MEMORIES: Sega Genesis

(Today, I'm trying something a little different here at Hedgehogs Can't Swim. Some of you are probably aware of my other blog. Film Thoughts, devoted to movie reviews and film related essays, recently crossed 1000 posts. Over there, I have a reoccurring feature called Memories. They're long, nostalgic essays about something vaguely film-related. Today's Memories essay is about the Sega Genesis. Considering the crossover between these two blogs, I decided to post it here as well. The comic reviews will be back on Friday.)

 
Video games are huge business these days and I do not care. The most recent game system I own is an X-Box 360, which I bought exclusively to play “Marvel vs. Capcom III.” I haven’t turned on the system in probably over a year, to the point I unplugged it from my TV, wrapped it up in its cords, and hid it away somewhere. But it wasn’t always that way. As a kid in the early nineties, I saw video game systems as the ultimate status symbol. When I was very young, there was an NES in the house. However, it was designated as belonging to the family and was mostly played by my older sister. (That is until a pet cat chew through one of the cords, rendering the system unplayable.) A friend of mine owned a Super Nintendo, which I coveted greatly. However, there was one game system which I desired more then any other: The Sega Genesis, known overseas as the Megadrive.

The reasons why I lusted after the Genesis so much are easy to determine. Sega’s advertisements positioned the Genesis as a hipper, edgier console over its competition. In truth, the Super Nintendo had a stronger graphics card, more memory, better sound, and a library of games filled with genuine classics. That didn’t matter to five year old Zack Clopton back in 1993. I totally bought every line about Blast Processing, every promise that Sega does what Nintendon’t. The goal of these commercials was to make the Genesis seem like the badass of the home console world. Nintendo, meanwhile, was for babies. It worked, at least on me.

Yet even that wasn’t the real reason why I desired a Genesis. Last week, the internet celebrated the 25th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog. As a kid, I was obsessed with Sega’s blue mascot with ‘tube. The comic book and cartoon shows fostered such a love for the character and his world, one that shamefully continues to this day, that I had to start a whole other blog to figure out why. I happily consumed the comics and loved the Saturday morning series but knew Sonic began his life as a video game character. For years, I only played the games at a friend's home or in store display room. Finally, in 1995 at the age of seven, I received a Genesis for Christmas. Afterwards, I spent hours playing many of the “Sonic” games, with the second one quickly emerging as my favorite.

You’ll notice that this blog isn’t called “Video Game Thoughts.” Back in the mid-nineties, I didn’t read reviews. Magazines and probably even some early websites existed devoted to parsing out which video games were good and which were crap. Nowadays, I know that video games based off of movies or television shows are not traditionally well regarded. When I was a kid, I was drawn to games inspired by film. What young cinema fan wouldn’t be? Who wouldn’t love a chance to play through their favorite movies or shows?  Naturally, I wound up with quite a few digital adaptations of cinematic creations. Some of these games, I would later realize, weren’t very good. Back then, I would play them over and over again, mining hours of entertainment from products of sometimes questionable quality.

Such as, for example, the video game based off “The Pagemaster.” The film, which I’m a fan of, was a box office flop in its day. I don’t think the video game was much more widely seen. As a kid, I liked the opening level, which took place in a spooky castle, featuring lots of ghosts and skulls. Playing the game as an adult, I realize the controls are slippery, the game mechanics are sometimes confusing, and the level designs are non-intuitive. Not everything you enjoyed as a kid will stand up to scrutiny as an adult. This is the sort of lesson you have to learn when you’re a nostalgia addict.

Some of those Sega games, on the other hand, hold up alright. The Disney Animated Features of the day were often accompanied by video game adaptations. While these rarely stand as crowning achievements for the art form, a few of them weren’t too bad. “Aladdin” is actually one of the best selling games for the Genesis. The game play is often repetitive but the artwork is vibrant and the action is exciting enough. Mostly, I just loved revisiting the film’s world and being able to see more of it. The same could be said of “The Lion King” game, also developed by Virgin Interactive. By switching between Simba as a cab and an adult, the game provided some variety. The stages, which included the elephant graveyard and the wildebeest stampede, could become very intense. Even the weaker levels did their best to recreate the film’s gorgeous artwork.

Of course, not all of the Sega games with the Disney brand were that good. “The Jungle Book” is a solid enough platformer. It’s also has colorful, faithful graphics. However, the difficulty level was a bit too steep for me as a kid. There are so many enemies that your health meter is quickly drained. At least Mogwli’s 16 bit adventure was more memorable then “The Little Mermaid” game. I mostly recall the confusingly laid out stage and lack of weapons in that game. “The Beauty and the Beast” game, meanwhile, only sticks with me because I could never make it pass the first level. I’ve never had especially admirable gaming skills but I don’t feel the need to revisit these cartridges too often.

When “Toy Story” came out in 1995, it naturally was accompanied by a video game adaptation. The Sega port did an okay job of copying the film’s computer graphics, to the best of the Genesis’ ability. The game often changed format, including a first person perspective on one level and a driving level with terrible controls. Despite that, I still wanted the “Toy Story” video game so much. That December, it was on all the Christmas wish lists sent out to each family member. On the 25th, my dear grandmother happily handed me a wrapped gift shaped like a Genesis box. I unwrapped the package to find… The Sega Genesis game “Toys,” based off the Robin Williams’ movie of the same name. As debatable as the film’s merits are, the game is far worst. That Christmas represents one of the earliest times I can recall being forced to swallow my disappointment and smile at a gift I didn't want.

I frequently played two Sega Genesis games that were based off at-the-time popular cartoon shows that were, nevertheless, built around film references. This made perfect sense for “Animaniacs,” as the show usually parodied both new and classic movies. That video game, by the way, is alright. Being able to switch between the three Warner siblings, each one with a different ability, is mildly innovative. The artwork, meanwhile, is colorful and memorable. I especially loved the horror movie inspired stage. “Garfield: Caught in the Act” also featured a horror stage. The graphics weren’t as bold but they still featured a handful of amusing sights. That game wasn’t nearly as interesting, being a far more standard platformer. I was never able to beat it due to a glitch in the third stage, where the boss just leaves the game.

As I’ve mentioned before, sometimes just browsing the video game section at a video rental place was an experience unto itself. I usually stuck to titles I was familiar with. My local video store had a fairly small Sega Genesis selection and rarely got in new games. This meant I would often rent the same titles over and over again. This was how I was able to master “Dynamite Headdy” before I even owned a couple. Occasionally, my hand would hover over a movie-related game repeatedly without ever renting it. “Moonwalker” intrigued me but I wasn’t a big enough Michael Jackson fan to ever take that plunge. “Toxic Crusaders,” meanwhile, mildly interested me. Even as a kid though, I kind of suspected that video game sucked. When I played the game years later, that assumption was proven correct. “Moonwalker,” meanwhile, is a mildly entertaining game, worth playing if only for its bizarre novelty value.

I still have my original Sega Genesis, by the way. It’s a model two that still functions perfectly. Today, you can take a brand new video game system out of the box and it’ll die immediately. Back in the nineties, you could throw one down the stairs and you’d still be able to plug it in and play it. Occasionally, I even acquire a game I never had as a kid. “Splatterhouse 2” was probably too explicitly gory and creepy for my childhood eyes. As an adult, I love the way it mashes up different eighties horror flicks, essentially creating a video game where Jason Voorhees fights the Evil Dead. “RoboCop vs. Terminator,” meanwhile, I didn’t even knew existed back then. That game is fun too, though far from perfect. Again, there’s something to be said about getting to see RoboCop blast away legions of T-800s. It’s certainly something you’ll never see in a movie.

I know this wasn’t the most insightful Memories essay. Much like playing them, writing about video games is a tricky art form. The truth is, outside of the titles I mentioned here, I didn’t play that many other Genesis games. I didn’t play classics of the system like “Gunstar Heroes” or “Castlevania: Bloodlines” until I was much older. (Sorry, I couldn’t find a way to connect childhood favorites like “Battletoads & Double Dragon” or “Eternal Champions” to this blog’s theme.) The quality of the games wasn’t always sterling but the Genesis and its many titles remain a source of nostalgia for me. While many people love “Dark Souls” or “Overwatch,” I wouldn’t even know what to do with those. A bit of the ol’ Blast Processing and that simple black box were always enough for me.

Sonic Super Special: Issue 1 - Battle Royal

Sonic Super Special: Issue 1 – Battle Royal
Publication Date: April 1997

For a while, Archie had been publishing 48-page “specials” that tied into their flagship “Sonic the Hedgehog” series. These books were even published on a roughly quarterly basis. When “Battle Royal” was first published, it was released as just another one of these specials. Later in 1997 though, Archie had a thought. Why release the specials as just stand-alone comics? Why not tie them together as an on-going series of quarterlies? I don’t know why they didn’t come to this conclusion sooner. Eventually, the company would re-release “Battle Royal” as the first issue in the Sonic Super Special series. Sonic Super Specials would run for 15 issues, ending around the same time Archie was cutting down many of their other series. The series’ debut was so haphazardly tossed together that it was published in April of 1997, despite being set between issues 46 and 47 of the main series, published back in February.

None of that really mattered to me as a kid, as I was unaware of the changes that would soon be affecting the series. All I knew is that a new comic devoted to Sonic and Knuckles beating the shit out of each other was coming soon. “Battle Royal” actually doubled up on the gimmick. After all, Sonic and Knuckles had beaten the shit out of each other plenty of times. In “Battle Royal,” we would see their respective teams pound on one another. As a kid, I often wondered who would win in a fight between the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix, even though the latter was still a relatively recent addition to Sonic lore. Never let it be said that Archie didn’t know their audience. Along came “Battle Royal” to answer that question… Sort of.

The Freedom Fighters receive a message from Knuckles and the Chaotix, letting them know he’s retrieved the legendary Sword of Acorn. Meanwhile, Knuckles and the Chaotix receive a message from the Freedom Fighters, saying he’s had the Sword too long and they intend on taking it. When Sonic and friends arrive, Knuckles and his gang attack them. Later, the Chaotix are surprisingly attacked by Sonic’s team. Soon, both heroes are actively clashing. However, Princess Sally and Archimedes suspect that they are being manipulated by a greater villain.

For a while, Sonic and Knuckles usually ended up fighting whenever they met. By this point in the series’ history, both heroes should probably be over that. Moreover, there’s really no reason for their teams to join the fray. Luckily, “Battle Royal” thinks up a fairly clever way around this issue. Both teams are seemingly attacked by the other, prompting a conflict in the middle of the book. Of course, it turns out neither team was the aggressor. In both cases, the villain Mammoth Mogul magically disguised his minions, the Fearsome Foursome, as the other team. It was all a distraction, so that he could the Sword of Acorn. It’s a mildly clever variation on the classic comic book rule of “First they fight, then they team up.” First, the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix wail on each other. After realizing they’ve been deceived, they team up to take down Mogul. That way we get our big fight scene but in a way that makes sense.

Or mostly makes sense. “Battle Royal” is slightly bogged down in mythological goofiness. The heroes realize they’ve been duped through an extended sequence of nitpicking. Bunnie lifts a heavy object with her organic hand or the number of Freedom Fighters is off. (Midway through the book, the nugget that Sonic and Mighty already know each other is casually dropped. This is a reference to the obscure “SegaSonic the Hedgehog” arcade game. Penders would eventually get around to clarifying this plot point.) One especially baffling moment has the teams being teleported by Archimedes’ powers, after Dulcy and the ant spray fire at one another. Mogul, of course, has to explain his scheme in detail, because that’s just the kind of villain he is. The script also awkwardly re-contextualizes Mogul’s first appearance in the “Mecha Madness” special. See, he was just pretending to be incompetent. It was all a test to study the Chaotix’ abilities. Uh huh.
 
Illustrating “Battle Royal” is Sam Maxwell, yet another new artist brought into the Archie fold. Maxwell’s artwork won’t be for everybody. It’s incredibly abstract at times. The bodies of the heroes bend in all sorts of odd directions. He’s also quite fond of drawing panels from unexpected angles. Such as when Mighty dives through Bunnie’s legs or Dulcy breathes fire directly at the reader. Despite its apparent looseness, there’s an internal logic to Maxwell’s artwork. The characters look extremely different but stay on-model. Truthfully, only Archimedes looks weird in his style. There’s an incredible expressiveness to their faces, Maxwell gifting the characters with a vibrant anime-like style. Most importantly, his incredibly energetic style and sense of motion is extremely well suited to an action-based story like this one. Every panel Maxwell draws leaps off the page. I can see readers being put off by this off-beat or abstract artwork but I’ve always loved it.

The fight scenes are the main attraction here and they’re lots of fun. “Battle Royal” does a good job of showing off the unique abilities of each teams' members. Mighty tosses around trees. Charmy flies circles around Tails. Sally performs a number of powerful flips and kicks. Bunnie tosses huge boulders. Rotor – feels like its been a while since Rotor has been in a fight scene – produces a number of trap capsules from his utility belt. The only team that truly gets the short end of the stick is the Fearsome Foursome, who have yet to be clearly defined as characters.

When the book shifts away from the action, it’s less successful. The ending is a real head-scratcher. King Max is suddenly de-crystalized. Meanwhile, Mogul reappears on the Floating Island, holding the real Sword of Acorn over his head, claiming the good guys went home with a fake. That kind of devalues the entire adventure, doesn’t it?

Also included in “Battle Royal” is “The Map,” one of the odder Sonic stories Archie would ever published. “The Map” revolves around Antoine discovering part of a map left to him by his father. He’s determined to track down the other half of the map. This takes him directly into Robotropolis. There, Snively is devising a new plan to undermine Robotnik’s authority. Using his new wave of machines, called Eggrobos, he plans on digging up the Krudzu (the cybernetic plant species last seen in Sonic #1) and unleashing it on Robotnik. The two characters cross paths and Antoine is soon fighting for his life.

Recently, in issue 46 of the main “Sonic” book, Antoine received some much needed character development. We learned he wasn’t always a putz. In fact, he was secretly a badass solider this entire time. It was a somewhat sudden reveal but one the book would run with. “The Map,” meanwhile, takes Antoine’s new status and pushes it way too far. Here, the French coyote is coldly focused on his mission, even bluntly dismissing Bunnie when she enters his hut. He loads himself up with a sword, a backpack, camo-print pants, a beret, combat boots, and a bunch of pouches. He sneaks into Robotropolis, determined and serious. Later, he’s dodging gun fire and slicing robots in half. Antoine was still a total clown just a few issues ago so it’s a jarring transformation.

The weirdest part about “The Map” is that it still occasionally goes for humor. Tom Rolston, an author who has never worked on “Sonic” before, wrote this one. While most writers only half-way use Antoine’s accent, in order make his dialogue readable, Rolston goes full force with the weird French thing. Every one of Antoine’s sentences is peppered with “zat,” “za,” “dere” and “non.” It’s incredibly distracting. Moreover, the coyote still fouls up. He alerts Snively’s Eggrobos after stumbling on some piping. Later, he survives being shot by the robots through pure, dumb luck. The story ends without him grabbing the other half of the map, making this entire mission pointless. Dave Manak does the artwork. He doesn’t ditch his inherently comedic style but instead tries to make it work for this grim story. The result is Antoine and Snively, looking jagged and cartoony in the typical Manak way, grimacing and gritting their teeth. It’s surreal.

Through it all, “The Map” is still a pretty decent action story, nicely paced and featuring plenty of exciting moments. Antoine hiding in the sewers from the Eggrobos generates some decent suspense. The new robots actually prove to be competent threats. It would’ve been easy to fix too. Just recast the main role with Geoffrey St. John, a more serious character with a para-military background, and “The Map” makes way more sense.

Though flawed, I still get a kick out of “Battle Royal.” The main story thinks up a novel solution to getting the heroes to fight and features some extremely interesting artwork. “The Map,” meanwhile, is pitched at a totally different level then most Archie stories, making it a bizarre curiosity for fans. To an old time fanboy like me, that equates to a good time! Now if only they had stuck an “e” on the end of that title… [7/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 46

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 46
Publication Date: February 1997

As I said last time, with the resolution of the King Acorn story arc behind them and “Endgame” looming ahead, Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” series was mostly just spinning its wheels for a few issues. Issue 46 gives a long overdue introduction to some important supporting cast members, stirs the dramatic pot a bit, and resolves the “Knuckles’ Quest” back-up storyline. On the other hand, it still ends up being a disappointing issue.

Uncle Chuck doesn’t feel too hot. He reflects on his past, how Robotnik turned his Robotocizer – intended as a tool to help the injured – into an object of slavery. More recently, he’s feels like he’s failed the rebellion, not spotting Sleuth Dawg’s treachery or Robotnik’s plans for the Death Egg. In hopes of cheering Chuck up, Sally and the Freedom Fighters invite him to a midnight camp fire retreat. The retreat is interrupted twice. First by Lupe and the Wolf Pack, allies of Mobius. Secondly, by Geoffrey St. John, who begins throwing around some wild accusations.

The inevitable fist fight between Sonic and Geoffrey St. John got the cover but “Countdown to Armageddon” is more about character development. We learn about Uncle Chuck’s past, how he invented the Robotocizer. He details how he went from being a knight of the King to being a lowly chili dog stand purveyor. The book at least acknowledges the weight of his failures and the guilt he feels. Meanwhile, Antoine gets some serious character development too. We learn that his father was a general in the King’s army and trained Antoine to be a cadet. We discover that Ant’s cowardice has been born out of his frustration over failing to rescue his dad from Robotnik and his heart being broken by Sally. Antoine started out as comic relief on “SatAM” but would eventually develop into a brave warrior in the comic. This is the issue where that transition begins.

I wish it was handled better. Instead of letting this information grow organically out of the story, it’s dumped on us over the course of several heavily narrated pages. We get a little bit of Uncle Chuck feeling bad for himself. Antoine, on the other hand, suddenly leaps into action in the second half. After so many issues of being a joke and a fool, it’s a sudden change to see him throwing punches and drawling his sword. Also popping out of nowhere: Bunnie’s romantic feelings for Antoine. Though hinted at before, it springs up suddenly here. With little build-up, she plants a big kiss on him. Even ‘Twain seems surprised. (I guess it’s okay though, seeing as how Antoine and Bunnie would eventually develop into the comic’s most stable romantic couple.)

People who probably have never even read the “Sonic” comic like to refer to it as furry melodrama. The book’s reputation for this stuff is over-exaggerated but issue 46 does, indeed, feature a little too much romantic hand wringing for my taste. Geoffrey St. John drops into the story half-way through. He immediately plants a big, sloppy kiss on Sally’s face, not asking permission first. He then accuses Uncle Chuck of being a double agent. Not shockingly, this royally pisses Sonic off and the two get into a fist fight. In the course of the fight, he points an arrow at the hedgehog and threatens to kill him. Afterwards, he trades fisticuffs with Antoine. Amazingly, after this, Sally is still willing to defend St. John. It’s surprising that Ken Penders, who wrote St. John as a relatively compelling character in the “Sally” mini-series, would write him as such an abrasive dick here.

With everything else going on, the story barely has room to introduce the Wolf Pack. Indeed, Lupe and her clan show up suddenly, making their first appearance in the book. They chat around the camp fire a little. Out of all the wolves, only Drago gets any personal page time. He’s introduced being kind of a jerk, blatantly foreshadowing his eventual betrayal. Lupe doesn’t get to do much and the other members of the pack aren’t developed at all. Considering Lupe is an important member of the Sonic universe, it’s kind of a bummer to see her introduction being slightly half-assed.

Archie continues to bring new artists into the fold. Issue 46 introduces Nelson Ortega. Ortega is capable of some moody artwork. The first page, which shows Uncle Chuck testing his Robotocizer and a character that will soon be revealed to be Sonic’s father, is dramatic enough. However, it’s clear he doesn’t entirely grasp the cast’s designs. Sonic’s hands seem freakishly small in one panel while his head will be hilariously huge in another. The contours of Sally’s face shift throughout. There’s a weird focus on Geoffrey St. John’s teeth, giving him a permanent shit-eating grin. In a few panels, the perspective is seriously off and St. John looks like he has only one eye. Ortega’s stuff is generally a bit flat, lacking flair and emotion. Despite this lackluster debut, he would become a regular artist for at time. Spaz did some clean up in a few panels, which is fairly clear.

Issue 46 also features the conclusion to the “Knuckles Quest” sub-arc. Exploring the secret inner caverns of the Floating Island, Knuckles discovers Mathias Poe and Damocles the Elder, the last figures he was foretold he’d encounter on his quest. The sorcerer doesn’t take kindly to his intrusion and sics a robot on Knuckles. Luckily, Archimedes shows up and helps him out.

“Knuckles Quest” has generally been a disappointing story but it at least ends on a focused note. Mathias Poe is the first villain Knuckles has encounter during this story that isn’t a complete joke. He actually does something threatening, attacking the echidna with a robotic golem. Even then, he’s easily defeated. Knuckles at least uses his wits here, realizing the machine is controlled by magic. The reveal of the Sword of Acorn is mildly clever, though anyone familiar with the origins of the name Damocles could probably guess it. Manny Galan provides the pencils and it’s the first time his artwork actually works. It’s clear he’s taken some lessons from Art Mawhinney, as he begins to bring the same cartoony but appealing element to his work. Everyone is on-model the entire time, if nothing else. Mostly, I’m just glad this story is over.

Issue 46 juggles a lot of stuff and doesn’t really handle it all successfully. It has to develop Uncle Chuck and Antoine, introduce the Wolf Pack, suggest that there’s a traitor on the hero’s side, and bring the Sonic/St. John rivalry to blows. Though it’s a commendable effort, it does not truly work. [6/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 45

 
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 45
Publication Date: January 1997

After a fairly productive 1996, 1997 would get off to a slow start for Sonic and his pals. At this point, the “Endgame” arc was fast approaching. A storyline that would offer up some serious mix-ups to the Sonic continuity, it was pen-marked to debut in issue 47 and conclude in issue 50. This meant that the two issues stuck between this arc and the conclusion of the King Acorn story arc essentially weren’t allowed to do too much. Which is how we get an issue like number 45, which may be one of the most generic Sonic stories we’ve gotten in a while.

Robotnik has been expanding his empire all over the world, except for one location: The jungle. Turns out, the fat man has a phobia of jungles. Due to this, Snively urges Robotnik to let him oversee a conquest of the Mobian jungle. Robotnik approves, as long as he takes down as many trees as possible. Uncle Chuck overhears this plan and informs Sonic. The Freedom Fighters march into the jungle but encounter a tribe of hostile gorillas before they can find the villain. Luckily, Mobie the Cavebear, last seen in issue 32, also happens to be in the area.

For a while there, I was enjoying the way the book was building on its world. This is how we found out there were other Freedom Fighter teams around the globe. That this world was bigger then just Sonic and his friends. However, since then, the books has turned its focus to building on the character’s history and forging a complex, odd world of magic. Issue 45 feels like a throwback to this earlier time in the book’s history.

 
And not necessary in a good way. The gorillas are meant to be sympathetic but act scary, threatening Sonic and Rotor with guns and chaining them to trees. The gorillas, naturally peaceful, became this way through being forced to fight Robotnik. This could’ve been an interesting comment on what fear and combat does to people. However, “Guerrilla Thriller” is way too thin for that. Instead, it introduces a new clan of characters that we do not like.

Secondly, the story doesn’t give Sonic or Rotor much to do. After going into the jungle, they immediately get captured by the gorillas. They spend most of the story chained to a tree. The only proactive thing that happens in this period is a botched attempt by Sonic to escape and Rotor poisoning the gorillas’ stew with a berry that causes sleep. Basically, Sonic spends half of the story waiting for the rest of the plot to arrive, in the form of Mobie and Snively’s deforesting machine.

 
Speaking of which… Mobie is a goofy character but one I admit liking. Despite his return getting hyped on the cover, he doesn’t do much here. The cave bear shows up, trashes some SWATBots, and yanks Sonic and Rotor’s chains apart. That’s it. As for the deforesting machine, it’s mildly intimidating. However, Tails easily defeats Snively while Sonic easily dismantles the machine. Add some of Dave Manak’s most jagged and unappealing artwork and you’ve got a pretty weak story.

Disappointingly, the back-up story isn’t much better. In “Knuckles Quest 3,” Knuckles’ continued quest for King Acorn’s sword has run into a problem. He’s been captured by Black Death, a sorcerer, and the Enchantress. The Enchantress has enslaved Knuckles’ body, forcing him to do menial labor for them. Knuckles recalls the message the Ancient Walkers gave him and decides to wait. Luckily, Sir Connery, a weird horse-looking paladin, shows up and kicks everyone’s ass. He drops a cryptic hint and Knuckles leaves. To be continued.

The “Knuckles Quest” has essentially been a long series of unproductive mini-quest for Knuckles. After meeting with the Ancient Walkers, he gets a vague hint. After fighting Merlin Prower’s monsters, he got a vague hint. This story arc doesn’t even have him being that proactive. Knuckles is enslaved throughout most of this story, clearing floors and doing chores. When the hero is actively waiting for someone else to rescue him, you know something has gone horribly wrong. Black Death and the Enchantress don’t come across as very effective villains, since enslaving someone to do petty labor seems to be their most heinous act. When Sir Connery shows up, he shouts some mumbo-jumbo and zaps both villains.

Ken Penders draws this one himself. Truthfully, the Enchantress and Black Death – who is an adorable black kitten, by the way – look alright. Knuckles ends up contorting in some very awkward looking ways. When Sir Connery shows up, any competence Ken had as an artist goes out the window. Connery is suppose to be a horse but looks like a weird lizard alien instead. As always, Ken’s attempt at action are incredibly flat and lifeless. Not only does Connery look weird, he acts weird too. He spends all of his page time ranting about how he has to purge evil magicians. Not the best way to make a first impression, man.

The cover story is useless but harmless. The back-up story is deeply lame. Issue 45 is one you can slot in your long box and then forget about. [4/10]

Sonic Blast

Sonic Blast
Publication Date: January 1997

Ah, the Sega Saturn, Sega’s ill-fated attempt to compete in the fourth generation of home video game consoles. Because of a bungled release date, corporate shake-ups at Sega, and the lack of a killer app, the Saturn would quickly fall behind the Nintendo 64 and Playstation. Naturally, Sega wouldn’t launch a new system without a new game starring their mascot. That game, “Sonic X-Treme,” had a troubled production and would ultimately not be released. In “X-Treme’s” absence, a game called “Sonic 3D Blast” was released later as the system’s trademark Sonic game. “Blast,” however, was developed for the Genesis so it didn’t really show off the Saturn’s abilities. Worst yet, it was a mediocre game, with sluggish controls and repetitive game play. Tossed in there somewhere was the Archie Comics’ adaptation, merely entitled “Sonic Blast.”

 
Emerging out of the ocean is a mysterious atoll called Flickie Island. Robotnik immediately deduces that a Chaos Emerald exists on the island. Setting off alone, partially because of Snively’s sabotage, Robotnik lands on Flickie Island. He immediately sets out robotocizing the island’s inhabitants, the Flickie birds. Sonic, Tails, and Rotor pick up on Snively’s leaked signal and head after the villain, hoping to stop his scheme.

“Sonic Blast” comes from the pen of Mike Gallagher. While he’s written some fairly serious stories over his run, including the “Mecha Madness” two-parter and the “Death Egg Saga,” Gallagher’s has his roots with goofier stories. Meanwhile, the main “Sonic” book had been getting relatively grim here of late. (And would be getting grimmer soon, with the up-coming “Endgame” arc.) So a relatively whimsical, light-weight story like “Sonic Blast” actually comes off fairly well. It’s a straight-ahead action piece, humorous without lessening the threat of its villain or the heroics of its hedgehog.

 
Robotnik is at his greediest here. He lands on Flickie Island to steal a Chaos Emerald. However, the island is covered with jewels, growing naturally from trees and flowers. Immediately, the tyrant begins coveting the gems. That’s not the evilest thing he does though. He brings with him a mobile robotocizer and immediately sets out turning the peaceful birds into mechanical monsters. That’s how evil Robotnik is: He has no problem transforming adorable little birdies into soulless, evil robots to further his goal. There’s no honor among thieves though. “Sonic Blast” continues to set up Snively’s growing hatred of Robotnik. In this story, he intentionally sabotages his boss’ plan. That particular plot point would pay off real soon.

As an action story, “Sonic Blast” is mostly focused on Sonic battling Robotnik on the island and Tails and Rotor fighting off the robot Flickies. The fight between Sonic and Robotnik’s escalates quickly. This nicely shows the differences between the two. Robotnik is a thinker, always planning, able to outsmart his opponent. Sonic isn’t much for planning but he’s quick on his feet – literally – and quickly deduce solutions to new problems. Robotnik shoots a wrist-laser at Sonic but he runs out of the way. He attempts to head-butt Robotnik but gets a shock to the nose instead. Sonic defeats Robotnik’s battle armor but the madman’s cape is weaponized, wrapping Sonic up. (In a move that would make Barry Allen proud, Sonic vibrates his way out of this pickle.) As for the Flickies, they get the drop on Tails, nearly drowning him. The Freedom Fighters quickly discover that salt water can re-robotocize the birds, somehow. Thus, Rotor and Tails load up a pair of super-soakers and get to work. It all works really well, moving ahead quickly and with grace.

The script is fast, light-weight, and fun. Flickie Island makes a fun setting and the finale, where Sonic and Robotnik end up within a pocket dimension inside the island, is amusing. Helping matters along is more excellent artwork from Art Mawhinney. Mawhinney could draw the hell out of serious stories but his roots are in cartooning. So his pencils work really well for a fun and loose story like this. His incredible detail, sense of movement, and expressive faces work fantastically. “Sonic Blast” is a bit of trifle but still a lot of fun and it looks great.

Keeping up the light tone is a pair of back-up stories that are equally silly, if less well organized. First is a two-pager called “The T.U.F.F. Awards,” in which Rotor bungles an award show for the Freedom Fighters. The jokes are silly, with a seal handing out the sealed envelope, or Bunnie being shown unscrewing a jam jar to show her strength. The second back-up is called “Bugged Bunny.” While Bunnie naps in the forest, Robotnik and Snively attached a tracking device to her. The villains track her but Bunnie, unknowingly, foils all of their attempts. The central joke here is that Robotnik and Snively are dressed as flowers for some reason.

Angelo DeCesare writes both of these and they’re full of silly puns. Dave Manak draw both back-ups. His pencils are typically jagged and goofy looking. That’s okay because both stories are very silly too. Basically, the entire 48 pages of “Sonic Blast” feels like a throwback to the book’s earliest, goofiest days. Sometimes that’s okay, as each of the stories are entertaining in their lightness. [7/10]

THE 1996 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG COMIC BEST/WORST LIST!

1996 is one of the years in Archie Sonic history that I remember most vividly. This was the year that my passion for the book really grew. It definitely had some crowd-pleasing elements for the young kids. There were fights between super-powered robots, the introduction of honest-to-god supervillains, and one big plot reveal after another. Reading these issues as an adult, the book continued to have some very steep peaks and valleys. 1996 produced some of the best and some of the worst “Sonic” stories. Let’s, as a cartoon hedgehog famous for running fast might say, do it to it.

The issues covered in this retrospective are:

Sonic the Hedgehog: #33-44
Knuckles the Echidna (Mini-Series): #1-3
Sonic Quest (Mini-Series): #1-3
Sonic & Knuckles: Mecha Madness
Sonic Live!

BEST COVER STORY: 
Ken Penders and Mike Kanterovich, "Heart of Darkness" (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 36)

“Heart of Darkness” is invested with emotion and risks. Sally is shocked that the mad villain they encounter is her father, a revelation that pushes her to tears. Sonic has to choose between saving the day and protecting Sally’s feelings. He ultimately chooses the former, a decision he immediately regrets. The story also expands on the universe’s mythology and features some bitchin’ Art Mawhinney artwork. While the King Acorn story arc would soon become a millstone for the book, this first entry remains an impressive achievement.

WORST COVER STORY:
Ken Penders, "The Last Game Cartridge Hero" (Sonic Live!)

Well, this was inevitable. Just on a structure level, “The Last Game Cartridge Hero” is not good. Sonic and his newly introduced human sidekicks bounce from one incoherent plot element – Sonic pulling some human kids into his world? – to the next – interdimesnional robot Robotniks? – and onward. Ken Penders’ decision to bring his son and his niece into the “Sonic” comic-verse has been widely mocked. And rightfully so, as it’s a writing choice that stinks of juvenile wish fulfillment and bad fan fiction. With some flat artwork being the rancid cherry on the shit sundae, we have one of the most notoriously misconceived stories ever published by Archie.

BEST BACK STORY: 
Ken Penders, "Fathers and Sons" (Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles)

By building the story around a father teaching his son some lessons, Penders’ finds an ideal outlet for his exposition-heavy dialogue. The story is the root of Knuckles’ daddy issues, as he reflects back on his contentious relationship with his father and Locke’s eventual disappearance. Knuckles’ personality, back story, and environment all get a much needed expansion. I wouldn’t always be a fan of Locke but “Fathers and Sons” is still a pretty good story.

WORST BACK STORY: 
Ken Penders, "Bedtime Tails" (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 38)

That’s right, Ken pulled off the four-way hat trick. “Bedtime Tails” is the kind of lame joke story that the comic should have outgrown by this point. Starting with Tails regaling an ill Sonic with his shitty fan fiction, the story then builds into an extremely unfunny spoof of “The Fantastic Four.” “Unfunny’ in the sense that there’s barely any jokes. There are no gags about the “Fantastic Four’ or any reason to combine the Sonic cast with those characters. The resolution – the Robotnik/Galactus mash-up is given some Twinkies – is what passes for a joke in this stupid story. It’s essentially the Sonic version of a Seltzer and Friedberg movie, though admittedly with fewer fart jokes.

BEST STORY ARC:
Mike Gallagher, Mecha Madness (StH 39 - Sonic & Knuckles: Mecha Madness)

“Mecha Madness” was the Archie Sonic event of 1996 and, unlike so many comic book events, it actually lived up to the hype. The story line began with a bold concept: What would happen if Sonic got robotocized? The answer? He would just start wrecking everybody’s shit. From there, the two-parter built into a spectacular series of action set-pieces. Mecha-Sonic vs. Bunnie! Mecha-Sonic vs. Knuckles! Mecha-Sonic vs. Mecha-Knuckles! Despite the constant escalation, the story never looses its pacing, by rooting its excitement in a real sense of danger. Yeah, the resolution, involving a magic ring, was disappointing. But who cares when a story satisfies this much?

WORST STORY ARC:
Ken Penders, "Rites of Passage!" (Knuckles the Echidna (Original Mini-Series): 1-3)

Calling “Rites of Passage!” the worst story arc of 1996 might not be entirely accurate. Instead, it’s more aptly described as the most disappointing story arc of 1996. Practically every exciting reveal the book sets up it then fumbles. “Wow, a “Knuckles” mini-series! I bet it’ll be devoted to Knuckles and the Chaotix having crazy adventures together!” Nope. The Chaotix are benched for the entire mini-series. “Wow, Knuckles receives a super powerful villain of his own, the neigh omnipotent Enerjak!” Yeah, except Enerjak doesn’t seem to know how varied his multitude of powers are and goes down like a chump. “What’s that? An expanded role for Knuckles’ dad, Locke? Interesting!” Not so much, as Locke spends the entire book improbably getting his son out of jams while watching from afar. While not without its moments, “Rites of Passage!” is simply nowhere near as satisfying as it should’ve been.

BEST COVER ART:
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 43 – Patrick Spazinate

Spaz provided some bitching cover art during 1996 and it was tricky to narrow it down to just one. What about the metal album worthy image from issue 36, which featured Sonic and Sally powerless before an intimating rider clad in black armor? Or the striking cover that adorned issue 41, which showed Sonic, Sally, and Geoffrey St. John are up to their shoulders in a mysterious white light, beset by grasping grey arms?

All of those are awesome but I decided to go with the more contemplative cover of issue 43. In a story devoted to memory, we see Sonic literally walking into the past. He’s framed on both sides by King Acorn and Robotnik facing off against a wrecked cityscape. Instead of going for action, the cover is painted in a sepia tone, implying a past littered with regrets and a future that’s uncertain at best.

WORST COVER ART: 
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 42 – Patrick Spazinate

In a year where the extraordinarily gifted Spaz provided all of the covers, there really isn’t a “worst” candidate. However, out of all of Spaz’ work this year, issue 42’s cover is definitely his most awkward. Sonic is running so fast, his knees are practically in his face. Sally falls through the air, her body twisting in an uncomfortable pose. Despite running forward, the other characters don’t appear very lively. They seem frozen in place. Meanwhile, the action takes place against a non-descriptive forest background. The posing is odd and the concept is uninspired, even if everything else about Spazinate’s work is quite good.

BEST STORY ART: 
"Rage Against the Machine" - Patrick Spazinate (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 39)

While the art in the story’s second half, featured in the “Mecha Madness” one-shot, is no less spectacular, issue 39 features some of Spaz’ boldest images. The artist’s fabulous sense of motion is beautifully deployed when Mecha-Sonic goes on his rampage, destroying a giant Crabmeat or fighting with Bunnie Rabbot. Speaking of which, Bunnie has never looked more powerful and dynamic then when Spaz drew her. When Spazinate gets to cut loose and draw extended frames or large splash pages, his gift for exquisite detail, anime-esque fluidity, and irreproachable head for action all come to the foreground. It’s sweet as hell, yo.

WORST STORY ART: 
"...and One Shall Save Him" - Kyle Hunter (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 41)

There was no shortage of bad art in the book this year. Brian Thompson and Manny Galan were both brought onto the book and neither artist showed much skill for drawing these characters. As off-model as Thompson and Galan’s work could be, at least I could actually understand what was going on. (And Galan would eventually find his footing as the regular artist of the “Knuckles” series.) Kyle Hunter’s work in Issue 41 is as incoherent as the story accompanying it. Characters twist and bend in implausible ways. Sonic and friends float through a void with no sense of direction. When new characters appear, they are indistinct blobs of color. Hunter would never work on the book again and it’s no wonder why.

BEST NEW CHARACTER:
Dimitri

As a supervillain, Enerjak never quite lived up to his potential. However, Dimitri’s fall into evil is all too understandable. The path that leads him to villainy isn’t paved with tyranny or madness. Instead, he sets out hoping to help his people. After being restricted at every turn by politics, he decides to break the law to achieve his goal. That passion makes for a compelling start, even if he becomes a standard supervillain after receiving god-like abilities. Oh well.

WORST NEW CHARACTER(S): 
Auntie Bodies and Paris-Site

Most of the new characters introduced this year were kind of useless. The Combots got a big introduction but never actually did anything. Fly Fly Freddie had one of the ugliest designs ever seen in the book, before being killed off in his next appearance. Though I hate to give this award to what amounts to a pair of one-shot joke characters, it had to be done.

Auntie Bodies and Paris-Site represent Mike Gallagher’s weakness for puns at its most god awful. “Antibodies” being portrayed as a matronly old woman version of the host body is the kind of base-level word play a grade schooler could’ve come up with. “Parasite” becoming a French-themed goon, meanwhile, barely makes any sense. At least you associate grandmothers with kind behavior. What the fuck does a Frenchmen have to do with invading viruses, beyond the obvious wordplay? Thankfully, the book would never feel the desire to anthropomorphize the character’s immune systems ever again.


BEST IDEA: 
The stakes continue to be raised

In 1996, Sonic would further grapple with his beloved uncle and pet dog’s robotic states. Robotropolis would be rocked by an earthquake and get a nuclear bomb dropped on it. Sonic would be robotocized, nearly kill his friends, and be put on trial for crimes he didn’t commit. Sally would suffer a near-fatal injury. Later on, she would discover her father’s true whereabouts and see that he has gone mad with power. Even after rescuing him from a surreal alternate universe, Sally would continue to struggle with getting her father – the one she remembered – back, as the king was gripped by a weird illness. Knuckles, meanwhile, would learn that an ancient ancestor of his once became a mad god and tried to enslave the world, before being buried for eons under his own collapsed fortress. The point is: Shit got real in 1996, to the betterment of the book, its characters, and its world.


WORST IDEA:
New writers and artists that don’t know the territory.

Over the course of 1996, two new writers would join the book. While I have few criticism with Rich Koslowski’s work, former editor Scott Fulop would show little understanding of these characters and their world. His contribution to the book include a co-writer credit on the “Knuckles’ Quest” story arc, shenanigans involving Mammoth Mogul, and King Acorn’s magic crown. In other words, hardly beloved additions to the universe.

Meanwhile, the new artistic talent required sarcastic quotation marks around the word “talent.” Oh, it’s true, that Manny Galan would, in time, become one of my favorite artist on the book. His early work, though, was often off-model. Brian Thomas, meanwhile, was ill-suited to the series, with his attempts to blend his style with the book’s style resulting in some awkward drawings. Yet none compared to Kyle Hunter’s hideous artwork.

I’m sure Archie’s desire to introduce new talent to the book had the best of intentions. But maybe they should have just let the established guys continue to do their collective thing.

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 44

 
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 44
Publication Date: December 1996

When Ken Penders first introduced the Mirror Universe idea back in issue 11, Knuckles wasn’t a part of the book yet. Occasionally, the series would bring back Anti-Sonic and his team of Anti-Freedom Fighters, just to remind us that they still existed. The gears were surely turning in fans’ brains: Where’s the Anti-Mobius version of Knuckles? As the cover for issue 44 announces, it was time to introduce Knuckles’ dimensional doppelganger. Anti-Sonic would continue to float around the book for years, eventually developing into a major villain. Knuckles’ alternate self, on the other hand, would only appear one more time, in a single panel, twelve years later. This is likely because issue 44 is kind of a crappy story.

While Rotor is showing Sonic the BFG he invented, an alarm rings throughout Freedom HQ. Turns out there’s some commotion on the Floating Island. Sonic and friends leap in a plane and fly off to the island. There, they discovers Knuckles brawling with Anti-Sonic and Knuckles’ equivalent from the alternate zone, O’Nux. After scaring the villains off, the Freedom Fighters take chase after the villains. On Anti-Mobius, they discover that O’Nux is not as bad as he appears and that Robotnik has devious plans for the other world.

“Black and Blue and Red All Over” squanders two interesting ideas. First off, it introduces O’Nux. Once you look pass the character having an embarrassing Irish accent for no particular reason, the book proceeds to subvert audience expectations. See, O’Nux is not simply a thuggish, evil version of an established hero. Instead, he’s a pacifist who hates fighting. (Despite him and Knuckles smacking each other around after meeting one another.) Furthermore, he doesn’t guard a Floating Island but a sunken city, surrounded by a Chaos Emerald-powered energy dome that keeps the water out. O’Nux never really gets a chance to grow as a character but he’s got an interesting idea behind him.

The second cool idea the comic doesn’t utilize is what Robotnik’s up to. By this point, Robotnik has made a hobby of crossing dimensions. The second half of “Black and Blue and Red All Over” reveals that Robotnik has traveled to the other world to experiment with his evil schemes. In a world where Ivo Robotnik is a peaceful veterinarian and the Freedom Fighters are a band of buffoonish thugs, the prime Robotnik can freely test out his latest weapons unopposed. It’s a clever idea and one that the book would never revisit. (Probably because it makes too much sense. If Robotnik can easily conquer some other world, it cheapens the on-going conflict he’s had with Sonic and the Freedom Fighters.)

Unfortunately, the actual story structure of issue 44 is a mess. The Freedom Fighters head off to the Floating Island, despite knowing what kind of conflict they’re running into. While knowing that some other worldly villains have already tried to steal the Island’s Emerald, Knuckles follows the Freedom Fighters to the other dimension. O’Nux later reveals he’s a pacifist yet he still fights with Knuckles. Sonic and Anti-Sonic fight while the other Freedom Fighters stand back, bored and disinterested. The story totally falls apart when the team reaches the sunken city of Atlantinopolis. Robotnik betrays Anti-Sonic and O’Nux, which you think they would’ve seen coming. His attempts to kill the Freedom Fighters, by shooting them out into the ocean, is immediately forgotten. Robotnik somehow opens a portal back to the Prime Zone. He’s then defeated when he shoots his laser cannon at Knuckles’ Chaos Emerald. Instead of exploding the emerald, Robotnik explodes. Yet he’s not dead. Instead, he leaves behind a pile of Chaos Emeralds.

Wait, what? See, the script is just a mess full of half-formed ideas, sloppy writing, and things happening for no sensible reason. The story ends without Sonic or Knuckles really gaining anything. I half-way suspect this was an old story, that had been left over for a while. It doesn’t really fit in with the book’s current story arc. There’s one tossed off reference to Knuckles’ quest for King Acorn’s sword, which I suspect could’ve been quickly added in. About the only thing this issue really contributes is finally explaining the connection Knuckles and Sally have. Turns out, King Acorn used to vacation on the Floating Island. Sally and Knuckles met when they were little kids, neither of their parents aware of their secret friendship. Other then that, Issue 44 adds nothing to the overarching mythology.

Last time, I was talking about how Manny Galan’s artwork had gotten a lot better. The artist has another backslide with issue 44. The artwork in the first half of the book is really not good. Everyone is off-model. Sonic is too lanky, Knuckles’ head is misshapen, Sally’s face is too boxy, Tails has a weird pencil neck. Things get a little better in the second half, with Galan’s ability for expressive faces showing up. It’s still doesn’t look very good, I’m afraid. I recently found an old interview with Galan, where he admits that he didn’t know how to draw the characters when he first got hired at Archie. It’s good that he’s honest about this. An uncredited Spaz pencils the flash-back scene which is immediately apparent.

It’s not an all-time worst story. Archie would publish some plots that had no interesting ideas in them. This is a story with an interesting idea but an awful construction. No wonder O’Nux would be a no-show for years afterwards. [4/10]