Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 260

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 260
Publication Date: May 2014

With “The Chase” two-parter wrapped up, Ian Flynn has set-up the new MacGuffin Chase that will occupy the comic for the reminder of its life. The threat of the Shattered World was established and so was the plot device that could reverse it. Now, Flynn could get down to the business of actually building up the post-reboot world. He would primarily do that by expanding the comic’s cast, once enormous but now greatly diminished. We’re going to see a ton of new characters over the next few months and this - if you’ll excuse the pun - wave of introductions began with issue 260.

The issue begins the story arc “Waves of Change.” (See, that pun has two meanings now.) After watching some spooky found footage of Dark Gaia monsters crawling out of the Earth at night, the Freedom Fighters track a possible Gaia Temple down to an isolated beach. There, they discover Meropis, an underwater community. They meet a boisterous shark named Razor and Coral the Beta, the young and inexperienced mystic that oversees the civilization’s Chao garden. But is this peaceful location as friendly as it seems?

Fish are now people and they have their own culture, which is mystical rather than scientific
As seen with Muttski, Ian Flynn has really changed the biological layout of Sonic’s world. Previously, Mobius’ aquatic residents had the same human-like intelligence of the surface dwellers but mostly maintained their animal-like appearance. This was presumably because their bodies had already evolved to live underwater, so they stuck with it. (And also because the artists probably didn’t think about it that hard or at all.) Now, post-Super Genesis Wave, all Mobians have cartoony, humanoid shapes. So fish like Razor, Coral, and Pearly the Manta more closely resemble Sonic and his Sega-ified friends. This does streamline the universe so it doesn’t bother me too much.

In fact, the new characters are pretty likable. Razor is professional to the point of being gruff but his soft side is evident in how much he cares about the cute little things around him. Coral is inexperienced and vulnerable, making her likable. (Though Pearly is just another cute little girl character, which the book didn’t need more of.) Moreover, I like how Meropis citizens are a mystical people. Their lives are govern by magical rituals, with what the Chao in the temple get up to being especially important. This contrast nicely with the more scientific Freedom Fighters. This is even visualized, when Rotor uses his little handheld computer to study the ancient temple. This is world-building that feels natural and expanding.

The issue is also full of little moments between the characters that I like. Aboard the Sky Patrol, Antoine gets nervous about the potential end of the world. Meanwhile, Sonic continues to secretly fret about his exposure to the Dark Gaia gas. This concern is defused by some quasi-flirting with Sally. On the beach above Meropis, there’s some cute razing between Sonic and Rotor. Later, when Sally informs Amy to keep an eye on Sonic, she enthusiastically agrees. It all leads to a touching conversation between Amy and Coral. The pink hedgehog sees a lot of herself in the insecure girl. It’s nice to sit back and watch the comic’s cast just interact, to remind us why we care about them in the first place.

Issue 260 also contains a back-up story, something we haven’t seen in a while. “A Light in the Dark: Part One” begins just as Sonic, Amy, and Rotor leave for Meropis. Sally, Antoine, Tails, and Nicole leave the Sky Patrol to investigate a Chaos Emerald signal deep underground. Apparently Eggman was mining in the area but stopped for mysterious reasons. As the team searches the underground tunnels, they increasingly unsure about the reason why.

There’s not too much to “A Light in the Dark: Part One” but it functions well enough. It’s a mildly suspenseful story. As the trio (plus Nicole) step through the mind shaft, they get more nervous. Antoine is worried about cave-ins and poison gas. Without Sonic around to lighten the mood, Sally and Tails start to get nervous too. This mood is emphasized with some excellent art by Evan Stanley. The shadows on everyone’s faces makes the location fittingly mysterious. The sights of various deactivated Badniks littering the tunnel is effective. It feels a bit like a precursor to a horror story. You expect the Freedom Fighters to find a monster at the end. (Spoiler: They don’t.)

The artwork is pretty good in the whole book, by the way. After toiling away at Off Panels and mobile game adaptations, Jennifer Hernandez makes her proper debut with “Waves of Change: Part One.” Her stuff is pretty good, especially the amount of personality she manages to give the Chao just with their facial expressions. After so much upheaval and action, a more slow paced issue like this is really appreciated. We’ll get back to awkwardly fusing Sega and comic lore and video game derived bologna soon enough, making this little breather more appreciated. [7/10]