Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 87

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 87
Publication Date: August 2000

For issue 87, Danny Fingeroth and Sam Maxwell return to finish the story arc they started last time. Sonic quickly recovers from the sucker punch Metal Sonic delivered. As he races towards Mt. Mobius, to rescue the bound Tails, his robotic counterpart continues to attack him. Despite the villain throwing his best at him, Sonic continues to fight. He successfully rescues Tails but this fight isn’t over just yet. The hero has to face down the villain over the boiling caldera of an active volcano, ready to erupt.

“Heart of the Hedgehog” shows what really defines Sonic as a hero. Even with all the heroics the hedgehog gets up to, the book rarely tried to explore what really makes him tick. Fingeroth writes Sonic as willing to risk everything for his friend’s sake. He doesn’t just pay lip service to this idea.

Instead, the writer emphasizes the hero’s skills by contrasting him with the villain’s personality. The two have their snarky wit and super speed in common. Metal Sonic, however, is sadistic and selfish. He outright admits that watching Sonic suffer pleases him. Metal Sonic considers friendship and personal connections to be a weakness, something to exploit. Sonic, by the end, proves to him that this isn’t true. A “Power of Friendship” Aesop sounds corny but Fingeroth pulls it off, strengthening Sonic and Metal Sonic’s personality at the same time.

Issue 87 also functions nicely as an action story. Metal Sonic deploys more traps. Sonic gets trapped in a metal net. The two hedgehogs race each other, zooming around the forest. Sonic laps around the buzz saw blades his robotic nemesis fires. There are laser beams aplenty. The action is fast paced but that’s not the only reason I like it. This iteration of Metal Sonic actually is faster and stronger then the real deal. Compared to how easily Sonic stomped Silver Sonic two issues ago, it’s nice to see the hero actually be challenged by a physically superior enemy. This means the hedgehog can’t just rely on his speed. He has to use his fast wit too.

I guess if “Heart of the Hedgehog” has a major weakness, it’s how Fingeroth sidelines Tails. The flying fox spends nearly all of issue 87 pinned to a mountain side, a sidekick in distress. Yet the writer largely overcomes this problem by refocusing on the two’s friendship at the end. Sonic risks his life to rescue Tails. As the duo is encircled by the lava, and pinned down by Metal Sonic, Tails stays by his friend’s side. He’s willing to fight beside him until the end, showing that the team’s devotion is mutual. Considering “Heart of the Hedgehog” started with Tails doubting his own abilities, it’s great that Fingeroth returned to the fox’s heroic development at the end.

This version of Metal Sonic is a pretty great villain, a nearly unstoppable smart-ass with a psychotic drive to destroy Sonic. After building up the robot as a great baddie, Fingeroth pulls an unexpected twist: He redeems him. Metal Sonic is so moved by Tails’ willingness to die for his friend, that his robotic heart grows three sizes that day. He questions why he wants to kill Sonic so much, realizing he’s a slave to his programming. He learns the value of organic life. So much that, instead of letting Sonic and Tails die, he sacrifices himself to make sure they get to safety. It’s a potentially cheesy twist – sadistic bad guy turned good by the power of friendship – but Fingeroth pulls it off, ending “Heart of the Hedgehog” on both a cool action beat and a nice emotional moment.

Artwork wise, Sam Maxwell contributes some of his most disciplined work yet. He leaves a lot of his abstract style behind, the characters having clear designs that stay within. Instead, he adds more details to the characters and backgrounds. The shots of Sonic leaping around the flowing lava are especially memorable. The action scenes have an awesome speed and energy to them. His facial expressions are pretty great too, especially Metal Sonic’s visible aggravation as he pushes back the walls of lava.

The back-up story, meanwhile, continues to function under the mistaken belief that people give a shit about Monkey Khan. After being locked up by Robotnik, the mechanical tyrant attempts to regain control of Khan. He easily escapes, wrecks Eggman’s forces, and destroys his factory. That’s because Frank Strom refuses to actually challenge his pet character. Khan escapes because of a shitty deus ex machina, his power ring headband protecting him. He mocks and destroys Robotnik’s Shadow-Bots with ease, before tricking them into blowing up the base. In other words, a stupid side character easily defeats the main villain, mostly because of how innately awesome he is. That’s not how you build dramatic tension, Frank.

In addition to the ridiculously thin and shitty script, there’s a pretty huge continuity error at the center of “Against the Haunted Past.” Robotnik keeps going on about how he made Monkey Khan, how angry he is that he escaped… Except this Robotnik - Robo-Robotnik or Eggman or whatever you prefer to call him - didn’t make or imprison Monkey Khan. That’s just another example of Strom’s shoddy writing.

His script is full of corny clichés and ridiculous dialogue. The following lines of dialogue are deployed: “Good Gravy!” “I eat guys like this for breakfast!” “That’s my cue to vamoose!” In-between the unstoppable hero humiliating the main villain and Strom’s utterly inane dialogue, his Monkey Khan stories continue to play like amateur fan fiction.

“Heart of the Hedgehog” is only a brief two-parter near the beginning of a long, not-great period in the comic’s history. Yet fans remember this one well. Metal Sonic v2.5 would prove to be such a fan hit, that the character would return as a hero. Granted, it would be 151 issues and a major writer change before that happened but still. Even when paired with some typically shitty Monkey Khan stories, “Heart of the Hedgehog” is a damn good story arc, combining character, action, and heart to great effect. [8/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 86

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 86
Publication Date: July 2000

At first, it seems like an editorial oversight. Two months in a row, Sonic would fight a robotic double of himself. You’d think Archie must have planned things out badly but it seems like this was a very deliberate move. The cover for issue 86 even comments on the similarities between the two stories. Maybe it was the new guy’s fault. A two-parter would begin in issue 86, written by Danny Fingeroth, who never penned a story arc for the book before or after. Fingeroth ends up making the established guys look bad. The concept between 85 and 86 might be similar but this one tells the same story much better.

Following the plane crash at the end of last month’s issue, Sonic and Tails head out into the near-by forest, looking for supplies. The two banter playfully, Sonic using this time as a training opportunity for Tails. While looking for firewood, the fox disappears. Afterwards, the original Metal Sonic, who has rebuilt his body into a more fearsome form, shows up. The robot has captured Tails, placing him in a death trap. If Sonic wants to see his sidekick alive again, he’ll have to play Metal Sonic’s twisted game, battling his metallic double once more.

Issue 85’s fight between Sonic and Silver Sonic II made some facile attempts to add emotional footing to the story. Ultimately though, it didn’t work and we didn’t care. Fingeroth’s “Heart of the Hedgehog” immediately adds some grounding to the plot. He begins the issue by focusing on Sonic and Tails’ friendship. We return to the fact that, even though they’re brothers in arms by this point, Tails still looks up to Sonic. The fox is still younger, uncertain of his abilities. After a strong wind blows him to the ground, Sonic reassures the kid, saying that he’s still learning but has long since proven himself. It shows that Sonic and Tails are good people but slightly flawed. There’s been so much shifting and changing in the series’ universe lately. It’s very refreshing to pause and get a genuine interaction between two main characters.

Fingeroth just doesn’t do the emotional stuff better. He does the goofy, comic book stuff better too. Last month’s Silver Sonic II, for some reason, had an irritating surfer dude personality. Metal Sonic’s revised form is also a campy comic book villain. He taunts Sonic, making grand proclamations about his fleshy counterpart’s inferiority. He brings us their prior fights, making it clear that this is a quest of revenge for him. Considering Metal Sonic’s previous appearances had him as a mindless droid, designed only to destroy Sonic, giving him an actual personality makes him a better villain. (His updated form, with comes with a boatload of new accessories and weapons, is also pretty cool.)

Issue 86 tops the previous one in another way too. Last month’s fight between Sonic and Silver Sonic was deeply underwhelming, the hedgehog never appearing to be in real danger and easily defeating his opponent. Metal Sonic v2.5, meanwhile, keeps the hero on the ropes the entire time. He outruns him, nearly zaps him several times, snares him with a grappling hook, tosses him around, and pins him to a cliff side with a giant clamp. At that point, he easily could’ve killed the flesh and blood Sonic. Being a comic book supervillain, he decides to toy with him instead. This is how you raise dramatic tension, you guys.

Metal Sonic doesn't just want to destroy Sonic, you see. He wants to break his heart. So “Heart of the Hedgehog” ends on a hell of a cliffhanger. Tails is tethered to the caldera of a ready-to-erupt volcano. The bad guy gives the hedgehog a chance to rescue his friend, allowing him to run to the mountain top. Of course, it’s all just a ploy, Metal Sonic whacking the hedgehog into unconsciousness the first chance he gets. At that point, the issue ends, the reader wanting more.

The artwork is pretty good too, especially compared to Ron Lim’s hatchet work last time. Sam Maxwell returns to penciling duties. I’m not sure if Maxwell’s abilities are growing or if he got a different colorist. His style is a little less abstract, Sonic and Tails gaining more details. However, Maxwell hasn’t loss the kinetic energy that previously characterized his work. The action scenes between Sonic and Metal Sonic play out from unexpected angles, with a clearly defined motion. I also really like Metal Sonic v2.5’s design, which is both streamlined and bulky, while being different from previous version of the characters.

The back-up story, meanwhile, is steep drop in quality from the cover version. “Against the Haunted Past” begins ten years ago, with a terribly drawn Robotnik and Snively plotting behind King Acorn’s back. We then cut to… Oh no. Monkey Khan is back! That’s right, “Against the Haunted Past” is Monkey Khan’s origin story. Frank Strom explains how the simian blowhard, and his entire race, was captured by Robotnik. He attempted to transform all of the apes into super cyborg warriors but only Khan was strong enough to survive. He also proved too strong to control. The final page reveals the story as an extended flashback. While Monkey Khan is pined to a slab, starred down by the new Eggman, I guess he got a little nostalgic.

Jesus Christ, it’s bad. Let’s get the obvious out of the way. Frank Strom’s artwork is fucking hideous. His drawing abilities have actually gotten worst, somehow. Monkey Khan and his family look nearly identical. Robotnik and Snively are deeply off-model. Everyone’s proportions shift from panel to panel. The action is stiff and uninspired.

The story is no better. Khan’s dad dryly delivers exposition while talking to his boy. The dialogue between Khan and his brothers is painful, circular, and borderline incoherent. Strom writes his pet character as even more of an unstoppable bad ass. Khan is the only person strong enough to survive the cyborg-ing process. He gets his upgrade, takes out a fleet of Overlander tanks, and then turns on Robotnik. Because he’s super tough and principled. I’m surprised Strom allows Khan to be captured by Robotnik at the end. Why doesn’t Strom’s precious baby kill the bad guy, fuck the princess, and take over the world? It’s clearly what the author wants. (Oh, and it’s a two-parter too so expect more of this shit next time.)

A crappy back-up story isn’t enough to ruin a pretty great cover story. I wish Archie’s creative team could balance heart, action, and suspense like this more often. [8/10]

Sonic Super Special: Issue 8 – Sally Moon

Sonic Super Special: Issue 8 – Sally Moon
Publication Date: January 1999

When Archie started publishing special issues of “Sonic,” the extra-long format usually served one of two purposes. Either a story too long for a regular issue would be contained with-in or a crap ton of smaller stories would be jammed inside. It’s been a while since we’ve had a Sonic Super Special of the latter variety. Issue 6 and 7 were all devoted to a single story. The eighth Sonic Super Special, otherwise known as the infamous “Sally Moon” issue, jams four issues of wildly divergent quality, most of them bad.

The book begins with “Zone Wars: Prelude.” One day, Sonic is minding his own business when a cross-dressing version of Robotnik from another dimensions shows up and starts shooting damn laser beams at him. Sonic is baffled and that bafflement grows when Sally Moon, Chibi Rose, and Tuxedo Knux shows up. Zonic the Zone-Cop, an inter-dimensional police officer, appears, cleans this mess up, and explains just what the hell happened.

Ridiculous pop culture parody was common in the early days of the book’s life. This is, after all, the comic book that brought us Spawnmower and the Termite-nator. Pretty much all of Issue 19 was about smashing Sonic together with other pop culture characters. We haven’t seen goofiness like this in a while. It’s been long enough that the sudden appearance of Sally Moon comes as a pleasant surprise. Yeah, the version of our favorite Princess as the short-skirted anime heroine doesn’t do very much. She gets blasted by the alternate Robotnik before Tuxedo Knux downs the villain with a rose. Still, I’ll admit to having an affinity to this vein of silliness.

There’s something genuinely good about “Zone Wars: Prelude.” Writer Dan Slott does something straight forward and simple. Zonic, a wall-walking super-cop who polices alternate realities, explains some shit to Sonic. Basically, every time our hedgehog hero crossed over into another zone or through a portal, it was the work of Zonic. That… Makes an astonishing amount of sense. Later writers would get lots of praise for welding together different arcs like that. Slott, meanwhile, doesn’t get any credit for doing the same thing long before. Sadly, “Zone Wars: Prelude” doesn’t do much more than set up these elements. Yet the effort is appreciated. Jim Fry’s artwork is slightly off-model but not distractedly bad.

The second story, “Running on Empty,” begins with Sonic telling Amy Rose a story of the early days of the Robotnik War. In it, Sonic runs to the cries of Princess Sally. This was a trap, a hologram created by Snively. During the faux-rescue, Sonic is zapped with a ray. The device gives him even faster speed… Which has the side effect of making him age the faster he runs. As Sonic gets older, Rotor and Sally sneak into Robotropolis to find a cure.

“Running on Empty” has got its problems. Nelson Reibeiro’s artwork is frequently wildly off-model. His Sonic often bends in uncomfortable angles while his Snively looks weirdly buff. A bit too much of the story focuses on Rosie’s apple pie recipe, weirdly. The worst part is that Roger Brown writes Sally less as a girl of action and more like a weak-willed princess who cries a lot.

For its many flaws, “Running on Empty” still has a decent amount of heart. Sonic’s life is at risk here and his friend’s drive to save him shows how much they care. When Tails, Sally, and Rotor are surrounded by SWATBots, Tails refuses to leave his friends’ side. Naturally, the damage is undone by the end. Still, it’s not a bad adventure story.

Any good will Sonic Super Special Issue 8 builds up in the first half collapses in the second. “Den of Thieves” is a Monkey Khan solo story. This allows Frank Strom to discard the Sonic characters entirely and focus on his crappy self-insert original creations. Anyway, some stupid bat ninjas have been stealing gold from some hideously deformed puppy creatures. Monkey Khan appears and beats them up. Khan teams up with the ugly puppy creatures and follows the bats back to their lair. There, he beats up a robot dragon and retrieves the gold. The end. Who gives a shit.

Fans sure as fuck weren’t demanding Monkey Khan solo stories, I’m relatively certain of that. Frank Strom’s artwork remains bloated and disproportionate. Seriously, what the fuck are with the ears on Monkey Khan’s sidekicks? The artwork is flat as hell too, as the action is stiff, looking like paper cut-outs. The story is total bullocks. Monkey Khan remains obnoxiously perfect and nobody else is of interest. I have no idea why Archie kept inviting Strom back to work on the book. His devotion to Monkey Khan, and the character’s corresponding lameness, makes Penders’ echidna fetish seem restrained and controlled in comparison.

As shitty as “Den of Thieves” is, the next story is even worst. “Ghost Busted” is adapted from one of the goofier season two episodes of “SatAM.” For those who don’t remember the cartoon, Sonic, Tails, and Antoine go out camping where the hedgehog tells Tails a spooky ghost story. Later, Tails awakens to see a strange creature… Which is just Antoine covered in some glowing leaves.

I don’t know why Archie felt the need to adapt a random, not especially well regarded episode of “SatAM,” especially in such a short, mangled form. And I mean “mangled.” “Ghost Busted” features some insanely terrible art. The back-up is the sole pencil work of inker Jay Oliveras. Oliveras’ work brings to mind the infamous “Many Hands,” as its grossly off-model, amateurishly proportioned, hastily sketched, and garishly colored. Thankfully, the story only runs a brief eight pages. Presumably, “Ghost Busted” exists in the first place because Archie needed to fill eight pages. It’s just shitty, you guys.

The eighth Sonic Super Special is not the quarterly series’ finest hour. The cover story does some mildly clever arc welding and features some good-natured goofiness. The second story has its problem but at least has some sort of point. Both of the latter two stories are totally worthless. Dems da brakes. [6/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 60

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 60
Publication Date: April 1998

During my previous “Sonic” review, I mentioned how the new format provided writers an oppretunity to revisit old concepts or try out new ones. Sonic and Tails traveling the world, having adventures, allowed the heroes to run into all sorts of scenarios. Instead of using this blank slate to explore untested concepts, the Archie writers seemed to be trotting out characters nobody was that eager to see again. Mike Gallagher yanked Horizont-Al and Verti-Cal out of blissful retirement. With issue 60, writer and artist Frank Strom returns. Unsurprisingly, that means Monkey Khan – a character he created that no one else, including the audience, was interested in – returns too.

Sonic and Tails, on their travels, come upon the land of Leung West. The first thing they notice is a giant, burning mountain. Soon, the heroes encounter local residents Li Moon and Li Yuen. They inform the hedgehog that the villainous Iron King and Iron Queen have set the mountain on fire using magic. Only a magical fan, stored in the Iron King’s arsenal, can put out the flames. Being general do-gooders, Sonic and Tails decide to help out. At that point, the Iron Queen sends Monkey Khan, who is under her control, to prevent the good guys from accomplishing their mission.

Like I said, Frank Strom was clearly only interested in his own ideas and concepts. Not only does the hyper-lame Monkey Khan return, a vaguely Chinese setting comes along with him. There’s a new supporting cast, in the form of Li Moon and Li Yuen. Despite Yuen obviously being a lion, Moon looks more like a raccoon with a tiger tail randomly stuck on.

Monkey Khan gets his own rogue gallery, with the Iron King and Queen. None of these new characters are particularly interesting. Both are takes on the generic “big dumb bruiser” and “cackling witch” archetypes. Since Khan is clearly Strom’s baby, he nearly defeats Sonic in combat. The story ends with Khan discovering that he’s a literal king, a prophesied hero of the area. More than once, it feels like Sonic has stumbled into some other comic book. And not a good one either.

Moreover, Strom’s artwork is incredibly off-putting. He draws everyone with these huge heads and eyes that vary in gigantism from panel to panel. Strom attempts perspective shots, by changing the size of the hands and feet depending on their position on the page. Truthfully, he can’t pull this off, so it looks like every one’s limbs are shifting size as well.

The Iron King and Queen are fairly bland designs. For some reason, Storm always draws the Queen with black shadows around her eyes. Strom’s action is incredibly flat as well. Sonic’s fight with Monkey Khan is incredibly static. The Iron Queen floats around on a magical disc, meaning she never truly interacts with anyone. When Sonic blows the Iron King away with the magical fan, it looks like Strom cut out a previous picture of the King and pasted him on another page.

As underachieving as the artwork is, Strom’s writing may actually be worse. Like I said, the plot is an uninspired fetch quest, facing Sonic and Tails against a dull duo of generic baddies. As bland as it is, that’s fine. More routine plots have been utilized to decent ends in this book before. But for some reason, Strom sticks hopelessly dopey dialogue into the character’s mouths.

Here’s just some of the cliché or distracting expressions utter in this issue: “Holy mackerel! Easier said than done! Bingo! I spy with my little eye! Little dickens? Crud! Recess time is over? Oh, puh-leeze! Cowabunga! Darn your socks! Don’t have a cow! Cheezit! Blast you! It’s a cakewalk! Curses – foiled again!” When the dialogue isn’t hokey, it’s repetitive. At one point, Tails uses the word “staff” twice in one sentence. Amateur mistakes like this make the story a struggle to get through.

After that shitfuck, even a mediocre back-up story looks decent in comparison. “The Ultimatum” is the latest in the “Tales of the Freedom Fighters” story arc. In it, King Acorn summons Sally to his chamber. He reveals the Source of All to her. He says it's pass time for her to bathe in the weird, magical liquid, taking on her birthright as future ruler of Mobius. Sally is surprisingly okay with this before the King reveals she’ll have to be married first. The Source will choose her mate and it definitely will not be Sonic. The Princess is certainly not okay with this and she and her dad separate on bad terms.

My problems with the entire Source of All concept were aired in a previous review. I’m not a huge fan. “The Ultimatum” unfortunately presents several other aspects I also dislike. Despite King Max being exorcised of Ixis Naugus’ spirit, he still acts like an unreasonable dick. Romance drama also rears its ugly head, as the King disapproves of Sally and Sonic’s relationship. Both of these are story threads the comic would stretch out for years. Both of them are tiring. We all know Sonic and Sally are destined to be together, despite whatever suitors the book may cook up for her. After fighting for so many years to get him back, it was always a disappointment that King Acorn would be a jerk for so long.

Still, as underwhelming as “The Ultimatum” is, at least it’s about characters we care about, as opposed to Monkey Khan. At least there’s some honest emotion at work here, as contrived as it can be. Things are changing in Knothole. The question of whether or not Sally will be able to handle being royalty is a genuinely interesting dilemma. The artwork, from Manny Galan, is decent. It’s not his best work, as Sally and her dad go off-model a few times but it’s still pleasant to look at.

I don’t know why Archie keeps letting Frank Strom work on the book. Penders’ work may be incredibly uneven and subject to his bizarre, frustrating creative quirks. But at least he’s done good work before. Strom clearly has no interest in the “Sonic” verse. That hella’ lame cover story paired with a weak back-up makes issue 60 a very disappointing read. [4/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 55

 
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 55
Publication Date: December 1997

Issue 54 of “Sonic the Hedgehog,” one of the most emotionally satisfying story that had appeared in the book in a while, ended on a cliffhanger. Issue 55 picks up right where that story left off, with Sonic, Sally, and Antoine in pursuit of Snively’s EggRobos. Instead of doing the logical thing and letting writer Karl Bollers continue the story he was obviously telling last time, Archie instead handed the reins of issue 55 to Frank Strom. I’m not really sure how Strom got this gig. According to his website – which hasn’t been updated since 2005 –  his work before “Sonic” mostly included pornographic comics and a long run on an “Elvira, Mistress of the Dark” series. Not exactly the family entertainment you associate with Archie. Strom would return a few times to write and draw “Sonic,” each time mostly focusing on his own characters and settings.

For example: The trail leads the trio of Freedom Fighters to a clearing in the woods. There, the EggRobos have activated a giant driller, searching through the ground for Power Rings. Near by, Sally discovers a tomb-like containment unit. Upon opening it, a Robotnik-created cyborg calling himself Monkey Khan emerges. With his apparent ability to manipulate the weather, Khan leaps on a cloud and starts blasting robots with lightening bolts. He also kidnaps Sally, which pisses Sonic off. Antoine and the hedgehog have to work together to defeat the remaining EggRobos and rescue the princess.

Let’s talk about Monkey Khan. If you couldn’t guess from the name, Monkey Khan is yet another variation on Sun Wukong, otherwise known as the Monkey King, a character from the 16th century Chinese epic fantasy novel “Journey to the West.” The story has been loosely adapted many times over the centuries, such as the cult classic TV series “Monkey” or Stephen Chow’s 2013 feature film. Most famously, the Monkey King also inspired Goku from “Dragon Ball.” Monkey Khan has all the elements we associate with the character. Firstly, he’s a monkey, obviously. Presumably using his elementary powers, he creates a cloud to float on. He also swings a staff around, which routinely disappears from page-to-page. In short, Monkey Khan adds nothing to a character that was already well-trod literary ground in 1997.

The story, which is given the groan-worthy name “Monkey Madness,” is pretty useless too. It’s full of people acting stupidly and minor plot holes. Despite the area being full of killer robots, Sally separates from the group to investigate on her own. The EggRobos have been instructed by Snively to search for Ixis Naugus but instead dig up a power ring. Which Khan then takes for some reason. Despite Khan just destroying the robots, Sonic attacks him. Even though he saw Sally when she opened his prison, Khan is overwhelmed by her beauty when he looks at her the second time. The Princess spends the rest of the story as Khan’s hostage. The second half of the story is devoted to Sonic and Antoine overcoming their differences and working together. This ignores the fact that Sonic and Antoine have been on equal footing for a while now. Afterwards, Monkey Khan flies off on his own adventures. Basically, the on-going plot pauses for an entire issue just so Frank Strom can introduce his lame original character.

Strom also draws the story. Objectively, I guess his artwork isn’t too terrible. He tends to draw Antoine’s sword in such a way that it looks like a knife. Sonic’s jaw frequently inflates in weird ways. Monkey Khan’s head, limbs, and arms are about as twice as big as everyone else’s. Sonic looks hopelessly awkward when curled into a ball and one panel has his legs stretching on far too long. His Sally looks decent though. Mostly, Strom’s artwork just strikes me as horribly unappealing. It’s very flat and his facial expressions are cartoonish in a weird way. It seems to me that his personal style is just horribly at odds with the prevailing look of the “Sonic” book. I can’t say I’m a fan.

The back-up story is… Well, also not that hot. In “Rise of the Robians,” we finally see the oppression the Robotocized Mobians have been facing from the organic furries. A female peacock, after being spotted walking around Robotnik’s old laboratory, is cornered by a mob of torch-wielding Knothole residents. Uncle Chuck intervenes, in hopes of instilling some order. The mob is equally antagonistic towards him. That is, until he takes this issue to the Princess. However, Sally is out of town, getting manhandled by Monkey Khan. Instead, King Acorn steps in. As he has been for a few issues now, the King acts like a massive asshole and declares the Robian peacock be put to death. He then smacks Geoffrey St. John around, collapsing afterwards. Whatever momentum the story might have had is derailed when Sonic and Sally waltz back in. Knuckles’ appears on a monitor, saying the Floating Island is in a danger. And where off to a crossover in issue 9 of “Knuckles.”

“Rise of the Robians” at least resolves two issues. Since “Brave New World,” the Robians have been talking about how fearful the fleshies are of them. Despite the repeated references, this is the first time we see anything of this nature. Secondly, the story confirms that King Acorn has been acting like a dick not because he’s just a dick. Instead, he clearly has some mental condition, a side-effect of half his body being turned to crystal. The rest of the story is a mess though. The crowd of angry villagers are cartoonish. The victimized Robian comes off as a bubble-brained victim. King Acorn’s behavior comes off as pointlessly mean-spirited. Him smacking St. John around is more likely to cause unintentional laughter then gasps.

The artwork, from an entity calling itself “Andy Underwood and Edward Artistic Studios,” is bad. The rioters look generic. The peacock looks weirdly proportioned. In the second half of the story, everyone grows massive heads and tiny bodies. In the final panel, Sonic’s hand twists in a horrible way while his head balloons to massive side. It’s bad.

The whole issue is bad. The cover story is lame, introducing a character nobody would care about until Ian Flynn gave him some personality 147 issues later. The back-up story is needlessly melodramatic. All the artwork is awkward. What a lame way for “Sonic” to close out 1997. [4/10]