Sonic Universe: Issue 43

Sonic Universe: Issue 43
Publication Date: August 2012

Issue 43 has Ian Flynn addressing some of the issues I've had with the Secret Freedom Fighters story arc. Part three of “Secret Heroes,” subtitled “Occupational Hazard,” fuses the two story lines of the arc thus far. Silver and Elias' teams escape their missions by the skin of their teeth. They regroup in Mobotropolis, reporting their failures to Harvey Who. Meanwhile, Ixis Naugus explains his latest plan, a magical spell to take over the mind of the Council of Acorn, to Geoffrey St. John... And the skunk is not entirely okay with that.

Usually, I address the artwork at the end of these review but I'm doing shit backwards today. Since I've looked at hundreds of his illustrations over his years on the comic, I feel qualified to speak about Tracy Yardley's artwork. Though he's done lots of great work over the years, he has his flaws too. A same-y quality can fall into his work and he frequently gets sloppy. It sometimes feel like he's phoning it in. And his work on issue 43 has that quality. The facial expressions can be identical or uninspired. Everyone's on model but a little lifeless at times. Yardley has done so much “Sonic” art over the years that it starts to blend together at times.

Anyway, that aside, let's talk about the plot. Flynn uses this issue to expand on the mythos of the Ixis wizard tribe. The issue begins hundreds of years ago during the Forgotten War, showing Mammoth Mogul and a previously unseen bird-wizard named Ixis Vale. This is a callback to a very obscure bit of lore. All the way back in issue 53, Naugus used “Vale's bones!” as an exclamation. Now, years later, we actually see Naugus retrieve the bones of Ixis Vale to use them in an incantation. This also further defines the Ixis order as something that's been around for a very long time.

But what's most interesting about “Occupational Hazard” is the development we get on Geoffrey St. John. From the moment it was revealed that Geoffrey was a traitor, and an apprentice of Naugus, I felt like Flynn was kind of screwing over the character for no reason. However, that attitude snaps back some with this issue. Upon hearing that Naugus plans to use magic to instate total tyranny over Mobotropolis, St. John gets seriously pissed. He signed up to protect his kingdom, not to serve the mad whims of a control freak.

Honestly, I'm not sure why Geoffrey St. John hasn't noticed before that Naugus is a bad guy. However, the skunk having a crisis of conscious about his mission is refreshing. Yardley's panel here I like the most is a slow zoom on St. John's panicked face. Later, Silver has a conversation with the skunk where he sells out his master's plan. It doesn't undo all the bullshit damage Flynn has done to St. John's personality but it's a step in the right direction.

I guess it's weird that I found the antagonist of the story way more interesting than the heroes. One of the things I like the most about this issue is a passing detail, a bit of backstory. Upon seeing Shard's power crystal, St. John recalls that his team – as in the Majesty's Secret Service – retrieved Metal Sonic's melted remains out of the Mt. Mobius' caldera. Apparently there's a slight continuity error here, as Valdez wouldn't have been on the team at this point, but whatever. It feels a small gap in the backstory out and that's the kind of bullshit lore I appreciate.

As for what's the Secret Freedom Fighters are up to in this issue, we don't see much of them in action. There's a cute bit where, after Silver ends his talk with St. John, the team pops out of little hiding places around the area. I like the interaction between Harvey Who and Elias, which shows the young prince growing into more of a strategist. I also like the little bit where Harvey gets pissed at the team for their screw-ups. Apparently he didn't foresee the inexperienced fowling on their first mission.

Issue 43 is mostly set-up for the big finale, as it's most preoccupied with explaining what a threat Naugus truly is. It's a slower paced issue, focusing more on character development, which is a nice change following the action-packed last two issues. Mostly, I like this slightly sloppily-plotted comic for centering Gefforey St. John's personality. I don't recall that plotline really getting a conclusion before the reboot so this is probably the closest we'll come. [7/10]