Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 97

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 97
Publication Date: May 2001

Issue 97 of “Sonic the Hedgehog” is not an especially memorable or well-regarded entry in the Archie series. However, it is notable for one thing. This issue was featured in a Guinness World Record book. Some time ago, Archie’s “Sonic” series broke the record for a somewhat specific superlative. It became the longest running comic book based on a video game. It was the first of many surprising records the comic has broken over its unprecedented run. With issue 108, it would surpass Marvel’s original “Star Wars” book as longest running licensed comic. Most recently, it became one of the longest running comic books to never be re-numbered. Who would have thought such a humble series would have earned such a prominent place in comic history?

Anyway, the plot. After his attempt to enter Robotropolis to rescue Uncle Chuck was blocked by the royalty, Sonic thinks up an alternative. He dresses himself in black and decides to sneak into the city under cover of darkness. He follows Geoffrey St. John and the Secret Service as they make their own quest into the city, to recover the Sword of Acorn. Both parties are captured soon afterwards, forcing an uneasy alliance. Meanwhile, Robotnik and Snively have ominous plans for the Kintobors.

Too often during the comic’s lamest run, Karl Bollers’ strategy was to throw a bunch of different story ideas into the comic, developing them as he went along. His most recent “Maybe this one’ll stick!” idea is the Sneak, the closest thing Sonic has to a superhero alter ego. It’s not an especially clever design. The version Spaz drew on the cover looks neat but the interior costume makes this look like Ninja Sonic with Karate Chop Action. Moreover, the persona’s role in the story is mostly unnecessary. Sonic sneaks into the city to avoid St. John but encounters him anyway. They then get captured, spend a few hours behind bars, and escape. Nothing is recovered, learned, or gained. Sonic would never don the Sneak outfit again, making this an even more wasted concept.

The Sneak ostensibly serves one purpose: So Geoffrey won’t recognize Sonic when the two get tossed into the pokey together. Mostly, this just makes St. John seem really bad at his job. It’s not like the costume disguises the hedgehog’s distinctive silhouette. There’s also no indication that Sonic alters his voice. Then again, St. John hasn’t been showing a lot of confidence here of late. There was his totally ineffective investigation last issue. Here, he continues to hold a petty grudge against the hedgehog. He belittles Sally for no reason and is rude to his superiors. After entering Robotropolis, Geoffrey immediately gets his team captured. They only escape because the villain lets them. I’m not sure why Elias and the King have any faith in this guy.

After discarding it for an issue, Bollers remembers Snively’s family is still in this book. We finally get a glimpse at what the doctor’s plans are for his relative. Eggman seemingly brainwashes and sedates Cheddermund, the absurdly named scientist that followed the Kintobors around space. What he plans to do next remains to be seen. That Colin and his family have yet to suspect anything seems unlikely, considering how obviously evil Robotnik and Snively are. But, once again, at least this dragging plot line is finally going somewhere.

Other elements of Robotnik’s scheme succeed only due to the incompetence of his enemies. After the Secret Service is captured, each one is taken and interrogated. While Heavy and Bomb are off-screen, Robotnik re-programs the robots, who then bust the others out. Despite those two obviously being machines susceptible to such things, Geoffrey and the gang never question this turn of events. They even know that something funny is up, as the skunk points out that Robotnik never interrogated them, just moved them temporarily to another room. Because, once again, St. John sucks at the spying business.

Two different artists draw this story. Sadly, neither are up to the standards set by Steven Butler and James Fry. Nelson Ribeiro returns to pencil the first half. There’s less hideous facial expressions this time but everyone still looks off-model. Snively looks especially disturbing during his brief appearance. The giant hands and feet are still present and the action is flat. Harvey Mercadoocasio draws the second half. His work is slightly improved over his previous illustrations. His characters never veer horribly off-model and his sense of motion is okay. But everyone is mostly undefined. Heavy, in particular, looks like a tin can while Mercadoocasio forgets to draw Bomb’s legs. Instead, the bigger robot carries the smaller one around in a weird fanny pack.

As exhausting as the recent cover stories have been, Ken Penders’ Knuckles back-up story still wins the dubious distinction of most tiring current plot. As promised last time, Chaos Knuckles and Turbo Tails fight. Six of the story’s seven pages are devoted to the scuffle. The characters reveal some deeply inane new powers. Tails’ tails have become totally prehensile. Knuckles, meanwhile, can shoot fuckin’ laser beams from his eyes. After the echidna cold-cocks the fox, he teleports towards Julie-Su, something he probably should have done sooner. There’s nothing this installment does that couldn’t have been accomplished a while ago. I’m starting to become numb to Ron Lim’s shittiness but his artwork here remains flat.

You might be wondering why Tails is in this story at all. Which is a good question! In the final pages, Ken reveals the nonsensical reason for bringing the Chosen One plot up again. After Turbo Tails gets his ass kicked, Athair and Merlin wonder why. Instead of assuming the fox’s inexperience was his undoing, this plot bomb gets dropped on us. This isn’t Tails, not the real one anyway! At some point, Tails was swapped with an identical impostor. Instead of developing this shocking turn, Athair’s floating head zaps him back to Knothole and thinks nothing of it. What the fuck?

Things look grim. Both the cover story and the back-up continue to spin their wheels in the air, resolving nothing and barely building on their respective plots. Some mediocre artwork and a dumb twist or two is enough to push this one down to a [4/10], a rating that hasn’t been rare here of late.

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 61

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 61
Publication Date: May 1998

Just as Mike Gallagher previously returned to his much unloved Horizont-Al and Verti-Cal concept, the same writer revisited another favorite creation of his in issue 61. Unlike the gravitationally challenged twins, the Downunda Freedom Fighters arguably deserve more love. Considering one of the points of the post-“Endgame” story arc is Sonic and Tails exploring their world, traveling back to Downunda even makes sense. Despite the Australia inspired characters getting the front cover, there are two other stories in issue 61.

The poorly titled “Outback Gut Check” begins with Guru Emu and Wombat Stu in a cage, surrounded by angry platypuses. Luckily, Sonic, Tails, and the other Downunda Freedom Fighters arrive to rescue them. Except for Duck Bill, that is. Apparently the platypus went power mad following Crocbot’s defeat in “Endgame” and led a revolt among his species against the other Fighters. Now, Sonic and the rest have to figure out what’s up.

You never really know what you’re getting when Mike Gallagher’s name is on the script. Though he’s delivered mini-epics like the “Mecha Madness” saga, even his best work has a goofy streak. “Outback Gut Check” is not Gallagher’s proudest moment. The story follows a dull construction. Sonic and the gang rescue Guru and Stu, Walt Wallabe explains what’s up, the heroes have another encounter with the hostile platypus on a river, before they wander into Bill’s headquarters. The reveal is disappointing as well. Turns out, Crocbot is behind it. He slipped a mind-control chip on Bill’s head at some point. Crocbot’s disembodied torso has been delivering orders to the platypus ever since. That’s a sloppy explanation. It also doesn’t explain how Bill successfully rallied the other platypuses into revolution.

The emotional heart of the story, how the other Downunda Freedom Fighters feel about Bill’s betrayal, is shoved into the margins of the story. The other element of heart involves Barby and Tails’ growing feelings for each other. Many fans find the romance between Tails and the much older Barby to be gross, Ian Flynn among them. It’s never bothered me. Sonic and his friends are all technically kids anyway. Tails has always acted a lot older than his canonical eleven years too. Besides, Barby’s affection is never anything more than some hugs and kisses. It’s more cute than anything else. If the series actually allowed its characters to grow up, Tails and Barby could’ve had a serious relationship in a few years. Though potentially interesting, this aspect of the story occupies a few word bubbles at best.

Another problem with “Outback Gut Check” is the artwork. Long time inker Harvey Mercadoocasio draws this story. Harvo’s art has varied in the past from awful to passable. Issue 61 is also not one of his better days. The characters are gangly, angular and pot-bellied. The character’s limbs are often out of proportion with the rest of their body. Harvo frequently draws Barby with a body befitting a human female, instead of a furry creature. The platypus gang gets it the worst, all of them looking like indistinct blobs of bills, beaver tails, and jagged bodies. Even the colors are ugly, blurred and washed-out.

The first of the two back-up stories also focuses on Sonic and Tails’ travels around Mobius. In “Total Turbulence,” the Winged Victory runs into a rough storm cloud… That just happens to be control by Ixis Naugus. Though the sorcerer attempts to scuttle the heroes with the turbulent weather, Sonic and Tails survive by flying the plane right into his face. That’s it.

What purpose does this story serve? Mostly, it’s to remind us that Ixis Naugus is still out there. Sonic’s’ journey around the world was technically about tracking the wizard. Admittedly, this hasn’t come up much recently. Considering Sonic and Tails will be fighting the wizard again in two issues, Bollers probably felt it necessary to remind us of his existence.

The other reason this brief four pager ran was to introduce us to Steven Butler. Butler would become the regular illustrator of the book for a while after this. While not everyone is a fan, I’ve always loved Butler’s work. He had a grasp on the character’s designs while bringing his own style to it. There was also a certain gritty, sexy quality to his work that I like. That isn’t shown off to much in this story. Truthfully, Naugus looks pretty silly. However, the four-pager does show off how good Butler is at action and dynamic frame layout.

The last story continues the “Tales of the Freedom Fighters” back-up. After nearly getting blown up by a still lingering Robotnik trap, Geoffrey St. John’s partner Fleming tells him he’s ready to retire. Geoffrey decides to round up a new team. He travels to the Floating Island and recruits a chameleon, finds Wombat Stu in Downunda, and recruits Hershey the Cat from his own office.

I wish more insight into St. John’s choices were made. Valdez the Chameleon isn’t even named in this story. He doesn’t get a proper introduction, appearing in two whole panels. Why Stu is chosen boils down to St. John liking his youth. Considering Downunda is in a transitional state, you’d think he would want to stick around. Hershey doesn’t even get that much. It’s kind of a bummer of a story. At least Art Mawhinney’s art is nice.

All of the above combine to make issue 61 underwhelming. [5/10]

Sonic & Knuckles: Mecha Madness

 
Sonic & Knuckles: Mecha Madness
Publication Date: July 1996

When you’re a kid, you’re pretty easy to please. As a child, about the only thing I demanded from my comic books where bad ass dudes being bad asses. By the same accord, kids can also be very discerning. Even as a child, the superhero anti-heroes of Todd McFarlane and Rob Liefeld struck me as trying-too-hard. When I first entered the on-line world of Archic Sonic fandom, I was very surprised to see some people dismissed “Sonic & Knuckles: Mecha Madness” as an “all-action, no heart” spectacle. I fucking loved this comic book as a kid. Re-reading it as an adult, I still think it’s a pretty good book. Yeah, the emphasis is on action but sometimes, there’s nothing wrong with that, maaaaan!

“Mecha Madness” picks up right where Issue 39 left off. Mecha Sonic continues his rampage through Knothole, leveling the tiny village. As a last-ditch effort to save their community, Sally feeds the still dazed Knuckles through the portable Robotocizers the Freedom Fighters confiscated all the way back in issue 2. With some help from one of Rotor’s neuro-overriders, emerges Mecha Knuckles! He proves an even match for Mecha Sonic. Even after Robotnik threatens the Freedom Fighters with nuclear weapons, the echidna emerges victorious. Afterwards though, their remains a question: Can Sonic still be saved?

In retrospect, it’s impressive that Archie kept thinking up ways to keep the Sonic/Knuckles rivalry going strong. Knux was fully established as a hero at this point, after starring in his own mini-series. Even as of “Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles,” their rivalry was becoming more playful then anything else. So you couldn’t have the two just get into a misunderstanding. The “Mecha Madness” story arc successfully uped the fucking ante: Turn ‘em both into goddamn robots. Unlike those previous scuffles, the fight here between Sonic and Knuckles is serious business. Mecha Sonic is attempting to destroy the heroes. Mecha Knuckles is all that stands in the way. The actual fight only lasts about eight pages. Yet it’s still so satisfying to see these two, in super powerful robotic forms, wail on each other. After seeing Sonic going over to the dark side in a big way last issue, it’s also satisfying to watch him taken down a notch.

Once again, Patrick Spazanate’s artwork is on a whole other level. Even from the title page, which shows Mecha-Sonic casting a shadow of an agonized organic Sonic, the book is packed full of detail, dynamic action, and emotional expression. Just the characters standing around and talking is gifted with a sense of motion and movement. Look at when Sally chastises Antoine for being a dick. Or when she makes a big speech, detailing her plan. Of course, Spaz’ action sequences are beyond compare. The page when Knuckles freaks out, punches Rotor, and then receives a spinning back kick from Sally is something I want framed on my damn wall. I adore the design for Mecha-Knuckles, the way his knuckle-spikes can retract, the block rocket jets in his feet. It’s such a flowing, natural design. It looks exactly like what you’d expect a robotic version of Knuckles to look like.

The battle between the two is best displayed in a two page splash page, where Knuckles deflects Sonic’s lasers with his claws. There’s spinning, throwing, punching. When Knuckles is tossed through the air by a powerful uppercut from Mecha-Sonic, the sense of movement is overwhelming. This is a really good looking story, is the point I’m making.

Interestingly, the last third of “Mecha Madness” isn’t devoted to action at all. Despite what grumpy gus Dan Drazen might say, this story is full of emotions. When Robotnik demands Mecha-Sonic just send him the coordinates for Knothole Village – something he probably should’ve done immediately – Sonic pauses. Some humanity is starting to leak through his robotic exterior. I was never a huge fan of Sally and Knuckles’ flirting. But it really flows naturally and nicely here. That Knuckles and Sally are always so happy to see each other is actually kind of cute. After Mecha-Sonic is defeated, our hero is actually on death’s door. When Sally and Tails think Sonic may be a goner, both choke back tears. This is a book that grapples with the possibility that its hero may die and how his friends loved ones response. Not exactly light material.

Of course, “Mecha Madness” does have a pretty big flaw. In order to get the series back on track, Sonic and Knuckles have to be returned to normal by the book’s end. The answer to this question that Mike Gallagher cooked up is slightly inelegant. Knuckles can just be passed through the mobile roboticzer in reverse. Since this is the same device that transform Bunnie, how come they never tried that on her? For Sonic, the writer cooked up some real mystical mumbo jumbo. See, when Sonic gathered his one billionth Power Ring, he was surrounded with a “Protective Mystical Aura.” That’s how his soul was kept intact, if buried, while he was transformed. Nicole essentially plugs into Mecha-Sonic, interacts with this weird power ring aura thing, and zaps him back to being organic. It’s awkward and not well explained, to say the least.

I’ll address this more when I get to Issue #40 but I’m also not a big fan of the cliffhanger, where Sonic is arrested for treason for his action. Actions, you’ll notice, he had no control over. But we’ll talk about that more later…

Since “Mecha Madness” is a double-sized special, there are two back stories. The first of which is the verbosely entitled “Don’t Let the Island Hit You on the Way Down.” Since Knuckles is off fighting Mecha-Sonic, the Chaotix are left alone on the Floating Island. A group of villains called the Fearsome Foursome appear and whoop their asses. They're led by a mysterious, powerful villain called Mammoth Mogul. Despite his declaration of power, and an earlier defeat, the Chaotix still scare this new gang of bad guys off.

Listen, kids: I like Mammoth Mogul. I’m always for expanding on the Sonic universe’s rogue galleries. Mogul is essentially Archie’s version of Vandal Savage, an immortal wizard who has lived for centuries. Disappointingly, Mogul was rarely used well. In his debut story, he shows up, announces his back story, and declares himself all-power. The Chaotix then beat him back in one panel, after which he flees in a rocket car. Really makes him sound like all bark, no bite, doesn’t it? I like the Fearsome Foursome too, if only because it’s neat to see an essentially evil version of the Chaotix. However, Sergent Simian, Predator Hawk, Lightening Lynx, and Flying Frog are barely developed in this story. “Don’t Let the Island Hit You on the Way Down” is a fairly thin story. It’s at least better then the last story Scott Fulop wrote. Likewise, Harvey Mercadoocasio’s artwork shows some major improvement as well. It’s still pretty stiff at times but he’s obviously been practicing. There’s a newly emerged anime-esque edge to his work that makes it move a whole lot better.

Perhaps sensing this was a comparatively heavy book, “Mecha Madness” ends on a joke story. “Eel of Fortune” stars the Forty Fathoms Freedom Fighters, the aquatic heroes last seen in the “Tails” mini-series. The local reef is being terrorized by a new villain calling himself Eel Capone. He has his army of hired mussels beat up P.B. Jellyfish. In response, Bottlenose the Dolphin dresses up as a ninja and beats the crap out of him. End of story.

As previously mentioned, I like the Forty Fathoms Freedom Fighters too. However, “Eel of Fortune” is basically five pages of the goofiest aquatic puns you can think of. How many puns are there? By my count, sixteen. Some of the biggest groaners include: “hired mussels,” “current events,” “finja,” “Aquatraz,” “Choral Reef.” Oh brother. There’s no conflict to the story, as Eel Capone is a total joke once he’s introduced. Bottlenose dispatches him with such ease and speed that it’s clear he was never a threat. Basically, it’s a dumb collection of aquatic puns. Dave Manak’s artwork is typically goofy and blocky. The story’s biggest value is that it shows the range Mike Gallagher had. “Mecha Madness” was a relatively serious story with high stakes. “Eel of Fortune” is total goofiness from beginning to end.

“Sonic & Knuckles: Mecha Madness” isn’t a perfect book. Yet it’s one I like a lot. If nothing else, it’s worth picking up for Spaz’ incredible artwork. I’ll always consider it an important, landmark book in the Archie “Sonic” line and I imagine many would agree with me. [8/10]

Knuckles' Chaotix

 
Knuckles’ Chaotix
Publication Date: November 1995

Of all of Sega’s poorly received game systems – which included such best sellers as the Nomad and the Pico – none were more ill conceived then the 32X. The second add-on for the Genesis, visually it resembled a tumor growing out of the top of the system. The console was hampered by the Genesis’ own ailing life-span, mechanical problems, cumbersome hardware, and a meager gallery of games. Of course, the 32X wouldn’t have been a proper Sega system without a Sonic game! And it got one, kind of. “Knuckles’ Chaotix” was an odd-ball spin-off starring Knuckles with a peculiar control gimmick salvaged from a scrapped game called “Sonic Crackers.” Though mostly ignored upon release, the game has developed something of a following among Sonic dorks. Like many of the Sonic games released during this time, Archie would loosely adapt it as a 48-page special. The comic’s legacy is more obvious, as it added many important characters to Knuckles’ supporting cast.

The video game involves an island-spanning amusement park called Carnival Island and new MacGuffins called Power Emeralds. The comic simplifies this slightly. The setting is now Happy Land, an amusement park that has sprung up on the Floating Island and the Power Emeralds are now Robotnik’s attempts to replicate the Chaos Emeralds. Aside from the new characters, Metal Sonic’s appearance, and a brief cameo from the power ring rubber band thing, the book ejects everything else. Anyway, the plot: Sonic and the Freedom Fighters are invited to Happy Land, much to Knuckles’ consternation. Naturally, it’s a trap. Teaming up with shyster Renfield T. Rodent, Robotnik traps the Freedom Fighters inside the Hall of Mirrors and strips Knuckles of his powers. The echidna has to team up with a new group of heroes to stop the villain and rescues the good guys.

“The Chaos Effect” is a straight-forward thumping action story. It quickly establishes its conflict, introduces the new characters and their abilities, and barrels towards the action. The carnival setting is fun, though could’ve been utilized more. Only the Hall of Mirrors gets any real page time. Wouldn’t an action scene set on a roller coaster or the Ferris Wheel had been fun? For once, sidelining the other established characters in favor of Knuckles’ makes sense. His name is above the title, so Sonic and friends getting trapped early on is okay. Renfield T. Rodent (who sounds like Warren T. Rat from “An American Tail” in my brain) is a fairly silly villain though compelling in his greasiness. He’s more like a sleazy, crooked businessman than a traditional supervillain, which makes for a nice contrast with Robotnik. Speaking of which, Robotnik’s plan in this is awfully flawed. Trapping the Freedom Fighters but leaving Knuckles running around shows the fat man carrying the Idiot Ball. Even without his knuckles spikes or gliding abilities, Knuckles is obviously still a threat to his plan. Moreover, the Power Emeralds can apparently do anything the plot requires, from powering the amusement park to allowing Knuckles to grow to giant size.

More then any of this, “The Chaos Effect” is focused on introducing the Chaotix. It does so quickly and succinctly over four pages in the middle of the book. Charmy the Bee (who sounds like the Honey Nut Cherrios Bee in my brain) is introduced buzzing around, in an perpetually up-beat mood. Espio is introduced blending in with a tree before dropping some punny dialogue, branding him as both mysterious and somewhat street-smart. Vector, already previous seen in the Triple Trouble book, hips and hops into the scene. Mighty the Armadillo busts through a wall with his super-strength while acting all laid back about it, revealing him as obviously the best member of the team in its current incarnation. Only robots Heavy (who sounds like Baymax in my brain) and Bomb get the short end of the characterization stick. Heavy mostly spouts exposition while Bomb just clicks and grins. Still, as far as a story with only so many pages to do everything, it gets the job done.

The plot and cast set up, the story runs head-long into the action. Robotnik grabs Metal Sonic out of cold storage and sics ‘em on the heroes. Despite knowing each other for all of five minutes, the Chaotix are already functioning as a team. The story does a good job of high-lighting each of the team member’s abilities. Charmy flies to get Metal Sonic’s attention, Espio disappears as a decoy, Mighty punches him through two goddamn buildings, Bomb blows the fuck up, and Vector… stands on the other end of the rubber band? The conclusion is just fun in its comic-book-y silliness, with Metal Sonic transforming into his intimidating super-form, Titan Metal Sonic. Amusingly, Knuckles gets a super-size power boosts immediately afterwards and dismantles the robot in seconds. It’s not high art – even Art Mawhinney’s otherwise excellent pencil falter a few times, as he’s obviously not use to drawing Knuckles – but it’s an entertaining story.

I wish the two back-up stories provided a little more meat to chew on. “Tag! You’re It!” is about the Chaotix playing an aggressive game of Tag. All the story really does is establish their personalities a little more, which is nice. It also teases the Archemedes character once again, Penders’ continuing to spin his wheels until he can get the Knuckles solo series up and running. Harvey Mercadoocasio’s artwork is angular and harsh but he shows a better grasp on these characters then he did the last time he drew a “Sonic” book.

Sadly, “Knuckles’ Chaotix” wraps up with a real stinker of a story. “The Hunt is On!” was both drawn and written by Ken Penders. The plot is a big nothing. The Chaotix wander across the island, each stumbling into a new lame trap. There’s a hole in the ground that Vector falls into, flying blue balls knock Charmy out, a badly design robot tangles with Mighty, and Espio is abducted by someone off-panel. Then the story ends with another teasing of Knuckles’ wider-ranging mythology. This one really shows off Penders’ limitations as an artist. The characters are so flat. When Charmy is knocked out, it looks like he becomes a cardboard cut-out. Mighty’s fight with the hideously designed random robot ends with both of them lying on the ground in very awkward positions. “Knuckles’ Chaotix” is a fun book overall but “The Hunt is On!” is just a lame, lame story.

Still, that cover story is lots of fun and the first back-up isn’t terrible. The video game this special promoted would slip into obscurity but the characters it introduces would become Knuckles’ best friends and primary supporting cast. It’s a significant contribution to the “Sonic” universe for those reasons. [7/10]

Sonic & Knuckles

 
Sonic & Knuckles
Publication Date: May 1995

Knuckles has been such an essential part of the Sonic cast for so long that it’s hard to remember a time when he wasn’t a part of it at all. The Sonic cast was still fairly small at the time. In the years since his first appearance, Sega has increasingly characterized Knuckles as dumb muscle, a strong doofus. This was not how it was originally. Though gullible, Knuckles was originally the mysterious bad-ass of the Sonic-verse, a character with an unexplored back story with links to ancient, mysterious legends. He was tougher then Sonic, more willing to strike first and ask questions later. His allegiances were initially ambiguous. Though he would soon be established as a good guy, his morals were obviously different then Sonic. This made Knuckles a big deal. (Shadow has largely usurp Knuckles’ role as the mysterious bad-ass of the series, which is probably why Knuckles has been recast as a dim-witted goofball.)

Despite that, Sega was slow to capitalize on his popularity. His developer, Takashi Yuda, never considered Knuckles anything but a supporting character. Though he got his own game in 1995, with “Knuckles’ Chaotix,” that was on the little-played Sega 32X system. It wouldn’t be until the “Sonic Adventure” days before Knuckles actually started to receive merchandising of his own. Fans wanted more Knuckles but Sega seemed reluctant to give it to them. Archie, on the other hand, understood fan demand. The 1995 one-shot “Sonic & Knuckles” was ostensibly made to promote the newest Genesis game, basically the second half of “Sonic 3.” In truth, the issue was designed to properly add Knuckles to the comic’s cast, develop his own mythology, and make him a major character that would eventually headline his own series.

The first of the annual’s three stories is “Panic in the Sky,” a very loose adaptation of the “Sonic & Knuckles” plot. Aside from some scenes in the Mushroom Hill Zone, an appearance by that lumberjack robot, and a brief sequence in a lava-filled area that we can assume is the Lava Reef Zone, the comic doesn’t resemble the game much. Instead, the plot concerns itself with the Floating Island flying wildly off-course. The Island is floating in-land, towards Knothole Village. Concerned, Sally sends Sonic and Tails to investigate. They discover Knuckles, who is still antagonistic to them, and an island fortified with automatic turrets and robot traps. Yep, Robotnik has taken over the Floating Island, utilizing it in his latest scheme to crush the Freedom Fighters.

“Panic in the Sky!” has a few plot hole issues. Robotnik’s idea depends entirely on him knowing where Knothole Village is. This runs counter to most every other Sonic comic Archie would publish in the near-future, where locating Knothole Village was Robotnik’s central objective. Knuckles and Sonic still being at odds, despite their previous team-up in “Sonic #13,” seems like an obvious excuse to get them to fight. Penders and Kanterovich really pull the conclusion to this one out of their ass. Knuckles smashes the Chaos Emerald that keeps the island afloat, forcing Robotnik to flee suddenly. Knux then immediately reveals that he smashed a duplicate, prepared for scenarios just like this. After seeing the Floating Island resume floating in his rear-view mirror, don’t you think Robotnik would have flown back and continued his plan? Truthfully, “Panic in the Sky!” is not Ken Penders at his strongest, as the story is fairly heavy on exposition and awkward dialogue. Such as a two page spread where Sonic talks exclusively in puns for no reason.

 
Despite its problem, I still like this story. Incorporating some of the “Sonic & Knuckles” elements makes the Floating Island seem like an even stranger, more mysterious location. Yes, Sonic and Knuckles fighting before teaming up to take down Robotnik is a plot we’ve seen before. However, there’s always something a little satisfying about it. If this story is meant to develop Knuckles more then anything else, it shows him as a flawed hero, someone who is brass and temperamental but also resourceful and quick-witted. Another thing worth liking about the story is Art Mawhinney’s once-again excellent artwork. The story begins with a gorgeous two-pager of the Floating Island looming over a happy Mobian beach. Dave Manak takes over in the second half and, though Dave does better then usual with the action, it’s still a noticeable drop in art quality.

This being a double-stuffed annual, “Sonic & Knuckles” features two further stories. Showing that this book truly was written to capitalize on Knuckles’ growing popularity, both are devoted exclusively to the echidna. “Fire Drill” was both written and drawn by Penders. It would lay the foundation of the mythology he would soon build around the character, for better or worst. In it, Knuckles pursues an unseen intruder on the island, stumbling into a series of different traps, surviving each by the skin of his teeth.

If there’s anything the internet has criticized more then Penders’ writing, it’s his artwork. And, yeah, over the years he would contribute some awful illustrations to this series. However, “Fire Drill” looks okay. The backgrounds are flat and simplistic. A scene of Knuckles exploring a temple features some odd-shaped buttons on the wall. However, Knuckles never goes wildly off-model like he would in later stories and there’s a generally okay flow of action here. Plot-wise, there’s not much to “Fire Drill.” It mostly exists to exert the Floating island’s mysteriousness again and show that someone is watching over Knuckles. Knuckles spends the entire story talking to himself. On one hand, this is probably because he spends a lot of time alone. On the other hand, it inflicts a lot of awkward Penders’ dialogue on the reading. The story is middling work but nothing bad.

“Lord of the Floating Island” is another Penders’ joint focused on establishing a part of the echidna’s personality. This story focuses on his role as the Floating Island’s protector. In it, a solar eclipse causes some strong winds to blow through the Island. Knuckles rescues a lost kangaroo joey, avoids a stampede of dingos, and returns the kid to his mom. That’s it.

Since the Floating Island has always been portrayed as desolate, it’s weird to see other character occupying it. It’s also weird to read Knuckles referring to dingoes as “harmless,” as later issues would establish echidnas and dingoes are eternal enemies. The kangaroo kid is slightly annoying and his mom’s sudden appearance at the end is anti-climatic. Hearing Knuckles proclaim himself protector of the island makes him sound egotistical. The story also features Harvey Mercadoocasio, who usually works as an inker, contributing some seriously awkward pencils. There’s no motion to Mercadoocasio’s work and the characters are slightly squishy, always on the verge of going off-model.

In short, none of “Sonic & Knuckles” is mind-blowing work. The lead story is fun, if unimpressive. And the back-ups are varying degrees of just-okay. Still, as a young kid eager to learn more about this Knuckles guy, I really appreciated this special. It was one I thumbed through constantly when I was young. For nostalgia reasons alone, I’ve got to bump this up from a [6/10] to a [7/10.]