Sonic Super Special: Issue 2 - Brave New World

Sonic Super Special: Issue 2 – Brave New World
Publication Date: September 1997

In the months leading up to its release, Archie heavily promoted the “Brave New World” one-shot. Though technically the second issue of the Sonic Super Special quarterly publication, it was truly the first. “Battle Royal” was retroactively declared the first after development on “Brave New World” had already started. After “Endgame” concluded, fans asked one question: What does Sonic’s world look like without Robotnik? “Brave New World” set out to answer that question, establishing the new status quo and exploring what happens to the rebels after they actually win.

As the story begins, the Freedom Fighters are entering Robotropolis for the first time since Robotnik’s defeat. They are quickly attacked by Snively... Who is even more quickly defeated. Surveying the polluted, mechanical city, the group begin to wonder if their Mobotropolis is even salvaging. Meanwhile, Uncle Chuck slowly reveals an entire underground community of Robians, robotocized Mobians who have suddenly regained their free will. Among them are Jules and Bernie, otherwise known as Sonic the Hedgehog’s parents.

Even as a kid, it struck me how low-key a story “Brave New World” is. There’s one major action beat, early in the comic. When the Freedom Fighters – who should probably get a new name – enter Robotnik’s control room, a Dynamac-3000 bursts through the wall and attacks. The machine grabs Tails, Antoine, and Hershey while Sonic pings around the room. Bunnie drops the robot by shocking it with a loose wire and Geoffrey St. John yanks Snively out of his control room. Without his robot, Snively is easily subdued. That’s it. The rest of the book is devoted to what Sonic and Sally make of their victory. It’s a story focused on characters and emotions. Penders’ ambitions are right there on the cover. The writer actually had the balls to name his funny animal adventure book after a novel by Aldous Huxley.

Sally’s conflict directly considers what happens when the tyrant falls. Robotropolis is a nasty place to live, an industrial nightmare of jagged steel and rusty metal. (Considering it was nuked less then 20 issues ago, it’s presumably radioactive too. This is a fact the writers have apparently forgotten.) Sally wonders aloud if the city is even worth saving. Robotnik has ruined Mobius’ once proud capital, transforming it into a hellish nightmare. Yet it’s a place wrought with memories for Sally. After defeating Snively’s token attempt, the Princess finds one of the few rooms unaffected by Robotnik’s reign and quietly weeps. Yet Sally is a problem-solver. In times of stress, she looks for a practical solution. She sends teams around to find sources of water and power. Secretly, she despairs. Publicly, she continues to lead.

Sally’s story line is compelling but Sonic’s story is probably juicer. The book doesn’t make it clear if the community of free Robians have existed for a while or are a result of Robotnik’s fall. (I’m assuming the latter, as Uncle Chuck appeared to be the only free Robian previously.) The book presents a story development SEGA adamantly wouldn’t allow today. It introduces Sonic’s parents. Though featured in flashbacks before, this is our first introduction to Jules and Bernie. Presumed causalities of the Great War, Sonic is shocked to discover his mom and dad are still live. Worst, he’s incensed that Uncle Chuck kept this from him. Though Penders’ overwrought dialogue makes it harder to parse out, Sonic’s reaction isn’t unreasonable. During a long conversation with Tails, Sonic mentions how Sally searching for her father is what drove her. Knowing his parents lived, even as mindless robots, would’ve given Sonic something to fight for too. It’s not as clearly illustrated as it could have been. Yet we’re not used to seeing Sonic distraught, sad, or confused. It shows a rarely glimpsed, emotional side of the blue hedgehog.

All 48 pages of “Brave New World” are devoted to this one story. Even then, there’s a few plots underdeveloped. The Robians decide to create their own community, not feeling accepted with the organic folk. The only oppression we see them receive is one shitty comment from Hamlin, a notorious asshole. While it ties into Sonic’s conflict, this storyline is slightly underdeveloped. We see some SWATBots still going about their business, mindlessly, remnants of Robotnik’s empire outliving him. There’s one scene devoted to this. A brief segue has Arlo the Armadillo, of the Substitute Freedom Fighters, getting trapped from a cave-in. I’m not exactly sure what this moment conveys. For some reason, King Acorn continues to worry about espionage, fearing that Uncle Chuck could be a spy. We don’t know who he’d be spying for. Once again, it feels like Penders has tried to squeeze too much into too few pages. It’s easy to imagine “Brave New World” as a sprawling graphic novel, the increased length only coming by expanding a few of these underserved plot points.

Snively’s minute-long takeover isn’t a clipped subplot. Instead, it’s an intentional subversion. Snively has been scheming behind Robotnik’s back for years, planning to usurp him. However, as fans already knew, Snively is not dictator material. He’s a lackey, not a leader. This is built into the character’s DNA. During the final minutes of SatAM's last episode, we saw Snively slotting himself into the vanquished Robotnik’s throne. Yet his empire was always designed to quickly fall. Instead of trying to build an awkward, on-going plot out of this, Ken smartly smothers it prematurely. From his prison cell on Devil’s Gulag, Snively claims to still have a plan. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn’t. Either way, it’s clear that he’s not in the same league as his deceased uncle.

How many times has the Sonic/Geoffrey St. John rivalry been resolved? In “Brave New World,” Sally definitively explains to the skunk that she doesn’t love him, that her heart belongs to Sonic. He deliberately chooses to ignore this statement and moves in for a kiss. For the first time, I understand why people think St. John is a creeper. Speaking for the audience, Sonic leaps up and slugs him in the mouth. These guys fight as often as Sonic and Knuckles, with only slightly more motivation. Sally concludes the fight by spraying both with a water hose and decrying their macho hormones. The script heavily suggests that Sonic is taking his frustration with Uncle Chuck out on St. John. Mostly, it seems to be here to insert another action beat into a lower key story.

Ken chose to illustrate “Brave New World” himself. Of the comic’s regular artists, Penders was roundly the weakest. His compositions are flat, the action scenes looking like still lifes. He seems to have trouble drawing Sonic and other hedgehogs. Too often, their faces look like flat objects stuck on round heads. He also clearly doesn’t know how to draw Sonic’s spines. Any shot of the hedgehog’s back look really weird. Sally, Tails, and other characters frequently go off-model. In one panel, Rotor’s jaw looks like it’s dislocated. Snively’s head looks like an upside down tear drop growing out of his shrunk, stubby body. Tails’ hair sits awkwardly on his head. On time, Sally’s head seem swollen. Of all his weaknesses, Penders’ worst artwork is visited upon the Robians. They look unintentionally horrifying. Jules has a horribly unappealing design, with a grate-like mouth, a dagger-sharp nose, and pointed eyes. Spaz did some uncredited work on this book. The contrast between his drawings and Penders’ are immediately obvious. A shot of Sonic looking sad, Sally looking contrite, and some Overlanders during the opening flashback are obviously his work.

“Brave New World” ends with the Freedom Fighters flying from their new base. On the sign outside the city, they have hastily written over Robotnik’s message. It’s an affecting visual metaphor. They may have reclaimed the city but there’s still so much work to do. Though hampered by bad art and some shuffled around writing, “Brave New World” is still a really good book. It’s a surprisingly moody Sonic story, showing the Freedom Fighters as more exhausted then excited about their victory. [8/10]

Knuckles the Echidna: Issue 6

Knuckles the Echidna: Issue 6
Publication Date: August 1997


After a promising first part and an exposition-heavy second part, the “Lost Paradise” story arc rushes towards a cluttered conclusion. Knuckles and Archy BAMF into Lara-Le’s living room, where he rescues his mom from the dingo terrorists. Next, the heroes teleport over to where Julie-Su and Remington are hanging out. Their shot at quelling further attacks by the dingoes are interrupted by another tremor shaking the city. Knuckles attempts to make a temporary truce with General Stryker, at least in the middle of the earthquake, which partially works. Everyone is teleported around some more before Hawkings activates the Hyper Zone Projector again. His actions fused Echidnaopolis and the dingoes’ zone with the Floating Island, saving the city.

 
As you can tell, issue 6 leaps around repeatedly, sometimes in ways that aren’t necessary. After focusing so much on people standing around and watching a video in issue 5, issue 6 is focused on action and more action. Knuckles and his future stepdad Wynmacher, who dresses like Darth Vader for some reason, wrestle with the dingoes in their apartment. Next, there’s flipping and dodging as Knuckles and Julie-Su fight some dingoes in an alleyway. The only truly satisfying action sequence in the book comes when Knuckles and Julie-Su face down General Stryker. Wielding an energized power glove (yes, he calls it that), the bad guy smashes through a desk and takes a few swipes at Knux. The best thing about these action sequence is that Julie-Su is an active part of them. She’s not a sidekick or a damsel in distress. She’s an equal partner to Knuckles, helping him out in the heat of battle.

While the action is satisfying, it rockets the script forward so quickly that other plot points are overlooked. As the earthquakes shake the city, Remington tries to get the citizens into underground bunkers. Instead of showing huge crowds huddle into underground tunnels, the book focuses on one guy – who wears a lightening bolt shirt – and his group of friends. The origin behind the earthquakes and Echidnaopolis’ reappearance is explained to us in a one-page exposition dump. Turns out, it’s all a side effect of Robotnik activating the Ultimate Annihilator back in “Endgame.” (Gee, the book is going to lean on that plot device for a while now, isn’t it?) Hawkings fixes this problem by pressing a button on his control panel. Afterwards, the elder guardian vanishes, off-screen, his fate left unexplained.

Somewhere in there, the story also has a supporting cast to juggle. The Chaotix put in a token appearance on the book’s first page and never appear again. Midway through, Penders also hastily introduces Dio, Hawkings’ fire ant companion. Yes, that means a two-hundred year old ant exist in Archie’s “Sonic”-verse. We don’t even truly understand who Wynmacher is or what his relationship with Lara-Le is. That revelation must wait for another issue.

The only scene with any emotional punch in it is a brief moment between Knuckles and Lara-Le. Knuckles doesn’t know how to feel about his mom. He feels drawn to this woman, knowing she raised him, yet he hasn’t interacted with her in ten years. The scene between them is potentially touching. Lara-Le bemoans that Knuckles’ destiny prevented him from having a more normal childhood. Yet even this scene is hijacked by another flashback, showing that Lara-Le and Locke’s marriage was not a smooth one. It lasts for all of one page too, before the action forces the quiet scene aside and Knuckles is needed else where.

The story ends with something of a whimper too. Knuckles and Stryker step out of the underground bunker and realize that the city is now on the island. He asks about Grandpa Hawkings and gets shut down. Knuckles has so many damn questions and the people around him have answers. Yet they refuse to give them away. The book ends with Archimedes handing Knuckles’ Hawkings’ hat, which is identical to the hat Knuckles wore in the Japanese “Sonic” anime. Instead of wrapping up the dangling plot points or resolving an emotion issue, the story concludes on an in-joke. Damn it, Ken.

If “Paradise Lost” makes anything clear, it’s that Ken Penders has huge ideas for this universe and its characters, an expansive back story and complex plans. He’s so determined in setting up this world that he totally looses sight of its characters. Though it starts promising, and it introduces many important characters, the story ends as a jumbled mess, too many ideas competing for too little page space. [5/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 52

 
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 52
Publication Date: August 1997

As I said in my review of issue 51, the post-“Endgame” world of “Sonic the Hedgehog” wouldn’t truly be established until the “Brave New World” one-shot. Essentially, the book was just passing time with stories that had no further effect on the plot or world. While “Reality Bytes” in issue 51 wasn’t satisfying for anyone, issue 52’s “The Discovery Zone” is a fun Elseworlds style story, a light-hearted distraction much needed after the seriousness of the “Endgame” arc.

Sonic is teaching Tails how to keep up with him by using his tails as speed-boosting propellers, as in the video games. While running through the newly freed Mobian countryside, they see something very strange: An uninhabited zoot suit walking through the air. Sonic follows the suit into a cave and is teleported into an alternate universe. In this black-and-white film noir world, Sonic is a private detective living in a city occupied by Robotnik’s forces. He meets up with Sally, a singer in a night club and secretly the leader of le résistance. She hires Sonic to retrieve Nicole but the hedgehog is soon more deeply involved in the rebellion.

“The Discovery Zone” was written by Tom Rolston. Rolston previously contributed the off-tone and out-of-character “The Map” in the “Battle Royal” special. With this story, Rolston is placing the established characters into an entirely new context. So it’s all right if his characterization is a little loose. “The Discovery Zone” is a straight-ahead action story, focused on Sonic retrieving Nicole. It has a smooth plot construction. Sonic meets with Sally and gets his mission objective. He fights off some robots and grabs Nicole. After making it back to the nightclub, Robotnik corners him and the Princess. Using a Power Ring, he smashes Robotnik’s bots and the two escape. As they’re waiting for Sally’s plane to come in, she talks the hedgehog into joining the rebellion. It won’t win any awards but there’s something to be said for such smooth, easy story construction.

The “Sonic” cast members also work surprisingly well when plugged into a film noir storyline. “The Discovery Zone” is obviously inspired by “Casablanca,” though only loosely. The female lead owns the night club, for just the most prominent difference. Also, he gets on the plane with her at the end. This would totally negate the point if “The Discovery Zone” was a straight adaptation of “Casablanca.” Instead, it merely has fun by slotting the “Sonic” cast into the stereotypes of the film noir. Sally is the sexy femme fatale, Sonic is the private dick, Robotnik is the evil dictator (in other words, the role he always plays), and Uncle Chuck is the informant. Really, Chuck is the only part that doesn’t work, as his ability to have all the answers is slightly tiresome. I do like the touch of Chuck appearing on a video watch, which is a nice homage to “Dick Tracy.”

The action is fairly solid. Sonic whacks a quartet of robots, all of whom have heads from famous pop culture robots. That’s right, dear readers. Crow T. Robot, Tom Servo, R2D2, and the “Lost in Space” robot have cameos in a “Sonic” comic. After the Power Rings have been infused with so much mystic doo-da in the comics recently, it’s fun to see an issue where Sonic just uses them for a temporary power boost.

Manny Galan’s artwork is… Well, not bad. By this point, Galan was already the regular artist on the “Knuckles” book and regularly doing fine work. Here, it’s clear he still doesn’t have a total grasp on the Knothole cast. It’s not that any one is ever off-model. It’s just that everything is slightly stiff. While Galan showed a talent for action and facial expressions in the “Knuckles” book, here the movement is slightly awkward and the expression are a little weird. I do like the grey scale coloring in this issue though. That helps really sell the film noir environment.

 
Also included in this issue is a short back-up story called “First Contact.” This story marks the first time the book really tries to established the post-‘Endgame” world. In it, Sally uses Robotnik’s still-existing satellite network to contact other Freedom Fighter groups around the planet. This is a fine basis for the story, since it’s already been established that there are multiple other guerilla groups around Mobius. However, instead of just uniting the other rebels, Sally warns them about what is quickly becoming my least favorite new plot device: “Zones,” portals to alternate realities. The world is still feeling the effect of the Ultimate Annihilator and this is making all sorts of weird shit happen. After telling them this, Sally looses the signal and the story ends.

Having the Ultimate Annihilator shake up Mobius’ dimensional walls was such a lazy way to generate new stories. First off, what the hell was the Ultimate Annihilator suppose to do anyway, other then ultimately annihilate Knothole? How the hell did it result in all this weird shit? This story clarifies that Knothole, for some damn reason, is still stuck three hours into the future. WHY?

 
Aside from that, “First Contact” doesn’t contribute much. It spends two pages summarizing “Endgame,” for one thing. Mostly, it allows for some cameos from other characters. Among Knuckles, Walt Wallabe, and Sealia the Sea are Pollo the Bear from “SatAM” and a character that looks all the world like Mina Mongoose, someone who wouldn’t be officially introduced for a while longer. Canon-wise, we’re just supposed to discard this early appearance of Mina, the same way we ignore all those cameos of Bean and Bark Spaz sneaked into the book. Aside from some gorgeous Art Mawhinney artwork, “First Contact” is disposable.

The cover story is a goofy lark, though a fun one. The back-up story is fairly useless. I suppose issue 52 evens out to a [7/10.]

Knuckles the Echidna: Issue 5

 
Knuckles the Echidna: Issue 5
Publication Date: July 1997

If the first part of the “Lost Paradise” story arc was devoted to setting up Knuckles’ new universe, the second part is devoted to explaining why that universe is there. That’s right, guys, it’s only the second real issue of “Knuckles the Echidna” and Ken Penders is already falling back on heavy exposition.

Though some questions require answers. Still confused as to why Echidnaopolis popped out of nowhere, Knuckles and Julie-Su are escorted into a building by Constable Remington, leader of the Echidna Security Team. Knuckles immediately drops into a secret room below where he meets Hawking, his two-hundred year old great⁷-grandfather. Hawking proceeds to answer the first question most readers were probably having at this point: Where the hell did Echidnaopolis come from and where has it been all these years? Truthfully, it’s a question that probably should’ve been resolved sooner. In the flashbacks in the previous “Knuckles” mini-series, we always saw an advanced city of echidnas living on the Floating Island. In the current time line, Knuckles was alone. So where did the city go?

As Ken too often did, he fell back on his answer of “Another dimension!” In the middle of the book, Hawking shows Knuckles a video recording from his tenure as Guardian. At the time, the echidnas were in a violent conflict with the dingoes, the other major residents of the Island. After the dingoes attempted to drop a nuclear bomb on Echidnaopolis, Hawking detonated them in mid-air. This saved the city but hopelessly polluted the island. In order to save his home town from radiation, Hawking tossed the metropolis into a pocket dimension, created by the Hyper Zone Projector. Penders at least doesn’t resort to text-walling us with this info. Again, it's answers we wanted. Yet even extended flashbacks are not the most elegant of methods to tell us this.

Then there’s the issue of the dingoes. The last time we saw the dingoes in the “Sonic & Knuckles” one-shot, Knuckles didn’t seemed concerned about them at all. Now, the dingoes have been retconed as the echidnas’ arch-enemies. With the re-appearance of Echidnaopolis, the dingoes reappear as well. They are led by a muscle-bound freak named General von Stryker. They dress in militaristic grey and olive uniforms. They also seem to hate the echidnas indiscriminately. Their first course of action in this story is to take several echidna citizens hostage, among them Knuckles’ mother. For all the answers this book provides, we still don’t know what the origin of the antipathy between the two species is. Between their quasi-Nazi uniforms and a leader that looks like Ivan Drago as a funny animal, the dingoes appear as generic bad guys.

Issue 5 is also sadly bereft of emotional context. Minutes after falling into Hawkings’ lair, Knuckles notes that Julie-Su better not be harmed. Keep in mind, this is a woman he just met a few hours ago who introduced herself by trying to kill him. Likewise, we’re supposed to be shocked when we see Lara-Le has been taken hostage. Yet Knuckles has also only just met his mother. There’s really no reason for him to be emotionally involved with either character, just yet. Hawkings doesn’t make much of an impression as a character, becoming yet another wise mentor intoning towards Knuckles about his great destiny. It would be sort of nice if someone could just level with the kid for once. Knuckles even begs Hawkings to do just that, before the conversation is shut down by another tremor. (Locke, meanwhile, sits in the background, not interacting with his son at all.)

At least Manny Galan’s artwork is pretty good. He’s developing a slight Spaz-like quality to his character artwork, which is appreciated. This story also features some brief action, during Hawkings’ flashback. It’s mostly raw info though. Once the universe is established, hopefully the book will focus more on its characters and a forward-moving plot. [5/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 51

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 51
Publication Date: July 1997

Following the conclusion of “Endgame,” a huge question faced Sonic and the Freedom Fighters: What next? Dr. Robotnik was dead. They had won. Truthfully though, it looked like Archie was holding back on honestly answering that question until the “Brave New World” special. In other words, issues 51 and 52 of “Sonic the Hedgehog” were running in place until the story could truly continue. We had to wait two months to truly see what a world without Robotnik is like.

For his efforts in defeating the enemy, Sally awards Sonic with a special gold medal. Considering the next scene has Sally appearing in Sonic’s bedroom, it would appear she rewarded with something else too. Anyway, the Princess awakens Sonic from his sleep in the middle of the night. She takes him out into the middle of the forest. Instead of receiving some late-night nookie, Sally orders a troop of Combots to attack Sonic, revealing herself as a robot. Sonic quickly finds Tails, who also reveals himself as a robot. The same fate has befell Bunnie. While racing back to Knothole, Sonic keeps seeing visions of Uncle Chuck. Once in the village, Sonic is faced with Dr. Ivo Robotnik, who boasts he has won. Naturally, it’s revealed to all be a dream. Someone infected the medal with a virus.

“Reality Bytes” could’ve been an interesting idea. Sonic has spent the last five years fighting Robotnik and his forces. After finally defeating his enemy, his mind must be full of thoughts. And fears too. “What if Robotnik really isn’t gone?” Sonic must think. Thus, the backbone of the story is formed. He has a bizarre and dark nightmare in which all his friends have been robotocized, Robotnik is still alive, the Power Rings have no effect on him, and Knothole has been conquered.

“Reality Bytes” is certainly structured like a nightmare. Characters appear out of nowhere. A Buzzbomber is referred to as a dragonfly. When Sonic slides down the old entrance to Freedom HQ, he appears to be running through surreal darkness. Unlike most Robians, Sally, Tails, and Bunnie look quite horrific as robots here. Their metal skin is ragged, their teeth are razor sharp, and their eyes are blood red. One panel has the landscape spiraling in a similar unreal direction. Even discounting Uncle Chuck’s hologram face appearing, “Reality Bytes” is still a kind of weird story.

Disappointingly, I don’t think any of this was entirely intentional. Instead of just treating the story as the nightmare it is, we’re given an official explanation. The medal Sally gave Sonic was coated in a mechanical virus that infected Sonic’s brain. Uncle Chuck’s appearances were due to him using a device to contact Sonic. (You’d assume this would be related to Dr. Quack’s dream machine from Issue 43 but no such connection is made.) Who is responsible for slipping Sonic the drugged medal? We don’t know! The post-“Endgame” comic would quickly jet off for other directions, leaving this plot point behind, never to be resolved. Eventually the fans would write and ask Archie about this, to which they’d shrug their shoulders and say “We guess Eggman did it?”

“Reality Bytes” is the proper debut of Karl Bollers, the new head writer for the book while Penders was busy in Echidna Land. It’s not a particularly great debut. Aside from the dropped plot point of who was responsible for the infected medal, the issue is full of bizarre dialogue. Such as “Hasta la vista, meestah!,” “Cheeky monkey,” “Whoops apocalypse,” and “This ring’s got no thing!” Though the story comes off as quite dream-like, it’s hard to tell if that was Bollers’ intention. This is also the issue that revealed a horrible truth about Sonic: He sleeps in a race car bed. Keep in mind, he’s officially fifteen years old. Though Boller’s run would ricochet up and down in quality, fans would never stop making fun of that stupid race car bed.

Sam Maxwell provides the artwork. Though Maxwell provided bright, energetic, if slightly abstract work on “Battle Royal” and “Endgame,” his pencils here are not up to snuff. Sonic’s face often contorts in bizarre ways, his lips frequently puckering for no reason. A couple of times, his head is too big, his body bending in odd directions, his eyes frequently vacant. The attempts at the anime-esque action that is Maxwell’s trademark mostly come off as incoherent here. A newcomer named Andrew Pepoy did the inks here. Maybe that’s why the artwork is so off?

Though starting with an interesting idea, issue 51 is ultimately a disappointment. It would take the book a few more issues to find its footing after the death of Robotnik. [5/10]

Knuckles the Echidna: Issue 4

Knuckles the Echidna: Issue 4
Publication Date: June 1997

A “Knuckles” on-going comic book had been coming for a long time. I remember the buzz from back in the day. While I definitely enjoyed the “Princess Sally” and “Tails” minis as a kid, “Knuckles” always seemed most likely to spin off an on-going series. Unlike Sally or Tails, Knuckles has always existed in a world outside of Sonic. He’s got the Floating Island to himself, a land with its own bizarre rules and territories. Knuckles also spends a lot of time alone. He even had his own supporting cast, in the form of the Chaotix. In the back stories, Penders had been building an elaborate mythology around Knuckles, his species’ history, and his family. When the “Knuckles the Echidna” on-going started, continuing the issue count from the “Dark Legion” mini-series, it was a natural decision. And well received. For a brief period, the “Knuckles” book was more critically acclaimed then the “Sonic” book.

 
Following the events of “The Dark Legion,” Knuckles and the Chaotix are mostly chilling. Archimedes is attempting to teach the Guardian the mystic ways but he’s not buying it. While swimming and singing some show tunes, Vector gets the jump on a Dark Legionnaire. When the same person attacks Knuckles, he quickly pulls the hood back to see the assassin is… a female! Despite just trying to kill him, Julie-Su admits she’s not a huge fan of the Legion.

Meanwhile, the Floating Island is shaken by earthquakes. Knuckles, Julie-Su, and Archimedes go out to explore. After another quake, a city appears, vanishes, and appears again. The trio steps inside the phantom city and discover Echidnopolis, a legendary city full of advanced technology and other echidnas.

That Ken Penders and other writers would see such fertile ground in Knuckles isn’t surprising. In the video games, basically all we knew about Knuckles is that he was a temperamental loner, destined to guard the Floating Island and the Master Emerald. The Floating Island is a great location and, despite knowing nothing about his history, fans became fascinated with Knuckles. Something I truthfully loved about Knuckles’ book when it was new is that it divorced itself so willingly from that source material. There wasn’t a cartoon show to pull from. Aside from the Chaotix and the setting, the book didn’t even pull much from the video games. “Knuckles the Echidna” was mostly just a weird, sci-fi/fantasy book. That was kind of exciting.

In its first proper issue, “Knuckles” shook things up wildly. When first introduced, we thought Knuckles was the last echidna alive. Then we discover he had a dad and a crazy, great¹⁴-grand-uncle. With “The Dark Legion” series, Knuckles was introduced to an army of evil echidnas. And now, Knuckles discovers an entire city of echidnas. He went from being totally alone, to having a family, to having an enemy, to having a society. That’s a pretty major shake-up.

Another major shake-up is that issue 4 gives Knuckles a love interest. It was past time. (I mean, Tails had at least two love interests by this point and he’s canonically eight.) From the moment we meet Julie-Su, we know her and Knuckles will develop feelings for each other. The book even goes so far as to color her pink, the standard color for funny animal love interest. It’s built right into the script. Julie-Su is sent to kill Knuckles but she just can’t, for ill defined reasons.

Despite that being relatively lazy writing, Julie-Su is still one of my favorite Sonic characters. She’s a tough, resourceful, capable badass in a way that’s totally different from the book’s other tough guys. She’s not a smart-ass, like Sonic. She’s not a hothead, like Knuckles. She’s not a braggart, like half of the characters in the book. She’s totally self-assured in her own abilities, the ultimate type of cool.

Story wise, the first part of “Lost Paradise” is mostly just set-up. Most of the book is devoted to Knuckles meeting Julie-Su and the Chaotix. The appearance of Echidnaopolis is handled nicely enough, making a dramatic effect on the characters and the readers. Locke and the Brotherhood are up to something vague, so nothing new there. The story tries to have an emotional heart, when Knuckles is suddenly reintroduced to his mother. This scene gets swept aside in order to bring us to our cliffhanger, of Knuckles and Julie-Su being faced by some cop-looking echidnas. Manny Galan’s artwork is solid though slightly jumbled at times. As far as premiere issue go, it’s not bad at all. [7/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 50

 
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 50
Publication Date: June 1997

To most long running comic series, fifty issues probably doesn’t seem like that big of a milestone. When you look at the superhero comics that have been running, in one form or another, since the thirties, five years probably isn’t that impressive. If the interviews I’ve read with many of the writers on Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” book are any indication, nobody expected “Sonic” to run for more then a few years, at most. Most licensed books burn out before even hitting thirty. Nobody knew that “Sonic” would still be running nineteen years later, quickly approaching its three-hundredth issue. This is why issue 50 has that number printed in big bold letters on the front cover. It’s why Archie marched out some spiffy, quasi-CGI looking graphics for Spaz’ cover. And it’s why the comic’s writers planned the epic “Endgame” story arc, which could’ve effectively acted as the comic’s final story, to conclude here.

After a brief flashback showing how Julian Kintobor came to stay with the Kingdom of Acorn, the story picks up where it left off. Sonic, Knuckles, and Geoffrey St. John are having a Mexican standoff on the Floating Island. After some more in-fighting, Dulcy proclaims that Sonic is innocent. Everyone else seemingly being aware that dragons can detect truthiness, the heroes march off for Knothole. Quickly freeing them from Robotnik’s occupation, Sonic spots Hershey beating the crap out of Drago. Sonic marches off to Robotropolis, taking the fight to Robotnik. He arrives just in time for the tyrant to activate the Ultimate Annihilator, the weapon that will wipe out Knothole and the Freedom Fighters once and for all.

In its originally published form, “The Big Goodbye” was a somewhat compromised affair. Ken Penders had originally envisioned the story as double-length, running 48 pages long. At the last minute, Archie brass informed him that the tale would be running at the regular length, forcing Ken to quickly abbreviate the script. (The extended, original cut would eventually be published as the sixth Super Sonic Special.) As a result, lots of the story’s background events where cut out and a few genuine plot holes were created. In its published form, we don’t see how Antoine and Bunnie escape Crocbot’s prison in Downunda. We’re left to assume that the Downunda Freedom Fighters successfully escape, Bunnie and Antoine sneaking aboard the ship heading back to Robotropolis. Sonic, Knuckles, and Geoffrey seemingly push back Robotnik’s take-over of Knothole in the span of two pages. In the last act, Sonic says he saw Knothole be destroyed by the Ultimate Annihilator. The reader is left with no idea what he’s talking about, as this event occurs totally off-panel.

If only that was the story’s only problem. Some of the awkward script decisions from the last issue are carried over to this one. After the action-packed conclusion, we are treated to two and a half pages of exposition. First, Rotor explains that Knothole wasn’t destroyed. The effects of the Ultimate Annihilator, damaged during Sonic and Robotnik’s fight, caused the village to shift three hours into the future. This is an awkward, random-ass explanation. Dr. Quack then explains how Robotnik tracked Knothole’s location down, after detecting a signal from Quack’s Dream Machine in Issue 43. In extended detail, he goes on about how the villain abducted the king, replacing him with a robotic double, and blackmailed Quack into assisting him. Somehow, Quack overheard that Snively had sabotaged the weapon so that it would only target Robotnik’s molecular structure. In other words, the Ultimate Annihilator was never a threat to Knothole. Gee whiz, Ken, was that the most elegant way to handle all that?

Inside all this contrived insanity beats the heart of a really good story. Sonic and the reinforcements dropping back into Knothole is a truly triumphant moment. The heroes come back from the edge of oblivion to surge forward and kick some major ass. Following this, Sonic catches Hershey conking Drago on the head, talking about how she was duped. Sonic, his face scrunched up in anger, grumbles out that “We were all duped.” He marches into Robotropolis. He races up to Robotnik’s head-quarters. He tears through the robotic guards, easily avoids the traps, and quickly disposes of Snively.

At this point, the hero and the villain have their final confrontation. Sonic and Robotnik battle in the dictator’s control room. He dodges Robotnik’s laser blasts while the rotund mad scientist uses the cramped room to toss Sonic around. They trade powerful punches. Sonic leaps around the dissolving room, the Ultimate Annihilator taking affect. Sonic doesn’t make any goofy quips. There’s no light-hearted smiles. Sonic has lost everything he cares about while Robotnik is close to his ultimate victory. This is a fight to the death, both combatants letting loose all the pent-up anger they’ve ever felt. Neither cares much about their own safety, as long as the other dies. For long time Sonic fans, this is as epic as can be.

After that extended epilogue full of exposition, “Endgame” pauses to resolve its most important plot point. Least we forget, this story started with Princess Sally taking a big dive off the side of a tall building. Sally’s death would only make Robotnik’s defeat a Pyrrhic victory at best. I’m not a fan of the Comic Book Death, where a character seemingly dies only to return to life later on. Ken’s first plan to revive Sally was originally far more sinister. Sally was going to remain dead while another Auto-Automaton took her place, Sonic only discovering later that his girlfriend had been replaced by a robot. Sega vetoed this plan, hoping to use Sally in future merchandising. (As far as I can tell, this amounted to a puppet musical in a crappy Australian amusement park nobody remembers.) Thus, Sally is revealed to have not died from her fall. Instead, she’s was merely very nearly dead. Dr. Quack hid the truth and stuck her body in a stasis tube, disguised as a memorial. It’s definitely a cheat and a huge one too, especially since this is the first we’ve heard of said stasis tube. The emotional impact of Sally’s apparent death in issue 47 is voided.

 
And yet it almost doesn’t matter. After hearing that Sally isn’t really dead, Sonic races over to her memorial/stasis tube. He opens the door and leans into her still body. He kisses her and whispers that he wishes she’ll come back. Naturally, Sally awakens just then. The two embrace. All is well. The heroes have triumphed, the bad guy is dead, and the lovers are reunited. I’m not made of stone, you motherfuckers. As a life-long Sonic fan, and a nearly as life-long Sonic/Sally shipper, this stuff gets straight to my heart.

Since 50 was the pay-off on five years of storytelling, Archie decided to invite all the series’ major writers and artists to work on the landmark book. Thus, issue 50 shifts artists and writers every few pages. As you’d expect, this does not lead to an especially collected read. Spaz beautifully illustrates Robotnik’s opening flashback, Sonic and the fat man’s final confrontation, and the final page, contributing dynamic and powerful pencils. Manny Galan does a good job illustrating the fight on the Floating Island. Nelson Ortega does better then his last time at bat, Robotnik’s villainous shouting and Knuckles dive into Knothole looking pretty good. Sam Maxwell contributes a fantastic middle-of-the-book spread of the heroes wrecking some SWATBots. His later work, of Sonic running into Robotnik’s lair, is a bit incoherent though.

Art Mawhinney handles the epilogue and Sonic and Sally’s reunion. Considering emotion has always been his strength, it’s a good choice. Even Dave Manak’s work isn’t too bad, as his cartoon exaggeration works well for how pissed off Sonic and Hershey are on those pages. Only Ken Penders’ pencils stick out as bad. His shots of Sonic running look incredibly static. Was switching between artists a good idea? Probably not but at least most everyone is at the top of their game.

(The switch between writers – which includes Penders, Mike Gallagher, Scott Fulop and the debut of future head writer Karl Bollers – is less noticeable. You can mostly guess who's writing what by how cocky Sonic is acting. I bet everyone was mostly sticking to Ken’s outline here.)

“Endgame” remains controversial among Sonic aficionados. Some people hate the whole damn thing for toying with fans’ emotions. Other despise it out of residual Penders hatred. Others love the story arc, considering it the most epic story ever told in the “Sonic” book. Obviously, it leaves me with a lot to talk about, seeing as how I’ve rambled on about issue 50 for 1447 words now. In my opinion, the story starts off extremely strong, handling an emotional topic in an appropriately heavy way. Its plot ends up eating itself midway through, the contrivances quickly piling up. Still, “Endgame” delivers some incredibly satisfying, awesome moments. (And issue 50 is improved in its extended version.) While Penders and pals stumble a bit with the details, he still successfully delivered an epic conclusion to the book’s first five years. [7/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 49

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 49
Publication Date: May 1997

The first two parts of “Endgame” were fairly solid comic books, doing a good job of balancing emotion, action, and intrigue. The stakes had been steadily rising in the book for a while, all leading up to this four part story arc with the highest stakes yet. Princess Sally is dead! Sonic the Hedgehog is wrongfully accused! Robotnik is in Knothole! Antoine and Bunnie are captured! Drago just smacked his girlfriend in the mouth! In the third volume, Ken Penders would partner with Mike Gallagher, a writer that usually handles goofier stories, though has done well outside his comfort zone before. I’m not sure if Gallagher’s influence is to blame or if Ken’s plot just rolled over itself, but issue 49 is the weakest part of the arc thus far.

Picking up where we left off, Sonic is making a dramatic dive over a waterfall. Too weak to perform his Figure 8 Maneuver and hover to safety, he instead tries another ridiculous plan. He pulls dirt out of his sneakers, tosses it into the air, and uses it as a bridge to run to safety. Afterwards, St. John and his men take the long way around to catch up with him. Using a previously undisclosed ability, Sonic summons Dulcy, who carries him to the Floating Island for some reason. Sonic is unaware that St. John is tracking him though and the skunk ambushes him as soon as he arrives. Meanwhile, Robotnik asserts his control over Knothole while Antoine and Bunnie get acquainted with their prison cells in Downunda.

You’ll notice that plot description has the writers’ pulling a lot of crazy events out of their asses. Since this is a book starring cartoon animals, we’re willing to suspend disbelief for a while. It’s why Vector blowing out a forest fire with his headphones didn’t faze me. However, Sonic’s dramatic escape here really pushes into the ridiculous. I know the hedgehog is fast but him taking off his shoes, yanking a handful of mud out, tossing it into the air, and using his speed to run across it… All within the seconds it would take him to fall? Come on. That’s not the last startling development yanked out of thin air. A few pages later, Sonic summons Dulcy with a whistle that only dragons can hear, which he performs by vibrating his lungs at super-sonic speed. Dulcy immediately recognizes Sonic didn’t murder Sally because dragons can innately sense the truth. Gee, you’d think either of these abilities would’ve come up before hand at some point.

These shenanigans continues elsewhere in the book. In Knothole, Robotnik reveals that the King Max that invited him in with open arms is an Auto-Automaton, surprising absolutely none of the readers. Next, we learn that the real King Acorn has been kept in a secret location. Robotnik captured Dr. Quack’s family and had been blackmailing him into going along with this scheme. I guess that makes the duck the traitor, doesn’t it? Next come the reveal about who actually murdered Princess Sally. Drago coerces Hershey into cutting the rope while wearing a full-body Sonic suit. She thought she was murdering Snively because… dun dun DUN DUN! …the lens in the mask make everyone look like Snively. This makes Hershey look incredibly stupid, as you’d think she would have asked why she had to wear a Sonic costume for this mission in the first place. It’s some incredibly awkward, circular plotting and does the story a disadvantage.

Another problem arises in how over the map this comic is. Our emotions lie with Sonic’s escape and St. John pursuing him. That’s what really matters. Perhaps in hopes of making the story arc more epic, the script stretches to include other characters. Antoine and Bunnie are relocated to Downunda within minutes, it seems. There, they are thrown in a prison cell with Walt Wallaby and Barby Koala, of the Downunda Freedom Fighters. There’s actually some cute dialogue here between Antoine and Bunnie. It’s also nice to see the underutilized Walt and Barby again.

 
However, the story stomps all over this by bluntly reintroducing Crocbot. Instead of focusing on what’s important, the plot pauses for an entire page so Crocbot can explain how he survived his drop into the crater at the end of the “Tails” mini-series. (Mostly, this plot development seems to have happened so that Crocbot in the comic would more closely resemble how Spaz drew him on the covers of that mini-series.) Meanwhile, Sonic has Dulcy take him to the Floating Island for… Some reason? Upon landing, he immediately gets into a scrap with Knuckles. You’d think the hedgehog would realize slightly more important things are going on.

The book also continues to slide into darker territory here. We see Drago actually smack Hershey in the mouth, on-page this time. Robotnik directly threatens to murder everyone in Knothole, after exploding the robotic King Acorn. While in Downunda, Crocbot boasts about torturing the captured Downunda Freedom Fighters for his own sadistic amusement. Murder, blackmail, betrayal, death threats, torture… Gee, this shit got heavy. I’m not actually complaining, as I’m one of those assholes who have always wanted to see the book handle darker material. Yet, considering just four issues ago we had a wacky story about a caveman and gorillas, it’s a bit of a tonal whiplash.

Though the plot here is a bit of a mess, the book does have a saving grace. Sam Maxwell, last seen in the “Battle Royal” one-shot, contributes pencils again. Maxwell’s work is less abstract and experimental then what we saw in that book. The characters are a little more solid though no less expressive. What he maintains is an incredible sense of energy. Say what you will about the halting script but the drawings on the page still seem to move. Maxwell is also all for staging pages in dramatic manners. His impressive angle, including close-ups and turns, greatly help the book out.

With a mountain of absurd plot twist and a story bending in too many directions, “Endgame” stumbles a bit in its third chapter. Will things even out in time for the conclusion? I guess we’ll find out next time on “Hedgehogs Can’t Swim!” [6/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 48

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 48
Publication Date: April 1997

A while ago, Cracked.com published a listicle about surprisingly dark or weird comic book adaptations of beloved children’s properties. Included within was an entry about Archie’s “Sonic” comic, describing Sonic’s life as full of death and depression. (This was before the Sega-fied reboot stripped all the grit out of the book.) While it’s true that the comic has always been willing to address concepts most other Sonic media is too wimpy to regard, the book isn’t usually that dark. Except for a brief, four month period in 1997, when Sonic was framed for the murder of his girlfriend and on the run from his own allies. The second part of “Endgame,” “Sonic the Fugitive,” announces its serious intentions with that moody, dark cover, showing Sonic fleeing into a darkened, damp cave, still in shackles.

The story begins with Sonic in-route to Devil’s Gulag, the inescapable hellhole where enemies of the Acorn Empire are sent to rot. During the trip, the plane is shot down by SWATBots. Sonic makes an escape, pursued by Geoffrey St. John. Soon, the two meet in a cave, fighting to the death. In Knothole, Uncle Chuck declares his nephew’s innocence, while Antoine and Bunnie investigate what’s up with Drago.  

Issue 48 does a number of important things. The first scene, of Sonic being led to the plane while announcing his innocence, sets the tone. While in-route, Sleuth Doggy Dawg – a character we can never forget actually existed – busts his chops. Upon crash-landing, Penders’ slightly overwrought narration emphasizes that this is no joke. Sonic is silent and determined, cutting through the robots with anger, as if his confusion and rage over the situation has finally exploded out. While hiding in a cave, the day’s events leads him to an exhausted sleep.

The fight between Sonic and St. John is especially brutal. This is the culmination of the rivalry that has been building up between the two. They scuffle in the caves for a few pages, the action frequently speaking for itself. The climax of the comic truly comes when St. John screams “You killed the woman I love!” Sonic’s equally passionate response “You only love yourself! I loved her!” truly establishes how serious this situation is. It’s powerful enough that the book ending on a cheesy reference to “The Fugitive” – though St. John thankfully doesn’t shout “I don’t care!” – is forgiven.

Compared to the hard-hitting emotional blows seen in issue 47, “Sonic the Fugitive” is much lighter. Not to say it doesn’t try. There’s a spectacular one-page spread devoted to the Freedom Fighters responding to the tragedy of their friend’s death and the apparent betrayal of their greatest hero. Tails wails in confusion, incapable of correlating his best friend with the man who murdered the Princess. Uncle Chuck fumes in denial, smoke literally shooting from his ears, determined to clear Sonic’s name. Rotor screams in rage at Sonic’s betrayal. Bunnie and Antoine both seem uncertain what to think. Dulcy enters late, weeping and babbling uncontrollably. Rosie does her best to soothe everyone. (Amy Rose is there but silent, perhaps too shocked to speak.) Issue 48 doesn’t focus on this emotion more, instead focusing on the machination of the plot. However, the brief pause to gauge everyone’s reaction is deeply appreciated.

After executing a daring plot, Penders and his co-conspirators are already working on undoing it. We see Drago talking to the King, neither seeming trust-worthy. King Max seems all too happy to track down and exterminate Sonic. Several panels are devoted to Uncle Chuck’s determination to seek out the truth of the situation. Only Antoine and Bunnie can see pass their grief and realize that something unusual is happening. They spy on Drago as he flatly explains to Hershey that they’re in cahoots with Robotnik’s scheme. It’s a moment that concludes with an army of SWATBots dragging Antoine and Bunnie off to someplace Downunda.

As routine as this moment is, it’s saved by a sequence that definitively establishes what an asshole Drago is. Though we don’t see it on the page, it’s obvious he physically beats Hershey. Afterwards, he verbally berates her for refusing to own up to her part in this plan, making it clear this wasn’t Hershey’s idea. Dudes’s a traitor, a manipulator, and an abuser. If Archie’s goal was to create the most repugnant character in the franchise’s history, they succeeded.

Issue 48 tries to end with a huge shock. King Acorn calls a meeting in Knothole, where he flatly announces that Dr. Robotnik has been reappointed to the position of Warlord. The villain makes his grand entrance, smashes Uncle Chuck and Muttski’s heads together, and blasts Rotor’s cannon out of his hands. This should be a shocking moment almost on par with Sally’s death. Over the last 47 issues, Robotnik’s final goal – his endgame, if you will – has been to locate Knothole Village and stomp out the rebellion once and for all. (Truthfully, the book has gone to some hugely contrived lengths to prevent this from happening much sooner.) This also reveals that King Acorn is either directly under Robotnik’s control or is an Auto-Automaton. The latter reveal probably would have been more shocking if we hadn’t guessed it two issues ago. Robotnik marching into Knothole could’ve been more effective but that’s not where our hearts at. It’s with the Freedom Fighters morning their Princess’ death and Sonic’s struggle in the cave.

Despite maybe spreading itself too thin, “Sonic the Fugitive” is still a story that moves. Part of that success if owed to Manny Galan’s artwork. Though it took a while, Galan has finally grown into a worthy Sonic artist. The morning Freedom Fighters or Sonic’s rage are beautifully expressed. This book features some incredibly clear, impactful action. Sonic tearing through the SWATBot or his struggle with Geoffrey has a grit and brutal energy rarely seen in this book. I also love the way he draws Hershey. Though a newly introduced character, he immediately establishes her as a vulnerable person just with her body language. Though Mawhinney is my all-time favorite Sonic artist, his work is also kind of cute. Maybe Galan, who brings a more earthy quality to the page, was better suited to this story.

The plot is starting to get in the way but “Endgame” is still a story arc full of emotion with some incredibly raw action. [7/10]