Sonic X: Issue 13

Sonic X: Issue 13
Publication date: October 2006

It's not often that Archie's suite of “Sonic the Hedgehog” books acknowledged the holidays that happened around their release schedule. The book featured a Christmas story all the way back in its first year but that's about it. Considering Mobius is an Earth millions of years in the future, it makes sense that Sonic and his pals would have no conception of human holidays. The “Sonic X” book, however, appears to be a different story. Issue 13 pays homage to objectively the best of all holidays, by featuring Sonic and his friends trick or treating on the cover. The corresponding story also contains some seasonally appropriate spooky elements. That's right, kiddies, this issue is something I thought I would never get: A Sonic the Hedgehog Halloween special.

Following last month's cliffhanger, where Tails emerge from an alien war machine, both Sonic and his two-tailed sidekick are taken into government custody. Captain Westwood, fearful of being punished for his own screw-up, claim both Mobians have been working with Dr. Eggman the whole time. As a result, both are tossed in prison. Meanwhile, Vanilla has expressed some concerns about whether Cream and Chris are safe going on adventures with Sonic. Hoping to ease her mind, Chris' mom takes the four of them on a trip to a private island the family owns. The vacation is far from peaceful though. As Chris and Cream discover, evil spirits have possessed everyone living there.

Before we get to the spookiness, I'll discuss the element of government intrigue in the first part of “Hare-um Scare-em.” The idea of the Earthly government turning against Sonic and Tails is an interesting one. On one hand, it strikes me as slightly unlikely. As one of the presidential aides point out, Sonic has helped save Earth countless times. I'm also not quite sure what G.U.N. targets Sonic for, since he took down the alien war machine that was attacking the city last time. Still, there's something suitably powerful about the image of the comic's heroes being detained, interrogated, and tossed in prison by those that employ them. (Though, yes, Sonic and Tails wearing stripy prison uniforms is a goofy sight.)

Moreover, “Hare-um Scare-um” has Captain Westwood graduating from minor annoyance to full-blown villain. We already known that Westwood is a coward more then happy to manipulate people to further his own goals. In this issue, he reveals a truly treacherous and scummy side. He sells Sonic and Tails up the river to protect his own ass and as petty revenge for previous humiliation. He's more then happy to stroke anti-alien sentiment in the president in order to rise to power. I know this is a ten year old kids' comic but, considering this was the same year our fucking president tried to ban an entire religion, the “Sonic X” president turning against “aliens” is a weirdly unnerving sight.

But let's put all of that stuff aside in order to discuss this comic book's most important element: The motherfucking zombies. Or, at least, zombie-like entities. Confirming my suspicion that he's a huge horror dork, writer Joe Edkin shoves a bunch of “Evil Dead” references into this issue. Upon arriving on the island, the Thorndykes find it eerily empty. As the ghost-possessed humans attack Chris and Cream, they moan out cries of “Join us!” You probably wouldn't expect a “Sonic” comic to feature ghostly humans, with creepy doll-like eyes, floating above the ground and attempting to attack a pair of children. “Hare-um Scare-um: Part 1” even concludes on a page portraying Vanilla and Chris' mom taken over by the evil spirits. That's an image that probably traumatized a copy of young readers. At least, I hope it did.

Of course, “Sonic X” is still a goofy kid's book. Things aren't allowed to get too creepy. When Chris and Cream are attacked by the zombie/ghosts inside an ice cream parlor, they fight off the creatures by flinging Rocky Road at them. That's a good way to undermine the spookiness of your threat, don't you think? That a pair of actual children, Chris and Cream, can easily outrun the possessed also makes them seem less dangerous. All of this is apparently a reference to a previous episode of the “Sonic X” cartoon, where Amy Rose was possessed by the ghosts from “Sonic Adventure 2.”  (As another random shout-out to the events of the show, apparently Emerl is still alive, living with the Thorndykes as Cream's personal bodyguard? I guess that's another thing that happened when we weren't looking.)

Through the government betrayals and ghostly zombies, an actual theme of sorts emerge from “Hare-um Scare-um: Part 1.” Vanilla and Chris' mom – who has a name, I guess – bound over their mutual concerns about their children's well-being. Thorndyke seems pretty confident that the aliens and such he's hanging around with are enough to keep Chris safe. Vanilla is still concerned about Cream, even though “Sonic Advance 2” portrayed the little bunny as a confident crime-fighter. Presumably the events of this story arc, featuring Chris and Cream fighting some monsters, will make both mother realized that their kids can handle themselves. I mean, that's where I assume Edkin is taking it.

It could probably be a little better balanced, and isn't as much fun as the “Gremlins” inspired story he previously wrote, but this is still one of my favorite “Sonic X” issues so far. This is, after all, a comic containing both Sonic the Hedgehog and some “Evil Dead”-style zombies. I mean, holy shit, how could I not love this? David Hutchinson provides some solid, even atmospheric artwork, furthering my theory that he's probably the best artist working on this book. Who knows if Edkin can provide a solid conclusion to this story but I sure did enjoy this first half. [8/10]