Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW) Annual 2022

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW) Annual 2022

Publication Date: August 17, 2022

Here we are again, IDW "Sonic" fans. It's Annual season once again! The tradition of a yearly one-shot full of stories took a break in 2021, to make room for the 30th anniversary special. That was delightful but the regular annal is back this year. Past annuals had no real connecting theme between their stories. (Unless you count 2020's taking place knee-deep in the Metal Virus Crisis.) This year, however, a pretty cool thematic idea links all the stories: Unlikely partnerships! Considering IDW has built-up a fairly diverse cast of characters over its five year run thus far, this is a clever way to get some fresh interactions out of cast members who don't spend much time together. We've got six stories to dig into here, so let's get started. 

"Guardians" stars Blaze the Cat and is about her being told to go on vacation after defeating the Sol Dimension's last pirate. Yet the pyrokinetic kitty is so responsible, she doesn't know how to do that. She consults Knuckles for advice. In "Weapons," the newly rebuilt Omega decides to test his abilities out by sparring with Gemerl, while arguing about their purposes. "Hero Camp" has Vanilla dropping Cream off at summer camp, which is actually a ruse run by Orbot and Cubot to get intel on the Restoration. The young heroes quickly realize something is up. "Future Growth" concerns Silver, back in the past, uncertain about his next objective. Espio helps him out. "Another Grand Adventure for Jet the Hawk" throws the Babylon Rogue and Whisper into conflict, after one of her Wisp steals his lunch. Finally, "Rough Patch" sees Rough and Tumble temporarily dissolve their duo. The two skunks unknowingly seek the same prize, with Rouge and Tangle as their replacement partners. 

"Guardians" is the longest, and most nuanced, of this year's Annual stories. With the exception of the opening page, where Blaze burns up the final pirate, it's a story totally without action. Instead, Flynn's script focuses on dialogue-driven interactions between the characters. What makes this especially sweet is how the focus is on how much everyone cares for each other. Blaze is so goal centric, she can't even imagine taking a break. Yet everyone can clearly see she does. Her friends really care about her, which is also evident in her tearful farewell to Marine or the way Cream greets her with a big hug. It's awfully nice just seeing how much these guys like each other. 

"Guardians" also gives Flynn a chance to develop the IDW version of Blaze and Knuckles a little more. Due to Sega's insistence that these two can only leave their posts as absolute last resorts, Knuckles and Blaze haven't had as much page time here as in past comics. By letting them talk here, we get insight into how they perceive their responsibilities. Both frame their lives totally around their destinies as guardians. Yet Knuckles is practically shackled to the Master Emerald, knowing what it's like to miss out in simple pleasures. He encourages Blaze, a micro-manager who can't stop imagining the worst scenarios, to relax while she can. It's a nice little beat of character building. 

If "Guardians" features almost no action, "Weapons" is essentially one long action sequence. After a little brief set-up, the rest of the story is totally devoted to Omega and Gemerl duking it out. Writer Daniel Barnes, making his "Sonic" debut ahead of the upcoming "Scrapnik Island" mini-series, has the two machines toss each other around and deploy lots of explosives. Thomas Rothlisberger's artwork is dynamic and energetic, a real sense of movement being brought to the various ways the bots wail on one another. He really makes Omega look like this towering tank of a character, which makes the slimmer Gemerl seem like even more of a David to his Goliath. 

As much as "Weapons" is a long fight scene, it also doesn't skimp on the character development. The story zeroes in on two fundamental differences between these teen robots. Omega is a war machine, single-handedly focused on his quest to destroy Eggman's empire. He sees Gemerl learning to care for Cream and Vanilla as a weakness. Gemerl, meanwhile, thinks his bond wit the bunnies has made him stronger than ever. It's a good way to contrast two conflicting attitudes about warfare, crystallizing the debate over whether human connections make you a better or more vulnerable fighter. It also allows Omega to call people "meatbags" and be a petty little shit, which is always fun. 

"Hero Camp," from new writer India Smith, is not so concerned with character development. Instead, this short story represents the Annual in a goofier mood. There's essentially one gag here: Cubot and Orbot are hoping to exploit the kids for information, which they do a very bad job of disguising. The kids – which include the Sonic Fan Club, from previous Annuals – have expected a day of summer fun and don't appreciate being worked like this. It's a simple enough set-up and one easily utilized for goofy little gags. Cubot and Orbot's sloppy attempts to cover up their robotic nature or the reveal that all the children have been tied up in one panel got a grin out of me. It's also funny that what finally pushes the kids over the line, and sees them turn against their camp masters, is the lack of s'mores. I can relate to that. 

So this is definitely a cute, soft little story. I mean, of course it is. It stars Cream the Rabbit, the cutest and softest of this comic's extensively cute, soft cast. Cream does get a tidy little character arc here, even if it's the same arc she's been going through since the comic began. That would be a desire to prove herself as a hero. That's why she's at Hero Camp, to learn to become a real Freedom Fighter Restoration-er. Of course, by this point in the series' history, Cream has already faced down Zombots and battled Zetis. I would think the preschooler's hero certification would be confirm by now. And that's exactly the point, as Cream hasn't come to understand that in the beginning. She does by the end, which is a cute enough wrap-up ti a cute little story. 

Silver is another character whose appearances in the IDW books have been limited by Sega mandates. Evan Stanley actually cooks that idea right into "Future Growth." Silver can only appear in the past when he has a post-apocalyptic future to avert, right? Except, this time, everything is just peachy-keen in the future. Instead of satisfying the telekinetic hedgehog, this makes him more nervous. He doesn't know how to function without an impending apocalypse hanging over his head. And it's freaking him out. Silver is on the edge of a full-on existential crisis here, questioning his entire purpose in life. Who is Silver the Hedgehog if he doesn't have a far-off doomsday to undo? 

You could either play this set-up for awkward comedy or full-on dramatics, Stanley commits to an unsteady balance between the two. The contrast between dorky, anxiety-ridden Silver and the typically stoic Espio does lead to some funny panels. Yet Stanley's script mostly revolves around that most age-old of solutions to Silver's uncertainty: The power of friendship! Espio assures the time traveler that, with his friends by his side, he can face down whatever is coming up the tube next. I wish it was a pay-off that got a little more time to breathe. The build-up to Silver's emotional outpouring is good but Espio resolving it with just a few well-placed word bubbles is disappointing. This one needed a few more pages. (It's also a bit similar to "Guardians," considering this is another story about a stressed-out superhero needing to learn how to relax. Espio literally has him do a breathing exercise at one point!)

Most of the buzz I've seen about this year's Annual has concerned the fifth story, "Another Grand Adventure for Jet the Hawk." And it hasn't been of the positive variety. I'm not a big enough of a nerd to give a shit about Jet the Hawk as a character but, for those that do, this story apparently amounts to a hate crime. (And has fueled more IDW hate on at least one Discord server I'm in.) I have to say, Ian Mutchler – who is making his IDW debut here, after working on the Sonic Youtube animations – does not make a good first impression here. This is essentially a one-joke comic. The central premise here is that Jet has a self-inflated ego. Whisper snatching his microwavable calzone upsets his relaxed afternoon, causing him to bitch endlessly at Whisper. Even after she attempts to rescue him from a giant Eggman robot. The joke is that the quiet, reserved Whisper couldn't be more different than the loud-mouthed, braggadocios Jet... And that's, ya know, not really much of a joke. It's barely an observation. 

As noted above and elsewhere, I've never really cared much for Jet or the rest of the Babylon Rogues. I consider them among the more generic additions to the "Sonic" franchise in recent history. (And by "recent," I mean sixteen fucking years ago because I'm an old man now.) I do think Flynn managed to give Jet a little more personality during his few appearances in the IDW books. He's been improved enough that even I'm a little blindsided by how badly Jet is written here. He's incredibly fucking annoying! He spends the entire story sniping at Whisper in the most juvenile, self-aggrandizing way possible. It's not out of a sense of smug superiority, like Jet's bragging usually is. Instead, he just comes across as a spoiled little child, mad that his Mama didn't make him tendies or something. When Whisper screams at him to shut up, the closest thing this thin story has to a punchline, it's a sentiment I can share. I hate to admit this but I think the hardcore Rogue-heads are right to be pissed off by this story. It's definitely the stinker of this year's Annual. 

Luckily, the issue bounces back with its final story. Rough and Tumble aren't much more than dumb muscle and goofy comic relief in this series but "Rough Patch" manages to get a degree of (goofy, ironic) pathos out of their relationship here. The two briefly break-up over exactly the stupid shit you'd expect two dudes like this to argue about: The quality of their rhyming introductions. Aaron Hammerstrom, on scripting duties for the first time, provides some absurd dialogue about slant-rhyming and gratuitous usage of the phrase "bro." As goofy as it all is, there is something sweet about the way these two dudetastic skunks get over their differences. In a knowingly ridiculous, O. Henry-like twist, they discover they had both targeted the same Chaos Emerald. The two realize they need each other more than they disagree, leading to an amusingly tear-strewn reunion. Honestly, I think this is the funniest I've ever found Rough and Tumble, whose schtick usually has limited appeal for me. 

This fluffy bit of silliness is made further effervescent thanks to Tangle and Rouge's unexpected team-up. Tangle's boundless enthusiasm bounces off Rouge's cool exterior nicely. The lemur's excited shouts of "Undercover buddies!" made me audibly chuckle. That line of dialogue comes back on the final page in just the perfect way. That's a pairing the comic definitely needs to return to, as there's more comedic potential there. Hammerstrom's pencils are very smooth and professional, with Rouge looking especially bad-ass in several panels. But its Hammerstrom's talent for big, expressive, teary eyes that does a lot of heavy-lifting here. Rough and Tumble are definitely characters that lend themselves to big, over-the-top expressions of emotion like that. 

The artwork is, of course, solid over all. Adam Thomas Bryce draws "Guardians." Bryce's typically excellent work includes the detailed faces and stylized action we've come to expect from him. When combined with Joana LaFuente's soft but controlled colors, it creates a very lush looking story. Abby Bulmer, who also worked on 2020's Annual, draws "Hero Camp." Her art is a bit looser and cartoonier than the pages around her. Everyone is a little rounder and more simplistic looking than usual. Yet it certainly fits for a story this goofy and light-weight. Evan Stanley also does the art for "Future Growth" and it has to be some of the best work she's done for IDW. There's a painterly quality to a lot of the panels here, rich with details and full of depth, that truly impresses me. Natalie Haines, who has only done cover art before, draws the Jet the Hawk story. Haines' sense of movement is pretty stiff, the character's definitely looking like pre-posed dolls in several panel. There's not as much detail on her pages as the others. Her facial expressions are pretty good though, so she'll get better with more practice.

Like all annuals, this year's edition is uneven. However, I would say that this is a pretty well-rounded installment. "Guardians," "Weapons," and "Rough Patch" are all quite good. "Hero Camp" is a little too light-weight to fully succeeded, while "Future Growth" is a little underdeveloped. Only the "Jet the Hawk" story is a true-blue mess. Still, I'm going to give this one a recommendation. It looks pretty good and is easy to read. If nothing else, it's nice to see some of these unexpected pairs. It's sort of funny that Sonic and Tails, ostensibly the main characters of this franchise, have almost no role in these stories. They could easily do this again next year. [7/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Annual 2020

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Annual 2020

Publication Date: July 8th, 2020

IDW seems committed to the “Sonic” franchise and has continued to expand the line pass the main book. 2020 has seen the release of the second “Sonic” related mini-series and the continuation of the annual one-shot. As with the first annual, this contains several short stories set in Sonic’s world. Yet, with 2020’s weirdness even seeping into “Sonic” comics, this annual presents side stories from the Metal Virus outbreak. Which, oddly enough, means Sonic himself only has cameo appearances throughout this book. In fact, Eggman is the only “star” character to headline any of these stories. This is either an interesting creative choice or Sega’s bizarre mandates forcing the comic to get creative.

Our first story, “Big’s Big Adventure,” is Ian Flynn’s sole contribution to the Annual. And, yes, it’s about Big the Cat. It chronicles the rotund feline’s quest to reunite himself with his perpetually missing amphibian friend, Froggy. It turns out that the fat cat has been following his frog buddy through every major adventure of the comic’s first two years. Turns out, Big the Cat was always just off-panel, eavesdropping on every important event that has happened in Sonic’s world since the end of “Forces.” Big is finally reunited with Froggy but this story has an unhappy ending... Because Froggy is infected with the Metal Virus and Big is cluelessly being consumed by it, as he sits and pets his pal. 

“Big’s Big Adventure” seems like a joke story. After all, Big is basically a walking meme at this point, only surviving in the “Sonic” franchise because some people find him amusing for whatever reason. Turning the dopiest of characters into the comic’s Forest Gump, wandering into historical events through his own simpleton logic, is obviously a joke. In execution, this doesn’t act as much more than a summary of the book’s first two years. Big’s simple-minded interpretations of what’s happening is, I guess, meant to be humorous. Jon Gray’s typically cartoony artwork and garish colors makes this intent clear. 

But there’s not much too it... Until the end that is. That panel of Big, totally unaware that he’s becoming a Zombot as he pets his infected frog, is suitably tragic. Big is so child-like, that he can’t even wrap his head around the pandemic. His naivety has unknowingly led him to his own doom. Jeez, that’s pretty grim. Even Gray’s artwork takes a step-up in the surprisingly sinister final few panels. 

The second story has 2020’s Annual’s embracing its horror status. “Darkest Hour,” both written and drawn by Evan Stanley, follows two new characters. Nite the Owl is the late-night DJ at the radio station outside Sunset City. Don the Rooster is the grouchy station janitor and Nite’s only company. What starts as a normal night soon takes a grim turn. Listeners start calling in with reports of Zombots attacking, frightening and confusing Nite and Don. Soon, the humble radio station becomes the only source of public information in the chaos-stricken city. And it’s only a matter of time before the Zombots start to close in...

“Darkest Hour” has a pretty bitchin’ premise. Showing a zombie apocalypse story from the perspective of a humble public broadcaster, who went in expecting a normal night and instead got wrapped up in history, is an idea I’ve seen before. Watch the 2008 Canadian flick “Pontypool” for something similar. Applying this idea to the “Sonic” universe is something new, that’s for sure. Stanley manages to capture something like a sense of panic, as Nite and Don attempt to grapple with the information they are receiving. The new characters are likable enough. However, Don’s arc — going from caring only about himself to helping others — isn’t given much room to grow. This one honestly probably needed more than five pages to really work but Stanley does a decent job with it.

The third story is “Reflections,” written by Caleb Goellmer with art by Aaron Hammerstrom. It’s an almost totally dialogue-free story, depicting Metal Sonic wandering the halls of Eggman’s base. Surrounded by images of his organic counterpart, Metal comes across a vat of Metal Virus slime in an obscure corner. He dips his finger in and seems shocked that he’s not affected. Starline then shows up and tells the robot to scram, yet clearly some sort of thought is stirring in his computerized mind. 

I’ve had largely negative things to say about Goellmer’s previous contributions to IDW’s “Sonic” books. “Reflections” manages to be his first good story, though Hammerstrom’s atmospheric pencils do most of the heavy lifting. We already know Metal Sonic is self-aware but this seems to be the first time the robot is made cognizant of his artificial nature. After seeing the flesh-and-blood Sonic be infected, he attempts to infect himself but find he can’t do it. It’s yet another way he is different, maybe even inferior, to his inspiration. And that seems to really chap his shiny metal ass. 

At least that’s the way I interpret it. Considering the deliberate contrast Hammerstrom’s artwork creates between the hard, cold metal robot and the reflections of living things, I think that’s the message we’re suppose to take away. That Goellner of all people got me to think about Metal Sonic’s interior monologue is surprising and impressive. I hope this is a plot point that’ll go somewhere, not just be left as a moody one-off.

Story four is “Eggman’s Day Off,” from newcomer Sarah Graley and artist Lamar Wells. It follows Starline, being a huge nerd about working for Eggman. When he leaps towards his idol, thinking he's in trouble, he instead finds Eggman is also a huge nerd. Deep within the Faceship, Eggman has a secret man-cave. This is where he comes to unwind, devoting himself to his hobby of making small toy robots of himself, his various creations, and his enemies. That's right, Eggman collects action figures too. Among the various toys, Starline finds a toy of himself... Or, at least, a toy of himself as a machine. Eggman decides the platypus has seen more than enough and ejects him from the room, leaving his assistant with more questions than answers. 

I don't know if “Eggman's Day Off” is meant to set up future plot points, by further suggesting that there's some animosity between Eggman and Starline, or if this is just a look into Eggman's psychology. Is the toy of Mecha-Starline meant to imply that Eggman eventually plans to turn his organic partner into a robot? Or is it merely suggesting that Eggman sees everyone around him as toys to play with, machines he can boss around and command? The latter is certainly the more interesting idea and would build-up the conflict between the two doctors more. For the most part, “Eggman's Day Off” is mostly played for laughs. Yes, the comic is pulling a “Spaceballs” by showing the bad guy playing with dolls. It didn't make me chuckle much, though seeing Robotnik be so enthusiastic about toy collecting is pretty cute.  

The fifth story in this jam-packed annual is “Flock Together.” This is also written by a first-timer, Samantha King, but drawn by long-time “Sonic” artist Jamal Peppers. The story depicts how Vector retrieved Charmy Bee after he was infected with the Metal Virus. While on a Restoration rescue shuttle, Vector and Espio wonder how they can retrieve their friend. That is when the ship is bombarded by a horde of zombot flickies. Among them is Charmy. Vector and Espio climb atop the Shuttle and, after a brief scuffle with the robotic birds, manage to cram their insect friend inside a glass globe. 

These annuals always have one dud and this is 2020's. On a narrative level, “Flock Together” offers very little. Vector and Espio immediately chancing upon Charmy, after just talking about rescuing him, is contrived. The attempts to make adorable Flickies into threatening creatures falls flat. Bizarrely, the moment Vector shoves Charmy into the capsule happens entirely off-panel. Espio clouds Vector in smoke during what one assume is the most dramatic moment in the story. Speaking more generally, King's dialogue is incredibly stiff, with Espio's word balloons coming off as especially technical. While Peppers is an experienced “Sonic” artist, his work here is slightly flat and unexpressive. I think he might've been a bit rusty.

We wrap up with “The Catalyst.” Gigi Gutreix, who inked one of the earlier stories, does writing duties while Abigail Bulmer handles pencils. The story centers on Jewel. The president of Sonic's fan club, introduced in the previous annual, comes running into Spiral Hill. He informs her that the other members of the Fan Club are missing. The two roam the countryside until the Vice President is found, isolated on a pile of hay surrounded by Metal Virus goo. She's rescued but neither of the youths are aware of how dangerous this stuff is, having already come into contact with it. Afterwards, the Faceship looms overhead...

“The Catalyst” is a little better than “Flock Together” but still feels like a story I'm not sure needed to be told. I support bringing back the Sonic Fan Club kids, if only because IDW's unique cast needs to grow. However, we don't really learn much about either kid here. It's nice to spend more time with Jewel, especially her briefly mentioned memories of a childhood with Tangle. Yet the story mostly feels like an exercise in inevitability. It merely depicts how Jewel got infected, a rather downbeat tale that probably didn't need to be elaborated upon much. Bulmer's artwork is fine though she doesn't really distinguish herself among the “Sonic” artist crowd.

2020's Annual sure is an odd one, as the focus on the Metal Virus means almost all these stories have a dour feeling to them. That's not necessarily bad though. It starts off pretty strong and I'm pleasantly surprised this comic book got me to care about non-entities like Big and Metal Sonic. The quality dips a little in the second half, with more unremarkable-to-bad stories. Yet it's an oddball, interesting collection, that's for sure. I'm glad IDW is taking more risk like this. If nothing else has come out of this overlong Metal Virus Saga, at least the comic has been pretty willing to try out other moods. The daring means I have to give this a [7/10.]