Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 89

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 89
Publication Date: September 2000

Oh man, Karl Bollers is getting all low-key and dramatic and shit. I love it when that happens! Yes, after an action heavy issue, the writer dials it back with another character based story all about consequences and repercussions. Real problems that human beings and cartoon hedgehogs have to deal with. You know, why can’t we just have this all the time? Instead of lame ass video game adaptations? Issue 89 proves again that Archie’s “Sonic” series was at its best when ignoring the whims of their Sega corporate pay-masters.

King Acorn is rushed to the emergency room, following the blow he received in the last issue. While the king is on the operating table, Sally and Prince Elias have a heart-to-heart. The princess feels like Sonic has let her down, by letting her father get hurt. The hedgehog, meanwhile, has his own familial problems to deal with. He’s still thinking about how Uncle Chuck and Muttski reacted to the Sword of Acorn, how they seemingly regained their humanity. Sonic takes drastic measures to bring them back. Meanwhile, Robotnik returns to Robotropolis, discovering the aftermath of last issue’s attack.

Sally isn’t having a great time. Both of her parents are in the hospital. The princess is close to loosing her father, after fighting so hard and for so long to get him back. She’s upset with her boyfriend but, luckily, Karl doesn’t overdo that point. There’s no melodrama, no crying, no slapping. Sally is just too overwhelm to deal with Sonic right now. Luckily, she forgives him by the end. This builds to a touching scene where Sally and Elias have a discussion by the river. She points out how things have been harder for her, ever since the King came back and started acting like an asshole all the time. Bollers doesn’t seek to revolve these issues but it’s nice that he pauses to recognize them.

Far rarer were glances into Sonic’s inner life. Usually, the cool dude with ‘tude was too busy being a speedy bad-ass to open up. Here, we see him having private moments with his parents and Tails. Mom makes him a plate of bubbling chili dogs. While he appreciates the effort, it just makes him miss Chuck more. His uncle, after all, was the one who actually raised him. By the end, Sonic has decided to break the rules in order to save his uncle. The scenes with Tails – aside from providing us with another sighting of the infamous race car bed – are a little heavy on the expositionary side. But it’s still awfully nice to let Sonic slow down.

With these high personal stakes, Karl barely has time to include some obligatory nods to various subplots. Robotnik returns to Robotropolis, the first time he’s been back since the “Sonic Adventure” arc ended. By the end, he’s decided to go after the Sword of Acorn, a plot point that I’m sure will become important soon. Mina also shows up for a few panels, once again establishing her crush on Sonic. Looks like the book is still struggling with what to do with her.

“Thicker Then Water” isn’t as good as 54’s “Running to Stand Still” or 69’s “Day in the Life,” Boller’s previous high water marks for character based stories, but it does feature one major plot reveal. Queen Alicia finally awakens from her coma. Considering the character has been nothing but a plot device, handed back and forth for issues now, it’s nice to finally see that resolved. Can we hope that she’ll actually become a real character, unlike every other mom in this book? Time will tell. Until then, it’s nice things are finally moving forward with her.

Knuckles’ side story continues in “A Matter of Self Interest.” The young Guardian and his friends arrive at Albion, where Gala-La and the others seemingly greet him with open arms. Secretly, the leaders of Albion are suspicious of the other Freedom Fighters. Especially Antoine, as they notice his resemblance to the High Sheriff. Knuckles, meanwhile, gets pissed that the Albion echidnas are withholding information from him. You’d think he’d be used to that by now.

This clinches it. Every single echidna on Mobius is an evasive asshole. On the Floating Island, Knuckles has to deal with his dad creepily obsessing over his life from afar. He has to deal with the Brotherhood giving him vague hints about his destiny, instead of providing actual answers. And now, on Albion, he has to deal with Gala-La and the others manipulating him. The Albion elders know Knuckles has come seeking answers about what happened on the Floating Island. They don’t tell him this, because they distrust Antoine. Instead of directly confronting these issues, they keep secrets and trade whispers in hidden rooms. When Knuckles finds out, he’s pissed. Sadly, he also doesn’t do anything about it, which is in keeping with the character’s actions.

Antoine, Rob, Bunnie, and Amy are basically just props in the story. Amy contributes almost nothing to the plot, just getting shuffled around the scenes. Antoine and Rob have some dialogue about his dad but it doesn’t amount to much. Bunnie yawns, says goodnight, and goes to bed, despite it seemingly being day light outside. The story ends on a big cliffhanger, the High Sheriff being revived. And that’s fine, I guess. But, Jesus Ken, can you please get back to what happen to the Floating Island? Why are you jerking us around?

At least the artwork is fine all around. James Fry contributes some really striking artwork to the main story, dialing back his angular anime style to focus more on emotion. Steven Butler’s work on the back-up, meanwhile, is as gritty and detail orientated as we’ve come to expect from him. The cover story is pretty good while the back-up is frustrating but I’m still happy to be back in Knothole. [7/10]