Sonic Super Digest: Issue 15

Sonic Super Digest: Issue 15
Publication Date: January 2016

From the moment I started talking about them, I’ve bitched about how annoying I found Archie’s decision to slot the Sonic Comic Origins stories into the Sonic Super Digest side series. Providing important information about largely pivotal characters is the sort of thing that definitely should’ve been in the main book. Well, you won’t have to hear me rehash the same complaint again after this. Number 15 is the last issue of the Sonic Super Digest I’ll be reviewing. Two more digests would be published in 2016 but they were comprised entirely of reprinted material. Like every other Archie “Sonic” title, the series would cease publication at the end of the year.

This time, the origin story is for Razor the Shark, the first exclusively post-reboot character to get this treatment. “Castaway” features no blood-smeared volleyballs but does begin with Sonic and Razor surfing, during some downtime in the Shattered World Crisis. The shark soon reveals how he came to reside in Meropis. How he was part of a crew of pirates. How some sort of disagreement led to him being stabbed and tossed overboard. How his unconscious body drifted into Coral’s temple and how she nursed him back to health. In order to repay her kindness, he decided to stay and protect this kind, young girl.

It’s pretty evident why, out of all the post-reboot characters Flynn could have written an origin for, he choose to do Razor at this time. “Castaway,” in several little ways, sets up what would be the very last “Sonic Universe” arc. That band of pirates, and Razor’s personal connection to them, will be expanded on soon enough. Meanwhile, Coral mentions the missing Princess Undina, who will provide the plot motivation for the same upcoming story. (And also had a few background cameos in the previous issues of the main “Sonic” book.) So Flynn didn’t cover Razor’s origins now because of fan demand or because the character really called out for it. It was just another step in this long-running, thought out far in advance story he’s writing here.

But “Castaway” does have some value as a narrative. I like the insight into Razor’s personality it gives us. Though he’s largely been characterized as the kind of stubborn tough guy this franchise has plenty of, he definitely has a soft side. While describing his past with the pirates, he uses misleading words. Either because he’s ashamed of his past or simply afraid people will dislike him if they knew the truth. I also like the expansion we get on his relationship with Coral. How he repaid kindness with kindness, the type of tenderness he obviously didn’t see a lot of before. Sonic picks up the romantic connotations of this, teasing the shark about it. This ends the story on a graceful note, as Razor exits by wondering out loud if Coral could care for him the way he cares for her. The character’s vulnerable side is, by far, his most endearing quality.

Art wise, Adam Bryce Thomas provides some solid pencils. There’s not much action in this story, aside from the early surfing scenes and Razor’s brief scuffle with Captain Striker’s men. Instead, it’s Thomas’s strength for personable characters that makes this a good looking story. The hurt Razor feels over his past and the clear concern he has for Coral are shown primarily through his face, which goes  along way towards establishing the story’s heart. There’s also some nice use of shadow as well, in the panel where Razor debates whether he wants to stay with Coral or not.

As always, this story only takes up the first five pages of the digest. The rest of the book is filled out with reprints. And since this is after the Pendersing, the material is largely drawn from the post-reboot material. Some of the reprints are as recent as “Sonic Universe: Issue 79’s” “The Silver Age: Part One.” We’ve also got “Sonic” 276’s “Cold Hearted,” the back-up story from the same issue, the cover story from “Sonic Boom” #4, and the third part of “Spark of Life.” The only pre-reboot material is the first part of “Babylon Rising,” a story you’ll notice features no Penders’ elements. Otherwise, this digest only offers us some “pin-up art” - textless cover art - and some coloring pages, which look like Sega stock-art.

Up until this point, the “Sonic Comic Origins” stories had provided background info on new versions of old characters. I imagine Flynn or the editors in charge started these stories to sate reader curiosity. Obviously, hardcore fans would want to know about the Freedom Fighters’ pasts in this new continuity. Or learn what’s different with the revamped version of a fan favorite like Snively. Issue 15 could’ve signaled a shift in direction, allowing Flynn to expound on the histories of the new characters he’s introduced without devoting page space in the main book to them. Presumably, Honey the Cat, the various Egg Bosses, Madonna, and Dulcy’s supporting cast would’ve been the subjects of future Sonic Comic Origins. (Along with lingering pre-boot characters, like Naugus and Conquering Storm.) Honestly, I would’ve rather seen any of those over Razor the Shark’s origin. I like Razor well enough but any of the above would’ve been much more interesting to me.

Looking back at the “Sonic Super Digest” series, it mostly frustrates me. If the series had just been a reprints collection, with the occasional out-of-continuity game adaptation thrown in, I would be utterly ambivalent to its existence. The decision to shove the Comic Origins in here, to me, exposes one of the main problems I had with the reboot. Instead of incorporating this integral information into the new on-going arc, Flynn decided to focus the main book solely on the on-going story. As if its mere existence was enough to make us invested in the gutted book.

But, whatever, it’s over now. “Castaway” is a decent expansion on a fairly minor character’s backstory. [6/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 263

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 263
Publication Date: August 2014

If you didn’t know Chaos was going to make a surprise appearance in issue 263 of Archie’s “Sonic” comic, the final part of the “Waves of Change” arc, the cover ruins that. Honestly, I have a lot of questions about Ben Bates’ otherwise very dynamic cover. Chaos seems to have generated a waterspout around Meropis, a really cool idea that absolutely does not happen in the actual comic book. That seems to have provided enough lift to levitate Amy and Rotor into the air, as they’re just posing blankly many feet above the ground. Sonic, meanwhile, is surfing on a gush of water from Chaos’ arm. This is despite his body language in no way correlating with an upward motion. It’s one of those covers that appears super cool until you actually take a long look at it and realize it makes no fucking sense.

So how about the plot of “Waves of Change: Part Four - Divine Waters?” Meropis is under siege from the Dark Gaia monsters. Razor and Amy try to protect the Temple, while Coral continues to try to manifest the magic bubble around the city. Meanwhile, Sonic and Rotor fumble on the ocean floor, as their air charms run out and a huge monster wails on them. Luckily, Coral is contacted by float-y spirit echidna Tikal. She summons Chaos to save Sonic and Rotor. And everything pretty much works out okay after that.

“Divine Waters” wraps up the “Waves of Changes” arc in ridiculously tidy fashion. Not a single plot point set up in the last three issues is left unresolved. Captain Striker forgives Coral, which he shows by sending Echo the Dolphin and a squad of soldiers to protect the temple. Queen Angelica and King Puff reappear just to apologize about being such assholes. The temple Chao re-emerges and the magical rites are performed, rising the shields and saving Meropis. The Freedom Fighters even get a farewell gift of a shit ton of Power Rings, which is apparently what fuels the Sky Patrol. Sonic and the gang didn’t find a Gaia Temple but Amy has now learned the Mystic Melody, which will help locate the temples quicker... Somehow. It’s like Flynn had a check list of things he had to do before finishing this one. It’s clean but comes awfully close to feeling contrived.

And no element is more contrived than the sudden appearance of Tikal and Chaos, a textbook and almost literal deus ex machina. They appear out of nowhere and resolve the heroes’ problems. Chaos saves Sonic and Rotor by zapping big air bubbles around them. You know this is a cheat because the heroes would have absolutely died if the soggy god hadn’t intervene. Ian painted himself into a corner and had to summon the god out of the machine to get out. There’s some bullshit about how the bad juju in the water, from Dark Gaia leaking its shit everywhere, kept Tikal from getting to the temple sooner. That’s Flynn’s sole attempt to justify this random ass plot solution. It’s sloppy, sloppy writing and Ian is better than that.

With such a contrived ending, the emotional state of the characters is all we’re left to cling to. There’s some cute banner between Sonic and Razor at the end, as well as an almost flirtatious exchange with Rotor. Mostly, it’s nice to see Coral – who has spent most of the arc as a nervous wreck – feeling better by the end. Tikal appears and gives her both a magical boost and a pep talk. I guess a goddess materializing in my house and assuring me I’m doing a good job would make me feel better too. Sonic leaves Meropis in a considerably better place than when he arrived. I just wish it felt more natural.

Aleah Baker continues her run in the back pages with “Consequences,” a direct follow-up to “A Light in the Dark.” The two Egg Bosses responsible for watching over the crystal cave mining job, deer sisters Clove and Cassia, arrive at the location. They find a bunch of wrecked robots, and a taunting message from the Freedom Fighters, but no Chaos Emerald. Clove has to inform Eggman of their failures, but he has more pressing concerns.

Story wise, there’s not much to “Consequences.” The main plot point is Eggman discovering Sally stole some pertinent documents when she was aboard the Death Egg. Instead, this story is about introducing Clove and Cassia. Continuing Flynn’s post-reboot goal of introducing more funny animal diversity, they’re two cool looking pronghorn deer. It’s immediately apparent they are not working for Robotnik because they like it. Little sister Cassia has robotic implants. It’s hinted that Eggman provided this upgrade in return for the sisters’ loyalty. So right out of the gate, Clove is more complex than most of this book’s villains. She is motivated by her concerns for her sibling, which is subtly hinted at here, while Cassia is eager to break loose following a long period of illness. It’s fascinating stuff. The only disappointing part of “Consequences” is that Flynn would not use Clove and Cassia nearly enough before the comic was canceled.

Let’s talk about the book’s artwork. Ryan Jampole, last seen during “Worlds Collide,” draws the cover story. As seen last time, Jampole’s artwork is a bit stiff. His action scenes frequently lack a sense of movement. His characters are a bit awkward, all of them looking a little too long-limbed. His backgrounds are often blank and uninteresting, usually composed of plain colors. But it’s serviceable. Evan Stanley draws “Consequences”and it’s much better. Stanley’s artwork is detailed and expressive, Clove and Cassia really coming to life. (I also suspect Stanley drew the last page of the cover story, which re-introduces two fan favorites, and looks nothing like Jampole’s work.)

But there is one piece of artwork from Stanley this month that I do not care for. Stanley provides this month’s alternate cover, which I don’t usually talk about. Against a searing cotton candy pink background, she has re-imagined the Freedom Fighters as Chao. And the results are deeply unpleasant to look at. Squeezing these recognizable features onto the spherical Chao bodies, with their huge eyes and weird stubby limbs, is not cute. The added detail of gaping mouths makes this more unnerving than cute. Thankfully, it’s just a little gag image and has nothing to do with the issue itself.

As for the comic itself, the cover story is a disappointing conclusion to an arc that had a promising start. The back-up is pretty good though. Let’s round it up to a [6/10.]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 262

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 262
Publication Date: July 2014

I’ve had pretty much nothing but criticism for the half-assed way Ian Flynn rebooted the “Sonic” comics’ continuity. However, I’ll give the guy this much. In the past, I’ve bitched that Flynn sometimes prioritized action scenes over anything else. Though the reboot certainly has not been short on robot smashing and punching, Flynn has done an okay job of balancing that with decent world building. Such as in the “Waves of Change” arc. We’re three issues in and just now getting to the fighting. Do you think Flynn really had to restrain himself to pull that off?

Part three of “Waves of Change” totally whiffs on the cliffhanger promised by the last issue though. Sonic, Razor, and Amy fight their way through the group of monsters invading the temple within one page. The issue is actually about two things. Amy and Razor stay in the temple, protecting Pearly and the Chao and helping Coral summing the magic dome to protect the city. Sonic and Rotor, meanwhile, head out to protect Meropis’ residents from the attacker. In their haste, they grab faulty air charms, which becomes a problem pretty quickly.

As I said above, “Waves of Change” has reached the point where it’s finally become an action story. There’s several pages devoted to Sonic and his associates fighting the Dark Gaia monsters. The monsters are not difficult to kill, as they dissipate into smoke after a few hard hits. However, their seemingly endless numbers makes them more dangerous. Mildly entertaining spin-dashes and walrus punches compete with more character-oriented moments, such as Razor’s continued loyalty to Coral, Coral’s self-doubt, and Amy’s surprisingly sweet role as a motherly confidence booster. I guess Flynn does a decent job of servicing both of these elements.

I’m obviously a little more enamored of the character development side of things. If I wanted to see Sonic smash some neon colored monsters, I’d just pop in my disc of “Sonic Unleashed.” (I’m absolutely not going to do that.) What’s more compelling is the little nuggets we get of some of the new characters’ personalities. Pearly’s phobia of Chao plays out in a pretty funny and cute scene. Her willingness to get over her fears and help others marks her as a likable young hero. Captain Striker is revealed to be not really an asshole. He’s just really invested in protecting his city. He’s willing to let bygones be bygones with Sonic. Because this is what the comic is now, Striker also has a superpower. He uses his totally real mantis shrimp super-pinchers to create a shockwave, decimating a giant Dark Gaia creature in seconds. Which is pretty cool, I guess.

The cover story works fine enough, I suppose, but I’ve got one problem with it. Air charms apparently work like cellphones. If they aren’t charged, they will stop working at the most inconvenient times. This, in of itself, is pretty silly. How it’s set up – with Pearly announcing to Amy that Sonic and Rotor grabbed weak charms after they’ve left – is such an obviously hollow attempt to build suspense. That just doesn’t work, because the focus is more on Sonic and Rotor smashing monsters than their impending lack of oxygen. (It also ignores that, as a walrus, Rotor is probably pretty good at holding his breath.) This misunderstanding sets up a cliffhanger at the end and I think that was honestly the only reason it was introduced in the first place. It’s an example of Flynn valuing comic book mechanics over actual narrative flow.

The back pages are devoted to the conclusion of Aleah Baker’s “A Light in the Dark.” Having made the decision to defend the crystal cave from Robotnik’s forces, Sally, Tails, and Antoine fight off a horde of robots on their way out. Along the way, Nicole rises to the occasion to defend her friends. They escape safely, Chaos Emerald in hand. Afterwards, aboard the Sky Patrol, Sally and Nicole have a heart-to-heart.

While Flynn did a theoretically good job of balancing action and characters in the cover story, Aleah Baker proves more adapt at this than her husband. There’s a few fun action beats here, like when Sally skewers an E-1000 with her laser swords. Baker, however, manages to include many small personable touches. Such as Antoine bragging about his swordsmanship before worrying that the robots will mess up his hair. The epilogue on the Sky Patrol is where this really shines. Bunnie and Antoine have a cute exchange about the Chaos Emerald, comparing it to her wedding ring. More importantly, Sally and Nicole’s talk is touching. The A.I. admits she was wrong, that she’s still learning about the natural world. By focusing on the cast and their relationship, Baker turned what could’ve been a standard fetch quest story into something a lot more meaningful.

So it’s fair to say the back-up does most of the heavy lifting here. Flynn’s cover story is fine, a 6/10 on its own, but he’s a little too preoccupied with plot, rules, and fight scenes. Baker remembers that adding a little heart to your cast makes all of the above far more compelling. “A Light in the Dark” bumps this issue’s score up a grade. [7/10] 

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 261

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 261
Publication Date: June 2014

From its inception, the “Sonic Universe” spin-off series has revolved around four issue long story arcs. With the exception of the occasional one-off, it’s a structure the series has stuck with. This worked fine for “Universe,” as each story arc focused on a different set of characters. Following the reboot, the main “Sonic” series would adopt a similar structure more often. This resulted in stories that probably only needed to run for two or three issues going on for four. Like the “Waves of Change” arc, which is already starting to wear out its welcome.

In part two of “Waves of Change,” Sonic, Rotor, and Amy are escorted out of the Chao temple by the very grumpy Meropis royal guard. Apparently, outsiders are forbidden from entering the sacred site and Razor and Coral broke a big rule letting the Freedom Fighters in. Sonic tries to make his case to the underwater city’s monarchs but they are unimpressed. Coral is to be exiled from her position. This stresses the young girl out as night falls, preventing her from putting up the magical shield that will keep the city safe from the Dark Gaia monsters.

For whatever reason, pop culture tends to depict underwater cities as being run by assholes. As a long time “Aquaman” fan, it’s something I’ve encountered a lot. There’s even a TV Tropes page devoted to the topic. I guess a society isolating itself on the ocean floor suggests certain things about their rulers. Sonic experiences this first hand here. The royal guard, led by a mantis shrimp named Striker, seems to relish a chance to bully Coral. The boy-king, King Puff, is as immature as his age suggests and often has literally self-inflating temper tantrums. His queen, an unusually attractive angler fish named Angelica, is rather draconian and bitchy. As he learned many times in the prior continuity, the bureaucracy of the royals is one place where Sonic’s speedy attitude is of little help.

It’s a little hard to get too involved in any of this stuff. This issue is our first impression of Meropis as a city and it’s a largely negative one. However, there is one element keeping the reader involved in all this. Coral is such a vulnerable ball of sad emotions that the reader can’t help but feel bad for her. Everyone is determined to protect this sad puppy dog fish girl. Razor’s devotion borders romantic. Sonic is viscerally annoyed by the royals’ treatment of her. Amy is so frustrated by the girl’s firing that she starts Piko-ing trees. Throughout all of this, Coral remains on the verge of tears. The character comes close to being too whiny and ineffectual but we still feel bad for at this point. Being fired from your dream job sucks.

This story is still pretty low on action thus far, which is not a complaint. This allows some decent interpersonal tension to arise. Sonic wants to stay in Meropis long enough to help Coral. Rotor, meanwhile, believes the gang should focus on finding the Gaia Temples. The two old friends nearly come to blows over this. It’s a good depiction of both characters’ attitudes towards saving the world. Rotor thinks the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Sonic doesn’t see in such broad spectrums. He thinks even the smallest injustices deserve to be undone. It’s a good moment of character development that the reboot ‘verse would sometimes lack.

In the back pages, “A Light in the Dark” continues. Instead of finding a monster at the end of the tunnel, Sally, Tails, Antoine, and Nicole discover a cavern full of gorgeous crystal. Using Nicole’s tracker, Tails flies deeper into the cave and easily finds the Chaos Emerald. The gang is ready to leave, knowing Eggman will then fruitlessly search the precious cave for something that isn’t there. Sally is having second thoughts though. She doesn’t want such a beautiful place destroyed just to spite their enemy. The Freedom Fighters decide to stay and battle the reactivated robotic forces.

I probably should’ve mentioned this last time. “A Light in the Dark” was not written by Ian Flynn but was the debut of Aleah Baker, who is Mrs. Ian Flynn. Why you may be tempted to shout nepotism, Baker would prove herself to be a strong writer in her own right. The second half of “A Light In the Dark” is clearly the middle chapter of the story. The conflict is set up, leading us towards the next part’s resolution. However, Baker shows a strong grasp on the characters. Sally standing up for something, which may not be practical but is undoubtedly the moral decision, is a nice sight to see. The Freedom Fighters defending a natural wonder from Robotnik’s industrial exploitation also recalls “SatAM” and you know I like that. It’s an uneventful story but one that seems to understand the cast, their world, and their feelings about it.

There’s a lot of strong character development in this issue but it still ends up feeling somewhat listless. I generally like both stories but neither exactly moves. Which seems counter-intuitive for a “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic book. The ending of “Waves of Changes: Part Two” sets up a fight with the Dark Gaia monsters next time, which also doesn’t seem very promising. It’s a weird case of a comic book I like but still feel like I can’t give it anything above a [6/10].

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 260

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 260
Publication Date: May 2014

With “The Chase” two-parter wrapped up, Ian Flynn has set-up the new MacGuffin Chase that will occupy the comic for the reminder of its life. The threat of the Shattered World was established and so was the plot device that could reverse it. Now, Flynn could get down to the business of actually building up the post-reboot world. He would primarily do that by expanding the comic’s cast, once enormous but now greatly diminished. We’re going to see a ton of new characters over the next few months and this - if you’ll excuse the pun - wave of introductions began with issue 260.

The issue begins the story arc “Waves of Change.” (See, that pun has two meanings now.) After watching some spooky found footage of Dark Gaia monsters crawling out of the Earth at night, the Freedom Fighters track a possible Gaia Temple down to an isolated beach. There, they discover Meropis, an underwater community. They meet a boisterous shark named Razor and Coral the Beta, the young and inexperienced mystic that oversees the civilization’s Chao garden. But is this peaceful location as friendly as it seems?

Fish are now people and they have their own culture, which is mystical rather than scientific
As seen with Muttski, Ian Flynn has really changed the biological layout of Sonic’s world. Previously, Mobius’ aquatic residents had the same human-like intelligence of the surface dwellers but mostly maintained their animal-like appearance. This was presumably because their bodies had already evolved to live underwater, so they stuck with it. (And also because the artists probably didn’t think about it that hard or at all.) Now, post-Super Genesis Wave, all Mobians have cartoony, humanoid shapes. So fish like Razor, Coral, and Pearly the Manta more closely resemble Sonic and his Sega-ified friends. This does streamline the universe so it doesn’t bother me too much.

In fact, the new characters are pretty likable. Razor is professional to the point of being gruff but his soft side is evident in how much he cares about the cute little things around him. Coral is inexperienced and vulnerable, making her likable. (Though Pearly is just another cute little girl character, which the book didn’t need more of.) Moreover, I like how Meropis citizens are a mystical people. Their lives are govern by magical rituals, with what the Chao in the temple get up to being especially important. This contrast nicely with the more scientific Freedom Fighters. This is even visualized, when Rotor uses his little handheld computer to study the ancient temple. This is world-building that feels natural and expanding.

The issue is also full of little moments between the characters that I like. Aboard the Sky Patrol, Antoine gets nervous about the potential end of the world. Meanwhile, Sonic continues to secretly fret about his exposure to the Dark Gaia gas. This concern is defused by some quasi-flirting with Sally. On the beach above Meropis, there’s some cute razing between Sonic and Rotor. Later, when Sally informs Amy to keep an eye on Sonic, she enthusiastically agrees. It all leads to a touching conversation between Amy and Coral. The pink hedgehog sees a lot of herself in the insecure girl. It’s nice to sit back and watch the comic’s cast just interact, to remind us why we care about them in the first place.

Issue 260 also contains a back-up story, something we haven’t seen in a while. “A Light in the Dark: Part One” begins just as Sonic, Amy, and Rotor leave for Meropis. Sally, Antoine, Tails, and Nicole leave the Sky Patrol to investigate a Chaos Emerald signal deep underground. Apparently Eggman was mining in the area but stopped for mysterious reasons. As the team searches the underground tunnels, they increasingly unsure about the reason why.

There’s not too much to “A Light in the Dark: Part One” but it functions well enough. It’s a mildly suspenseful story. As the trio (plus Nicole) step through the mind shaft, they get more nervous. Antoine is worried about cave-ins and poison gas. Without Sonic around to lighten the mood, Sally and Tails start to get nervous too. This mood is emphasized with some excellent art by Evan Stanley. The shadows on everyone’s faces makes the location fittingly mysterious. The sights of various deactivated Badniks littering the tunnel is effective. It feels a bit like a precursor to a horror story. You expect the Freedom Fighters to find a monster at the end. (Spoiler: They don’t.)

The artwork is pretty good in the whole book, by the way. After toiling away at Off Panels and mobile game adaptations, Jennifer Hernandez makes her proper debut with “Waves of Change: Part One.” Her stuff is pretty good, especially the amount of personality she manages to give the Chao just with their facial expressions. After so much upheaval and action, a more slow paced issue like this is really appreciated. We’ll get back to awkwardly fusing Sega and comic lore and video game derived bologna soon enough, making this little breather more appreciated. [7/10]