Sonic X: Issue 33

Sonic X: Issue 33
Publication Date: May 2008

With issue 33 of Archie's “Sonic X” series, original head writer Joe Edkin returns to the book. I have no idea why Edkin took such an extended break, leaving Ian Flynn and a random selection of other people to pen the scripts. Nor do I know why Edkin would come back at this point. Maybe Flynn was busy with the main “Sonic” book. Maybe Archie was already planning “Sonic X's” end and wanted to bring back the original writer to create a sense of finality. Who knows? Sad to say, Edkin's uneven skills did not improve during his vacation from this title.


 “Meteor Madness” begins with Sonic and pals having a cook-out. While Chris Thorndyke bemoans how few adventures he has, Grandpa Chuck spots a meteor with his telescope. This bit of news becomes more urgent when Chuck announces that there's a Chaos Emerald inside the meteor. The group of friends – which includes the Chaotix, recently returned to Earth – head out on a wild scavenger hunt, forming teams and seeing who can make it to the Emerald first.

The scavenger hunt idea starts out as mildly amusing. Some good natured-competition between friends is always a nice way to ratchet up tension inside a story. Sadly, “Meteor Madness” quickly falls into an exhausting zany streak. Not to mention some spotty continuity. Sonic running to the North Pole from where ever the hell the Thorndyke mansion is located is one thing. Running fast is Sonic's thing. But how the heck do the other characters keep up with this pace? “Meteor Madness” has the team running all over the world and it raises some serious questions.

But back to that zany aspect. While in South America, the meteor changes hands more times than I could count. Rouge zips in, determined to have it for herself. Amy gets a little too involved, threatening to smash people with her hammer. The Chaotix grab the meteor only to loose it. Big the Cat is here for some reason. What could've been a mildly cute gag – Eggman is on vacation, relaxing in a mud bath – is interrupted when the heroes run through the doctor's base, dipping him too deep into the mud.

If the overbearing physical comedy wasn't your first clue, “Meteor Madness” catches “Sonic X” in an especially juvenile mood. Edkin is getting at a moral here. In the early pages, Chris Thorndykes expresses some misgivings about how Sonic and his friends always have all the adventures. After forming a team with Cream and Charmy, Chris tags behind the others on the chase. In the end, Chris is revealed to have grabbed the Emerald from the meteor when nobody was looking. This proves his worth to the time and, presumably, imposes on the young reader's how observation and planning is sometimes more important than brute strength.

The only problem is... Chris Thorndyke is a whiny little bitch. Those panels devoted to Chris talking about how he wished he had more adventure in his life are insufferable. Shit, kid, aren't you like ten years old? Don't you realize you aren't cut out for adventuring? Jesus, why does Sonic put up with this entitled little brat? Your parents are fucking loaded, Chris. Enjoy the fact that you can have absolutely any material possession in the world for your entire life and stop trying to force yourself into life risking adventures with your furry friends.

Truthfully, I think Edkin was aiming his writing at a very young crowd with this one. “Sonic X” has always skewed younger than Archie's other, superior “Sonic” book. But this particular issue is practically aimed at the kindergarten crowd. More than once, Edkin's narration boxes push over into overly pushy, outright asking the reader questions. In case you didn't get the obvious moral, Edkin pins on another narration box on the final page, outright explaining today's lesson. Maybe the six-to-seven crowd would have less of a problem with this.

Having said that, at least the artwork is pretty good. You never really know what level of quality you're going to get when David Hutchinson is drawing an issue. Some of his illustrations have been the best artwork “Sonic X” has ever seen. Some of his other pencils have been the worst artwork to appear in this book. Luckily, Hutchinson is bringing his A-game with this one. Everyone is on-model. There's an expressive, fluid aspect to the action sequences. The change in locations allows for some colorful backgrounds. There's even a surprising amount of detail in the scenes devoted to Eggman's robot, suggesting Hutchinson had been taking pointers from Steven Butler. So at least the artwork's nice.

Oh, and one more thing. Joe Edkin leans on another annoying habit in this issue. He takes time to reference stuff that happened on the cartoon show. Knuckles makes some vague reference to fighting a robot ninja at one point. Is it too much to ask for this comic book to stand alone? Around the same time, Edkins also takes the time to correct a continuity error. Edkin had the Chaotix getting zapped back to Sonic's world off-panel many issues ago. Ian Flynn, in his Valentine's Day special, had Vector and his crew back on Earth without explanation. Edkin takes the easy way out and just says that the Chaotix were teleported back to Earth in-between these two explanations. Not that anyone really noticed this foul-up but I guess it's good that somebody is paying attention.

Once again, an issue of “Sonic X” has left me feeling more-or-less nothing at all. It's a fairly inoffensive read but I guess I demand a little more from my comic books about blue hedgehogs that run fast. Edkins wrote some really fun stories in the past but when he pitches to the kiddy crowd, the quality suffers. Anyway, that's another issue of “Sonic X” reviewed. 33 down, seven to go. [5/10]