Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 45

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 45

Publication Date: October 13th, 2021

So apparently Evan Stanley is the new head writer for IDW's "Sonic the Hedgehog" comics. I had assumed her and Flynn simply swapped places for a few months, so Ian could focus on non-blue hedgehog related matters for a little while. There might have been an official announcement about this somewhere but I guess I don't pay attention to that shit. I'm still fully expecting Stanley and Flynn to trade writing duties back-and-forth on an arc-to-arc basis. But overall I welcome this development. Stanley may have her weaknesses as a writer but she's promising. And it's nice just to see another style in this book, after two decades of Flynn handling most of the "Sonic" comics himself. 

The focus Stanley has shown on the book's female characters looks like it's going to continue here. "Trial By Fire, Part 1" has Amy, Tangle, Jewel, and Belle preparing for a girls weekend out. They leave Sonic and Tails in the fox's house, which is shaped like his own head for some reason. The quartet pile into Amy's car and head for the campgrounds... Which is annoyingly crowded. Despite that, the girls are able to set up camp and get to roasting marshmallows. That's when Amy busts out her fortune telling cards, which seems to spell doom for Belle. That night, the wooden puppet wanders off into the woods and is startled by a rogue MotoBug. The little lighter in her finger sparks a wildfire, which Amy and Tangle are prepared to fight.

Many times in the past, I've mentioned how the Archie "Sonic" comic would often buffer big event storylines with more relaxed, character-focused issues. IDW has been on-and-off with this tendency, seemingly more satisfied to sneak quieter moments in between all the action set pieces. "Trial by Fire" definitely seems to be changing that. There's no big fight scenes in this issue and, for most of the issue, the stakes are pretty low. This is a comic about some of the heroes just hanging out and, honestly, I welcome that. Whether Eggman or any of the comic's regular villains will be involved in this story remains to be seen but I'm kind of doubting it.

I think Stanley wants to write a low-key, character-driven issue because it plays to her strengths. But she still has to amuse the kids reading this comic book. And if you can't do that with punching, you can do it with pratfalls. There's lots of situational comedy in this issue. Tails packs too much stuff for the girls to take and it's all high-tech machinery they have difficulty setting up. Amy's attempt to read Belle's fortune goes awry and she quickly tosses a presumably grim card into the camp fire. The park ranger has a firebug son and Tangle accidentally whacks Jewel with a tent post. It's less aggressively wacky than it sounds and it's actually pretty cute and charming. 

And speaking of that park ranger! Endlessly here of late, I've been complaining about the book's unwillingness to address the actual consequences of the Metal Virus saga. This issue actually directly tackles that, a little bit. When the girls arrive at the park, the ranger warns them that the plants being made of metal for a couple of weeks has left them dried out. Wild fires are a risk and everyone needs to be super careful with their campsites. I know this is just foreshadowing for the blaze that breaks out at the end of the issue. But it's nice to see the comic acknowledging that, yeah, a global pandemic has all sorts of unexpected effects on the world.

What makes this issue really strong is that the girls really aren't having much fun at all. Just like a real vacation! It seems everyone has problems in their personal lives that are weighing them down. Even the normally happy-go-lucky Tangle is in an unusually introspective moods. That's because her goth GF just broke up with her, sort of. We learn the Whisper has abandoned her home, for fear that the now-free Mimic will find her and endanger her friends. Clearly, Whisper is still dealing with her own issues but Tangle is visibly bummed by this. I hope this schism is resolved soon — I love to see these crazy kids together — but it does provide some good dramatic grist for this issue. Sad Tangle makes me sad too.

Belle is still down in the dumps too, though I'm pretty use to that by now. When Jewel talks about wanting to be useful around Restoration HQ, Belle thinks about how she's still being socially excluded around head quarters. She still seems hung-up on the issue of her "dad" too, as that's the first thing she asks about when Amy sees her card. The constant misery of Belle's story arc is starting to wear me out a little — and I bet being indirectly responsible for a forest fire is going to bum her out more — but I'm still willing to see where Evan is going with this. If nothing else, Belle's rampant social anxiety and self-loathing is relatable. 

Also, Amy doing a tarot card reading on her friends feels like a pay-off to something Sega has been insisting is part of her personality for literal decades. The Sonic CD instructional manual talked about Amy using divination cards to decide her and Sonic were soulmates. This factoid has been referenced a handful of times over the years — like literally two times in the Archie comics — but is rarely mentioned at all. So seeing Amy actually do a reading with what she calls “destiny cards” feels like a long overdue event. Is Amy one of those faux-mystical types that are always asking to read her friends’ auras or rambling about crystals? Also, in a nice bit of world building, Sonic’s world has its own version of the Tarot, which reference the Master Emerald and Chao Fruit and shit like that. That’s a nice touch. IDW should sell actual physical sets of these cards. 

Evan does double-duty on this issue, both writing and drawing it. As you’d expect by now, her artwork is lovely. There’s a couple of really nice little touches. Like Belle’s eyes glowing as she explores the forest at night. Or Tangle visibly blushing after burning her marshmallows. As always, Evan’s work with facial expressions are truly impressive. Tangle’s subtle half-smile when thinking melancholically about Whisper or Amy getting all sparkly when playing with the cards are fantastic touches. Also, when the gang first arrives at the camp grounds, there’s a big overhead shot that includes cameos from Big, the Bird Avatar from “Sonic Forces,” and, uh, Garfield. And probably some of her friends’ OCs, since we know Evan does that shit. It’s a good page for you guys into “Where’s Waldo?” style thrills. 

In other words, It’s a really cute, charming issue. Even if the issue ends on a big dramatic cliffhanger with the entire forest being engulfed in flames, I still found myself thinking “that was pleasant” after finishing it. Once again, this comic excels when Sonic himself takes a backseat. (He spends the entire issue playing video games with Tails and sneezing COVID germs on him, presumably.) It’s good shit. I’d read more comic books like this, IDW! [7/10]