Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 21

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 21
Publication Date: October 2, 2019

Something that’s starting to disappointment about the Metal Virus saga is that it’s so urban thus far. Just going from the games, Sonic’s world is one full of diverse locations. We are talking dessert, beaches, mountains, polar icecaps, enormous casinos, etc. instead of dropping a Zombot horde into the surreal spiraling landscape of the Green Hill Zone, the saga has mostly been content to display the Mecha-zombies overtaking various, nearly identical looking cities. I get this, from a narrative perspective. Eggman is focusing on densely populated areas, to spread the Infection more. That’s where the most people, that need protecting by the good guys, are gathered. But, as issue twenty-one touches upon the exact same set-up as the last few issues, it’s starting to get boring.

This is “The Last Minute, Part One.” The city — that looks like all the other cities — this time is Central City. That’s where Tails’ workshop is located. Eggman jizzes another dollop of grey goop from his Faceship and soon the city is overrun with Zombots. As the zombies spread, Tails toils away in his laboratory on a cure. He finally cracks a cure but just as the infected make it inside, forcing a speedy retreat that looses him his research. Tangle and Whisper also arrive to do what they can, save people, and contain the outbreak. But soon another city has fallen to the shiny tide.

You might notice that synopsis above doesn’t mention Sonic at all. Yes, Flynn gives the titular hero a break in this one. He’s out running as fast as he can, providing Tails with the data needed to engineer a cure, and only appears in one panel. So Tails, Tangle and Whisper are our heroes this time. That’s kind of cool. Even if this zombie outbreak is getting increasingly same-y, it is sort of cool that Flynn is giving us peeks at other corners of the world during this apocalyptic time. Now how about we see what the fuck Knuckles and Angel Island are doing during all of this, Ian? Just standing back and watching his friends suffer?

Anyway, this issue also has Flynn returning to one of his more peculiar characterization. That of Tails as a hyper-capable bad-ass. After the Zombots break in to his workshop and smash the hard drive containing the newly designed cure, Tails jumps into the Tornado 2 from “Sonic Adventure 2.” Instead of using this airplane to, ya know, fly above the encroaching zombie masses, Tails blasts his way out with machine guns and races through the city streets. He then has to self-destruct, tearfully one must add, to make his final escape. On one hand, I guess this makes sense. (Tails being an action hero, not Flynn’s insistence and adding a shoot-out and car chase to this issue.) He can fly, is as fast as Sonic, and also a super-smart engineer. But does someone who talks to his airplane/car/death-bot like it’s a person and cries when he abandons it also need to be a super-cool hero? Isn’t this kid like ten?

Despite potentially being an intimate story about what folks are doing to survive during the zombie outbreak, “The Last Minute” mostly exist to further push the plot ahead. Tails might loose his research but that he invented a cure once suggests he can probably do it again. Meanwhile, a sequence in the middle of the book has Starline recruiting the Deadly Six, in his plan to take control of the Zombots behind Eggman’s back. The Zetis, of course, plan on betraying him as soon as possible. It’s all machinations to move this arc into its next phase. Which is fine but I do wish Flynn had saved room for a little more character interaction, considering these events are so heated, instead of focusing mostly on plot and action.

While I’ve overall applauded the darker direction this comic has taken in 2019, I’m starting to get a little exhausted with this increasingly dire situation. Tails has a cure in his grasp but then it’s yanked away at the last minute. He’s rescued by Amy Rose and an airship, only to learn that Restoration HQ has fallen. (The events of which will be depicted in the next issue.) Maybe only one or the other should’ve happened. This is starting to feel less like natural story developments and more like contrivances to keep the plot, that should be heading into its last act by now, going on longer. Considering we already know the Metal Virus arc will last into the next year,  the 25th issue, that’s really what I’m expecting.

Another odd thing about issue 21 is that the art situation. I recently learned that Tracy Yardley will be taking an extended break from the “Sonic” books. This required a last minute artist change for this issue... Or artists change, I should say. Three people had to be brought in to make up for Yardley’s sudden absence. Archie vet Lamar Wells teams with someone named Reggie Graham to pencil the first ten pages. Wells and Graham do fine, though their work isn’t as kinetic as what we’ve gotten use to. The action is slightly stiffer and characters aren’t as expressive, with weirdly thick lines. Jennifer Hernandez handles most of the rest of the book, her work having slightly more personable faces. (Tails’ reaction to the Zombots getting into his workshop is funny.) Weirdly, two random pages — depicting Tails’ escape and the Tornado blowing up — are handled by Priscilla Tramontano, who has mostly done covers up to this point. Tramontano’s work is slightly looser than Hernandez or Wells but also a little more dynamic, which might be a fair trade-off.

So I think it’s fair to say the Metal Virus saga is officially in a rut now. Instead of exploring the horror and tension inherent in the zombie outbreak situation, Flynn has fallen back on repetitive plotting and action. With some questionable plotting decisions, issue 21 is maybe the weakest edition to the arc yet. [5/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Annual 2019

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Annual 2019
Publication Date: May 1, 2019

Long time readers of Hedgehogs Can’t Swim might have noticed I haven’t reviewed an issue of IDW’s “Sonic” comic since May. In fact, I know some of you have noticed, as I’ve gotten several annoyed comments from readers wondering when I was going to pick up the series again. I wish I could say I had taken a deliberate hiatus from the new on-going but the truth is, as too often happens, I’ve just drifted away from the series. Right when it seemed like it was getting better too! Well, now that Halloween is over and the end of the year looms, the regular animation reviews are going on hiatus so I can catch up with IDW’s blue hedgehog adventures.

So, anyway: In the world of comic books, “annuals” are a regular occurrence. For those of you who might now know, annuals are special, double-length issues published once a year — duh — that usually contain multiple stories from different writers and artists. Annuals have separate numbering from the main book, usually just being referred to by the year they are published. The stories contained within are usually a bit detached from whatever is happening in the main series at the time too. Weirdly, in the twenty-plus year’s Archie was publishing “Sonic,” they never once did an annual, opting instead for various one-shots and specials. IDW, however, clearly has different plans. Their first “Sonic” annual rolled out this past May.

We begin the annual with “Bonds of Friendship,” from the ever-reliable Ian Flynn with art by Jennifer Hernandez. The story has Tangle the Lamar returning to her home village, with Whisper in tow. The two eventually end up at the Mineral Museum (largely filled with treasure Tangle has gathered during her adventures) which is run by Tangle’s oldest friend, a nervous beetle with a glittery shell named Jewel. After introductions, the Babylon Rogues — making their first appearance in this continuity — bust in and steal everything... Including Jewel, which the dim-witted Storm mistakes for a large gemstone. Tangle and Whisper leap into action to save their friend.

“Bonds of Friendship” is clearly a prequel to the “Tangle & Whisper” mini-series IDW would begin publishing a few months later. It establishes the lemur and the wolf as a duo, while building up Tangle’s history and home town some. The boisterous Tangle and shy Whisper are cute together. Tangle’s stretchy tail and Whisper’s versatile Wispon leads to lots of creative bounding and flipping. It seems Tangle collects nervous types as Jewel — who seems likable enough, even if we only get a glimpse at her personality here — is also rather anxious. I was apathetic about Flynn utilizing the Babylon Rogues, as I never cared for them in the Archie series. However, here Flynn characterizes the self-obsessed Jet and the principled Wave as a bickering couple, which makes the Rogues way more neurotic (and therefore way more interesting) than previous iterations. Storm is still just a big dumb guy though. In general, it’s a cute story with some fun character interactions and some okay action sequences. Its cuteness is further bolstered by Hernandez's extremely adorable artwork.

Our second story, “Jet Set Tornado,” comes from Caleb Goellner, who was invited back to write after that awful “Team Sonic Racing” one-shot for some reason. Obviously set a few issues prior, it concerns Sonic and Tails testing out a new rocket booster for the Tornado. Sonic is allowed to drive, which Tails quickly regrets. The hedgehog activated the rocket booster carelessly and threatens the structural fortitude of the plane. That’s when the duo spots a heavily modified Balkiry, hauling stolen Resistance supplies. They chase the bird-bot into a volcanic region, destroy it without the wrecking the plane, and drop the cargo into some lava which I guess isn’t a big deal.

“Jet Set Tornado” is, admittedly, slightly better than “Team Sonic Racing.” There’s a bead of emotional truth to Sonic and Tails’ decisions, as Sonic makes the choice to risk himself to save Tails’ latest invention. But the story is still pretty bad. Goellner’s dialogue remains, at best, awkward. He fills the word balloons with technical phrases like “straightaways” and “volatile” and lots of talks of unscheduled landings, volcanic vents and geysers, boosters and payloads. Goellner still seems more preoccupied with the special abilities of vehicles than the characters’ personalities or a narrative with any tension or resonance. Jack Lawrence’s energetic pencils are wasted on this nothing of a story.

“Victory Garden” sees Evan Stanley returning to the writer’s chair for the first time in a while, co-scripting with newcomer Gigi Dutreix. Blaze is looking for Silver around Resistance HQ. It seems the futuristic hedgehog has taken an interest in gardening, amazed by how green the planet is now when it’s totally desolate in his time. However, he hasn’t had any luck getting anything to grow. Blaze scorches the Earth and informs Silver on some general rules on gardening, helping a bountiful crop grow in time.

“Victory Garden” is really just as technical as “Jet Set Tornado.” Blaze spends several panels explaining the role ashes play in gardening. The difference is this technical stuff reflects the characters’ personalities and interests. Silver’s dopey attempts at garden are adorable, continuing to show what a lovable klutz he is. As is his enthusiasm at how green and fertile the present timeline is. Blaze taking the time to teach him shows she likes the kid, thinks his interests are worthwhile, and wants to help him grow, figuratively and literally. It’s a really cute story, is what I’m saying. Stanley also provides some wonderful artwork. I love how warm and painterly her work has gotten recently.

Cavan Scott, a British writer best known for his work on “Doctor Who” but new to “Sonic,” contributes “Curse of Eggman’s Pyramid.” Rough and Tumble decide to break into a pyramid Eggman built a while ago, sure it’s full of treasure. Tumble is concerned about a rumored curse though. Soon, they run into Rouge, who is also supposedly looking for treasure. A “curse” makes itself known but not everything is what it’s seems.

Rough and Tumble are characters I have nothing against but probably never would’ve thought to build a story around them myself. However, “Curse of Eggman’s Pyramid” is largely a work of goofy comedy, which is a fine fit for the dim-witted skunks. Both are repeatedly caught off-guard by the pyramid’s traps. The more superstitious Tumble slowly converting the more assured Rough is worth a chuckle. Scott thankfully keeps the rhyming to one panel. Rouge’s intrusion into the story is worthwhile. It leads a genuinely cute ending, where we discover Rouge was acting on a behalf of a community of fennecs that have taken up residence in the pyramid. (And seeing Rouge dressed as a mummy is amusing too.) Diana Skelly’s cartoony artwork is especially well suited to this material.

The annual concludes with James Kochalka and Jon Gray’s “Sonic Fan Club.” It concerns a group of enthusiastic young Sonic fans, none of whom appear to be named. The club president, a snooty blonde deer/dog?, is soon challenged for leadership by another member of the club, a red fox in a purple pillbox hat. They decide to have a contest to determine the president, based on who is the most like Sonic. They have a foot race, test their rolling skills, and end up fighting a Badnik. That’s when Tangle appears and offers to help but just ends up tangling herself in her tail.

There’s not a lot to this one. At first, you assume the condescending club president will be humbled by story’s end. When they encounter the Badnik and he is clearly intimidated, it certainly looks like that’s where we are headed. Instead, Kochalka goes for that non-sequitur of an ending. A really poor touch is that Sonic affects the story — racing through and smashing the Badnik while Tangle is distracted — without ever actually appearing on-panel. It reflects on the story’s depth that none of the characters are actually named. Instead, Gray’s artwork and character designs do most of the talking. The butterfly girl, who looks a lot like Dot Warner, is my favorite. I’m sort of hopeful they’ll bring back some of these kids, just to keep expanding the still relatively new book’s cast. I’m on record as not being much of a fan of Gray’s highly exaggerated artwork. However, he’s gotten a lot better with time and wacky comedy like this is obviously where he’s best utilized. (Though his Tangle is noticeably off-model.)

Of the five stories in the Annual, only one is truly a dud. Ironically, this is the only one that actually stars Sonic. Evan Stanley’s “Victory Garden” is definitely the best if the bunch, with the latter two leaning towards wacky comedy in an amusing way. I hope IDW continues with the Annuals, to make room for the young series’ growing supporting cast. I guess, over all, I’d give this one a fairly high score as long as you ignore that stinky Caleb Goellner story. [7/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 283

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 283
Publication Date: June 2016

We are headed into the home stretch, guys. Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” comics would be rebooted in September of 2013. Though heavily foreshadowed over the next few issues, the Shattered World Crisis wouldn’t officially begin until the end of issue 256, published in January of 2014. Two years and six months later, we are finally approaching the end of that particular story arc. Issue 283 is the buffer issue in between the rest of the Shattered World Crisis and the four part arc that would conclude it once and for all. (And, of course, the comic would end shortly after that, meaning this retrospective is heading into the home stretch too.)

But before we can get around to that, this situation calls for some set-up. “The Mission” sees Sonic and Sally aboard the Sky Patrol. They broadcast a message to all the world’s Freedom Fighters teams. They have all the Gaia Keys and Chaos Emeralds. Big and Cream have secretly relocated them to the vault under Castle Acorn. Eggman is still unaware of the significance of the Gaia Temples. The plan is to have all the Freedom Fighters coordinate a massive attack on Eggman’s bases, distracting him while Chip performs the ritual necessary to restore the world. It’s a great plan... Except Tails Doll is hiding inside the Sky Patrol, broadcasting the entire thing to Eggman.

Do you know what “The Mission” is? It’s a fucking Skype conference call. Sally, Sonic, and Chip are broadcasting a prepared speech to their various associates over the world, about their next course of action as a corporation worldwide net of radical tyranny fighters. This has got to be one of the most blatant examples of Flynn taking a whole issue to set the stage for the next event storyline. There’s no action and next to no character development. It’s all pure narrative construction. That, in and of itself, isn’t really what bugs me. In fact, there’s even something to be said for making sure the proverbial table is set before you have your metaphorical dinner. It’s just so fucking blatant and that annoys me. This is essentially an entire cover story devoted to the characters saying “Get hyped! This nearly three year long plot is finally going to end soon!”

And let’s be real here. There’s a good reason Flynn had to take a whole issue to catch the readers up on everything that’s happened. The lore behind the Shattered World Crisis is so needlessly convoluted that even the writer has trouble keeping track of it. I know this is a point I’ve harped on in the past but, seriously: That’s what happens when you translate stuff directly from a video game to a comic book. In between the Chaos Emeralds, Gaia Keys, and Gaia Temples, this entire bloated arc has been overflowing with plot devices. I couldn’t remember what role each of these things had to play and I doubt I was the only one. So it’s only natural Flynn took a whole issue to touch on everything again and get the details straight. But it’s frustrating things were allowed to get to that point.

I don’t know if Flynn realized you can’t publish an inventory rundown and call it a story or if Aleah nudged him in the shoulder and told him to include some actual personality in here. Because there are a few attempts to make “The Mission” more than just the heroes detailing their plan. It actually starts with a really cute moment, of Sally suffering from some stage fright before going on-camera. Awww, ya see, royals are just like us. In Yurashia, Dulcy has to quietly agree to the plan because Cinders is asleep in her arms. While in Knothole, Cream and Gemerl have some amusingly dad/daughter like interactions. The broadcast ends with Chip thanking everyone for showing him the beauty of the world, a moment that would be touching if it wasn’t sandwiched between so much boldfaced exposition. These tiny character-driven moments are not enough to make this story actually good but at least some attempt was made to inject life into this.

“The Mission” is really only one half of this “plot” and the back story of issue 283, “Zero Hour,” is devoted to showing us the second half. In the Death Egg, Eggman has managed to hunt down Phage, who he is quite annoyed with him. Before he can unleash his full wrath on the sentient virus, Orbot interrupts. Eggman watches Tails Doll’s pirated broadcast of Sally’s announcement. He quickly mobilizes a counter strike to the Freedom Fighters’ master plan.

“Zero Hour” has a lot of the same flaws as “The Mission.” Both stories are long dialogue scenes devoted to characters detailing their plan to their underlings. Eggman even refers to it as a conference call. What makes this even more irksome is that part of “Zero Hour” is even devoted to Eggman watching Sally’s broadcast, essentially in live time. Kind of feels like Ian was just trying to fill page space there, doesn’t it?

However, I do slightly prefer “Zero Hour” over “The Mission.” Flynn wouldn’t have his characters detailing his plans if both of them weren’t destined to go awry. That creates a bit of suspense, in seeing how Eggman will counteract the Freedom Fighters’ plans. Mostly, this one is more enjoyable because of how angry Robotnik gets upon hearing he’s been played. He stews in his rage for a few panels before that genius intellect kicks in, and he starts to strategize. (Also, his chat with Phage includes a Nigerian prince joke, which made me laugh.)

The artwork is nice, by the way. Jamal Peppers, on the cover story, and Jennifer Hernandez, on the back-up, do fine work. Ultimately, there’s only so much I can say about this issue. I suppose an extended first act like this makes sense, when heading into a four-parter that concludes a three year long story. But, geez, I can’t help but assume there was a smoother way to present this information to the reader. Issues like this do little to change the “let's get this over with attitude” I’ve been approaching most of the reboot with. [5/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 282

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 282
Publication Date: June 2016

In summer of 2016, did Archie just decide to burn through all their holiday-related variant covers? The delays had fucked things up so badly that the Valentine’s Day cover came out in May. The June issue, meanwhile, features a spooky horror movie variant that would’ve been ideal for October. Realizing how much things were in disarray, maybe there was an executive decision to just stick this one randomly on issue 282.

Naturally, I approve of this variant. It actually embraces the whole point of the werewolf concept, showing Tails and Amy cowering from a rampaging Werehog that clearly means them harm. Gee, wouldn’t that have made an interesting story! Instead, Tyson Hesse’s (pretty good) main cover is the one that actually reflects the comic’s content. Even if the Werehog using his stretchy arms to fight some random phoenix thing isn’t anywhere near as interesting.

So, anyway, “Wings Of Fire: Part Two - Fighting Fire with Fire” – you think you could’ve squeezed the word “fire” in there a few more times, Ian? – begins with Sonic wolfing out and the combined Freedom Fighters/Shijin Warriors heading off to the local temple. They know the Phoenix Guardian has been corrupted into a dark spirit and that Conquering Storm has set up an ambush. But, because the local Gaia Key scholar is pinned down there, they head out anyway. Everything goes surprisingly well.

What I most liked about the previous part of “Wings of Fire” was the little tidbits of character interaction we got. Instead of building on this stuff for a more emotionally satisfying story, Flynn more or less disregards this stuff in part. And in favor of what? Action scenes, of course, that old standby of Ian's. So the Werehog tangles with the Dark Phoenix Spirit, tossing some pottery at him. Conquering Storm and her band of ninjas drop in on the Freedom Fighters, feuding with them inside the temple. And it's... Fine. I don't know, Cinders can throws sparkles at people.

Listen, I like fight scenes as much as any comic nerd but it's not like we haven't seen this kind of stuff before. So, once again, the passing interactions between the cast members prove more compelling. When Conquering Storm gets the jump on Dulcy, the script hints at some long-standing rivalry between the two. Dulcy even has a humiliating nickname – Connie! – for her opponent. The lynx being a ninja and all that, one can't help but assume that some betrayal of honor or some shit happened in their past. That would've been something the book could've built on in the future if, you know, it hadn't gotten canceled.

Beyond that, what else does this issue offer us? Well, the plot continues to move to forward. After the Freedom Fighters rescues the Gaia temple expert – with his hideously bean-shaped head – they leave the Orient with the final Gaia Key. Meaning this exhausting Shattered World Crisis is nearly over. Naturally, this reveal brings with it some mystic mumbo-jumbo. Apparently among Chip's newly rediscovered Light Gaia abilities is the power to resolve plot points with just a paragraph and a flash of light. He says a speech and the Dark Phoenix – not that one – is cured. Ho-hum.

Anyway, there's a back-story too. “Shards and Sparks” returns us to Soumerica, where Knuckles and Amy Rose have been chilling with Mighty and Ray. The quartet decides to infiltrate Thunderbolt's Egg Base. The chinchilla has recently come into possession of a few more Master Emerald shards, which is exactly what Knuckles is looking for. Once again, Thunderbolt is humiliated when the heroes break in, smash their defenses, steal the plot devices, and head home.

This comic book has always had a bad habit of leaning on MacGuffin Quests too hard. Here of late, it has been especially bad. Both of issue 282's stories are about the good guys retrieving some magical something-or-other from the bad guys. So, once again, it's the banter between the characters that make this interesting at all. So Knuckles and Mighty try to outdo each other's feats of strength, chatting (flirting?) all the while. Amusingly, Amy Rose uses her girly side as a cover for being a hammer swinging bad-ass. And even Thunderbolt seems to be growing on me, as her hopeless need to impress Eggman is growing more desperate.

But I liked the artwork! Jamal Peppers is still doing that thing where he copies Tracy Yardley's style. Some of the characters look a little bland and squished. Still, Peppers knows his shit and the action scenes are well drawn. Jennifer Hernandez actually outdoes Peppers in the back pages. Her facial expressions look fantastic here. Knux and Mighty's cocksure smiles are effective, Thunderbolt's looks are fittingly crazed, and Amy's various expressions – including shock and put-on glee – all look pretty damn good.

So I wasn't really feeling this one much, guys. Once again, I feel like the personality of the book is being crushed by the need of the story. This remains the fault of Flynn trying to build a long-running plot around a video game's structure, that is heavy on shit for the player to retrieve. But at least it'll be over with soon. Let's look at that bitchin' variant cover one more time and imagine the cooler story that could've accompanied it. [5/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 281

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 281
Publication Date: May 2016

Here’s how fucked-up Archie’s release schedule was by 2016. Issue 281 features a pretty cute and amusing variant cover drawn by Diana Skelly. It features Sonic being chased by a bevy of love struck female characters, with Omega playing the trigger happy Cupid. If you hadn’t guessed, this cover was obviously meant to tie into Valentine’s Day. As in, February 14th. And the book wouldn’t actually come out until May, cause shit was all fucked-up. It’s a good thing the book’s primary cover featured a big event – the reappearance of Dulcy – to cover up that embarrassing faux-pas.

(By the way: Among the variant cover’s fawning females, in her sole Archie appearance, is Lah. That’s the cute little ghost girl from the “Night of the Werehog” short film. The “Sonic” fandom being as obsessive-compulsive as it is, Lah is fairly popular despite being a minor character. I attribute this largely to her super adorable design. I have no idea if Lah’s cameo here is a hint that Flynn planned to utilize her at some point in the future. If so, it would’ve been neat to see how a cutesy ghost could’ve fit into the Archie-verse, the kind of stories that could’ve been built around that. Alas, it was not to be for obvious reasons.)

Anyway, our cover story is melodramatically called “Wings of Fire, Part One: Slow Burn.” Sonic and the Freedom Fighters are in Yurashia, on the look-out for Zonshen, the local Gaia Temple guardian. After running into Silver Sonic and some Badniks, the team is assisted by Dulcy the Dragon. A long ago ally of the Freedom Fighters, Dulcy has returned home to start her own team. Since then, she’s only managed to gather three others to her cause: Cyborg tiger and Egg Army deserter Jian, studious tortoise Bunker, and childish pheasant Cinder. The problem emerges when it’s discovered that a phoenix, driven crazy by the Dark Gaia energy, is preventing anyone from entering the Gaia Temple.

After Lupe was re-introduced, it was only a matter of time before that other SatAM exclusive female cast member, Dulcy, appeared post-reboot. Dulcy’s redesign is more radical than Lupe’s, largely due to her design always being an odd fit for the Sega style. I think the compromise, making her tall and gangly instead of tall and chubby, is still awkward. (And the book never addresses why a western-style dragon is in an eastern setting.) Nevertheless, it’s nice to have her back. The sweetness at the core of the character is focused on, in a cute flashback showing how she first met the Freedom Fighters, how she was immediately welcomed into their ranks.

Part one of “Wings Of Fire” is largely devoted to introducing Dulcy, her team, and the world they inhabit. The Shijin Warriors are, as you might’ve guessed, another reference to the Four Guardian Beasts of pan-Asian mythology. Flynn uses these three to set up the fractured area. The tough and short-spoken Jian points out that Eggman has a strong grip on the psyche of the local people. The tribe the chipper Cinder comes from are isolationists. Bunker gets the least development, though he’s as steady and observational as you’d expect a tortoise to be. As for the characters, I immediately like Jian – she gives me some Julie-Su vibes - but find Cinder a little annoying. It’s not like the comic needs another enthusiastic child character, not when Cream is already on this mission. As for the setting, it’s already a more interesting take on Central Asia than the ninja/Monkey Khan version that existed previously.

The second half of the book is devoted to “Homesick.” While the other Freedom Fighters are screwing around in Yurashia, Tails and a Bunnie are in Adabat – seemingly based Southern Asia – to look for another Gaia Key. They find the guardian, Teanchi, who is distraught. His home, which has been in the family for generations, was lost when the world was shattered. He’s been squatting on the wreckage ever since. It takes Tails and Bunnie getting his kids over there to convince him to take help.

While Tails and Bunnie are trying to get Teanchi out of his funk, we flash back to when Bunnie first came to be with the Freedom Fighters. Confined to a wheelchair and still adapting to her robotic limbs at the time, Bunnie was feeling depressed. Like she would never belonged. It took Tails and Ben Muttski, still adorable little kids at the time, to perk her up. It’s a big change to Bunnie’s history, as preboot Bunnie adapted immediately to her cybernetics. (Though they were still a big source of angst for her, from time to time.) Still, it’s nice to see the book focusing on the characters’ feelings so much. Feels like that’s been lacking in the last two years.

This connects loosely to Teanchi’s own loss, though in a round-about way. Loosing your home is devastating but I think loosing limbs is probably worst. Flynn did a better job last month of having the Freedom Fighters help out some common folks and reflect on their past. Nevertheless, I’m fond of this format. If Flynn had been connecting the search for the Gaia Keys or whatever to small, personal issues all along, this extended MacGuffin chase would’ve gone down a lot smoother.

Remember how I said I didn’t start to warm up to the reboot until near the end? This issue and the “Eggman’s Dozen” arc in “Sonic Universe” seem to be the turning point. It’s not a gold star issue or anything. The stories are still weighed down by the laborious lore that haunted the entire reboot. Yet I do find myself liking this one a bit. The cover story provides the kind of slower, character centric story I’ve been preferring lately. And everyone gathering around to eat noodles and dumplings is adorable. While I’m not sure I like all the new info the back-up gives us, at least its focused on people we know and love. That sounds look a [7/10] for me.

Oh, by the way, I had planned on reviewing the 2016 Free Comic Book Day edition of “Sonic” today. I reviewed all the others, even the ones that were reprints. Yet, checking my collection, it would appear I don’t possess 2016’s FCBD book. I guess I wasn’t in the comic shop much that year. Moreover, from what I’ve read online, the freebie was just a digest sized reprint of issue 280 and “Sonic Universe” issue 84. In other words, the books I just reviewed, that were brand new at the time. The only extra content was previews of some upcoming issues. So it sounds like Archie didn’t expend any effort that year. In turn, it doesn’t sound worth my time to track it down. It pains me that my Archie Sonic retrospective won’t be one hundred percent comprehensive because of this but I think you guys will let it go, even if I won’t.

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 280

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 280
Publication Date: April 2016

While reading issue 280 of Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic. Since the reboot started in November of 2013, it never felt like the plot was moving much. The heroes would, from time to time, grab one of the ten thousand magic MacGuffins they need to save the day. But the World remained Shattered and the Freedom Fighters took on a lot of side-missions. With issue 280, it finally feels like we are moving towards a conclusion. And it only took Flynn two years and five months to make the plot progress in a meaningful way!

“Keys to Victory” has Sonic, Tails, and Chip hanging out on the Efrika continent which is, go figure, basically Africa. Sonic gets Axel and his team of bikers to chase him around a tree. Meanwhile, Tails and Chip sneaks into the local Gaia Temple. The two locate the second-to-last Gaia Key. Chip also flies into a glowing green doorway and a floating ball of light informs him of his duty in life for the first time.

“Keys to Victory” is another one of those rare Archie “Sonic” issues that Sonic barely features in. While Tails and Chip are doing the actually plot relevant stuff, Sonic leads Axel and his men on a wild goose chase around a big-ass tree. This allows Flynn to get the required action beats in, as Sonic slaps around some of the bikers and gets slapped himself. I could nitpick here and point out that Axel probably should’ve realized something was up, especially after Sonic casually leaves at the end. But mostly I’m amused by the way the writer constructs the story that barely features the star character.

Instead, this issue is focused on Chip. Since his introduction, I’ve had a lot of mixed feelings about Chip. On one hand, he’s a sweet kid. His confusion about his own origins was occasionally semi-touching. However, he rarely contributed to the actual plot and was mostly just another small, cute, flying thing in the book’s universe. Here, Chip finally learns about his special purpose, in an amusingly psychedelic sequence. Its not that seeing Chip reach some self-realization means much to me but it is nice to see this plot point finally start to come around.

A lot more touching is the interaction between Tails and Chips. See, the two have something in common. Before he met Sonic, Tails felt like an outcast. It’s all of one panel but his reminiscence about their friendship is pretty cute. So is the way Chip, who still feels like an outcast, extrapolates from there. Remembering the interactions he’s had with the Freedom Fighters since coming aboard the Sky Patrol. It’s a little bit of emotion but it makes this story stronger than it would’ve been otherwise.

Issue 280 continues the recent trend of sticking stories focusing on the Freedom Fighters into the back pages. In “A Special Occasion,” Sally and Rotor have taken Professor Pickles to the university in Spagonia, that vaguely Mediterranean part of Sonic's world. The professors put them in contact with Lucia, the young woman who protects the latest Gaia Key. Lucia, however, has other matters on her mind. Tonight is her mom's birthday and getting a reservation at her favorite restaurant is proving impossible. Sally decides to help the girl, using her royal status to pull some strings.

Over the course of “A Special Occasion,” Professor Pickles and his diminutive rival get into a petty argument. Rotor shouts “Hey old guys!” – is that a “Men in Black” reference? – and later expresses his frustration to Sally that people are still letting their petty differences get in the way when the world is literally in pieces. While I find myself agreeing with Rotor, Flynn makes a good case for the little things with this one. Watching Sally and Rotor go about helping normal folks, doing small favors to make sure people are happy and healthy, is pretty cute. Lucia also strikes the reader as a likable character, a forgetful girl with a lot on her mind. It's a nice way to cover up another story about retrieving some magical object.

Honestly, a tale with deliberately low stakes like this doesn't seems pretty uncharacteristic of Ian Flynn recently. Though Flynn gets credit for this one, I suspect Aleah Baker helped out a lot. This is further evident in the story's conclusion, where the emotional heart is revealed. While having dinner with Lucia and her family, Sally mentions that her mother died when she was young, that she only has the vaguest memories of her. This causes Rotor to have a flashback to his own mother, laying sick in bed. It's a small moment but it provides a lot of heart to a cute, more character focused story.

It's a decent issue but there's one small thing about it that still bugs me. Sonic and the gang really are going to be hanging out with normal humans for the rest of the reboot, aren't they? While my grievances with this are pretty well known by this point, I have another issue with this factoid. Why are they all so damn ugly looking? Lucia is kind of cute but Pickles has those awful eyebrows. His professional rival looks like some sort of hideous hobgoblin. The African tribesman they meet in Efrika have weirdly giant heads. You know, Mobians interacting with regular people is weird enough but must they be so visually unappealing as well?

Still, this is a minor nitpick. Truthfully, issue 280 is a pretty good one. Though the back-up stories have been strong recently, this is the best overall issue in quite a while. It got that way by focusing on characters over action and finally moving the plot forward. (The solid artwork, from Jamal Peppers and Jennifer Hernandez, certainly doesn't hurt any.) [7/10]

Sonic Boom: Issue 7

Sonic Boom: Issue 7
Publication Date: April 2015

By April of 2015, Archie’s Sonic titles were pretty much ready to head into “Worlds Unite.” The previous issues of “Sonic” and “Universe” were heavily foreshadowing the next Mega Man crossover by this point. Only one more regular issue remained before the crossover officially began. Everything was streamlined towards getting the Blue Blur and the Blue Bomber back together again... Except for goofy “Sonic Boom,” which was still wrapping up a two-parter about go-kart racing. Even then, an end-of-issue teaser sets up Sticks’ participation in the crossover.

The second part of “Everybody’s Super Sonic Racing”  – everybody wants a second chance, oh –   begins where the first left off: With Sonic plummeting to his doom. Luckily, Tails and the rest of his pals swoop in to save him. Back on track, Sonic decides he’s going to finish the race and beat Eggman on his own terms. The mad scientist, naturally, doesn’t take this very well. As a last ditch effort to smash the hedgehog, he transforms his kart into a killer spider robot.

The second part of “Everybody’s Super Sonic Racing” is as farcical as the first, obviously. However, I like the way “Sonic Boom” continues to sneak little character moments in alongside all the jokes. Sonic’s insistence on beating Robotnik under the rules they all agreed to, despite the villain’s own unwillingness to follow them, is a good display of his moral character. Yeah, he’s mostly doing it because he wants to humiliate the bad guy. But it says something about our spiny hero that playing by the rules is important to him. Sonic may be a snarky bastard but he still believes in upholding an ethical code.

Honestly, the same kinda applies to the book as well. By this point, many of the jokes in “Boom” are character based. Knuckles is always going to act before he thinks, leading to him tossing Sonic’s go-kart back onto the track. (And, in one of the issue’s funniest gags, leading to Sonic incoherently screaming his name.) Sonic will always think about going fast, which means he’ll sometimes smash his head on the stirring wheel. Sticks will always be delightfully screwy, such as the panel where she goes pure-badger on Eggman, flashing her fangs and attacking him face-to-face. This leads to another hilarious panel, where the sound effects simply say “badger noises.”

Most of all, the characters are going to stand by each other. At the end, Sonic gathers up his gang and tells them how their friendship is more important than winning any race. The book immediately lampshades this moment as corny, thanks to some off-panel commentary from Fastidious Beaver. And, yeah, it is. But sometimes you need to be corny. Comedy is funnier when you care about the characters. And you care about the characters when the characters care about each other.

Having said that, this issue still contains some strong meta gags. As he’s falling through the canyon in the beginning, Sonic attempts to grab an editor’s box. Yeah, this is essentially a repeat of a gag from last issue, where Sonic tripped over a caption box. But the joke is still fresh enough that it made me laugh. Afterwards, Sonic asks his friends how they had time to plan his rescue. Knuckles responds that they had a whole month between issues. At that point, Amy asks everyone to spot breaking the fourth wall, which they promptly do. It’s good that Flynn knows when to cut it out.

The artwork is still a very mixed affair. Once again, Jennifer Hernandez and Ryan Jampole are trading back and forth. Once again, it’s really easy to tell which pages Jen drew and which ones Ryan drew. Jampole still doesn’t have a clear grasp on the “Sonic” cast, a solid his renditions of them are still weirdly neckless and awkwardly posed. Then again, a two page spread halfway through the book, showing Sonic and Eggman navigating through some traps in big-headed chibi style, is obviously Hernandez’ work and looks pretty weird. Granted, even Jampole shows a base level competence. He’s not Ron Lim. But he’s definitely the weakest of the current slate of Archie artists.

So “Everybody’s Super Sonic Racing” is a funny little two-parter. Some of the other issue of “Boom” have been funnier but these two still got me to laugh, chuckle, or smile several times. It’s a bummer the next three issues get eaten by the “Worlds Unite” crossover and the series was canceled one issue after that. This book has really become a reliably fun read. [7/10]

Sonic Boom: Issue 6

Sonic Boom: Issue 6
Publication Date: April 2015

It’s so surprising to me that the old first issue gamble still works. You know what I mean: Relaunching a comic book series with a new number one issue. The prospector market for comics is dead and those DC New 52 number ones aren’t worth shit. Yet the big two still pull this crap all the time. I guess new readers are willing to jump on a new number one, in the hopes that’ll be a new beginning. Notably, Archie never performed this re-numbering scheme nearly as much, never re-launching the “Sonic” books even when they probably should’ve. I guess that’s why they devoted the cover of “Sonic Boom: Issue 6” to mocking the number one spiel. It’s kind of a messy, lame cover though, isn’t it?

Issue 6 begins a two-parter entitled “Everybody’s Super Sonic Racing.” Am I the only one who sings that to the tune of Loverboy? Anyway, Eggman sends a high-speed courier robot to deliver a message to Sonic. All the heroes are invited to participate in a friendly go-karting with the Doctor. Sticks is immediately suspicious and opts out. The others decide to see where this is going. Naturally, it’s a trap. Eggman has outfitted the go-carts with mysterious devices and littered the race track with traps.

When talking about “Sonic and Sega All-Star Racing” a while ago, I mentioned Nintendo’s “Mario Kart” series and the burning jealousy I imagine Sega felt towards it. Sega is still chasing that kart spin-off dream, since they are about to release another sure-to-be-mediocre racing game. There’s a big silly element that these (usually out-of-continuity) spin-offs ignore: Why is the hero and his most hated enemy going on a civil go-cart race together? It’s a logic gap this issue of “Sonic Boom” is designed to mock. Multiple times, the comic points out how ridiculous its entire premise is, even including a direct jab at the “Mario Kart” franchise.

So it’s a fruitful set-up for a comedy story. There’s a lot of amusing moments here, usually involving the various ways the racers crash. My favorite is Comedy Chimp. While racing, the devil on his shoulder encourages him to crash his kart, saying the tabloid attention it’ll get him will be worth any injuries. The angel on his other shoulder eagerly agrees with him, an amusing touch. Also funny is how Knuckles is taken out. Eggman has included a bomb-shaped robot among the racers. Knuckles later passes the machine and is so incensed by the other driver’s refusal to say hi that he ends up activating the bomb. This is the good kind of absurdity that “Sonic Boom” has become especially adapt at.

Not all the gags are as strong. Amy stopping her Kart because a line of (robotic) ducks is walking in front of her is amusing. If that gag had just gone on, if the parade of marching water fowl never ended, that would’ve been a good gag. Instead, the robo-geese turn hostile and attack Amy. Eehh, not as funny. I’m also not super fond of Orbot and Cubot taking each other out via bickering, though it is mildly amusing that Cubot’s airbag deploys after the crash.

I would’ve liked to have seen Sticks get involved in this craziness. However, her paranoia being correct for once – one hundred percent correct, it turns out – is both in-character and a solid joke. The meta gags of that nature are fairly strong in this issue. After Tails aimlessly slides off a cliff side, he breaks the fourth wall to explain different kinds of stupidity. A cute gag has Sonic tripping over his own introductory tag near the story’s beginning. That’s a clever way to break the traditional rules of comics. The “Ker-“ sound effect running gag continues and would be annoying if it wasn’t easy to ignore.

Once again, the art duties are being traded between Ryan Jampole and Jennifer Hernandez. As it was last time, there’s an easy way to figure out who drew which panels. If the characters look comfortable and expressive, if the action is funny and spiffy, that’s Hernandez. If the characters look stiff and awkward, if the action is flat and lifeless, that’s Jampole. This is most obvious in the panel where the cheetah-shaped courier-bot suddenly turns and runs away from Team Sonic. The way Jampole draws it makes it look like the cheetah-bot just randomly veers off to the left side of the panel.

While not as funny as the last few issues, “Sonic Boom” remains reliably entertaining with its sixth installment. It’s good to know when can always count on the silly versions of Sonic and the gang for some goofy, good-natured laughs. It’s a bummer there’s only five issues left and three of them are part of the “Worlds Unite” crossover. [7/10]

Sonic Boom: Issue 4

Sonic Boom: Issue 4
Publication Date: January 2015

Before I re-read the comics and write these reviews, dear readers, I usually look up the issue I’ll be covering today on either the Mobius Encyclopaedia or the Sonic News Network wiki. This is just to confirm I have the publication date correct or if there’s any pertinent trivia I need to include in my review. Upon reading the title, I noticed it was listed as “SticksTM and Stones.” I figured this was some sort of joke on the book’s behalf. “Sonic Boom” is fond of meta gags, after all. Nope, turns out Sega was just being especially anal retentive this week. When first introduced, all the characters have trademark symbols next to them. I guess that means, if I try to publish a book with the words knuckles, tails, or sticks in the title, I can expect a nasty letter from Sega’s legal department.

Anyway, “Sticks and Stones” begins with Eggman making his fourth consecutive attack in his Big Boy mech. He interrupts Sonic and the gang at lunch, because they honestly forgot they were suppose to fight the mad scientist on the beach today. Emboldened by this slight, Eggman proceeds to thrash the heroes. Sticks arrives with a simple stone and claims it to be the Rock of Justice, an ancient relic with magical properties against evil. Sonic and the others ignore Sticks’ claims but not everything is as it seems.

Sticks gets a satisfyingly absurd little character arc in this issue. After proclaiming the rock is magical, her friends ignore her. We’re treated to several amusing panels of her attempting to interest the others in the stone. When this fails, she just tosses the damn thing at Eggman, creating a chain reaction that destroys the Big Boy. Convinced the Rock of Justice really is magical, and that it’s magical strength has been used up, the heroes give it a proper burial.

This alone probably would have suited me just fine. It’s a simple and goofy story of Sticks’ friends undervaluing her but then remembering why she’s important to them, no matter how eccentric she may seem. The comic then throws in an amusingly absurd denouncement, where we discover the Rock of Justice really is just a meaningless stone. The comedic quasi-pathos from before are not invalidated but the ridiculous spirit of Sticks, as a character, is maintained. I’m probably reading too much into it but I like that this comic cares just as much about its characters as it does its jokes.

“Sticks and Stones” also continues issue three’s deft execution of physical sight gags. For their fourth battle with the Big Boy, Eggman has outfitted the armor with devices specifically designed to counteract the heroes’ abilities. These attributes get goofier as the issue goes on. The hidden springs and rear-mounted butt guns quickly give way to swatting Amy away with a giant tennis racket and deflecting Sonic with a massive sling-shot. These broader physical gags paired nicely with smaller ones, such as Knuckles attempting to shield himself with an umbrella or Sticks having to pause her heroic declaration because the Rock of Justice is too hot to hold.

Even the fourth wall leaning gags, usually the comic’s weakest comedic tendency, are getting better. Among the expected acknowledgment of logos and “Ker” sound effects are two sharp gags about the “Sonic” comics’ over-reliance on editor’s boxes. Their first appearance is followed by a taunt, directed at the readers, about how they should’ve expected them. Later, Sonic does the editor’s job for him, by referencing the issues the Big Boy previously appeared in dialogue. I guess I liked those two jokes because only longtime “Sonic” readers will really get them.

Before, I’ve talked about how the “Sonic Boom” cast are driven by their compulsions and obsessions. Sonic’s speed, Knuckles’ dumbness, Sticks’ insanity, etc. Issue four gives us some insight into Eggman’s obsession: His need to defeat Sonic. And it’s a very petty, emotional obsession. When he discovers the good guys forgot about their fight-date, Eggman mopes for a panel. Later, he considers just packing up and going home, his moment ruined by Sticks and the Rock’s arrival. Cubot and Orbot have to talk him into continuing the battle. This Eggman is childish and a little pathetic, someone who depends emotionally on being acknowledged by his rival. This contrast nicely with his grand designs as a super villain. It’s also much funnier than previous attempts to make Robotnik a comedic figure, which usually focused on his ego and fatness or just make him a buffoon.

The artwork is once again from Ryan Jampole and Jennifer Hernandez, though it’s not specified who did what this time. I suspect the artists traded off pages or something. Hernandez’ smoother and more energetic art characterizes most of the book, though you can still see Jampole’s somewhat awkward character work from time to time. The artwork highlight of the book is clearly the two page spread where Sticks throws the Rock, which then ricochets into the Big Boy. Instead of traditional panels, the action is depicted through a swirl of images, kind of like a James Bond barrel sequence. It’s a neat looking set of pages, for sure.

The first four issues of “Sonic Boom” form a loose story arc, with the Big Boy being Eggman’s primary weapon in each one. If this was the old days, this probably would’ve been a mini-series proceeding the main series’ publication. It’s nice to know Flynn is still acknowledging that habit, even if it was antiquated in 2015. I guess because there was already a TV show to pull from, the “Sonic Boom” comic found its identity much faster than any of Archie’s previous series. I hope it can keep up being this consistently amusing throughout its whole run. [7/10]