Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 37

 
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 37
Publication Date: May 1996

Throughout my reviews, I’ve mentioned the odd push-and-pull Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” series has, between its inspiration and the weird world the writers had created themselves. Some stories published in the book feel like they could only be published here. Others, meanwhile, feel like left-over SatAM scripts retrofitted for the comic book. Don’t take that last point as an insult, as SatAM was awesome. Issue 37, both its cover story and its back-up, feel like storyboards for an episode of the cartoon that never reached production.

First is “The Day Robotropolis Fell.” Sonic and Sally are in Robotropolis to meet with Uncle Chuck. From his underground lair, he informs them that a major earthquake is about to hit the city. Robotnik, Snively, and his army of SWATBots have left the area in a flying craft, in order to avoid the damage. Robotnik, meanwhile, has left the robotocized Mobians in the city, not concerned for their well being. While the dictator is out of the city, Uncle Chuck has a crazy plan to de-robotocize a number of the mechanical citizens. They have to accomplish all of this before the earthquake strikes, which happens sooner then anyone expected.

“The Day Robotropolis Fell” is a straight-forward, concisely constructed story. The in-coming earthquake provides a time limit on the story, ratcheting up the suspense. The natural disaster isn’t the only visceral threat the story provides. Uncle Chuck is trying to restore free will to a crowd of people under Robotnik’s control. This the kind of noble cause the Freedom Fighters should be working on all the time. When the earthquake strikes early in the middle of the story, it puts more pressure on our heroes. So now they have to survive the city crumbling around them, successfully de-robotocize a group of innocents, get them on a plane, and then Sonic and Sally have to get out of the city themselves. Yet the story progresses through these points in a clear way, never making the script seem over-stuffed or sloppy. This might honestly be one of the best constructed stories ever presented in the comic.

All of this is before the major events that happens mid-way through the story, which lends this issue its undeniably eye-catching cover. While Sonic and Sally make their escape, a structure falls on Sally, injuring her and knocking her unconscious. (Though, given the size of the rock and the distance it fell, it really should have killed her.) Now, the problem is personal for Sonic. His best friend and love interest is harmed, which just exacerbates the issue. He has to protect Sally and escape a crumbling city. The race through the earthquake affected Robotropolis leads to another dramatic decision, the hedgehog forced to think fast on his feet. Luckily, everyone makes it out okay. Yet the tension, stakes, and pressure in this story are excellent.

There aren’t too many problems with “The Day Robotropolis Fell.” Chuck’s plan to restore the Mobians – which involves a big ass explosion – doesn’t make much sense. There’s a totally unnecessary epilogue where Robotnik and Snively crash their ship on the way back into the city. It’s the only time this felt like an Angelo DeCesare story, whose work is normally much goofier. This is the best work DeCesare has done in a while and further evidence that, when he was really trying, he could produce some great stuff.

Well, there’s the issue of the artwork. Brian Thomas’ pencils were last seen in Issue 34, which was a fairly weak story not helped but Thomas’ off-model artwork. His work here is no better. It’s clear Thomas doesn’t have much aptitude for drawing these characters. He has a bad habit of drawing Sally’s arms way too long. He also makes her eyes huge and anime-esque, which is a style the book wouldn’t adopt fully for a few more years. His faces are okay and he has a decent sense of motion. Mostly though, Sonic and the rest seem somewhat undefined here. The artwork is a bit squishy and off-model. I really wish Art Mawhinney could’ve handled the pencils on this one. He would’ve killed it.

The back-up story turns the spotlight on Bunnie, who the comic too often overlooked. When I mentioned that Issue 37 feels like a SatAM episode, I was serious. I could’ve sworn that this story, “Bunnie’s Worst Nightmare,” appeared as a segment on the show. I can’t find any proof of this though, so I guess I'm remembering shit wrong? Anyway, the back-up story concerns Bunnie developing an odd rash on her organic skin. Soon, her mechanical components begin to spread throughout her body. Seemingly, the robotocization process has resumed, slowly turning her completely into a robot.

It’s a potentially powerful story. As the title indicates, Bunnie’s worst fear is loosing her humanity. She’s come awfully close to it happening before. The story is both written and drawn by Rich Koslowski, who hasn’t done much work on the book before or after this. His pencils are a bit awkward. His facial expression are overly broad and truthfully weird-looking. His backgrounds are too often just bright colors. He does seem to have a general better grasp on the character designs then Brian Thomas.

As for the story, it has Bunnie confronting her worst fear and choosing to sacrifice herself rather then endanger her friends. A little too much of the comic focuses on Rotor trying to reverse the condition, instead of focusing on Bunnie’s emotions. The appearance of Robotnik, via ghost-like hologram, is an odd moment. As the title foreshadows, the last page reveals the story to be a nightmare. On one level, the events are way too clear and sensical to be a dream. On the other hand, Bunnie’s predicament is definitely nightmarish. The story could’ve been a deep exploration of the character’s fears and insecurities. And it does do that, a little bit, but eight pages isn’t quite enough space to exploit the story to its full potential. Still, “Bunnie’s Worst Nightmare” isn’t bad.

It all equals out to a very good story, far more concerned with clear plotting and the character’s emotional states then this comic usually is. Truthfully, only the shaky artwork is what keeps this from being a truly stand-out issue. [8/10]