Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 38

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 38

Publication Date: March 24th, 2021

I commented on this in my last IDW "Sonic" where I'm not just enjoying reading it, I'm actively curious about where it'll head next. Issue 37 ended on a really interesting point, having set up some wild ideas. I'm happy to say that issue 38 happily plays off that set-up. This story arc is going in some truly unexpected directions and it feels like it's been a while since I've said that about a "Sonic" book. 

"Test Run Part 2" picks up where we left off last time. Sonic, Tails, and Amy are still trapped inside the ever-expanding pocket dimension Eggman has built for themselves. After breaking the boundaries of this artificial environment, the trio believes they've found a way out... But instead enter into another obviously created environment. When Cubot and Orbot inform Eggman of this, he's actually pleased. He decides to really use the situation to his full advantage. Meanwhile, Tangle and Belle sneak into the control room of the base and the little puppet makes an unnerving discovery. 

Once again, this comic book continues to play out as something I didn't expect: A "Sonic" horror story. After Sonic, Tails, and Amy cross a portal into the second layer of the pocket dimension, they are faced with a seemingly mundane town. Yet the streets are empty. Everything about the place is disquietingly artificial. When the trio enter a seemingly ideal suburban home, they find it populated with lifeless dolls. Lots of films and TV shows have subverted the "constructed community" aspect of suburban life for uncanny creepiness. But I really didn't expect a "Sonic" comic to go down that path. 

And rather effectively too. When Sonic and friends enter the home, there's a panel of them slowly creaking a door open. The blankly staring test dummies are always bathed in shadows, to emphasize their uncanny quality. You can't tell me this stuff wasn't meant to be spooky. Stanley adds to this already unreal situation by later piling on the delightful surrealism. The heroes encounter a badnik, a giant Caterkiller with a mouthful of mandibles... In a bathtub. Just going for a swim, I guess. It's weird and funny and suitably dream-like. This continues when Eggman starts communicating with Sonic via the toaster and other mundane kitchen tools. Or weirder badniks, mashed together from different machines, appear. Stanley decided to embrace the oddness of this situation and it's really working for me. 

These issues, so far, are kind of a reversal of what I experienced with Stanley's last story arc. "Chao Chases and Badnik Bases" didn't have much in the way of new ideas but was redeemed by some truly lovable character writing. "Test Run" is inserting far-out and fun ideas into the comic while the characters - at least among the Sega cast - have been fairly simplistic. Sonic is the sarcastic, speedy hero. Tails is the smart one, who unfurls an especially loquacious ream of technobabble early on. Amy is Sonic's girly sidekick, who takes time to comment on how tacky Eggman's interior design is. They are reduced to archetypes, which works fine for this story. Though they definitely feel less complex than when Flynn writes them. 

This is only true of the game-based characters, which can't help but make me wonder if Sega had something to do with this choice. Belle and Tangle's interaction continues to be a lot richer. Belle discovers the truth that we, the reader, have known from the minute we met her. She's a badnik. Seeing the Eggman symbol on the base wall unnerves her. After accidentally falling into the path of some Egg Pawns, they simply nod and keep going. The comic is still reluctant to actually have Belle name Eggman as her creator. (Which may or may not be foreshadowing some sort of twist, though that's seeming increasingly unlikely.) 

Belle is so distraught about learning this information that she even tells Tangle she'll allow herself to be smashed, if that's what badniks deserve. Tangle, being a true bro, doesn't even worry about it. And this is why I love Tangle so much. She is accepting and loving, always seeing someone's best side. It's why she was such a cute pairing with Whisper, someone with a lot of baggage and guilt. Tangle doesn't give a shit about any of that stuff. If you're a good friend to her, she'll be a good friend to you. I'm intrigued to see if this growing bond with Belle will be tested in future issues. 

Stanley does the art for the Belle/Tangle scenes herself. Stanley's strength for expressions and detail is put to good use her. Part of why Belle's emotional moments work so well is because you really grasp her feelings from how Stanley draws her. Colorist Bracardi Curry makes his line art debut with the Sonic/Tails/Amy scenes. Curry, thus far, hasn't really distinguished himself. His work is very similar to a couple other "Sonic" artists and I assumed it was one of them at first. It's still good. The lines are clean, the faces are good, the action is coherent. But Curry doesn't seem to have developed a distinct style just yet. 

Once again, I'm left wanting more. Stanley has cooked up a genuinely novel situation for Sonic and friends to fight their way out of, and I want to see where that'll go. Meanwhile, the conflict that I've suspected will be built around Belle seems to be formulating. Good stuff! Honestly, a mix of unpredictable surrealism and involving character work is a balance this comic should utilize more often. [8/10]