Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 78

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 78
Publication Date: October 1999

The cover art of issue 78 of Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” certainly brings back some memories. The issue is the first to use the newly redesigned “Sonic” logo, which the book retains to this day. Secondly, a blurb on the cover assures readers that their subscription is Y2K compatible, back when the world was terrified calendars switching over would bring about the computer apocalypse. Moreover, the cover gives me a waft of nostalgia because it features a number of characters mostly exclusive to this era of Sonic. Even if the reboot hadn’t happen, I kind of doubt that Dr. Quack and his kids would be featured on a cover today.

The cover story, “Changes,” is another more low-key effort from Karl Bollers. With most of the free Mobians relocated, King Acorn officially designates Knothole Village as the new center of the Kingdom. He also knights Sonic and recommissions the Freedom Fighters, now that freedom must be fought for again. Despite these changes, Sonic and friends are troubled by the losses they still feel. Meanwhile, Dr. Robotnik makes movements on his next master plan.

“Changes,” which I feel compelled to sing as “Cha-Cha-Changes,” continues Bollers’ efforts to make King Max less of a dick hole. By knighting Sonic and recognizing that the world needs the Freedom Fighters again, he essentially recognizes that the kids were right along. That’s right, it only took the reemergence of their greatest enemy for King Acorn to actually respect the heroes. I know the King will be acting like an asshole again before too long but it’s nice to see some positive developments in his personality, even if it’s temporary. Sonic becoming a Sir also provides some humor to the proceedings. It even forces Geoffrey St. John to acknowledge the accomplishments of his long term rival.

“Changes” is a story without any big conflict or action beats. Instead, it’s a story focused almost exclusively on characters. Uncle Chuck’s recent abduction by Robotnik continues to weigh heavily on Sonic’s mind. Despite being knighted and reunited with his parents, Chuck’s loss makes our hedgehog hero feel like a failure. He’s not the only Freedom Fighter feeling some parental angst. Antoine’s own father remains a robotocized member of Robotnik’s army. The comic smartly contrasts Antoine’s childhood memories of his father with his dad’s current state. Lastly, Elias continues to worry about his mother, who remains comatose, and his future responsibility as King. Compared to Sonic and Antione’s very real problems, Elias’ concerns seem far pettier.

For that matter, kids missing their parents is the primary emotional heart of this story. When yous top and think about it, a startling number of Freedom Fighters are orphans. As the former residents of Mobotropolis move back into Knothole, the newly introduced Mina feels sorry for herself, since her mom was left behind. That’s when a stray run-in with Rosie – who I don’t think we’ve seen since issue 54 – has Mina shepherding a trio of orphans around. The comic wouldn’t know what to do with Mina for years, eventually making her yet another love interest for Sonic before she found her calling as a pop star. However, this scene at least shows her as a good kid with a kind heart. It’s certainly more touching then the moments devoted to Nate Morgan. Morgan moves into Uncle Chuck’s old laboratory. I doubt he intended it this way but it looks like Bollers has replaced a beloved, established character with his own, far more contentious creation.

While the story turns its attention towards the characters in Knothole, Robotnik is still planning for the next story arc. In a handful of panels, we see the robotic dictator planning ominous, wicked things. (He’s also still doing that creepy thing with his arm.) These scenes are, of course, setting up the “Sonic Adventure” adaptation, which would begin next month. We also get another scene of a shuttle traveling through space, headed towards Mobius. If I remember correctly, that’s a story element that wouldn’t be resolved for quite a bit longer. I can’t blame Karl for planning ahead but these scenes feel like unnecessary distractions from the main story.

Speaking of unnecessary distractions! In the back pages, Ken has continued to belabor the “Tales of the Great War” story line. Jules and Bernie continue to tell their story around the camp fire to the younger Freedom Fighters. We see Jules become the first victim of the Robotocizer, Uncle Chuck immediately regretting his invention. Meanwhile, the Mobians win the Great War after King Acorn defeats the Overlander leader in a duel. This, however, is just a prelude to Robotnik’s takeover of the city.

As I mentioned last time, the “Tales of the Great War” story line was interesting as long as it was chronicling rarely explored bits of the backstory. Now, Ken has more-or-less caught up with himself. There’s little room left to be filled in but he’s continuing anyways. We now see, in detail, how Jules became a robot and how Charles became a chili dog stand owner. About the only new piece of information here is how King Acorn won the war. It’s a fairly useless story, hampered by some of Ken’s most melodramatic dialogue in a while. Chris Allan’s artwork has improved slightly but still seems far too cartoonish and loose for this story.

James Fry’s pencils for the main story are fine, by the way. “Changes” doesn’t match Bollers’ previous high water mark, issue 54’s “Running to Stand Still,” but it’s in a similar mold. As mentioned many times before, Bollers’ best work wasn’t his action and plot heavy story. Instead, his writing shined when turned towards the more personal moments. [7/10]