Sonic Free Comic Book Day 2008

Sonic Free Comic Book Day 2008
Publication Date: May 2008

In 2007, Archie's “Sonic the Hedgehog” series participated in Free Comic Book Day for the first time. For that special occasion, Archie had Ian Flynn write up an original story. Sonic fans were essentially getting a totally new adventure, free of charge. It was a pretty cool deal. So what did the company do for the 2008 Free Comic Book Day edition? Reprints! Ah, that's more like the tightwad, cheap-ass Archie I know and tolerate.

Specifically, 2008's Free Comic Book Day special contains a reprint of the very first issue of “Sonic the Hedgehog” Archie ever published. No, I'm not talking about issue 0 of the original mini-series, which was previously reprinted in “Sonic Firsts.” I'm referring to the literal first issue from the on-going series. It's almost an exact reprint too. We get “Meet Me at the Corner of Hedgehog and Vine,” where Robotnik attempts to choke the Freedom Fighters out of the Great Forest with the robotic Krudzu weed. We get all of “You Bet My Life!,” where Sonic is lured to the Casino Night Zone just to get shoved into a giant pinball machine. This reprint even includes the goofy one-page gag comics and the free bookmarks.

Last time I reviewed a reprint, I used it as an opportunity to comment on how much the book had changed in that time. Amazingly, this particular comic was published a whole eleven years after that last batch of reprints. So the question has to be asked again: How much has the comic change? Tonally, not quite as much as you'd expect. During the grim Penders/Bollers years, the slapstick of the earlier issues seemed totally out of place. Though Ian Flynn's run didn't lack serious action, he returned a light touch and comedic energy to the book that had been missing for a long time. You wouldn't find Robotnik being harmlessly exploded in the book in 2008 but you probably could spot a one-liner or a moment of goofy physical comedy.

The years have also shown a change in target audience. I think Archie was always hoping the seven-to-twelve year old crowd would be picking up “Sonic.” I'm sure that has always made up a portion of their buyers. Yet the book in 1992 and the book in 2008 seemed to be aiming for very different readers. The 1992 stories were full of broad physical slapstick, simplistic plots, and characters acting like dumbasses to advance the story. The 2008 stories were more serialized, focused more on the character's relationships, and devoted to building up Sonic's world. Ian's stories seem to skewer slightly older, in the moments when he outright wasn't aiming for the series' long time fans.

The characters represent by far the biggest difference between the book when it started and the book as it existed in 2008. In 1992, Sonic speaks exclusively in self-aggravating “cool” comments. He rarely misses a chance to annoy his enemies and rivals. He makes quite a few fourth wall breaking comments. Over all, he's more of a jerk. Sally was the girly straight man to Sonic's shenanigans. Antoine is a total coward, totally ineffectual and ridiculous. Rotor – excuse me, Boomer – has a snarky wit that would largely disappear. Tails is a complete moron, nearly helping the Krudzu attack Freedom H.Q. in the first story. Robotnik, meanwhile, was an egotistical buffoon who comically tormented his robot servants and cooked up goofy plans to defeat his enemies.

Archie choosing to republish this particular issue at this time is interesting. It's obvious that Ian Flynn went back to these early stories for inspiration and minor details. Some of the obscure bits of lore he dug up for his then-current run first appeared here. Flynn would bring back Freedom H.Q., which would be forgotten as the series started to hew more towards SatAM. Just the other day, I was reviewing a story set in the Casino Nights Zone, which first appeared here. It would be a while longer but Flynn would also soon bring the Krudzu, by far one of Sonic's most obscure enemies, back. Ian clearly knew his “Sonic” history.

Looking back at these old stories, it's hard to miss the book “Sonic” once was. The first “Sonic” stories Archie published were nothing more than fluff designed to promote a video game and separate a kid from his two bucks. I have no illusion that “Sonic” in 2008 was high art but at least it was trying to tell emotionally resonant stories, with fully formed characters the reader was invested in. Having said that, occasionally the free-wheeling early days did provide some fun stuff. Book marks and chili dog recipes certainly weren't anything you'd see in “Sonic” in 2008.

I certainly do not miss Dave Manak's artwork. Archie had seen a lot of subpar artwork in their “Sonic” book over its long run. After Flynn had established his vision for the series, the artwork suddenly became pretty consistent. Tracy Yardley and Matt Herms weren't perfect but they usually delivered a decent looking product. I don't even hate Dave Manak's pencils but they are undeniably sloppy. Characters are jagged but loose, not sticking to on-model most of the time. Manak made great use of cartoon motion lines to hide detail. This just draws attention to the sad facts: The “Sonic” book was originally a quickie product, made with minimum care and effort. It would take a few years for it to evolve into something more interesting.

You'd think Archie would've at least stuck some extras or goodies into this reprint. To give older fans some reason to pick this up, right? Not really! The only really cool addition we get is the cover. Patrick Spaziante redraws Manak's original issue 1 cover, using the then incarnations of the characters. And it's a pretty neat cover, full of Spaz's trademark details and sense of motion. Aside from that, we get an introduction from Flynn that boils down to telling readers to buy the books Archie actually charges money for. This promotional mood continues in the back, as the last page also encourages readers to pick up the various paperback collections Archie was publishing at the time.

In fact, the book going out of its way to promote the archive collection that Archie was rolling out back in 2008 makes me suspect this entire Free Comic Book Day special was an extended ad for those books. “Like this old shit? Here's some more! But you actually have to pay for these!” 2008's FCBD special would set something of a precedent. The free books would frequently alternate between containing new stories and reprints. I guess we really couldn't expect Archie to give away a brand new comic book every year, now could we? Anyway, there's zero reason to pick this up if you own the original issue one, unless you absolutely have to have that cool new Spaz cover.  I really don't know why I reviewed it either. [6/10]