Sonic X: Issue 8

Sonic X: Issue 8
Publication Date: May 2006

The previous issue of “Sonic X” ended on not-quite a cliffhanger. As Chris' birthday party concluded, he received a message from his parents. Mom and Dad Thorndyke are currently in Paris and invited Chris and all his friends to visit them. You'd think the comic would embrace that change of local. Maybe a big fight scene atop the Eiffel Tower? A foot chase around the Arc de Triomphe? Perhaps Eggman could attempt to rob the Louve? Or perhaps Sonic could chase a Phantom inspired enemy through the Paris Opera House? Nah. The change in location is just set dressing. This is an otherwise routine issue of “Sonic X.”

So what happens once Sonic and the gang get to Paris? Chris' dad has designed a new space shuttle and Chris' mom, as a prominent actress, is unveiling it. Eggman wants to hijack the shuttle so he can rule over the moon. Rouge and Topaz has been sent to watch over the hedgehog and friends, in case Robotnik makes a move. Naturally, he does, forcing Sonic to leap into action. Unbeknownst, they are still being watched by Emerl. Big the Cat also shows up for some reason.

After two issues that gratefully did something different with the book, issue 8 of “Sonic X” disappointingly slides back into the formula that was present in the original four issues. Sonic and friends end up in a new location. Eggman attacks with a new robot. Sonic gets tossed a power ring and starts to whoop ass. Yes, Joe Edkin mixes it up a bit. The robots are just a distraction so Eggman can steal the shuttle. The action is mixed up, involving more characters then just Sonic. Despite the differences, it's the same sort of story the author has passed around before.

He does have some fun with it. This batch of killer robots are fitted to both the Parisian location and the carnival setting. (Did I mention most of this issue takes place at a carnival? It does.) There's a wind-up elephant robot that shoots peanuts. A roller coaster leaps to life, crawling around like a caterpillar. One robot looks vaguely like the Eiffel Tower, with a high head and spindly limbs. My favorite one is the evil mime robot, which wears a beret, a stripy shirt, and suspenders. That's a nice touch.

The entire Sonic gang gets in on the action. Amy Rose smashes the elephant-bot's head off with her hammer. Rouge karate kicks the mime-bot in the neck, knocking it over. Interestingly, we even see Chris Thorndyke getting in on the adventure. During the chaos of the robot attack, Chris races out to rescue a chained-up dog from getting crushed by the roller coaster bot. Sadly, instead of giving the boy some heroic character development, he just puts himself in the line of danger. Chris' butler, Tanaka, has to rescue him. That feels like a wasted opportunity and might explain why some fans hate this kid so much.

I'm not sure why Edkin is doing with Emerl either. The robot spends the entire issue lurking around, watching Rouge and Topaz closely. His entire monologue mentions incomplete memories and seems generally confused. He doesn't add much to the story. At the end of the issue, for some reason, Emerl decides that Eggman is his master. He deploys a huge-ass cannon and turns on Sonic. That seems like a really random writing decision. The mysterious robot was previously a neutral observer. To have him become an antagonist at the end, for very sloppy reasons, is disappointing. I suspect a reveal is coming concerning this.

Also, Big the Cat is here for some reason. I mean that fairly literally. He's wandering around Paris without any explanation. He wanders into the action scene, recognizing Eggman. The only act he contributes to the story is punching the bad guy in the face. Granted, the cat had a chance to grab the villain then and there. Sensing a pattern, he lets the bad guy get away. I'm no fan of Big, mainly because I find his personality annoying and hate all those fucking fishing mini-games in “Sonic Adventure.” He remains that useless in his appearance here.

The last few issues of “Sonic X” had pretty good artwork. Tim Smith 3 returns to pencil this one. While Smith's work was getting tired by the end of his previous run, his stuff was still consistent. I don't know what the hell happened here but issue 8 looks like shit. The lines are shaggy. The facial expressions are weirdly blank and empty. Topaz gets this the worst, as she looks like a blow-up doll in a few panels. The coloring is sloppy, making much of the issue look like it was colored by an overeager kid with some crayons. Maybe the inker and the colorist were having off days? Either way, this is the least visually attractive issue of “Sonic X” yet.

I guess the back-and-forth in quality is normal is for a comic book like this. Archie's mainline “Sonic” book certainly has had wildly divergent ups and downs even in-between individual issues. It's just a bummer that, after the comic seemed to have found its footing recently, “Sonic X” would hit another lame bump like this. I hope Edkin is going somewhere with this Emerl business because it might become a problem soon otherwise. Hopefully this isn't a derailing event and just a minor off-set. [5/10]