Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 15

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 15
Publication Date: March 20, 2019

Once again, I have fallen behind on IDW’s “Sonic” on-going. (I still mentally refer to it as the “new” Sonic Comic, even though it’s over a year old now.) I know, you guys deserve better. It’s so easy for me to pick up and re-read old issues of the Archie series, even the rebooted ones, while the IDW releases linger on my to-read pile. With real life, the daily upkeep of this blog and my other projects, it can be hard to find time for another comic. But you are probably tired of hearing my excuses for why the IDW reviews are late again, so just assume they will continue to be late into the future and assume I’m always prostrating myself for your forgiveness.

So, anyway, issue 15’s story is entitled “Patient Zero.” If that title reminds you of zombie movies, that is very much intentional. As set up last time, Amy and Sonic head off for an abandoned Eggman base. It’s a giant blasted out hole in the ground, the site of one of the worst battles of the war. They descend into the cavern and find an old Eggman computer. However, before they can gleam any meaningful information, Rough and Tumble ambush them in a giant drilling tank. After that is disposed of, the skunks deploy their second weapon: The previously devised nanite goo. Rendered mindless and seemingly indestructible zombies, Sonic and Amy quickly find themselves outmatched. Even after escaping, the danger is not over because Sonic has been infected.

Early on, it’s apparent “Patient Zero” is different from the previous stories published in this comic book. There’s humor in this issue, such as Robotnik’s easily guessed and amusingly retro password. Or Rough and Tumble’s continued insistence on introducing themselves in rhymes. Yet the tone here is surprisingly grave. A better writer than Flynn would make a bigger deal about Sonic descending down into a giant hole in the ground — recalling both a wound and a grave — and having one of his most difficult fights. Going underground is always a symbolic journey. And there’s something subtly Hell-like about the cave and the adventure Sonic has there, especially since the hedgehogs also entered through a cave-mouth carved to look like Eggman’s face.

Or maybe Flynn knows exactly what he was doing. As they first entered Echo Cave, Amy recounts the battle that happened there for Sonic, who was missing at the time. She says they freed a lot of people that day but also lost people too. Her flashlight than crosses over an abandoned Resistance fighter helmet. Is this the first time IDW’s “Sonic” book has acknowledged death, that people have actually died fighting Eggman? It’s a heavy moment that looms large over the issue. This is a story about Sonic tunneling down into a subterranean cavern that stinks of death, fighting zombies, and possibly becoming one himself by the end of the story. Even with the typical quibs, it reads a lot darker, almost horror movie-like, than any previous installment.

But that’s just me reading too much into things, per usual. Taken as a straight-ahead “Sonic” action story, “Patient Zero” also functions well. Rough and Tumble bursting through the cavern wall in their drill tank, Sonic and Amy leaping out of the way, is a cool sight. The confined spaces of the underground tunnels makes for a dynamic action sequence, Sonic and Amy forced to strategize more, instead of just playing smashy-smashy. When the inevitable smashing comes, it's after the heroes have lured the skunks into a dead-end. It's a sequence that is so well orchestrated that I actually felt myself getting pumped while reading it, a first for this particular series.

The action scene also works as a lead-up to the far darker second half. After their tank is trashed, Rough and Tumble expose themselves to the nanites. They are turned into robotic, zombie-like creatures – Sonic quickly dubs them “zombots” – that cannot be easily killed. If Sonic and Amy spin-dash or bash them apart, they simply regenerate. This is a surprisingly grisly sight for a kids book, the heroes failing to successfully dismember their enemies. It also causes the tension to go up. For the first time in IDW “Sonic” history, the hedgehog seems genuinely uncertain if he can win. Not even Metal Sonic's various super forms put him this on-edge.

Of course, part of why Sonic is on edge is because he's already been infected. Up to now, this version of Sonic has been pretty care-free. The comic has largely provided examples of the hedgehog with 'tude side of his personality. In this issue, as he sees the nanite slime spread onto his skin, Sonic seems scared. He goes about deflecting the skunks, eventually tossing them into a hole in the cavern. Yet even after that, he is not sure of his victory. This leads up to a down-beat ending, Sonic fearful it might already be too late to turn back the infection. It really leaves me wanting to read the next installment. Gee whiz, it's almost as if a hero with doubts and uncertainties is way more interesting to read about.

Issue 15 also brings a totally new artist into the fold, a welcome change since most of his series' art has come from Archie veterans. Jack Lawrence is the guy's name and he does a pretty good job for a first-timer. There's a likably angular, cartoon-y element to Lawrence's artwork. His Sonic has a very large head and spindly limbs but in a way that's fun to look at, not in an ugly “the artist clearly doesn't know how to draw these characters” Ron Lim way. His faces are nicely expressive and his action scenes have a decent zest to him. I hope to see more from Lawrence, he clearly has some talent.

While I've enjoyed a few issues of IDW's “Sonic” book up to this point, issue 15 is the first one to really impress me. There are real stakes here, real weight to the story, the characters actually acting in interesting ways, and new ideas being brought to the “Sonic” series. Issues have had one or two of those attributes before but never all of them. I'm reluctant to say that IDW “Sonic” has finally grown the fucking beard after a year and change. It'll depend a lot on how Flynn and his team handle the rest of this story arc. But it's off to a very good start. [8/10]