Sonic the Hedgehog: Tails' 30th Anniversary Special

Sonic the Hedgehog: Tails' 30th Anniversary Special 

Publication Date: November 16th, 2022

Just as Sonic had his 30th anniversary last year, 2022 brings with it a significant anniversary of its own. "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" came out in 1992, which was three whole decades ago now. While the second proper game in the series introduced a number of new elements – and is still regarded as one of the best "Sonic" game – the sequel made one contribution to Sega lore that outshines all others. It introduced Miles "Tails" Prower, Sonic's best bro, to the world. While the rest of the Sonic-sphere has largely devoted 2022 to the new movie and game, IDW decided that Tails needed a comic book to honor his own pearl anniversary. 

Now is as good a time as ever to reiterate a fact that probably should get me thrown out of the "Sonic" fandom. Tails is a beloved character among Sonic fans, considered one of the essential cast members even by people who dismiss all of Sonic's other friends. He is many fans' favorite character and is widely beloved far and wide. Yet here's the truth: I am, relatively speaking, indifferent to Tails. There have even been times, over the years, where I flat out didn't like Tails. I don't hate the two-tailed fox or anything. I've long accepted that he's a commonplace part of the franchise. When badly written he is, at worst, simply annoying and never offensive. But I've never been all that attached to the guy.

My general indifference to Tails probably boils down to when I became a fan of the series. I'm old, older than Sonic. When the franchise was in its infancy, Tails was simply Sonic's little buddy. He was there to learn moral lessons or be rescued when the plot necessitated it. He didn't really do anything cool on his own and sometimes even got in the way. Over the years, Tails would gain a more distinct personality that saw him become a genius inventor. Yet even this always struck me as a desperate attempt to give the fox some sort of personality outside of his hero worship for Sonic. Many times, I feel like modern "Sonic" media overcompensates for Tails' kid sidekick status by making him too hyper-competent. (This is most apparent in the older Archie comics, where Tails gained a grand destiny as a "chosen one" that didn't go anywhere for years.)

I guess what I'm saying is Tails had more growing pains over the years then Sonic – whose personal has remained relatively intact the whole time – has. Nevertheless, Sega saw his popularity and tried to capitalize on it... Sort of. The fox got two handheld games to his own, one of which wasn't even released in America for years. Since there's no "Sonic" game fans of this franchise won't dig into, "Tails' Sky Patrol" and "Tails' Adventure" are now relatively well known in the U.S. They are familiar enough that this special marks the second time a U.S. "Sonic" comic has unearthed villains from this overlooked Game Gear title for story material. 

In fact, "Flying Off the Rails" – the story that comprises pretty much all of this special – is a homage to two forgotten "Sonic" game. Tails' tale is set on Flicky Island, the setting for "Sonic 3D Blast." Sonic and Tails arrive on the island for a vacation and to catch up with the native flicky population. Instead, they find the tropical paradise strangely empty, with railways running everywhere. Tails quickly deduces that Witchcart and her minions are responsible. He's right, as the witch is capturing the birds in crystals to learn their secrets. After being overwhelmed in a four-on-one fight, Sonic is captured too. It's up to Tails to traverse the island's treacherous zones, rescues the Flickies, and defeat Witchcart and her goons. 

Another reason why, maybe, I've never loved Tails the way many do is because the characters has been stuck constantly repeating the same story arc for years. The fox is super talented but lacking in confidence, which is exacerbated by always being in Sonic's shadow. He has to learn to overcome his own insecurities and stand on his own as a hero, which he usually does without even realizing it. "Sonic Adventure" did this, the comics did this, "Sonic X" did this, even the movie did it a bit. People have been going back to this well with Tails for far too long now. 

"Flying Off the Rails" essentially does this again. The earlier pages has Sonic constantly leaving Tails in the dust, emphasizing that he's the kid sidekick and that maybe Sonic doesn't take him very seriously. By the end of this story, the little fox has undone Witchcart's entire scheme by himself and rescued Sonic. Sonic has so much faith in the boy that he lets him fly off and deliver the final blow himself, which really surprises Tails. That "Flying Off the Rails" does this exact same storyline again is a little baffling, since it's confirmed that these events take place after "Tails' Skypatrol." You'd think the little guy would be confident already after that!

Despite following the exact same Tails plot that seemingly every Tails story must follow, I still enjoyed "Flying Off the Rails." It actually does something kind of clever, that suits a special designed to celebrate Tails' thirty years with the series. Over the course of this comic, we see Miles evolve from Sonic's childish sidekick into an inventive tinkerer who improvises amazing, plot resolving technology out of what's lying around. He starts out feeling insecure around Sonic and ends this issue with a handful of accessories that handily defeat Witchcart. In other words: This issue tracks the way the two-tailed fox's personality and role in the series has shifted over the years. That's clever! 

Structurally speaking, this issue also has a deceptively simple script. Plot-wise, "Flying Off the Rails" feels a lot like a video game. Tails travels to the different regions of Flicky Island, all of which are very distinct from each other. In every area, he battles another one of Witchcart's henchmen. After he defeats each one, he gains a new piece of equipment that helps him defeat the final boss. He also frees Flickies from prison crystals at the conclusion of each section, furthering the feeling that this comic is adapted from a classic "Sonic" game. 

While this story structure is tedious on its surface, Ian Flynn includes enough variety here to keep things interesting. It helps that each "Sonic 3D Blast" stage– which, let's face it, most fans have probably forgotten the details of – all come with their own gimmicks. Smartly, Tails uses the environment to help defeat the Witchcarters in each area. The prevalent springs of Spring Stadium, the pitfalls of Rusty Ruins, and the industrial tubes of Gene Gadget all play their role in the bad guys' downfalls. To further make each encounter more novel, Tails has to devise different strategies to defeat each enemy, all of whom have their own style of attack. This highlights another difference between the fox and his idol. He can't brute-force it like Sonic would. He's got to outthink the opponent. 

And what of those opponents? While "Sonic" devotees are passionate enough that it's not unfair to call the otherwise forgotten bosses from "Tails' Skypatrol" "fan favorites" as they are, Witchcart and her eponymous goons were given a boost by their appearances in the post-reboot Archie comics. Those versions were redesigned – and at least one of them renamed – to fit the modern style of the series. Which means those takes on the gang are thoroughly off-limits now. Instead, IDW's iterations of the Witchcarters are taken directly from the Game Gear. Each one of these guys looks right out of a thirties cartoon, just the way Naoto Ohshima would've liked it. 

So let's meet the new-old versions of Witchcart, Bearranger, Carrotia, and Fuck-Wulf​ Hocke-Wulf. Since the Archie versions weren't established much, we might as well be meeting them for the first time. Flynn gives each goofy goon a distinct personality trait. Bearranger is excessively angry, peppering his speech with old-timey minced oaths, and prone to violent outbursts. Carrotia seems bored and impatient with everything, as signaled by her perpetually droopy eyelids. She's so apathetic that she is relieved when Tails defeats her, that she can now get back to doing nothing. I love her. In my head, she sounds Aubrey Plaza. Hocke-Wulf is the least well defined, functioning mostly as a sneaky villain type who enjoys bullying anyone smaller than him. But at least he's not another wacky, zany lunatic like his Archie counterpart was. (A distinctive, Muttley style chortle being the sole remaining element from that Bean-ified version of the guy.)

Witchcart’s lackies ultimately prove more memorable than the villainess herself. Befitting her fairy tale witch appearance, Flynn gives her the gimmick of speaking in rhyme. This is mildly annoying, an attitude Sonic and Tails share. Tails even calls her on her half-assed rhymes in one panel. Besides that, Witchcart is just a functional baddie going about her business. She doesn't even make her evil plan all that clear. She wants to unlock the secrets of the Flickies and expresses a desire "to rule," which is pretty vague. She also shares Eggman's love of building amusement parks based on her own image, if the fort she builds with her face is any indication. IDW's classic inspired Witchcart is a step down from Archie's Wendy Naugus, even if the other characters definitely got upgrades here. 

Despite the qualms I have with this issue, it's actually a lot of fun. A big part of that is the gorgeous artwork. Aaron Hammerstrom provides the pencils here and they commit fully to the Classic Sonic look. "Flying Off the Rails" often looks exactly like Genesis era "Sonic" box art come to life. This includes the colorful, very nineties pastels Hammerstrom often fills the backgrounds with. The characters perfectly fit the classic style but Hammerstrom doesn't use that as an excuse to make things less expressive. In fact, the little faces he has everyone make are often hilarious. Even the Flickies get adorably detailed facial expressions. The action scenes are great too, Hammerstrom somehow managing to make Tails look bad-ass in the final pages, when he has all his gear, despite the cutesy artwork. Great work. 

My only real issue with the "Tails 30th Anniversary Special" is that it foregoes a back-up story, in favor of a text article running us through the process of making the comic. I definitely would've preferred a second story, though considering how much "Sonic" content IDW is putting out right now, it's not a big loss. I'm all for behind-the-scenes insight but this article is clearly designed for young kids. It explains simple phrases like "thumbnails" or what a script is. The writing style is also heavy on the exclamation points, making the author seem a little overly enthusiastic. It is neat seeing the various stages of the artwork though. But the only really interesting nugget here is that Flynn needed special permission from Sega to bring the Witchcarters back. Special attention is drawn to Hammerstrom having to beef up the villains' designs, this also makes it sound like their appearance here might be a one-time only deal. 

Or maybe not, considering the Classic/Modern divide Sega has insisted on for years now might finally no longer be an issue. There's even a joke here about Sonic looking at Witchcract's rails and thinking he'll learn to balance on them someday. If the recent past being an alternate universe conceit is truly done for, hopefully IDW can sneak the antagonists here or Mighty into the main book. As for "Tails 30th Anniversary Special," it's beautiful to look at and better written than it had to be, even if it didn't turn me into a Tails obsessive overnight. [7/10]