Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper: Issue 1

Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper: Issue 1
Publication Date: July 31st, 2019

Back in the early days of Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” series, the company published a number of mini-series starring some of Sonic’s friends. The “Sonic” franchise was at peak popularity at the time and the hedgehog books were, reportedly, among Archie’s best-selling titles during those days. They were eager to capitalize on this and produce a spin-off book, Knuckles eventually emerging as the most reasonable star.

The comic industry is really different now than it was in the booming early nineties. Even popular superhero characters have trouble selling books now. So, unsurprisingly, the tradition of random “Sonic” supporting cast members getting mini-series faded away with time. So imagine my delighted surprise when IDW and Ian Flynn announced that Tangle and Whisper, the most prominent of the new characters exclusive to the comic thus far, would be getting a four issue adventure of their own. It’s a tantalizing idea, since Tangle is delightful and a story totally focused on Ian Flynn creations would be less beholden to Sega’s corporate mandates. Perhaps IDW is hoping to launch a “Sonic Universe” style spin-off of their own, with this mini-series being a test run for that. After all, “Sonic” comic fans are used to picking up two series a month. Why not do that again?

And so our story begins with Tangle zooming around Spiral Hill Village, her home town. Since her adventure with Sonic and the Resistance ended, the lemur’s ADHD has only increased. She feels increasingly stifled in the folksy small town. That’s when adventure comes calling. Whisper comes running into town, blasting at what appears to be Sonic. The apparent hedgehog runs into Tangle and feeds her a line about Whisper being brainwashed. This is not true, the lemur discovers after tackling the wolf. Instead, a shape-shifting mercenary named Mimic is offing ex-members of his team, seemingly at Eggman’s request. Tangle joins a somewhat reluctant Whisper on her journey to stop this guy.

I’ve made no secret of how delightful I find Tangle. Her irrepressible enthusiasm for life and adventure has made her a clear stand-out in the book’s first two years. I’ve been pleased to see fans similarly embrace her, considering people usually hate the things I love. The early sequences here devoted to her accidentally messing up her town, and dreaming about how much fun her last adventure was, are absolutely adorable. I also love her loyalty and devotion to her friends, as she’s apologizing the entire time she’s tricked into fighting Whisper. In short: Tangle is a golden puppy and we must protect her at all cost.

As entertaining as it is to see, Tangle’s non-stop energy might be a bit overwhelming, if given free reign over an entire story. So pairing her up with the morose, calculating Whisper is a good idea. The two balance each other out. Tangle’s enthusiasm brings the shy Whisper out of her shell while Whisper’s intensity helps focus the lemur some. We can see this amusing interaction in the scene where Tangle convinces the wolf to let her come along on this adventure. Whisper, who I prematurely gave the Worst New Character award to last year, is definitely starting to grow on me. Flynn is making it increasingly clear that her quietness and literal mask is hiding some sort of past trauma. Hopefully we get to explore that soon and really get to know her. Also, Whisper’s Dock Martins makes me realize she’s actually a goth and I am predisposed to love all goth girls.

As for issue 1 of the mini-series, it actually does something surprising. This is one of those stories where a fight between two otherwise reasonable characters happens because of an easily explained misunderstanding. I usually hate that kind of shit. Somehow, it works here. I’m getting this is because Tangle’s obvious distress over fighting her friend turns this rumble into a comical set-piece and less of an action one. It’s also over really quickly, as Tangle snatches away Whisper’s mask (which was blamed for her attacking Sonic) and Whisper succinctly explaining what really happened after that. While a shape-shifting villain is exactly the kind of shit usually done to explain these sort of fights, at least the execution here makes sense.

Still, for all its pros, “Tangle & Whisper: Issue 1” is still beholding to setting up the plot of the rest of the series. The second half of this issue is devoted entirely to Whisper explaining that this Mimic guy is a bad dude, followed by a long scene where Tangle has to convince her to let her tag along. This is pretty typical of Ian Flynn’s writing, bringing the pacing to a screeching halt to further set-up the story. Ya know, man, it’s possible to pair action and plot especially since the story thus far is truly just “lets chase the bad guy.” At least he doesn’t devote the entire comic to this business and it hardly ruins how much fun the rest of this issue is.

Having said all that, I am intrigued by Mimic, even if he has the most generic name possible for such a character. Duplicitous shapeshifters are hardly the most novel type of adversaries — After all, Flynn frequently wrote Naugus as just that — but it’s still a character type with a lot of potential. Mimic has already established himself as especially calculating and brutal, good qualities for a villain to have. And he’s clearly connected to Whisper’s past. I’m going to go ahead and assume she’s the last survivor of Mimic’s killing spree. (Also: The panel where Mimic appears as a knife-wielding Sonic with black eyes and a stitch-y doll’s mouth clearly marks him as inspired by the “Sonic.EXE” creepypasta. While that meme and everything it has wrought is total garbage, it still amuses me to see Flynn referencing fan culture and incorporating more horror elements into the book.)

With Evan Stanley contributing artwork as energetic and expressive as the book’s cast, I’m happy to say that “Tangle & Whisper” is off to a good start. While IDW’s new book has still yet to fill the void left by the Freedom Fighters, not that anything could, I’m really pleased to see the comic committing to building up its cast and developing the new additions fans have already latched onto. Here’s hoping the rest of the mini is at solid as this first issue is. [7/10]