Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 53

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 53
Publication Date: September 1997

The Saturday morning cartoon show that spawned Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic book ended on a cliffhanger. Robotnik was defeated by his own doomsday device being turned against him, similar to how the “Endgame” arc played out. The last image of the series was a pair of ominous eyes looking from the shadows on Robotnik’s fallen empire. The late head writer Ben Hurst was very open about who those eyes belonged too. Ixis Naugus was a traitorous sorcerer, somehow associated with the former Court of Acorn, that appeared in one episode, “The Void.” Hurst’s plan was that Naugus would be the primary villain of the unmade third season, Robotnik taking a backseat role. Despite the series ending, the comic book decided to loosely adapt these plans for its post-Robotnik story arc.

Issue 53 is evenly broke between the kind of low-key drama that made up the “Brave New World” one shot and all sorts of action-packed chaos. The book begins with “Unfinished Business,” its back story appearing first. It’s a small story, about Sally’s reconstruction of Mobotropolis being interrupted by Knuckles and Julie-Su dropping in for a quick visit. Plot wise, this story exists to pick up the abandoned plot line of King Acorn’s sword. Sally discovers that the sword Knuckles retrieved is a fake, Mammoth Mogul switching out the real deal with a copy. Sally asks if Knuckles can take on that quest again but he makes it clear that he’s got a solo series of his own now and doesn’t have time.

However, this short story serves another purpose. Penders continues to establish the post-Robotnik world. Sally makes it clear during her chat with Knuckles that there’s still more work then they can manage left to be done. It also introduces Sally to Julie-Su, Knuckles’ newest love interest. If Knuckles/Sally shippers existed, this story buries that one. Knuckles also points out that he has a family for the first time, a mom suddenly in his life. Sally points out that Sonic is facing a similar dilemma. Instead of busting each other heads, Knuckles and Sonic talk as friends. Wow, that’s kind of nice! Also kind of nice is when Jules appears, calling Sonic “Maurice.” Yep, our hedgehog hero has an embarrassing first name. (Maurice is still a lot better then Ogilvy, which is what Ken wanted Sonic’s birth name to be initially.) It’s another cute, humanizing moments. With Art Mawhinney’s fabulous pencils, which even manages to make Jules’ design appealing, “Unfinished Business” is a cute, touching tale.

It’s a shame that “Sound of Silence,” the cover story, couldn’t match that. After Sonic and Sally have a heart-to-heart about her new responsibilities, an explosion breaks out in the former location of Robotnik’s lab. Rotor’s attempt to study the Zone of Silence has freed Ixis Naugus, along with his lackeys, Kudos and Uma Arachnis. There’s several big fights, a talk with the King that clarifies some dangling plot points, and a confusing conclusion.

Karl Bollers is still getting his legs as a “Sonic” writer. Bollers got his start with Marvel and has a more traditionally comic book-y style to his writing. This includes some dramatic narration boxes and some occasionally very silly dialogue. However, Boller is capable of creating powerful emotional moments. The conversation Sonic and Sally have at the beginning is nice, the young girl starting to crack under all her new responsibilities. Sonic makes it clear to Sally that he’ll be there for here. It’s a nice moment, showing that these characters are still young but depend on each other a lot.

Unfortunately, Naugus’ entrance shifts the story. There’s a lot of chaotic action, Sonic and friends zipping around, fighting the wizard and his henchmen. The story ends in an especially confusing way. Naugus can turn stuff to crystal with his wand. Sure. Sonic somehow deduces that this ability only works on inanimate objects. When Sonic gets blasted, only his gloves and shoes become crystal. I’m not sure how he figures this out. Furthermore, this doesn’t explain how, just a page earlier, Naugus transformed Kudos and Arachnis into crystal. Apparently, they’re meant to be Naugus’ pawns but the wording is still confusion. Sonic apparently smashes Naugus’ staff and the wizard skedaddles.

Maybe some of the confusion is Sam Maxwell’s fault. I’ve defended Maxwell’s artwork before. It’s stylish and energetic. He’s especially gifted at action scenes, providing a chaotic energy to the sequences that really make them pop. However, Maxwell is uneven. His work in issue 51 wasn’t so hot, as Sonic’s head frequently looked weird. Sonic looks fine this time. The hedgehog’s scenes with the Princess early on are actually pretty good. However, Maxwell’s handling of the later action scenes can be difficult to follow. The indistinct script and the abstract artwork makes issue 53 one of the harder “Sonic” comics to follow.

Bollers is tossing his own mythology into the mix. In the Zone of Silence, Naugus gave King Acorn the ability to turn into crystal in order to survive the zone’s harsh conditions. While in the Zone, he could willingly shift between organic and crystal. After stepping outside, he’s lost the ability to control the changes. Okay, sure, why not? Kudos is threatening looking and Uma Arachnis is a spider ninja, an irresistible combination. Still, Bollers’ writing eventually unwinds. Issue 53 starts out promisingly but ends in chaos. Oh well. [5/10]