THE 2018 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG COMIC BEST/WORST LIST!

When I started reviewing Archie's “Sonic the Hedgehog” comics back in 2016, I announced then and there that I would be continuing the tradition Dan Drazen started on his website back in 1995. Not only have I since gone past the point Drazen gave up the ghost, my personal Best/Worst List tradition has now continued past Archie's series.

When I started this project, I assumed I would eventually be covering new years in Archie's book, not knowing that the comic would end not long after I started this retrospective. Now that IDW has picked up the “Sonic” comic mantle, and ended up publishing an entire year's worth of books in 2018, it only seems natural I continue the Best/Worst tradition I started with Sonic's other publisher.

So, here we go once again, faithful Hedgehogs Can't Swim readers. It's time to look back at the brand new year of “Sonic” comics we just finished up. In this retrospective, I will cover:

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 1-11
Team Sonic Racing

BEST COVER STORY:
Ian Flynn, “The Battle for Angel Island: Part One” (Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issues 9)

It took a while for Ian Flynn to really get things rolling with the new series. Luckily, while the book still had a lot of problems by the end of the year, Flynn had started to find his footing by the fall. The first part of “The Battle of Angel Island” is not as focused on action as the next two installments. Instead, Flynn slows down a little to focus on the characters. Seeing the members of the Resistance consider their uncertain fate before heading into battle gave us insight into their personalities as well as heightening the tension before the fight began. It's the sort of strong, character-based writing that the new series hasn't had nearly enough of.

WORST COVER STORY:
Caleb Goellener, “Team Sonic Racing” (Team Sonic Racing)

I had really hoped this would be good. Introducing a new writer into the “Sonic” fold, when Ian Flynn has largely dominated things for the last decade or more, should've been a good thing. Sadly, Caleb Goellner's first credit on the “Team Sonic Racing” one-shot was less than inspiring. With writing that felt like Sega ad copy and no attempt to expand the characters beyond their most basic forms, “Team Sonic Racing” is by far the thinnest issue of the year. Even Goellner's comic relief is fairly lame. IDW is inviting some more writers on-board this year and hopefully they do a better job than this guy.

BEST BACK STORY and WORST BACK STORY:
N/A

Thus far, IDW has not included any back stories in their comic book. Including more than one story in a single comic book is pretty rare these days, so this category may have to be phased out in the future. Then again, IDW also has an Annual coming out this year, so maybe 2019 will bring some multi-story issues.

BEST STORY ARC:
Ian Flynn, “The Fate of Doctor Eggman” (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 5-6)

“The Fate of Doctor Eggman” is the story arc that really gave me hope that this comic book might actually be worth reading going forward. After the underwhelming “Fallout,” the more character-orientated “The Fate of Doctor Eggman” two-parter perks things up considerably. The amnesic Eggman becoming the kindly Mr. Tinker was a funny, surprising twist. Building a story arc around Sonic being forced to defend his greatest enemy was a smart move, putting our hero in an interesting place. The arc with the lowest stakes of the year actually worked in this one's favor.

WORST STORY ARC:
Ian Flynn, “Fallout” (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 1-4)

IDW's “Sonic” monthly sure got off to a slow start. The “Fallout” story arc was highly repetitive. Each issue followed the same formula, with Sonic entering a new town, meeting an old or new alley, and smashing some robots together. The first time, the robot smashing was kind of fun. It got old very quickly. It seems Flynn was using this four-parter to establish the comic's new world and cast. But, Flynn, come on. Anyone reading this book already knows who Tails, Amy, and Knuckles are. This made “Fallout” a belabored first act.

BEST MAIN COVER:
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 9 - Lamar Wells

Among the many dynamic main covers this year, this is probably my favorite. It's a very exciting image, showing Sonic and Knuckles locked in combat with Metal Sonic. Showing the heroes' faces reflected in the shiny chrome villain gives us a new perspective on what probably would've been a standard action comic cover otherwise. Also the reflective sheen is a pretty snazzy visual gimmick.

WORST MAIN COVER:
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 5 - Kieran Gates

While there was a lot of crazy talent on display in the covers from IDW's first year, there were also a bunch of really generic looking covers too. The cover for issue 5 is maybe the most generic. It's a totally competent if largely lifeless image of Sonic leaping to action inside the shadow of Dr. Eggman. The artist behind this is Kieran Gates. Gates, who contributed some artwork to “Sonic Mania,” did a few other covers in 2018. Each of them also look like Sega clip art, suggesting that very standard and boring “Sonic” art is Mr. Gates' specialty.

BEST VARIANT COVER:
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 7: SDCC1 - Adam Bryce Thomas

Since IDW creates roughly a hundred variant covers for each issue of this series, I figured I better go ahead and create a separate category for Best Variant Cover, as much as it pains me to fuck with the formula.

Out of the literally dozens of options I had for this honor, I went with the first of two covers exclusive to San Diego Comic Con for issue seven. It comes from the ever-reliable Adam Bryce Thomas and is a very catchy image. It shows Sonic, moving in such a blur that we see several images, rushing towards an enemy that is attempting to put him in its sight. Highlighted in red, as if from a robot's visor, gives this action-packed image an urgent feeling.

WORST VARIANT COVER:
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 5: Cover B - Jamal Peppers

Jamal Peppers is obviously a really talented artist and I've complimented his work many times before. But what the fuck was going on with Peppers when he drew the variant cover for IDW's fifth “Sonic” issue? It's an exceedingly awkward image, showing Sonic – who is smirking but seems visibly uncomfortable – balancing uncomfortably atop one of Robotnik's bug-shaped badniks. Obviously, the idea is that he's riding the robo-insect like a motorcycle and the bot is none too happy about it. Yet, in execution, it looks more like Sonic has been hastily pasted over atop a quickly sketched drawing. The color is really flat too.

BEST STORY ART:
Adam Bryce Thomas, “Fallout: Part 2” (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 2)

This was an easy choice. While the artwork throughout IDW's first year was consistently good, Adam Bryce Thomas' work on issue two is on entirely different level. There's an incredible sense of motion to the action scenes. There's a clear dynamism to the panels, Sonic and Amy leaping off the page. The characters have a lot of humor and expression in their faces and body language. The lighting is dramatic, especially in the panel where Sonic explains his position to Amy. It's just so friggin' pretty.

WORST STORY ART:
Jennifer Hernandez, “Fallout: Part 3” (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 3)

Once again, I must clarify that Jennifer Hernandez' work in issue 3 certainly is not bad. It's just that the standard is so high these days, that picking a weakest artist often means calling out someone who has actually done some decent work. W

While Hernandez' handle on the characters and their models are obviously strong, and I like Knuckles' expressive faces, it seems her grip on the action has slipped a little since her Archie days. The fight scenes are a bit stiff. The colors are also a little flat but I'm not going to blame Hernandez for that one.

BEST NEW CHARACTER:
Tangle the Lemur

Among the few introductions IDW made to the “Sonic” canon in their comic's first year, there's only been one so far I definitively love. Tangle the Lemur is just awesome, you guys. A bit of an adrenaline junkie, Tangle happily joins up the Resistance fight against Eggman. More than any of the other characters, who sometimes seem burdened by their status as heroes, Tangle is really excited by fighting the good fight. Everything she says and does is utterly delightful. While it will be a long time before IDW fills the void left in my heart by the Freedom Fighters – who are probably never coming back – Tangle is a pretty good start.

WORST NEW CHARACTER:
Whisper the Wolf

Since my Archie retrospective are written years after the comics were first published, it's usually easy for me to pick out the characters that became iconic and which ones become thorns in the readers' side. With these new comics, I have no way of knowing what will ultimately become of the newly created cast members.

So, it is with some reluctance I award Whisper the Wolf the Worst New Character of 2018 prize. There's certainly still plenty of time for Whisper to develop into someone interesting. As it currently stands though, Whisper is defined by almost nothing. She's a character that projects mysteriousness yet, from the little glimpses of her personality we've gotten, I'm seriously suspecting that this veil is hiding nothing much at all. Just speaking from a design level, Whisper is also needlessly cluttered. But fans already seem to love her, so what do I know?


BEST IDEA:
Welcome to the Resistance

There is a certainly a contingency of Sonic fans who will only be happy if the hedgehog's entire supporting cast is completely done away with and the stories only focused on Sonic. Naturally, these people hated the Archie comics, with its thousands-strong cast. For a while, I was worried IDW's book would be placating these fans, having Sonic be a wanderer that never develops a steady supporting cast.

These fears were dismissed within a few months though. Flynn soon has Sonic team up with the Resistance, a leftover from “Sonic Forces.” And it's already pretty obvious that Flynn is using this team as a replacement for the much lamented Freedom Fighters. He's even slotted Amy Rose into a Sally-esque role of a female leader and tactician. And if twenty years of Archie books didn't make it apparent, Sonic works best when in a team setting. So hopefully the Resistance remains a consistent part of IDW's book going forward, as a team of misfits fighting a powerful villain is obviously what we need.


WORST IDEA:
A Lack of Identity

We are a year into the new comic and it still feels like the series hasn't found an identity of its own. While Ian Flynn once said the new comic actually had more freedom from Sega than the Archie book did, it's increasingly apparent that the opposite is true. IDW's “Sonic” title consistently feels like its on the edge of becoming a boring extension of the Sega brand, just a lame on-going advertisement for the shitty video games. (This was very apparent in the “Team Sonic Racing” one-shot recently.) And say what you will about the Archie book but it was always defiantly its own thing. Right now, IDW's comic feels like it's trying to become its own thing, and very well might soon, but still feels shackled to the expectations and demands of a feckless corporation that really doesn't understand why people like this character and his world anyway.