Sonic the Hedgehog: Amy's 30th Anniversary Special

Sonic the Hedgehog: Amy's 30th Anniversary Special

Publication Date: September 27th, 2023

The “Sonic the Hedgehog” titles must be a big hit for IDW, as they are continuing to make a habit out of releasing one-shots on a regular basis. They just announced another one last week! Among their most persistent series of one-shots have been the anniversary editions. Sonic's 30th anniversary in 2021 was a big deal for the whole franchise, IDW honoring it with one of their best comics in the entire series. They continued the trend last year, giving Tails an anniversary special too. Showing that this is clearly going to be a tradition until they are out of 30th anniversaries, 2023 has brought with it a 30th anniversary special for Amy Rose too. (The fact that Sega has a new retro-platformer coming out soon was, no doubt, another reason to greenlight this special.) I bet Flynn is already drafting the script for Knuckles' birthday one-shot for next year. 

Of course, when you compare Amy to Tails or Knuckles, you notice she's a very different character. Amy Rose is probably the most popular female character in the “Sonic” franchise now, essentially being the female face of the entire series. Yet she didn't even debut in one of the numbered sequels. Amy Rose first appeared in “Sonic CD,” a game a lot of fans probably didn't play when it was new because not many people had a Sega CD. Tails was appearing in the American “Sonic” comics and cartoons and Knuckles would soon acquire a massive following in the comics. Amy, meanwhile, wouldn't appear in an animated series until “Sonic X” and was only a minor supporting character in the Archie books for years. 

Despite being the closest thing Sonic had to a love interest in the video games at the time, Amy Rose didn't really become a detailed character until the Dreamcast era. “Modern” Amy was still a fashionable, very pink girl hedgehog but she also wielded a big-ass hammer, while having personality traits outside of endlessly pursuing Sonic and being a damsel-in-distress. The Piko Piko Hammer has become such an ingrained part of Amy's personality that Classic Amy – the subject of this one-shot – has retroactively been given it as well. While Modern Amy has flourished and become a beloved member of the series, Classic Amy has just sort of hung around.  The reinvention of the character has overshadowed the rather vague original version. 

How did Ian Flynn go about resolving this issue? Let's see. “Amy's 30th Anniversary Special” begins with the pink hedgehog throwing a little party for her animal friends, also giving them a reading from her divination cards. The cards warn of danger and, soon enough, Metal Sonic barges into the area. Joined by a little blue Flicky, and guided by her magic cards, Amy sets out to get the bottom of things. She discovered a series of Egg Capsules, freeing Nack Fang, Ray, and Bark along the way. They soon follow a shipment of fruit to an island fortress, where Eggman has captured all of Amy's friends in similar Egg Capsule. Metal Sonic is right on their trail though, leading to a big showdown. 

You know what my first thought was upon finishing reading this comic book? “Ian Flynn should write a “Strawberry Shortcake” or “Rainbow Brite” comic or something like that.” This issue really captures the feel of “girly” Saturday morning cartoon shows from the eighties and I mean that in the best way. This one-shot is unapologetically girly. Pink is the primary color on many of the pages. Amy is constantly surrounded by cute, little animals – who look like stuffed toys, really – and pretty flowers. After quickly assessing that Bark, usually an antagonist, isn't such a bad guy, she gives him a big hug. The issue ends with the heroes having a tea party! The visual design for this comic shoots is designed to appeal to the audience of “cutest little girl you can imagine in the early 90s.”

Again, I don't mean any of this as a criticism. I'm not the target audience for “She-Ra” or “Jem” or “Care Bears” or whatever. Yet it's impressive that this comic marries to this specific aesthetic so unerringly without letting it effect the story any. Despite Amy, and Classic Amy especially, being defined largely by her devotion to Sonic, that's only a little part of this comic. Instead, there are some decent stakes here. Amy's friends have been captured and, gosh darn it, she's going to free them. She's a young girl, with young girl problems, but that doesn't hinder her from overcoming the specific challenges this narrative presents. Flynn's script argues that Amy's girliness is not a defect but an asset. 

Honestly, I think the character arc Amy gets here is really cute. All throughout the story, she expects to find Sonic or Tails or someone really famous like that in the Egg Capsules. Instead, she gets Nack, Ray, and Bark. All throughout, she attributes the extraordinary characteristics her magic cards points towards to other people. In the end, it's pointed out that Amy is the one who accomplished all these things. Honestly, I think this is a good message to send to young people. Young girls, especially, undervalue their own abilities because our society is so fucking sexist. Amy learning her own strength, that even she denies, is a sweet little arc that fits the character and also makes for a compelling narrative. 

Aside from her infatuation with Sonic, Classic Amy has one other characteristic. At least, she does in theory anyway. The manual to “Sonic CD” mentioned that Amy was into Tarot and this is a factoid that was widely ignored for years. These days, all out of a desire to make the modern/classic divide more distinct, Classic Amy's Tarot fixation is focused on more. This issue, in particular, hammers the fortune telling thing really hard. It proves a decent way to keep the story moving and also allows Aaron Hammerstrom to design some really cute cards. It's still weird to me that Sega pretends Amy has always been into divination though.

Though Ian Flynn has told fans not to worry about the Classic/Modern divide anymore, it seems this mandate is still in place for the comics. Mighty, Ray, and the Hooligans have yet to appear in the modern-set stories. Another way you can tell these characters are still off-limits for the rest of the comics is that, any time IDW publishes a “Classic” title, they tend to show up. Yes, this issue gives a plum supporting role to Ray the Squirrel. Mighty, Bean, and the Weasel Formerly Known as Nack all put in some appearances. Ray gets some cute little moments to himself, playing up his youthful nativity. (It's still weird to me that Comic Ray doesn't have a stutter anymore.) 

Yet Bark the Bear proves to be the secret MVP here. Because, really, who is Bark the Bear? In the Archie comics – where the extremely obscure character of Bark has been more defined, versus his sole appearance in a largely forgotten video game from 27 years ago – he's also been this silent bruiser.  While Flynn has always written Bark as an antagonist, he's mostly just been muscle for hire. Not really a dedicated villain in his own right. It's been suggested before that Bark actually isn't a bad guy and this comic runs with that. Maybe it's just because Flynn has a limited number of characters to work with in this setting, so Bark got selected. Yet to see the big quiet bear prove he's more teddy than grizzly is a nice touch. 

You know what another element of cutesy eighties cartoon is? Bad-ass villains that are always humbled by the soft, adorable heroes. Even “boy” cartoons have this element, where extremely cool looking bad guys like Skeletor, Shredder, and Cobra Commander were repeatedly humiliated. This contrast was even more obvious in shows targeted at younger kids and girls. Seriously, look at this guy. Could be a mascot for a metal band, right? And he got his ass kicked every week by Teddy Ruxpin. Meanwhile, this demonic looking motherfucker regularly lost fights to the Little Ponies. 

What is the point I'm making her? It's practically a tradition that, the softer the cartoon looks, the more disproportionately bad-ass the antagonist looks... Who is then, despite that intimidating exterior, totally defeated over and over again. This also accurately describes Metal Sonic in this issue. He blasts in, tears shit up, frightens Amy into hiding, but never actually does anything productive. In the end, he's left defeated in a comical fashion. As an old man who has been watching cartoons my whole life, it warms my heart to see this nostalgic troupe upheld in a comic clearly paying tribute to that era. 

That the Classic Sonic aesthetic is so readily apparent always makes these anniversary specials a treat for the eyes. Aaron Hammerstrom provides the pencils here, as he did for the Tails Anniversary special. He does excellent work too. The characters are expressive and adorable, fitting within the Classic house style while also coming alive within these panels. This is especially important for characters who don't speak, like Bark and Metal Sonic. They seem as lively and well-characterized as the rest of the gang. Reggie Graham's colors are bright and soft, furthering the feeling of a vintage cartoon. 

I don't think the “Amy 30th Anniversary” special is as good as the “Tails” or “Sonic” anniversary one-shots. Those stories were more action-packed, with more adventurous pacing. Yet I think this comic book is pretty good too. As it's probably clear by now, Classic Amy is not a “Sonic” cast member I'm especially attached to. Yet this issue managed to make her endearing to me. While I don't think this will replaced the later versions of Amy as my preferred take on the pink hedgehog, the one-shot does argue for Classic Amy's place in the franchise's history. [7/10]