Sonic X: Issue 17

Sonic X: Issue 17
Publication Date: March 2007

Archie's “Sonic X” comic continues its trend of introducing the blue hedgehog hero to various Earthly holidays. After giving Sonic and friends issues revolving around Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine's Day, the hedgehog next embraces his inner Irishman with a St. Patrick's Day special. No, the issue doesn't feature Sonic participating in our greatest St. Paddy's Day tradition: Drinking too much green beer and then vomiting too much green puke. Instead, return guest writer Ian Flynn uses this as a chance to let the hedgehog battle some dicey, stereotypical Irish imagery.

After racing around all morning with Sonic, Cheese the Chao turns green. This is fitting, as today is St. Patrick's Day. Before Amy Rose can pinch him in an inappropriate place, Sonic is quickly informed that he has to wear green on this day. While attending a parade, Eggman attacks once again. After reading up on Irish lore, the rotund villain decided he wanted to catch a leprechaun and take its gold. He assumes a St. Patrick's Day parade is the best place to locate one, attacking the city in a giant robot version of a leprechaun.

The Christmas and Valentine's Day issues of “Sonic X” were mostly about introducing Sonic to these human customs that he's unfamiliar with. Whether it was scoffing at the existence of Santa Claus or being forced to take Amy on a date, seeing the hedgehog react to American holidays was mildly interesting. Issue 17's “March Madness” only has a little bit of this. There's that introductory scene, where Amy uses Sonic's lack of green clothing as an excuse to casually molest him. The story concludes with Sonic and friends in a bar, drinking “green soda.” Most of the issue is set at a parade but that's just set dressing.

Ian doesn't delve into Sonic's reaction to baffling human traditions. Instead, “March Madness” is mostly built around ridiculous action beats. Eggman attacks the parade in a giant robot, roughly resembling either a leprechaun or an offensive caricature of an Irishman. Once you overlook the dodgy cultural connotations of this scene, some of the action scenes are mildly amusing. He attacks the crowd with four leaf clover shaped robots. While Amy gets to smash a few of these bots – her sole action beat in this story – Sonic bounces around Eggman's machine. A decent panel portrays Eggman attempting to crush the hedgehog in his giant fist. Before Eggman can recreate that one “Evangelion” scene, the bad guy is distracted and defeated.

That last point especially sticks in my teeth. The “Sonic X” version of Eggman has previously been portrayed as primarily eccentric, even somewhat child-like. In “March Madness,” he becomes a full blown idiot. He has to look up what gold is and what it's worth, even though the power rings prove that gold obviously exists on Sonic's home world. The entire story is motivated by Eggman trying to capture a leprechaun. Having the mad scientist chase after a mythological creature is goofy enough. That he becomes convinced that Bokkun, one of his henchman, is a leprechaun just because he gets painted green is another matter. The issue ends when Chris Thorndyke convinces Eggman to fly towards the end of the rainbow. I'm not a fan of “Sonic” media turning Robotnik into a clownish buffoon. “Sonic X” has straddled that line for a while and has now leaped over it.

“March Madness” is so focused on big action scenes and goofball comedy that it doesn't leave any room for character development. There's just the briefest of moments. Such as Amy's crude, overly forward romantic advances towards Sonic, which cross over to full-blown creepy. Or Cream momentarily being concerned about Cheese's suddenly green state. That Chris helps save the day could've been a good moment for the often maligned kid. Instead, it's just a quick way to wrap up this silly story.

Opening this comic, I was pleasantly surprised to see Steven Butler, one of my favorite Sonic artist, providing the artwork. Butler's work on “Sonic X” can't compare to his gritty, sexy, detail packed pencils on the main book. He simplifies his style a lot, to fit the pre-existing “Sonic X” template. Sonic and Bokkun occasionally look a little awkward. Especially Sonic, who is sporting a perpetual smirk for most of the issue. However, the talent for facial expressions and action scenes are still there. Butler's obvious strength for drawing people does produce some of the best looking renditions of Chris and his grandpa that we've seen thus far. It's still a good looking book.

In the past, the free-wheeling silliness of the “Sonic X” book worked in its favor, creating mad-cap homage to horror movies. But it's pretty obvious that Ian Flynn isn't a horror fan and his comedy, too often, veers towards the overly childish. This is especially evident in issue 17, which is too nonsensically silly, sacrificing the personality of the established cast members. [5/10]