Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper: Issue 4

Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper: Issue 4
Publication Date: December 11, 2019

Welcome to 2020, Hedgehogs Can’t Swim readers! I didn’t mean to take New Year’s Day off but the truth is I’m entering the new decade with a horrible cold. That, combined with generally being way behind schedule, meant I had to miss a day. Hopefully, I can get the blog back on track now that the new year is starting. And what better way is there to start the new year then by putting the previous year to bed? So let me wrap up my coverage of IDW’s recent “Tangle & Whisper” mini-series. (IDW delayed this issue several times, so I feel a little less bad about this review being a bit late.)

Anyway! “Showdown” has Whisper and Tangle on the former base of the Diamond Cutters, waiting for Mimic to arrive. Soon, the fight begins, the shapeshifters bringing a small army of Badniks with him. However, the fight ends up being more personal than that. While disguised as Sonic, Mimic tries to get the drop on Tangle. It doesn’t quite work out for him as a fight soon emerges. Once Whisper and Tangle have the villain at their mercy, they have to make the hard decision of what to do with him.

Somewhat disappointingly, the final issue of “Tangle & Whisper” plays out in as straight-forward a fashion as possible. As the title indicates, this issue is about nothing more than our heroes confronting the bad guy. Mimic has previously outsmarted Tangle and Whisper but they are ready for him this time... So ready, in fact, that they easily outsmart him. He falls into a trap he really should’ve been smart enough to see coming. Once ambushed, it’s not long before he’s beaten into submission. Seeing the heroes win is nice and all but I wish it had taken a little more effort on their behalf.

Having said that, Mimic at least continues to be a fun villain to watch. His ruthlessness remains amusingly hammy. While fighting Tangle, he assumes the form of Jewel, which successfully throws the lemur off enough for him to get a couple shots in. I guess it’s just typical Kid’s Media Villain Syndrome that he’s so easily beaten, that he monologues when he should be delivering a killing blow. (There is something of a disconnect there, as we already know Mimic is a remorseless killer.) Yet it is entertaining to watch him be such a son-of-a-bitch.

Though there’s another reason, beyond simple story logic, that Flynn probably should’ve acknowledged Mimic’s willingness to kill more. After Tangle wraps him up, Whisper puts the muzzle of her Wispon to his head. At this point, we have the old debate about whether or not it’s right to kill truly despicable people. Tangle eventually talks Whisper into taking the high ground. Instead of truly tangoing with the debatable ethics of capital punishment, or even acknowledging the contrast between Mimic’s willingness to kill and Whisper’s reluctance, Tangle just convinces Whisper that it’ll be a greater humiliation for Mimic to be captured, to live with the knowledge he failed. While discussing whether a remorseless murderer like Mimic truly deserves to live or not, I’m not shocked Flynn wimped out. Obviously, “Sonic” heroes aren’t killers, even if Eggman’s recent actions in the main series suggest maybe they should be. Besides, Flynn’s not going to throw away a good villain this soon, especially not when IDW’s Sonic-verse is still so young.

Moreover, the morality of executing evildoers is not Flynn's main point here. "Tangle & Whisper" is and always has been about the Power of Friendship. Mimic is pointedly shown as never caring about his fellow Diamond Cutters, which is why he was able to turn on them so easily. He refers to friends as a weakness, a liability. Tangle and Whisper, meanwhile, succeed because of their Friendship.(Though I wish Flynn showed them more actively working together in this issue.) Interestingly enough - and this is what makes the whole thing work for me - this bond is not depicted as an all-powerful, absolutely mending, magical process. Tangle and Whisper go their separate ways at the end of this issue. Whisper is still coming out of her shell, is still recovering from the trauma of her recent past. But the love and support Tangle is giving her has helped. The two have changed each other for the better. Isn't that nice? To see a kids comic acknowledge that, though friendship is a wonderful and healing thing, it also takes time? Either way, Tangle and Whisper are clearly BFFs and seeing them part is a bit bittersweet. Which is an interesting note to conclude the mini-series on.

Still, this is an issue largely devoted to action and, in that regard, it is a little disappointing. The small fleet of Badniks Eggman sends with Mimic apparently poses no threat to Whisper. She easily blasts a bunch away. It's such a non-challenge for Whisper, that her fight happens largely off-panel. This also keeps Tangle and Whisper apart for a long stretch of the story. When they finally come together, Mimic doesn't put up much of a fight. While it's certainly cathartic for the heroes to just wail on the bad guy for several panels, it reads as a bit of an anti-climax. After chasing the dude for three issues, he goes down after a few whacks. Sure, there are some neat superpowers on display. Whisper molds her wispon into a bludgeon while Tangle coils him up in her tail. But it's nothing we haven't seen them do before. I guess I was expecting a little more.

So "Tangle and Whisper" ends in a slightly underwhelming way. Still, three outta four ain't bad. "Tangle and Whisper" is still a winner in my book. While the main "Sonic" series is slightly more into defeatism, "Tangle and Whisper" was fun and bright yet emotional and meaningful. It's one of the few times when you can tell Flynn was really going for something deeper, about self-forgiveness and kindness. This issue probably tops out at a [6/10], maybe a [7/10] based on the strengths of those last few panels. But the entire mini-series was resoundingly a creative success. I have no idea what the sales figures were like but hopefully they were high enough to justify doing this again. If not as an on-going, at least as another limited series. Even if IDW is still pretty young, It's clear the supporting corners of the "Sonic" universe are where it's at.

Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper: Issue 3

Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper: Issue 3
Publication Date: October 23, 2019

Before we go any further with this review of issue 3 of “Tangle & Whisper,” can I ask what is up with the last two main covers? After the perfectly serviceable first issue cover, the ones for the second and third strike me as a little weird. Instead of high-lighting dynamic action sequences or the friendship between the two title characters, we’ve been greeted with close-ups of Tangle and then Whisper’s faces as they make tense facial expressions. Neither tell us much about the story within or look all that exciting. Apparently, the main covers all connect in one image, though that still doesn’t explain why these individual covers are so uninvokving. The alternate covers are all superior because they high-light the qualities I mentioned above. It’s just an odd choice, is all, especially for a series that has made so many right decisions otherwise.

All right, enough bitchin’. Issue 3 of “Tangle & Whisper” has the two ladies sitting in the blasted-out crater Mimic left them in. After much urging, Whisper finally opens up about her past. She was once part of a team of anti-Eggman mercenaries, the oft-mentioned Diamond Cutters. After years of fighting against the Empire, things became especially heated after Sonic’s disappearance during the events of “Sonic Forces.” That was when Mimic betrayed the team. Tangle witnessed this via the recording in Whisper’s mask. After this, the duo recommit themselves to avenging the fallen friends and decide to take the fight to Mimic.

While it definitely sometimes feels like there is an emotional leash on the main “Sonic” book — probably because there is — the spin-off mini-series is fully embracing big, weepy emotions. Whisper has officially wormed her way into my heart, as we now learn the depths of her trauma. As she describes and technologically displays what happened to her, we clearly see the pain these events have left her with. Her stern declaration of “Never forget, never forgive” is pretty striking. Even more effective, Tangle doesn’t hide how much this affects her too. After watching the footage of the Diamond Cutters’ deaths, a trio of panels are devoted to her collecting herself. That’s some good shit, right there.

Perhaps because the book is so earnest about its emotions, maybe that’s why its moral about the power of friendship — usually such a trite message in kids’ media — is actually pretty effective. There’s a fantastic panel where, after Whisper tries to push Tangle away, she declares that friends look after each other, no matter what. (A smaller panel on the same page, which depicts Tangle nearly bursting into tears, really shows how good Evan Stanley is at facial expressions.) Afterwards, Whisper gives her a big hug. There’s no grandstanding, no repeatedly enforced lesson-of-the-week. Instead, this shows how friends heal one another, through empathy and support.

Flynn has been slower to introduce new characters in IDW, following the flood of new cast members that appeared right after the Archie reboot. Since we are getting our proper introduction to the Diamond Cutters in this issue, this stands as one of the larger character introductions lately. They are Smithey the lion, the engineer and the leader of the group; Slinger the Ocelot, our hot-shot marksman; the adorably named Claire Voyance, a telepathic howler monkey; and then Whisper and Mimic. While we still don’t know much about this team, it’s clear the family-like bond they had through the obvious care Claire and Slinger show towards Whisper. Though I’ll admit, I’m a little disappointed they are “anti-Eggman mercenaries,” instead of something perhaps more morally gray, and that they all wear the same type of dumb mask Whisper wears. (Since they’re dead, I have no idea if Flynn plans to do more with these guys but, considering the obvious amount of work that went into designing them, perhaps more flashback appearances will happen someday.)

The “Sonic” franchise is preoccupied with gimmicks and flashy tech, probably because it is a series targeted at children. This frequently plays into Flynn’s worst tendencies as a writer. However, he finally finds a good use for sci-fi tech in this issue. Whisper’s mask apparently records just about everything that happens to her. All of the Diamond Cutters’ masks were linked too, meaning she can access what her friends saw too. So instead of relying on a typical flashback, Flynn can depict more in-the-moment recreations of events. Secondly, adapting the point of view of these characters in tense moments — such as when their shuttle invaded by slimy clones of Shadow — feels a little bit like a found footage horror movie. Which is a neat approach and pairs nicely with the Zombot shenanigans in the main book.

Though the scene with those Shadow Androids recall the zombie action a little too much. And I’m not sure if we need yet more robotic or semi-robotic versions of the hedgehogs. Also, I don’t know if the reveal that the mask also let its wearer talk directly with their Wisps is necessary. We’ll see if Flynn does anything interesting with that. Another minor issue I have with this part concerns Mimic. We learn that he's working directly with Eggman, that he’s another toady that the dictator gets to boss around and threaten. I sort of liked the previous assumption, that the octopus is just a deeply self-interested and sadistic free agent, better. Oh well, it’s not too big a deal.

“Tangle & Whisper” remains strong as we head into its last issue. I already liked Tangle but getting to explore Whisper’s past has really allowed me to open up to her. The story is more intimate and emotionally driven than the main book at the moment. Will Flynn be able to stick the landing? I guess we’ll find out if IDW ever stops delaying its books. [7/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper: Issue 2

Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper: Issue 2
Publication Date: September 4th, 2019

This seems par the course for “Sonic” comic books. Back in the Archie days, fans would often express disappointment or at least frustration with the main “Sonic” book. Meanwhile, “Sonic Universe” was almost always universally beloved. Even the arcs I thought were bad have some enthusiastic fans. Now that “Sonic” is at IDW, the situation seems similar. Fans have become increasingly impatient with the Zombot plot. Meanwhile, the same people are heaping love on “Tangle & Whisper.” It’s almost as if not having a clueless corporation put inane restrictions on your storytelling makes for a better read. Go figure! Let’s see if the spin-off mini-series remains as strong in its second issue.

The eponymous duo have perused shape-shifting villain Mimic to an old Eggman base. (Identifiable by Eggman’s insistence on slapping his face on everything.) The two know it’s a trap but head inside anyway, as Whisper is determined to stop this guy as soon as possible. Mimic’s shapeshifting makes him a tricky adversary to fight though. Soon, Tangle and Whisper both find themselves caught off-guard by the baddie. It soon becomes apparent that the grudge between the wolf and the chameleonic evil-doer is very personal indeed.

It’s official: I have grown from finding Tangle and Whisper’s night-and-day friendship cute to thinking it’s full-blown perfect. This mission really shows their difference. Tangle likes to rush in and do everything at once. Whisper prefers to take things more slowly. Ultimately, neither approach works real well. But that doesn’t matter because watching these two play off each other is delightful. The opening page has Tangle’s goofiness making Whisper wince. Yet, later, the two connect on a more personal level. Tangle is energetic, not clueless, and she recognizes when someone is in pain. She’ll listen and it’s clear that’s what Whisper needs most of all.

These characters are still relatively new too and this mini-series is allowing them to grow in a number of interesting ways. After getting tricked by Mimic, Tangle is shoved into a giant safe. She comes very close to freaking out, hinting that the lemur might be claustrophobic. Which certainly makes sense for someone so use to swinging around through the air. (And certainly makes more sense than, say, a pyrokinectic who can fly being afraid of heights.) But Whisper is the real grower this time. Yes, she was a part of the same mercenary team as Mimic. It’s clear that her team members were her friends and their death wounded her deeply. Moreover, this makes her especially unwilling to loose Tangle, her newest friend. While the moment where Whisper tries to push her away is easy to predict, it’s still pretty touching.

Most of the new villains introduced by IDW haven’t exactly blown me away. Most have struck me as blatant emulation of long-established “Sonic” characters. (Starline for Snively, Rough and Tumble for Scratch and Grounder.) Yet Mimic sure is making an impression already. Fittingly, this is a villain who delights in tricking people. He shows a truly venomous glee when pulling one over on our heroes. He’s also as capable of wounding people emotionally as physically. When Whisper has him pinned down, he assumes the form of her deceased friends and coldly makes the case that their deaths are Whisper’s fault. What an asshole! And what a good foil for someone as mentally fragile as Whisper. (Though I do wish Flynn hadn’t revealed Mimic’s true form — a cephalopod with that creepy doll face — so soon. That’s a mystery that might’ve been fun to stretch out a little more.)

As you’d expect from a story of a quiet wolf hunting a shapeshifter, “Tangle & Whisper: Issue 2” starts out with fairly low-key action sequences. Whisper is sneaking around the building while Tangle ignores her demand of stealth by leaping around wildly. I definitely should have seen it coming but Mimic tricks Tangle by disguising himself as Whisper. Like, I one hundred percent should have expected that. Yet, somehow, I was caught off-guard by this either because Flynn successfully drew me in with the character’s interpersonal drama, misdirected me by suggesting Jewel would be Mimic’s main disguise, or I’m just having an especially off day. Either way, it’s a good swerve.

Flynn then throws away this subtlety by packing the back half of the issue with explosions and a giant robot. Yes, Mimic throws a giant robot at Whisper before exploding the compound with a bunch of bombs. Only the implementation of the same safe Tangle was locked in waves the heroes from the blast, a clever deployment of Chehkov’s Rule that I also should’ve seen coming. These theatrics strike me as largely unnecessary. I guess Ian figured he had to throw in a Badnik so people would remember this is a “Sonic” book. I guess seven-to-ten year old boys are still the target audience for these comics, even if every “Sonic” reader I know is in their twenties or thirties, so we’ve gotta get some booms and crashes in here.

Still, it’s a minor issue with what is otherwise a pretty good comic book. The artwork is good too, Evan Stanley continuing to do a fine job showing these characters emotions and personalities. I also like the peeks we get at Whisper’s deceased teammates — a shiny cat, a lion who ties his mane into a beard, and what’s either a gecko or a green monkey — and it looks like we’ll see more of them next time. While declaring it overall better than the main IDW “Sonic” title might be a bit premature, “Tangle & Whisper” has definitely had two good first issues. [7/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper: Issue 1

Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper: Issue 1
Publication Date: July 31st, 2019

Back in the early days of Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” series, the company published a number of mini-series starring some of Sonic’s friends. The “Sonic” franchise was at peak popularity at the time and the hedgehog books were, reportedly, among Archie’s best-selling titles during those days. They were eager to capitalize on this and produce a spin-off book, Knuckles eventually emerging as the most reasonable star.

The comic industry is really different now than it was in the booming early nineties. Even popular superhero characters have trouble selling books now. So, unsurprisingly, the tradition of random “Sonic” supporting cast members getting mini-series faded away with time. So imagine my delighted surprise when IDW and Ian Flynn announced that Tangle and Whisper, the most prominent of the new characters exclusive to the comic thus far, would be getting a four issue adventure of their own. It’s a tantalizing idea, since Tangle is delightful and a story totally focused on Ian Flynn creations would be less beholden to Sega’s corporate mandates. Perhaps IDW is hoping to launch a “Sonic Universe” style spin-off of their own, with this mini-series being a test run for that. After all, “Sonic” comic fans are used to picking up two series a month. Why not do that again?

And so our story begins with Tangle zooming around Spiral Hill Village, her home town. Since her adventure with Sonic and the Resistance ended, the lemur’s ADHD has only increased. She feels increasingly stifled in the folksy small town. That’s when adventure comes calling. Whisper comes running into town, blasting at what appears to be Sonic. The apparent hedgehog runs into Tangle and feeds her a line about Whisper being brainwashed. This is not true, the lemur discovers after tackling the wolf. Instead, a shape-shifting mercenary named Mimic is offing ex-members of his team, seemingly at Eggman’s request. Tangle joins a somewhat reluctant Whisper on her journey to stop this guy.

I’ve made no secret of how delightful I find Tangle. Her irrepressible enthusiasm for life and adventure has made her a clear stand-out in the book’s first two years. I’ve been pleased to see fans similarly embrace her, considering people usually hate the things I love. The early sequences here devoted to her accidentally messing up her town, and dreaming about how much fun her last adventure was, are absolutely adorable. I also love her loyalty and devotion to her friends, as she’s apologizing the entire time she’s tricked into fighting Whisper. In short: Tangle is a golden puppy and we must protect her at all cost.

As entertaining as it is to see, Tangle’s non-stop energy might be a bit overwhelming, if given free reign over an entire story. So pairing her up with the morose, calculating Whisper is a good idea. The two balance each other out. Tangle’s enthusiasm brings the shy Whisper out of her shell while Whisper’s intensity helps focus the lemur some. We can see this amusing interaction in the scene where Tangle convinces the wolf to let her come along on this adventure. Whisper, who I prematurely gave the Worst New Character award to last year, is definitely starting to grow on me. Flynn is making it increasingly clear that her quietness and literal mask is hiding some sort of past trauma. Hopefully we get to explore that soon and really get to know her. Also, Whisper’s Dock Martins makes me realize she’s actually a goth and I am predisposed to love all goth girls.

As for issue 1 of the mini-series, it actually does something surprising. This is one of those stories where a fight between two otherwise reasonable characters happens because of an easily explained misunderstanding. I usually hate that kind of shit. Somehow, it works here. I’m getting this is because Tangle’s obvious distress over fighting her friend turns this rumble into a comical set-piece and less of an action one. It’s also over really quickly, as Tangle snatches away Whisper’s mask (which was blamed for her attacking Sonic) and Whisper succinctly explaining what really happened after that. While a shape-shifting villain is exactly the kind of shit usually done to explain these sort of fights, at least the execution here makes sense.

Still, for all its pros, “Tangle & Whisper: Issue 1” is still beholding to setting up the plot of the rest of the series. The second half of this issue is devoted entirely to Whisper explaining that this Mimic guy is a bad dude, followed by a long scene where Tangle has to convince her to let her tag along. This is pretty typical of Ian Flynn’s writing, bringing the pacing to a screeching halt to further set-up the story. Ya know, man, it’s possible to pair action and plot especially since the story thus far is truly just “lets chase the bad guy.” At least he doesn’t devote the entire comic to this business and it hardly ruins how much fun the rest of this issue is.

Having said all that, I am intrigued by Mimic, even if he has the most generic name possible for such a character. Duplicitous shapeshifters are hardly the most novel type of adversaries — After all, Flynn frequently wrote Naugus as just that — but it’s still a character type with a lot of potential. Mimic has already established himself as especially calculating and brutal, good qualities for a villain to have. And he’s clearly connected to Whisper’s past. I’m going to go ahead and assume she’s the last survivor of Mimic’s killing spree. (Also: The panel where Mimic appears as a knife-wielding Sonic with black eyes and a stitch-y doll’s mouth clearly marks him as inspired by the “Sonic.EXE” creepypasta. While that meme and everything it has wrought is total garbage, it still amuses me to see Flynn referencing fan culture and incorporating more horror elements into the book.)

With Evan Stanley contributing artwork as energetic and expressive as the book’s cast, I’m happy to say that “Tangle & Whisper” is off to a good start. While IDW’s new book has still yet to fill the void left by the Freedom Fighters, not that anything could, I’m really pleased to see the comic committing to building up its cast and developing the new additions fans have already latched onto. Here’s hoping the rest of the mini is at solid as this first issue is. [7/10]