Sonic the Hedgehog: 30th Anniversary Special

Sonic the Hedgehog: 30th Anniversary Special

Publication Date: June 23rd, 2021

I've got to say, the people in charge of the "Sonic" franchise have really made the most of Sonic's 30th birthday. In some ways, it seems the 2020 pandemic delaying the release of a new game has been a boon to this series. It's forced Sega and all its cronies to get creative, giving us totally unexpected and amusingly bizarre gifts like Sonic in "Minecraft" or Sonic becoming a VTuber. Along with that awesome symphony concert, probably my most anticipated Sonic birthday gift is IDW's 30th anniversary one-shot. Running at over 80 pages long, the special is a double-stuffed serving of Classic Sonic goodness. 

The centerpiece of the special is "Seasons of Chaos," a sixty page romp. Sonic, Tails, and Amy are out chilling in the Spring Valley Zone when they come across a Chaos Emerald. It's quickly snatched by Metal Sonic, Sonic and Tails taking chase. They are soon joined by Knuckles, who details an encounter with Metal Knuckles on Angel Island. Amy, left behind but in possession of Tails emerald tracker, teams up with Mighty and Ray to help gather the stones. The trio soon encounter Nack Fang, Bean, and Bark who are also collecting the Emeralds. While everyone assumes Eggman is behind this chaos, the scientist has actually been betrayed by... Heavy King, who seeks to collect the Chaos Emeralds for his own purposes!

Among Sega's many frustrating decisions over the last few years was the sudden hard divide between "Classic" and "Modern" Sonic. For years, it was assumed that only time separated the earlier and more recent games. This is what "Sonic Generations" seemingly set up and allowed the Archie comic to utilize any Sega character it wanted. With the release of "Sonic Forces," Sega bafflingly decided Modern and Classic Sonic actually exist in alternate universes. This makes no sense but that hasn't stopped the company from enforcing it as a hard rule. A lot of fan favorite "Sonic" characters have now been relegated strictly to the Classic domain, forbidding them from appearing in "Modern" Sonic media like this comic book or the newer games. 

We'll just have to live with this dumb-ass rule until Sega randomly changed its mind again at some point in the future. Until that time, this special has been Flynn's first chance to utilize Mighty, Ray, and the Hooligans in years. And he clearly relishes it. Mighty's characterization as someone who is unendingly kind to his friends but has absolutely no patience for anyone else's bullshit is great. Bark and Bean are written exactly the same as their Archie counterparts, with Bean being bomb-obsessed wacky comic relief and the strong and silent Bark secretly having a soft side.

Fang – I'm just going to keep calling him Nack, sorry SoJ I've been using that name for twenty-five years – is goofier than his Archie counterpart but I like the detail of him refusing to learn anyone's actual name. That's a good way to show his callousness. Ray doesn't do much here. When stripped of his Archie originating stutter, he really isn't much more than Mighty's version of Tails. But that's fine. I didn't expect Heavy King to show up, so that was cool. Flynn even managed to sneak Tails Doll into this story, giving the doll some uncanny movements without overdoing the "Tails Doll is creepy" meme. 

My biggest concern going into this special is that it would mimic the plotting of the "Mega Drive" one-shots. That it would function less like a story and more like a synopsis of a non-existent classic era game. This story features some stuff like that, as Flynn introduces four new stages patterned after the seasons with original Badniks. (Some of which are really cute. I love the little acorn guys and the snowman version of Hei Hou.) Luckily, "Seasons of Chaos" actually has a pretty amusing story. Sonic being forced to work with Eggman and other enemies is a good dynamic. The "Chase the MacGuffin" plotting keeps a good forward momentum. The addition of new-old characters throughout keeps things interesting. 

This story avoids another problem that faced "Mega Drive." The story manages to be funny without being constantly flippant. Sonic's confusion at Metal Sonic speeding off without a fight is a good joke. His sometimes snarky attitude towards Amy or Knuckles is amusing but never overdone. I also like how this story features Knuckles being gullible or self-serious without turning him into a complete idiot. Bean, who Flynn too often reduced to a obnoxiously wacky one-liner spouting machine, also gets some good moments here. While I'm not usually a fan of Eggman being an ineffectual goofball, his final moment of disappointment here is pretty great. 

"Seasons of Chaos" is obviously an action packed story. It's one long chase, with lots of brawling in between the various destinations, before concluding with a big boss bottle. Despite that, Flynn perfectly balanced character development and action. Amy's little moments of insecurity, trying to prove herself to Sonic but unable to avoid her affection for him, are really well done. It impresses me just how much little moments like Mighty shrugging off Fang's bullets or Knuckles stopping to rescue a bunny says about their personality. The best moment in the entire story comes with Sonic irritating Heavy King, a perfectly deadpan foil to the hedgehog, into attacking him. This is how you write an action driven story without sacrificing character development. 

It also looks so fucking good. It took three artists to bring this story to life. Aaron Hammerstrom drew most of it, with Thomas Rothlisberger providing frequent line art assistance and Tracy Yardley chipping in on two pages. Yet the art is incredibly consistent, maintaining that Classic Sonic look throughout. It's also extremely expressive, just the characters' faces getting laughs more than a few times. (Tyson Hesse was obviously an influence, with the goofy flat faces he specializes in being spotted a few times.) It's impressive to me how the art team manages to capture the Classic Sonic look but make it their own, keeping things exciting and funny.

Honestly, "Seasons of Chaos" would've been more than enough for me but this special includes two other stories as well. "Sonic Learns to Drive" is about exactly that. The hedgehog is in a car with driving instructor Kip the Capybara. Sonic does not prove to have a lot of respect for the rules of the road, much to Kip's frustration and irritation. We soon learn that the only reason Sonic is learning to drive at all is so he can compete in a race where the grand prize is a lifetime supply of chili dogs. 

"Sonic Learns to Drive" was written by famous podcasters and comedians the McElroy brothers. The brothers have referenced Sonic a few times during their podcasts and TV show, so you know they're real fans. Unsurprisingly, a trio of experienced comedians come up with a pretty funny idea for a story. Sticking Sonic in a boxy smart car is totally unintuitive to his being. Having someone who spends his entire life going fast get used to ideas like speed limits or brakes is comedy gold. Moreover, a stern and stuffy driving instructor like Kip makes a good straight man to Sonic's fast ways. Amusingly, Kip even gets a character arc, as he's won over by Sonic's speedy ways in the end. 

I'm not actually that familiar with the McElroy brothers' work but you can tell they have a particular cadence to their humor. Sonic trying to explain why he'd need a car or whether or not he finds running exhausting makes for some inspired silliness. I don't know if Sonic should talk in a deadpan, matter-of-fact, comedic fashion when discussing parts of speech, his inability to understand slowing down, chili dog technology, or feeling sick when touching a brake pedal.... But it all made me laugh a lot, so who cares. If nothing else, it's really easy to imagine Ben Schwartz saying these lines. 

A newcomer named Mauro Fonseca does the art and, again, it's excellent. Fonseca also manages to stay within the lines of the Classic Sonic style while bringing a huge amount of expressiveness to the material. The artwork also manages to sneak in a massive number of in-jokes towards obscure "Sonic" lore here. Here's just the ones I caught on my first read through: An air freshener based an extremely obscure "Sonic" space shooter hangs from Kip's rear-view mirror. A magazine inspired by "Sonic Eraser" appears in the backseat. The blue rabbit that was a Sonic prototype, the Game Gear Silver Sonic, the "3D Blast" Flickies, and the "Spinball" version of the Tornado all have cameos. They even sneak in the Dreams Come True tour poster, otherwise known as Sonic's first ever appearance. There's a hundred other things here that I'm sure are references to something that I just don't recognize. It's an Alan Moore/Kevin O'Neil-level game of Spot the In-Joke and I appreciate that. 

The final story is called "Dr. Eggman's Birthday" and is written by Gale Galligan. The story has Eggman waking up on his birthday, completely disinterested in celebrating. Despite his resentment to the celebration, his Badniks still attempt to throw him a party. After presenting him with a series of disappointing gifts, Eggman can't find the Hardboiled Heavies. He soon realizes that the machine have decided to ambush Sonic and friends, in an attempt at the ultimate birthday present. 

This is another short story with a really funny central premise. Eggman being grouchy on his birthday, while his mechanical henchmen attempt to appease him is highly amusing. Treating the Badniks like overeager kids, who present their grumpy "dad" with lackluster homemade craft, is a totally worthwhile gag. Eggman eventually admitting that he does appreciate having his minions around and even shows a glimpse at a softer side, makes for a good – or even oddly sweet – ending. There's also a few minor visual gags, like a variation on a typical "wash your hands" sign or a disturbing Sonic piñata, made me chuckle too. 

Thomas Rothlisberger goes solo on the artwork this time. It's lovely and Rothlisberger's goofy facial expressions for Eggman are very appreciated. Yet it's truly Nathaline Fourdraine's colors that truly shine here. The rich and moody coloring that often makes Fourdraine's covers so enchanting gets a longer run here. The panels of Eggman waking up or his bemused reaction to the Badnik's celebration are truly highlights of the entire book. (Which somewhat makes up for this story probably being my least favorite of the batch, though I still enjoyed it a lot,)

In other words, the entire 30th Anniversary Special is an absolute delight. You can tell that a great deal of care and love was taking with this comic, to ensure that every page of it dripped with affection for the Classic Sonic universe. I really hope this is successful enough to encourage IDW to produce more Classic Sonic-related media. Every page looks great. It's consistently hilarious without sacrificing personality or pacing. Perhaps I'm just bias because I'm happy to see Mighty and the Hooligans again. So be it. I mean, shit, they even got Spaz back to draw a variant cover! This thing is the most fun I've had with a "Sonic" comic in years. [9/10]