Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 71

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 71
Publication Date: March 1999

The movie “Memento” came out in 2000. It basically launched filmmaker Christopher Nolan to critical acclaim. To movie nerds like myself, it was a pretty big deal. Most of “Memento” is told in reverse order, starting with the end and working its way back to the beginning. The narrative structure goes in hand with the story, about a man who lacks the ability to create new memories. The backwards story line puts the audience in Leonard Shelby’s place. Both of us never know just what happened. This narrative device was something we young cinephiles had never seen before.

What does this have to do with issue 71 of Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” series? Not a whole lot, as “Memento” came out a full year after this comic book. However, both employ a reverse “back to front” story structure. We begin with the editor’s note, Sonic Grams, and the fan art, continue on to the back-up story, and then reach the cover story. This story then recedes back through its plot. (The story was apparently inspired by “The Betrayal,” an episode of “Seinfeld.” I’ve never seen “Seinfeld” so that’s why the reference was lost on me.)

In the name of reader cohesion, I’ll start with “Retro Activity.” On the first page, Sonic’s appearance has suddenly changed. He explains to Sally what happened. After King Acorn gives Sonic and Elias a stern talking too about issue 70’s events, Sally and the hedgehog go for a walk through the Great Forest. When they return to Knothole, the village’s entrance is covered with glowing, gold light. Upon entering the village, everything is acting in reverse. Nate Morgan explains this as an effect of a Time Beam shot from space. In order to undo the Beam’s effect, Morgan straps an Ultra Emerald to Sonic’s back and has him run around the planet really fast, until the beam strikes him. This neutralizes the threat and changes Sonic’s appearance. Since the story runs through in reverse order, the final page reveals that the Time Beam was shot by the mysterious satellite that has been threatening Mobius for a while.

The pertinent question is this: Does the flashy narrative gimmick serve any actual purpose other than to confuse the reader? I’m sad to report “Not really” on that account. Karl Bollers reverses the structure but not the flow of the story. Thus, the resolution happens first, followed by the climax, the plot development, the inciting incident, and the first act. In other words, the most exciting part of the story happens at the start. Afterwards, we get some tedious exposition. The beginning, of Sonic and Sally exploring the backwards Knothole, happens long after the reader’s interest is gone.

The moral lesson here is: Writing a backwards story isn’t as easy as it looks. You just can’t flip the outline upside down. The story might run in reverse but the plot momentum has to still move forward. I guess what I’m saying is Karl Bollers is no Christopher Nolan.

What does “Retro Activity” do right? Well, the sequence of Sonic running around the world is pretty cool. As he adsorbs the power of the Ultra Emerald, gaining more speed, he changes shape. He transforms into Super Sonic and then Ultra Sonic. Afterwards, Sonic takes on the attributes of his environment. He becomes Solar Sonic in the desert, Polar Sonic in the Arctic, and Eco Sonic in the rain forest. This is nothing but a gimmick but I like it anyway.

Sadly, that’s about the only interesting thing about “Retro Activity.” Sonic and Sally’s discussion in the Great Forest should’ve been touching. Instead, they just regurgitate the plot of the last few issues. Max yelling at Elias and Sonic continues the King’s rapid march towards assholedom.

Why did Archie do this? “Retro Activity” has two purposes. First, the Time Beam shenanigan finally does away with that ridiculous “Knothole is three hours in the future” business. I’m happy to see that pointless development gone.

More importantly, issue 71 ends begins with Sonic looking different. By this point, the Sega Dreamcast’s 9-9-99 release date was fast approaching. With a new system, came a new Sonic game. In “Sonic Adventure,” Sonic got a re-design. Now the hedgehog had longer limbs, green eyes, and buckles on his shoe. While Steven Butler’s excellent artwork has already provided the longer torso, the side effect of Sonic getting zapped alters his appearance to the Sega approved design. Why does it do this to him? I don’t know! Why does the Soon Returning Robotnik shoot a Time Beam at Mobius? I don’t know! If “Retro Activity” seems poorly thought out, that’s because it’s essentially a promo for Sega’s upcoming game console.

Let’s head back to the back-up story. It’s called “Tales of the Great War – Prelude: In the Beginning.” Boy, Penders loved those verbose titles, didn’t he? Was both “Prelude” and “In the Beginning” necessary? Don’t they both serve the same purpose, of indicating that this is a start of a longer story line?

Anyway, the back-up picks up the story thread Ken dropped back in issue 65. Tails and Amy Rose head to the abandoned library. Turns out, it’s not abandoned. The librarian, named Jeremiah, is the son of the lauded storyteller Kirby. Jeremiah presents Tails with one of Kirby’s rare volumes, a history of Mobian culture. Tails reads about how the echidnas were the most advance species on the planet and how Alexander Acorn united the various tribes of the continent. (Except for the Overlanders, who are assholes.)

Unlike the cover story, the back-up has a bigger purpose than just giving the hero a flashy new look. Penders is laying down the history of Mobian society. That’s cool. King Alexander uniting desperate tribes mirrors the foundation of Germany and the United Kingdom. Since I hate Mobians and humans interacting, I’m okay with the conflict with the Overlander starting this early. As for the echidnas being a high tech society while everyone else was still living in mud huts… Well, that does nothing to dispel the belief that Penders considers the echidnas shiny and special. The framing device, of Tails and Amy meeting Jeremiah, doesn’t add much. I don’t know why the backstory wasn’t just told straight on. Anyway, it’s an all right story. Art Mawhinney excels at drawing cute characters, so Amy and Tails are good subjects for him.

Issue 71 looks uniformly excellent. The back-up may just be dumping exposition on us but it’s handled decently. I just wish the cover story was more than an aggravating gimmick, for the purpose of giving Sonic green eyes and shoe buckles. [6/10]