Sonic Super Special: Issue 5 - Sonic Kids

Sonic Super Special: Issue 5 – Sonic Kids
Publication Date: April 1998

Readers who grew up in the late eighties or early nineties may remember “Muppet Babies.” Spun off from a sequence in “The Muppets Take Manhattan” which showed Jim Henson’s famous felt creatures as toddlers, the show was a big hit. Big enough that other studios tried to spin their own properties into “baby” versions. That’s how we got “Flintstone Kids,” “Tiny Toon Adventures,” “A Pup Named Scooby-Doo,” “Tom and Jerry Kids,” “Jungle Cubs,” and even “James Bond Jr.!” Archie Comics might have pioneered this kind of thing with “Little Archie,” which has been published in various forms since the sixties. Considering all of the above, maybe “Sonic Kids” was an inevitability. Despite the gimmicky concept, the two Sonic Super Specials devoted to this concept are actually fairly well regarded.

The first story, “When You and I Were Young, Sally,” was written by Mike Gallagher and illustrated by Manny Galan. As kids, Rosie raised the future Freedom Fighters in Knothole. Tails is feeling insecure about his lack of special abilities, especially when compared to Sonic’s super-speed. Sonic gives the young fox the idea to spin his tails like a helicopter, defying logic and sailing into the sky. Being new at this, Tails quickly looses control of his new abilities. The gang track him to a hollowed-out tree stump and the cave below. That’s right. This story is the secret origin of Tails’ flying ability, his nick-name, and the future location of Freedom HQ. Accordingly, it ends with Sally naming the group the Freedom Fighters and deciding to battle Robotnik’s regime.

The above description probably makes the story sound really trite and silly. It’s actually surprisingly good, though. The Freedom Fighters don’t act like the heroes they are now. Instead, they’re kids. Sonic shows off and brags. (So, you know, not too much has changed.) Though a pretty serious kid, Sally is still happy to play when Julayla gives her permission. Rotor uses big words, as if he’s trying to impress his friends with his big brain. There are also cute nods to future history. “Boomer” is revealed to be a childhood nickname of Rotor’s. Sally, in as diplomatic a fashion as possible, acknowledges that Antoine wouldn’t be useful for a while. Though an energetic kid, Sonic is still willing to help out his pal, by encouraging Tails. The story concluding with the discovery of the future Freedom HQ and the team taking a vow to fight tyranny is satisfying.

It’s cute but not syrupy. It sets up future events but isn’t overly self-referential. It’s fun without being goofy. In other words, it’s one of the best things Mike Gallagher has ever written for this series. Unlike his uneven work in issue 60, Manny Galan’s artwork is very good here. The “kid” designs look like younger versions of the character we’re used too. Their cuteness is not overly emphasized. Galan’s expressive faces also really help this story out, since it’s mostly about the kids reacting to the world in the hyped-up, exaggerated way kids do.

The second story continues the “kids” theme. The embarrassingly entitled “Stop… Sonic Time!” was written by Karl Bollers and drawn by Art Mawhinney. In the present day, Sonic regales a group of kids with the story of how Tails got his sneakers. The flashback starts on Tails’ birthday. Sonic rushes into Robotropolis and buys a specialized pair of sneakers from a shifty individual, who readers may recognize as Tails’ uncle Merlin. Around the same time, Robotnik deploys a new weapon, a beam that can freeze time. He targets a random patch of the Great Forest, sending in soldiers to capture the frozen denizens. Sonic, being out of town, avoided the weapon’s range. So it’s up to him to save the day.

“Stop… Sonic Time!” feels a lot like a left-over “SatAM” script. A time freezing ray definitely seems like something Robotnik would have cooked up on that show. The long-forgotten Cluck even puts in an appearance. Sonic’s role in the story as a smart-ass hero who uses his cunning as much as his speed to defeat the villain recalls his characterization on that show. Sonic’s strategy involves him pretending to be frozen, being brought into Robotnik’s HQ, yanking on the villain’s mustache and getting the SWATBots to blow up the bad guy’s own device. Aside from a few comic-exclusive concepts, such as Merlin Prower or Crabmeat as Robotnik’s number one toady, this easily feels like it could’ve aired on ABC back in the day.

Furthering this feeling is Art Mawhinney’s pencils. Whahinney, of course, started out as a storyboard artist for the cartoon and, even this far into the book’s existence, he maintained that connection. The young versions of the Freedom Fighters look especially adorable in Mawhinney’s already cartoon-like style. He even manages to make Tails’ feet not look monstrously weird! Having said that, Art occasionally goes a little off-model. His Crabmeat looks more like an actual crab than a robotic facsimile.

The last story in the book doesn’t feature younger versions of the main cast, though it continues the theme of “memory.” In “Total Re: Genesis,” Sonic, Sally, and Antoine have barely survived a confrontation with the last remaining ComBot, which suddenly activated. As Uncle Chuck asks for a report on what happened, each Freedom Fighter gives their recollection of the events that just transpired. Each character’s version varies wildly from the other. Finally, using Nicole’s previously unmentioned satellite hook-up, Uncle Chuck observes the objective version of the truth. In other words, this is the Sonic version of Akira Kurosawa’s classic “Rashomon,” a reference the readership for this book surely understood.

What’s really cool about “Total Re: Genesis” is that it gives us a peak into each of the character’s heads. In Sally’s version of events, she’s extra confident. While her teammates are knocked unconscious, she stays in the action, defeating the robot with her quick thinking and enduring toughness. Antoine’s version has him as a dashing hero, single-handedly taking down the robot with his swashbuckling skills. When Sonic recalls things, he’s portrayed as a pun-sweeping action hero. He effortlessly defeats the villain with his super abilities, cracking lame jokes all the while. The objective truth shows that each of these stories are slightly true and, ultimately, teamwork is what took the bad guy down. This is a nice way to show us that the characters truly do depend one each other. The individual memories give us a concise idea of everyone’s personality. It’s a fun read.

A defining gimmick for “Total Re: Genesis” is that each memory is drawn by a different artist. Newcomer Nelson Rebeiro handles the framing device. I wonder if Nelson Rebeiro and Nelson Ortega are actually the same person, as their styles are very similar. The artwork is moody and features heads and hands that are slightly exaggerated. Yet it’s also consistent, with a good sense of motion. Sally’s flashback is drawn by Art Mawhinney. Mawhinney’s work is typically excellent though, it must be said, his ComBot looks a little blocky and uninspired.

Sam Maxwell draws Antoine’s flashback. Maxwell is an acquired taste, as his work is extremely expressionistic, frequently approaching action scenes from off-beat angles. I’m on record as being a fan and his work here is pretty great. I especially like his use of shadows, which emphasizes how melodramatic Antoine’s recollection is. Sonic’s flashback is drawn by John Herbert, last seen in issue 54 and credited as John Hebert here. Herbert’s action is a little stiff and his Sonic looks a little goofy. Yet his detailed ComBot is awfully creepy. Rebeiro returns for the epilogue, drawing most of it as a hyper-contrasted “hologram.” Though undeniably a gimmick, I like the different artists approach and it helps bolster a fun story.

“Sonic Kids” might be the best of the Sonic Super Specials thus far. It doesn’t have the plot holes or overdone writting of “Battle Royal” and “Return of the King.” While there’s nothing here matching the emotion of “Brave New World,” the artwork is much, much better. In other words, Archie managed to turn a potentially awful idea into a pretty solid comic book! Cherish moments like this because they didn’t happen very often. [8/10]