Another year has come and gone. During that time, the “Sonic the Hedgehog” franchise certainly kept on rolling. It was, to this outside observer, quite a successful year for Sega's little blue hedgehog. The year opened with the final third of “Sonic Prime” episode hitting Netflix. This was shortly followed by the debut of the “Knuckles” mini-series on Paramount+ which, love it or hate it, at least started a lot of conversation. The latter third belonged to Sonic's dark-furred rival, as a remaster of “Sonic Generations” was completely overshadowed – if you will – by a new game starring the so-called Ultimate Lifeform being packaged with it. That, of course, proceeded the release of the third big budget live action revolving around the same antihero. As I write this, the news that the film's box office success has pushed the live action “Sonic” series pass 1 billion dollars grossed has just broke.
In other words, as a multimedia pop culture franchise, “Sonic the Hedgehog” is probably more popular now than he's ever been. While the comic book industry remains always on thin ice, as far as sales go, IDW isn't showing any signs of showing down with their “Sonic” books. The mainline comic crossed 75 issues this year, with another mini-series and three one-shots also gracing shelves in that time. While the series is certainly successful, it is far more debatable whether the quality has kept up in that time. In fact, if you listen to this grouchy old man, it wasn't a great year for the comic! But perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's look back at what came out and determine what was the best and worst in “Sonic” comic books in the last twelve months.
The issues covered in this retrospective are:
Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 68-75
Sonic the Hedgehog: Fang the Hunter 1-4
Sonic the Hedgehog: Spring Broken!
Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2024
Sonic the Hedgehog: Knuckles' 30th Anniversary Special
BEST COVER STORY:
Evan Stanley, “Clean Sweepstakes: Part Two” (Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 70)
Let me preface the rest of this retrospective but pointing out that I'm going to be doing extensive bashing of the “Clean Sweepstakes” story arc that occupied the last seven months of IDW “Sonic” content. That may be true but... the second part, in issue 70, was actually pretty good. This can mostly be attributed to featuring one of the most delightful moments in the comic all year: Surge's realization that she's an actual hero now and that she loves it! While the arc was quickly consumed by a tangled mess of subplots, everything progresses smoothly here. Sonic going undercover as the Phantom Rider and his rivalry with Jet would quickly become tumors but both ideas are made compelling here. Either way, Stanley's utterly adorable depiction of Surge's hero moment is what kept me going pretty much through the rest of this plot line and that starts here.
WORST COVER STORY:
Evan Stanley, “Clean Sweepstakes Part Six” (Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 74)
If the second part represents the Clean Sweepstakes arc at its best, the sixth part is its absolute worst. This issue represent the storyline collapsing into a tangled collection of subplots, the story spread over far too many locations and ensembles. More and more plot twist and major reveals where thrown at the reader, piling one atop the other until they all felt meaningless. Shoved in the middle is an odious moment where Lanolin gets mad Tangle and Whisper over some of this stupid bullshit, a scene that made me take a break from the comic for a few seconds. I did not like this one, you guys.
BEST BACK STORY:
Gigi Dutreix, “Shattered Diamonds” (Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2024)
The 2024 Annual was a breath of fresh air, if only because it was a break from all that hoverboard racing stuff. However, the stories contained within where mostly good too. The clear stand-out was Gigi Dutreix's “Shattered Diamonds,” detailing Mimic's backstory. I already liked the deceptive octopus, as a strictly ruthless villain. This short story manages to bring a lot more context to Mimic's history of betrayals, showing him as sympathetic to a degree without losing sight of what a monster the guy is. It makes the character a lot more fleshed out and also a bit scarier, as we can understand where the murderer is coming from now. We need more thoughtful character work like this in the comic book.
WORST BACK STORY:
Ian Flynn, “Hero's Calling” (Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2024)
IDW's “Sonic” series doesn't feature back-up stories the way the vintage Archie “Sonic” books did, as I'm sure you know by now. That means the back story category has to cover the selection of shorter stories from the Annuals. They're all basically back stories, despite “Hero's Calling” being the first one in the issue. Now, I don't think “Hero's Calling” was terrible. It's something of a stiff story though, devoted largely to Surge and Kit talking and their interior thoughts during this conversation. The development the story points towards is not promising either. It's clearly the weak link in an Annual that was otherwise quite good, meaning it claims this category by default.
BEST STORY ARC:
Ian Flynn, “Fang the Hunter Mini-Series” (Sonic the Hedgehog: Fang the Hunter: Issue 1-4)
On the heels of promoting the December 2023 release of “Sonic Superstars” – damn, that game got forgotten fast – IDW took four months off from th e mainline book to publish a mini-series about Nack the Weasel Fang the Hunter. Like most of the Classic Sonic stories IDW has publish thus far, it was a lot of fun. Four whole issues devoted to Fang and the gang on the verge of breaking up, fumbling upon a scheme by the Hardboiled Heavies and tussling with Knuckles, while Sonic and Tails kind of hang out on the margins. A smidge of pathos was mined out of Fang's strained relationship with his co-workers but mostly the washed-up villain's attempt to prove himself was the most compelling thing about this arc. Lots of good comedy bits too. I enjoyed myself!
WORST STORY ARC:
Evan Stanley, “Clean Sweepstakes” (Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 69-75)
The “Fang the Hunter” mini-series was also one of two complete story arcs published in IDW “Sonic” material this year. Aside from a one-off issue at year's beginning and the various one-shots, the rest of 2024 was devoted to the “Clean Sweepstakes” saga. As I admitted above, the second installment of this series was good... The rest of it was a fucking disaster. By the time things finally wrapped up in December, I had been ready to move on for at least three months. Building almost a year's worth of stories around a “Sonic Riders'” reference was not a good idea, it turns out! You could also feel some irksome executive meddling further stretching an already belabored plot out, making sure this arc wrapped up in the 75th issue. Can we please do something else in 2025, Evan?
BEST MAIN COVER:
Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 71 – Min Ho Kim
I've said lots of negative things about the story featuring him and everything surrounding the “Phantom Rider” contrivance... But Sonic dressed up like a “Kamen Rider” villain looks cool. Min Ho Kim created a lovely image built around that dynamic design with issue 71's cover. The simple visual of the Rider stepping up on his hovercraft while bracing himself against a wall is further elevated by vague images of the comic's other cast member in the edges and areas around the star character. When IDW's various covers sometimes try to shove in too many characters, this is a clever way to include more faces without sacrificing the stylish central image. Good stuff!
WORST MAIN COVER:
Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2024 – Jack Lawrence
There were a few covers this year that I felt where kind of ugly or overly busy at the very least. I found the action movie poster style seen on issue 74 to be displeasing to the eyes. The usually reliable Adam Bryce Thomas contributed a muddled and confusing image to the “Spring Broken!” one-shot. However, at least some interesting things were happening on those covers, despite being poorly arranged. Jack Lawrence's cover for the Annual might as well be for any “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic. It shows Sonic and Tails racing through a snowy mountaintop area. Does that relate in any way to the contents of this book? Nope! It's not a badly drawn cover. It's fine. It's also about as generic as a “Sonic” cover could get, showing a serious lack of effort and thought on someone's behalf.
BEST VARIANT COVER:
Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 71 – Cover RI – Natahlie Fourdraine
I didn't plan to give both of the Best Cover Art awards to issue 71 but, well, here we are. I thought long and hard about it, looked at all the other images for a while, and still couldn't move pass how much this particular image charmed me. Natahlie Fourdraine depicts Surge kneeling at her hover-bike and spraying painting it, while Kit reclines on top. Both are staring back at the reader, as if they've been intruded upon by the viewer. This cover tells a story in its own right, making you feel like you've stumbled into Surge's personal business and she's about to kick your ass if you don't skedaddle out of there. It also conveys the juvenile delinquent type of energy that radiates around these two. I love it.
WORST VARIANT COVER:
Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 69 – Paper Hero's Comic Retail Exclusive – Jay Kerrick
May of last year must have been the start of convention season. That's month issue of IDW “Sonic” had two additional covers exclusive to two specific comic shops. The first of which was a cover for Big Time Collectables, which appears to be a digital store that gets a lot of exclusive comics. It featured Shadow the Hedgehog and didn't have anything to do with the story inside but wasn't bad by any means. The second exclusive cover was only available at Paper Hero's Comics, a shop in Bouquet Canyon, California. That image was drawn by someone named Jay Kerrick. It features Sonic and a whole bunch of his friends depicted as enormous eyed kewpie dolls, wandering around a weird looking rendition of the master Emerald Shrine. If I saw this on DeviantArt or whatever, I would dismiss it as the work of a developing artist, trying to define their personal style and still learning how to draw environments, how to color in a way that isn't flat and bland. As a cover for a professional comic book... It simply feels like something that shouldn't have been approved. I'll leave my criticism at that, as I don't want to hurt the feelings of the fifteen year old who clearly drew this.
BEST STORY ART:
Adam Bryce Thomas, “For My Destiny” [Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2024]
When Adam Bryce Thomas is given some time to truly perfect his artwork, the results are often stunning. The Knuckles centric story from this year's Annual was stunningly pretty. Including a single page spread in the middle that could have passed for a Patrick Spaziante cover back in the day, it's a detailed, emotional, lovingly drawn and painted story that simply looked better than anything else IDW published this year.
WORST STORY ART:
Thomas Rothlisberger, “Hero's Calling” [Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2024]
Thomas Rothlisberger contributed a lot of nice art to IDW's “Sonic” titles last year. In fact, his work on the “Fang” mini-series was fantastic, cartoony, fun, and emotive in a way that stuck in my memory. I nearly gave it the above award. Rothlisberger also drew “Hero's Calling” in the Annual and it is assuredly not his best work. I honestly suspect that this might have been a last minute rush job for Rothlisberger. The posing in the story is bland, the colors are flat, the characters are ever so slightly off-model. It's not hideously ugly or anything. However, it's loose and slapdash enough to win this dishonor.
BEST NEW CHARACTER:
Trip the Sungazer
Trip the Sungazer was “Sonic Superstar's” big contribution to the wider world of “Sonic” lore. “Superstars” might have been a bit of a disappointment that didn't make the impact “Sonic Mania” did. However, it'll never be totally forgotten because it's where Trip debuted. Somewhere, in the fandom, she is someone's favorite character now and will remain treasured by them forever. Because IDW had its handfuls with other stuff for most of 2024, it didn't have time to properly adapt “Superstars'” story or anything like that. Considering the weird back-and-forth the comic has with the game continuity, elements from “Superstars” simply popped up in the book, introduced with little warning. That's how Trip made her debut in the “Knuckles' 30th Anniversary” one-shot...
Luckily, Trip made a good first impression. “Sonic,” as a series, doesn't want for well-meaning but slightly clumsy young women who are still trying to prove themselves. However, this story made the smart decision to play youthful, mistake-prone Trip off the serious, sturdy Knuckles. The result was a delightful story that, most importantly, gave Trip a lovable introduction. She seems nice! I like her. I hope we see more of this little lizard in future installments.
WORST NEW CHARACTER:
“The Phantom Rider”
Obviously, the Phantom Rider is not a “new” character, strictly speaking. It is merely an alternate identity that Sonic assumes as part of a convoluted plot to get to the bottom of Clutch's criminal dealings. On the surface, the idea of Sonic going undercover as a supervillain that looks like a Japanese superhero isn't a terrible idea. This could have been fun and was, once or twice. Unfortunately, the Phantom Rider soon became representative of the entire arc's problems. The Phantom Rider would do almost the same thing in each appearance, appearing to throw the race into chaos, prompting lots of rushing around from the various factions as part of an on-going scheme that grew blurrier with each new installment. By the end of 2024, I was quite happy to see Sonic discard this alter-ego, the pursuit of the Rider by various people becoming an increasingly stupid plot point in an already overstuffed story.
BEST IDEA:
Surge Sees the Light
Surge the Tenrec rocks. We love her. She's great. The electric bad girl has been compelling for a while, her broken bird personality growing more vulnerable and sympathetic the more we found out about her. Surge's character arc seemingly came to a turning point in 2024, as her going undercover with the Restoration made her realize she actually likes doing good. Several specific moments – her sheer joy at being received as a hero, her reaction to a little kid praising her as a hero – touched this cold, grey heart of mine. These scenes where the best the comic had to offer in 2024. If we can spin this off into a larger theme, the Mimic centric story that expanded greatly on his personality showed that adding complexity to the adversaries was the best idea this comic's staff had in 2024.
WORST IDEA:
The Desire to Utilize Every Single Character in the Cast All the Time
I had a lot of problems with the Clean Sweepstakes arc. Please refer to my individual reviews to see my bitching in more detail. However, the longer the plot went on, the more apparent its main issue became. Those critical of the “Sonic” franchise often point out that Sonic has too many friends, too many supporting cast members that strike the casual fan as unneeded. I have never agreed with that assessment... Until Evan Stanley started writing her epic story lines for IDW, each one shoving in as many fucking characters as possible. After a while, it almost felt like the comic was under some pressure to include nearly every member of its cast in this arc. Did the Chaotix need to be involved in these events? Did Don the Rooster and Nite the Owl? Why were Amy, Belle, and Tails off on their own side story for almost the entire arc? Why was so much page space devoted to Lanolin in-fighting with the other Diamond Cutters? What happened to brevity being the soul of wit?
