic races into danger, with Rotor and Sally as back-up.

 
Issue 25 is written by Mike Gallagher, responsible for some of the silliest early stories. He wrote the entirety of the original four-issue mini-series, to give you an idea. There’s no doubt that “Mecha My Day” is full of goofy gags, from the title on down. Robotnik discovers Amy Rose’s location by stealing a bag of Sonic-Gram fan letters. There are slapdash references to “Wizard of Oz,” the Sci-Fi Channel, and Fabio. A mostly unnecessary and goofy subplot has Snivley being disguised as Robotnik. The dialogue is full of bad puns and bizarre slang like “Radicool!” The story concludes with the reader interacting with the story, as Your Finger (a character that amazingly doesn’t have a Mobius Encyclopedia page) delivers the defeating blow to Robotnik.
 
All of this is true yet “Go Ahead… Mecha My Day!” is probably the best Mike Gallagher story yet. I actually laughed a couple of times, such as Amy’s misunderstanding of the word “engaged” or Tails being captured very quickly when left on his own. More importantly, Issue 25 is a straight-ahead action story. The entire first part is devoted to setting up the story while Sonic is in the Collision Chaos Zone not long afterwards. The entire second half of the book is devoted to Sonic and Mecha Sonic’s race and scuffle. The humor slightly undermines the drama of the situation. The way Sonic defeats Metal Sonic is fairly ridiculous. The climax depends on Sonic just then deciding to bust out a new special ability. The stakes are low but the issue is amusing and speedy enough for that not to be too much of an issue.

Also helping matters is the tremendous art. Patrick Spazinate contributes the pencil and it’s his best work yet. This being an action-centric story, Spaz’ work is highly dynamic and cinematic. Look at the two-page spread where Sonic and Metal are racing through the zone. Or Sally’s dramatic dive from the bi-plane. Even a simple scene like Sally flipping up onto her head has a sense of motion. I also love that Spazinate doesn’t consider the panel/page format gospel and happily has the characters zinging in and around the expected bubbles. Spaz’ talent for detailed, expressive faces is also shown off in this issue. Lots of humor is conveyed when Sally grumbles about Princess Di in frustration or Tails makes a dissatisfied face after being captured. Unlike his last two stabs at this comic, there’s never any off-model moments. Issue 25 is easily the best looking Sonic comic thus far.

What does one make of Amy Rose and Metal Sonic as characters? Aside from Robotnik himself, Metal Sonic – erroneously referred to as Mecha Sonic here which is a totally different character, you guys – is Sonic’s most reoccurring adversary. Amy Rose, meanwhile, has emerged as the series most prominent female character and Sonic’s default love interest in most media. It wasn’t always that way. When reviewing Issue 13, I talked about Knuckles’ appearance in the comic lending the book a certain novelty. Amy’s appearance does the same. The character wouldn’t appear in a cartoon until 2003’s “Sonic X.” She wasn’t even in the Japanese produced OVA, Sonic receiving a sexy cat girl girlfriend instead. In the years between “Sonic CD” and “Sonic Adventure,” Sega had seemingly forgotten about her. So seeing the character occasionally doing stuff and contributing to the plot in the comic was kind of a big deal for Sonic fans.

(That doesn’t mean I’m a big fan of Amy Rose. For years, she was defined solely by her attraction to Sonic, which bordered on creepy at times. Her overall pinkness also pigeon-holed the character as the Required Female Character, not allowed to be defined beyond traditionally girly interests. It wasn’t until some post-“Adventure” character development that she began to show a real personality, and even that took some time. Thanks to the comic and “Sonic Boom,” she is more rough-and-tumble these days. Her all-consuming passion for Sonic has been dialed back, she’s slightly sarcastic, and now very willing to smash shit with her giant hammer.

tl;dr: Sonic/Amy shippers are an abomination in the eyes of the Glorious Sonic/Sally Shipper Master Race.)

 
Like Anti-Sonic, Metal Sonic is an adversary that is a physical match for Sonic. Unlike Anti-Sonic, Metal Sonic is a serious threat. He’s by-far Robotnik’s most psychotic creation. The games and other media would follow this, Metal Sonic even eclipsing Robotnik at one point. He doesn’t have much personality, being a robot and all. But there’s no doubt that the character is an important contribution to the Sonic rogue gallery.

Here’s the short version of Issue 25: Awesome artwork, a funny script that moves at a steady clip, and the introduction of two major characters. Sounds good to me! [7/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 24

 
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 24
Publication Date: May 1995


When I was reviewing Issue 23, I mentioned that it was a nostalgic favorite of mine. It didn’t contain that good of a story but, nevertheless, I read and re-read it countless times as a kid. I had a similar relationship with Issue 24. It’s another one that I thumbed through many, many times, reading it and admiring the artwork and characters. There’s a big difference between 23 and 24. 24 actually contains a pretty good story!

The Freedom Fighters are acting like assholes. Sonic kicks a pig into some mud. Sally drops a fellow squirrel into a pond. Antoine drives his car(?) into an apple cart. Rotor wrecks a shop with a baseball bat. Tails tosses tomatoes at a turtle. Quickly we learn that this is not actually Sonic and his friends. Instead, Anti-Sonic from the mirror universe Mobius have taken their prime universe counterparts’ places, with the intention of wrecking their reputation. When Sonic returns from the Zone of Silence, a botched attempt to rescue King Max, and Sally returns from her solo adventure in her mini-series, they are met by an irate crowd with torches and pitchforks. They decide to draw the imposters out and beat their asses.

“When Hedgehogs Collide” is a straight-forward action story and immensely satisfying in that regard. It’s the comic’s take on another stock superhero plot. A villain impersonating a hero in an attempt to destroy his good image is one that pops up from time-to-time. (Though most stories don’t deal with the mirror universe thing.) The early images of Anti-Sonic and gang wrecking shit is weirdly cathartic. Maybe I just secretly want to see our heroes act like huge pricks. The script, from Penders and Kanterovich, is not especially amusing. When Sally tosses the weeping fisher-squirrel into a lake, she tells her to “go fish!” The cover gives it away that these aren’t the actual Freedom Fighters. If I’m not just a sadist that is amused by violence, maybe these early scenes set up a conflict in a visceral, visual way. The bad guys are doing bad, giving our heroes something to react to.

 

This is also easily the best Anti-Sonic story so far. First off, the issue stars the rest of the Anti-Freedom Fighters as well. It’s not that Anti-Sally, Anti-Rotor, and the rest are developed much as characters. They are all indistinct thugs. But at least the plot gives the ringleader somehow to bounce off of. In previous stories, Anti-Sonic was just a hoodlum. He’s still mostly that but now he has some motivation: He’s bored on his conquered world and now wants a good fight. He doesn’t want to take over the world or even kill our heroes. He just wants to ease his boredom and have the satisfaction of fisticuffs.

The last third of the story is immensely satisfying. I know Sonic fandom elderstateman Dan Drazen wouldn’t approve of this but sometimes seeing the heroes beat the ever-loving fuck out of the bad guys is all we’re here to see. After disguising themselves as gypsies(?!), a huge fist fight explodes between the two Freedom Fighters faction. Since they are literally just doubles of each other, the teams are evenly match… Until they set upon the idea of trading partners. Thus, Sonic slugs Sally in the face, Rotor tosses Tails into the ground, and Tails dive bombs Sonic. The good guys triumph, the bad guys lose. Hell. Yes.

The entire issue is devoted to “When Hedgehogs Collide.” Dave Manak does artwork for the first half, while Art Mawhinney handles the second half. Manak’s cartoonish artwork works well for the first two parts, which is devoted to the Anti-Freedom Fighters being assholes. The second half, which is oriented around action and drama, is definitely better suited to Mawhineny’s confident, smooth, and focused pencils. Issue 24 isn’t a masterpiece or anything but it is an immensely satisfying, fantastically orchestrated story. If only Bunnie had been in the story, it would’ve been perfect. [8/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 23

 
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 23
Publication Date: March 1995

Oh shit, kids. This one brings back memories. As a youngster, I thumbed through my growing Sonic comic collection countless times. As previously mentioned, I read issue 20 and the In Your Face special so much that the covers actually came off. Issue 23 was another one I remember reading and re-reading countless times. I can recall a long trip to my grandparent’s place where this issue was one of the few things I brought to occupy myself with. It’s not an especially great issue of “Sonic the Hedgehog” but, never the less, I have a certain nostalgic affection for it.

 

While out gathering medicinal berries on the outskirts of Robotropois, Rotor looses the ants from his ant farm. This puts him, Sonic, and Sally in a dangerous position, once Robotnik and Snively puts their sights on them. That is until a giant metal tube extends out of the sky, sucking all of them up into an alien spacecraft. Manned by an enormous being calling himself Car-Heem (of - sigh - the planet Weeet.), the alien throws everyone into a glass tank, watching and observing them. If they plan to escape, the Freedom Fighters and Robotnik have to work together.

“Ivo Robotnik, Freedom Fighter” tosses together two well-worn story types. The first which is the Alien Collector, a powerful being from another planet who collects people, planets, or mysterious objects for whatever reasons. Other examples include Pyron from “Darkstalkers” and, uh, the Collector from Marvel Comics. (Car-Heem wouldn’t be referenced again for 11 years, when Ian Flynn started making occasional shout-outs to him because Flynn is a huge fucking nerd.) The second trope the story includes is the Enemy Mine scenario, where hero and bad guy are forced to work together for whatever reason. The script isn’t especially clever in the way it mashes these two cliched situations up but I suppose it gets points for combining both instead of just running with either as they are.

This is an Angelo Decesare script, so expect plenty of goofiness. There’s lots of loose comedy, like characters being itched by ants, Robotnik trying to sell the alien a book, or Robotnik outright refusing to work because he’s a lazy bastard. The puns aren’t numerous as they could’ve been yet still exist. First off, the villain’s name is a pun on Cream of Wheat for no discernible reason. Robotnik is forced to recite the Freedom Fighter pledge and a few jabs are made at his clothing, weight, or the shape of his head. The story also includes a forced-in moral lesson for the kids. When Robotnik sucks Car-Heem out the airlock, Sally insist they rescue him because a Freedom Fighter never leaves anyone to die.

Okay, so it’s cliched and corny. There’s still something satisfying about watching this story unfold, even if we always know where it’s going. Car-Heem’s spaceship isn’t a cliched flying saucer but instead a square-shaped Phoenix Lights-style craft. You know that Robotnik is going to try and betray the Freedom Fighters at some point, so there’s some minor suspense waiting for that to happen. I also like the parallels the story draws between the character’s situation and ants in an ant farm.

The back-up story, also by Angelo Decesare, turns its focus on Antoine. After Tails left a power ring in Robotropolis, Antoine volunteers to go retrieve it. Obviously aware of how dead he’d be if he attempted something like this alone, Bunnie Rabbot discreetly tags along, rescuing the coyote several times. It’s a silly tale, devoted to the hero stumbling into seemingly fatal situations only to be pulled out at the last minute. The escalating scenarios are nicely ridiculous, climaxing in Robotnik attacking Antoine while in his pajamas. Mostly, the back-up story will be of most interest to shippers, as this is the first story to portray Bunnie and Antoine as being attracted to each other. The final panel, which shows Antoine laying a smooch on a blushing Bunnie, is pretty cute truthfully.

(The issue contains the winners from issue 14’s “Do-It-Yourself Sonic” contest. Caulder Bradford wins the top prize, probably because his pages are indistinguishable from what would’ve normally been published in the comic anyway. Breman Welch’s second place winner is hilariously awkward as it features such sterling dialogue as “Good lunch!” and “Let’s give them a fishing present!” He also calls what is obviously a whale a shark. The third place winner was Kenny Janda who earns points for redrawing the entire fucking comic. His dialogue is hard to make out but it seems about on par for this type of story. Also, both the first and third place winners reference Pinocchio. Anyway, mine was better.)

Dave Manak draws the entire issue. As usual, his work is silly, cartoony, and loose but works for this stories. It’s rather middling, especially compared to the better stories that have been appearing the book around this point. But, I don’t know guys, I still kind of like it. [6/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 22

 
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 22
Publication Date: February 1995

Issue 22’s main story, “The Return,” is a good case study of the things Ken Penders was good at as a writer and the things he kind of sucked at. It pushes the series into a more coherent, serialized direction. The mythology continues to be built upon. There are actually stakes involved, characters’ lives are actually at risk. There’s a clever, central concept to the tale: What if Robotnik had nothing left to loose? On the other hand, the story is bogged down by heavy-handed exposition, features some really goofy dialogue, sidelines nearly all of the supporting cast, and all that solid, suspenseful build-up fizzles out because of a weak ending. Let’s examine further, shall we?

As anyone could have predicted, E.V.E.’s laser blast did not de-atomize Robotnik. Instead, it flung him into the alternate future timeline last explored in “Sonic: In Your Face.” A pleasant picnic for King Sonic, Queen Sally, and their kids is interrupted when Robotnik falls from the sky. The battle is short lived as Robotnik is zapped up to a satellite, run by the robotic version of himself from this timeline. Robotnik convinces his double to send him back to his own time. Meanwhile, Sonic and the Freedom Fighters are beginning to salvage Robotropolis, following the dictator’s apparent death in the last issue. Snivley accidentally activates Robotnik’s contingency plan which leads to an army of SWATBots marching on Mobius, destroying everything in sight.

First, let’s discuss what works about “The Return.” If allowed to run a little longer before Robotnik’s reappearance, “The Return” could have been the darkest Sonic story yet. By saving a particular phrase – an admittedly silly story turn – Snively activates a maneuver only meant to be used following Robotnik’s actual death. Operation: Wasteland unleashes a wave of SWATBots and crushing machines designed to kill or level everything in their path. Robotnik is operating under the “If I can’t have it, no one will!” doctrine of villainy and it works especially well. The machines are programmed to be utterly ruthless. They will destroy Robotropolis, the forest, the Freedom Fighters, and even Robotnik’s own workers, like Snively. It’s a severe story move and one that seems to genuinely endanger Sonic and the gang’s life.

Unfortunately, the story spends way too much time on set-up. The first six pages are devoted to Robotnik being zapped into the future, encountering his alternate self, and being released back into the past. There’s really no reason for these scenes to be here, other then for Ken to referenced his beloved alternate universe one more time. Robo-Robotnik also comes off as slightly incompetent, as he apparently has enough power to send Robotnik back to his world but not enough to crush Sonic and the Freedom Fighters. And why exactly E.V.E.’s ray gun transported Robotnik to an alternate world, instead of just killing him, is never elaborated on.

Another thing dragging down the story is the ending. Sonic racing around and smashing SWATBots may be a little carefree but this is, after all, just the beginning. If Operation: Wasteland had continued, the Freedom Fighters would have been beaten down by constant destruction. This doesn’t happen though, because Robotnik returns and, in order to save his own empire, shuts down the order. That’s right, kids. Robotnik saves the day. He tries and spins this by saying it should be a blow to Sonic’s ego. I kind of fail to see how. Given Sonic’s carefree attitude, it seems unlikely such a thing would affect him. Basically, the main villain had the hero right in his lair, in his sights, and let him go. Another bummer is that the story barely features roles for the other Freedom Fighters. Tails panics a few times, Rotor and Antoine have one or two lines, and Bunnie isn’t even in the story. Disappointing.

At the very least, Patrick Spazinate’s artwork is quite good. Though not as action filled or dynamic as his work on issue 21, just due to the nature of the story, Spaz’ work is still astonishingly cinematic. There’s still an innate sense of movement to each of his panels but always a posed, planned quality that I like. There are plenty of striking images in this story: Sally in the sights of a SWATBot, the machine forces marching out to destroy the world, Robotnik blasting a rogue robot with his laser cannon. Spaz’ strength for expressive, detailed faces is also shown off here. There are many panels focusing on Robotnik or Snively’s face and each one carries a great deal of emotions. It’s still not perfect. Sonic and Tails go slightly off-model in a few panels. In one example, Tails’ mouth looks like it has become a yawning muppet mawl. Still, Spaz does good work.

Before I wrap up, I guess I should mention the back-up story. Written by Angelo Decesare at his puniest with typically loose and goofy artwork provided by Dave Manak, “Tails’ Knight Time Story” has Sally regaling Tails with a bedtime story. The tale recasts Sonic as a knight, Tails as his page, Robotnik as an evil black knight, and Sally and Uncle Chuck as cameos. It’s a story we’ve seen before: The sidekick feels unappreciated by the heroes and wants a slice of adventure. When he gets a chance to fill the hero’s shoes, he realizes this hero-ing stuff is dangerous. Thus, the actual hero flies in at the last minute and saves the day. There are few amusing jokes. I do like Sonic’s quip about how airlines haven’t been invited yet. Amusingly, Tails completely misses the story’s point. It’s interesting that relatively serious stories like “The Return” and goofy one-shots like this would co-exist in the comic for so long. Anyway, it’s dumb. [6/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 21

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 21
Publication Date: January 1995

I’ve been quick to praise Art Mawhinney as the artist who defined what Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic looks like to me. And that’s true. Art took the design style from the SatAM series and made it work in a comic book. However, another artist would bring his own attitude and style to the series. Mostly through a long-running series of cover illustration, Patrick “Spaz” Spaziante would come the closest to making Sonic the Hedgehog and his gang look cool.

“The 3 Phases of E.V.E.” is also a pretty good story for Spaz to start on, contributing both the cover and the interior artwork. Sick of having his schemes wrecked, Robotnik cooks up what is maybe his most powerful robot yet. Combining his and Sonic’s DNAs with powerful nano-machines and a learning intelligence, he creates E.V.E. The shape-shifting machine can assume any form. When destroyed, it simply reshapes itself into something new. Every loss is a learning experience and E.V.E. becomes more dangerous in each new transformation. It’s a hard lesson Sonic and Tails learn for themselves. By the end of this story, an important member of the Sonic universe will die! Probably…. Not.

Really, you have to talk about Spaz’ pencil work before anything else. Spaziante was the first artist to work on “Sonic” that was heavily influenced by Japanese manga and video games. (Since Sonic himself is a Japanese video game, I’m surprise it took them this long.) Spaz’ work is far more dynamic then what usually appears in these pages. There’s a sense of movement and action to everything he draws, even when it’s just Robotnik and Snivley standing at a desk. He doesn’t always obey the typical comic book rules, stretching and sticking panels in all sorts of interesting, fresh directions. Spaz’ work is also extremely detailed, bringing a focus and attention to the characters and their environment not previously seen. It would take a while before Spaz truly got the hang of these characters, as Sonic and Tails go off model a few times. But it’s the most cinematic Sonic has ever looked to this point and it helps makes issue 21 feel like a special story.

E.V.E. is, honestly, one of Robotnik’s most clever creations. It’s a machine that basically can’t be destroyed by any traditional means. Sonic crushes it, smashes it, and slices it up, but she always reforms herself as something more dangerous. Those forms maybe aren’t the most inspired. E.V.E. starts off as a robot that looks like the combination of a SWATBot and Samus from “Metroid.” Its second form is the meanest looking Buzzbumper ever created. For the third try, E.V.E. becomes a giant cobra. The forms may not be the most inspired but E.V.E.’s sheer tenacity and refusal to die makes her a viable threat. Sonic is extra clever and fast in this issue, using the environment against the robot. Yet it’s still not enough. No matter what he dishes out, E.V.E. will always come back for more.

Naturally, the comic would never be able to function with a villain that powerful being a continuous presence. So Issue 21 kind of has to cop out at the end. In her finale form, which looks like a crystalline brain with a face and tentacles, E.V.E. turns against her master. Realizing Robotnik’s programming is holding her back, E.V.E. zaps Robotnik, seemingly killing him. Sonic then talks the super-machine out of killing him, telling her that she can live her own life. So that’s kind of a disappointing end to the story. Robotnik’s “death” is a pretty big deal but Sonic using his words to dissuade the machine from mass murder is a bit of an anti-climax. Despite her potential, E.V.E. wouldn’t appear again until Issue 128, where she was killed off.

However, the artwork is really good and the story is very exciting for most of its run. The last panel more-or-less admits that Robotnik’s seeming demise would be very short-lived. Still, Issue 21 is definitely a land-mark issue for Archie’s “Sonic.” [8/10]

Princess Sally (Mini-Series): Issue 3

 
Princess Sally (Mini-Series): Issue 3
Publication Date: April 1995

The “Princess Sally” mini-series started strong, faltered slightly in the middle chapter, and ends… Better then it could’ve. Sally and the team begin their raid on Robotropolis, blasting SWATBots and marching straight into Robotnik’s stronghold. This, turns out, is a trap. The entire concept of the three power stations was nothing but a ruse, in order to replace Sally with an Auto Automaton, a nearly perfect robotic copy, and robotocize the real deal. However, the Freedom Fighters have been onto Robotnik’s con from the beginning and are well on their way to subverting it.

 
Maybe it’s different when you’re a kid. As an adult, it’s pretty easy to see through the dramatic contrivances of “Deadliest of the Species: Conclusion.” The whole vest switching gag clued us in that Sally had been replaced with a double. A panel in the last issue foreshadowed Geoffrey St. John’s status as a double agent, only pretending to betray the Freedom Fighters while actually betraying Robotnik. This leaves few surprises, though the ones that remain are mildly successful. When the Auto Automaton is placed in the roboticizer, it friggin’ explodes. That answers a question I think most Sonic fans have had. Secondly, the exact details of Robotnik’s plot was interesting. The entire power station, ground defense thing being a ruse was cleaver. If nothing else, Ivo’s ploy here was hella’ villainous. Gotta give props to that.

With the plot being relatively predictable, the action and the characters become the reason to read this. The action is decent. Sally and gang blast SWATBots with paint guns, I guess because actual guns would’ve been out of the question. (Though huge explosions are okay, apparently. What, they couldn’t use laser guns or something instead?) That’s silly but it does emphasize how endangered Sally and the others are. I also like the sequence where Hamlin nearly falls to his death. It was dramatic. Ken and Mike obviously wanted to introduce a new robotic threat in every issue. Part three contributes the Stealth Bots, giant machines with cloaking abilities. Disappointingly, they don’t do much and their designs aren’t very interesting. Still, it ends on an upbeat. Issue 3 repeats the gag from the prologue, where the counting numbers are displayed on the page, which is decent at building up suspense.

As for the characters, part three does maybe the best of the mini-series. For the first time, we get a bead on Dylan’s personality. He’s a bit verbose and Penders’ overdone dialogue finds a natural home in Dylan’s lips. Hamlin finally develops some damn humanity after Sally saves his hide. (Or would that be rind?) Disappointingly, Arlo and Penelope remain off-page for most of this story, their personalities remaining thin sketches. This issue also introduces the Mobius Underground who are, in a funny visual pun, groundhogs.

 
Despite an obvious conclusion, the last part of “Deadliest of the Species” functions all right. Up until the end anyway. The last five pages of the book are devoted to unpacking the plot, explaining Geoffrey’s double-agent-ery and every last detail of the scheme. (It also, in a bit of unintentional humor, points out the different colored vests. Stupid Robotnik! Robotocize the one in the blue vest, not the purple!) This is tedious and mostly unnecessary. If it had to be done, I’d rather get a one-page info dumb instead of a torturous epilogue of this length. It’s similar to the psychiatrist in “Psycho,” blandly explaining shit we already figured out.

The final page is still one of the most enticing in any Archie “Sonic” comic. As Sally and Geoffrey part ways, he gives her a passionate smooch. In her interior monologue, she explains that she is developing feelings for him. While this comic has not always handled romantic triangles well, I’ll admit to always liking the Sally/Sonic/St. John one. Geoffrey has the same reckless and roguish quality as Sonic, proving that Sally definitely has a type. But the skunk as a refined, exotic, and more professional quality to him, that the brass hedgehog lacks. Their kiss provides a romantic, emotional note to take the series out on.

So the “Princess Sally” mini-series had its’ ups-and-downs. I’m still glad it exists. That a character who, in time, would be relegated to a footnote could actually carry her own comic at any point makes me awfully happy. The letters column begs the readers to send in notes, demanding a “Sally” on-going series. It wasn’t to be. I wonder what that would have been like. Though Sally isn’t as strong without Sonic so maybe it’s for the best. As for the solo series, I’m a somewhat reluctant fan. If nothing else, Art Mawhinney’s pencils are consistently great. [7/10]

Princess Sally (Mini-Series): Issue 2

 
Princess Sally (Mini-Series): Issue 2
Publication Date: March 1995

Issue 2 of the “Princess Sally” mini-series disappointingly retreads a lot of the same ground as the first issue. Sally, St. John, and her team of Freedom Fighters set their eyes on the third and final power station. Located on an atoll and inaccessible by land or sea, the two instead drop in from the skies. Arlo is shot down in the landing and Penelope stays after him. Sally and the team successfully destroy the station, battling the giant robot guarding it. As night falls, there’s still no sign of Arlo or Penelope, Geoffrey’s shaky allegiances comes into question, and Sally’s fate is up in the air.

So, yeah, part 2 of “Deadliest of the Species” follows a very similar outline to part one. In both, Hamlin and Geoffrey argue. In both, the team sneaks into a dangerous location, guarding by automatic weapons. In both, they are beset by a giant robotic threat once inside. Both end with a mysterious sequence set inside some strange building.

However, as a rip-off of Penders’ own work, part two still functions alright. The Octo-Pod, a grotesque robotic combination of octopus and insect, is certainly a more threatening presence then the buffoonish Orb-Bots. The air drop with the hang gliders is a good sequence and features some of the series’ snappiest dialogue. Like the first part, the focus is still on action and upward-moving pacing. So there’s no slow moments in issue 2. Though lacking slightly in freshness, it’s still a satisfying action story.

Mostly, the heart of the tale emerges in two ways. First, there’s Sally’s thoughts for her team mates. The new Freedom Fighters are still a thinly defined bunch. The opening page describes the personality of everyone. Hamlin is a hot-headed prick. Penelope is friend to the animals. Arlo would sacrifice anything for his friends. Dylan is young and thoughtful in both mind and heart. Okay, sure. There’s not much evidence of that in this story. However, Sally’s decision to not stay behind for Arlo when he’s injured is interesting. It shows that the character is a military leader and sacrifices sometimes have to be made in combat. The comic also draws attention to how it’s not an easy decision for her to make. The two’s disappearance also adds some dramatic tension to the book’s latter half.

And then there’s the issue of Geoffrey St. John. The story continues to emphasize his skills as a badass. He successfully blows up the Octo-Pod. (This scene also shows Penders’ weakness for team writing. Sally and Geoff dominate the action. Everyone else just hangs out.) However, we still aren’t sure if we can trust him. The final pages show the skunk offering Sally’s body to Robotnik, foiling the team’s planned assault on Robotropolis. However, a smart reader can identify this as a red herring. One panel hints at too much. St. John had traded Sally with some sort of double, this all being part of a plan to subvert Robotnik. Once again, Penders has a bad habit of showing too much of his hand, spoiling any dramatic tension.

So part 2 isn’t as good as part 1. It’s still a reasonably successful story with some decent attempts at emotional heart but much of the excitement has started to drain away. Art Mawhinney’s artwork is typically great and continues to provide a lot of pleasure to this series. Will “Deadliest of the Species” end on an up-note? Find out next time! [7/10]