Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 95

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 95
Publication Date: March 2001

After stopping a month to focus on Sonic’s exciting adventures in high school, Karl Bollers remembers that he’s writing an action comic. Just as soon as Knothole High is introduced, the book passes it by. I’m not sure the school mandate would even show up much after this. Kind of makes you wonder what the point was in the first place? Then again, lots of things with the comic is making me wonder that lately. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Hey, what about issue 95?

Sonic races out of school, eager to be out of the building. Even if Prince Elias is ignoring that he’s a crime fighter, Sonic remembers a tyrant is attempting to wipe them out. As night falls, he sneaks out of his room and goes on a late night run towards Robotropolis. Bunnie, similarly eager to get out, joins him. The two discover that Overlanders are now living in the city, seemingly in peace. Meanwhile, Kodos the Warlord has gone mad, insanely screaming about the Sword of Acorn. In the woods, the two heroes encounter the crazy lion where Uma Arachnis, the spider ninja, proves an unlikely ally.

Sonic and Bunnie don’t normally act as a duo. Usually, the hedgehog is too busy hanging out with Tails. Currently, the two-tailed fox is off on some other adventure. So the cyborg rabbit and Sonic fly over Robotropolis together. I wish there was a little more dialogue and interaction between the two. We mostly get a panel or two, Bunnie commenting on Sonic’s sass or the two wondering about the situation in Robotnik’s city.

 
Ultimately, Bollers is focused on action. Kodos cleaves through trees. Sonic gives the lion a super speed bicycle kick. An amusing moment has Kodos grabbing Bunnie by the ears and swinging her around like Mjolnir. James Fry’s action artwork make these moments go down smoothly.

I haven’t had very nice things to say about the on-going story line about the Kintobors. With issue 95, it looks like that storyline may finally be going somewhere. Snively and his dad are reunited, the bald henchman giving Colin a warm welcome. (Or one that appears warm.) Later, Eggman awakens Snively in the middle of the night, showing him something sinister off-screen. Hope, meanwhile, goes to her grandmother. She tells her about how weird she finds the city but, naturally, nobody listens to the kid. Where is this stuff going? Don’t know. Will it make me care about these people and places? Probably not. But at least it’s finally going somewhere.

Of all the book’s many villains, Kodos and Uma Arachnis have never been the most compelling. After all, they began life as just indistinct henchmen of Ixis Naugus. The writer’s continued attempts to make us care about them have yet to succeed. Kodos being driven insane, seemingly by his separation from the Sword of Acorn, has rendered him a totally personality lacking brute. Uma suddenly developing a sense of honor, saving Sonic from the lion, would be interesting if the character had ever displayed any individuality up to this point. Bollers is going somewhere with this but it’s easily the least interesting of his current plots.

For his flaws, at least Karl is answering questions, albeit slowly. Ken Penders, meanwhile, remains up his own ass. Knuckles has teleported himself onto a snowy mountain top, beneath the Floating Island. Athair zaps Tails to the same location. The fox attempts to reason with the echidna but it’s no use, as Knuckles is overwhelmed by his new powers and anger. The two are next teleported to the Floating Island where events repeat themselves. By the end, Knuckles has knocked Tails unconscious, with the fox being taken to his magician Uncle Merlin for care.

Hey, at least we’re back on the Floating Island, right? Other then that development, the Chaos Knuckles arc continues to move at a snail’s pace. Bringing Tails into the story accomplishes nothing. This once again brings up Tails’ status as the Chosen One, a rarely satisfying plot point the comic has forgotten about for long stretches. Honestly, is an eight year old truly the best person to deal with a rampaging demigod? All he does is get smacked around. Instead of focusing on Knuckles’ quest to find his friends, we shift to Merlin Prowers. Because Penders was truly determined to frustrate our expectations and annoy us. Another batch of crappy Ron Lim art helps none at all.

The comic is still in a slump. That’s not going away any time soon. At least Karl seems to be getting at something while Ken continues to jerk us around. As the book slowly lumbers towards issue 100, that’s probably the most we could ask for. [5/10]