Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 164

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 164
Publication Date: July 2006

Before talking about the conclusion to “The Darkest Storm,” let's take some time to appreciate Patrick Spaziante's cover art. It's been a while since Spaz gifted us with a triptych. He used to do them all the time for the “Knuckles” book. On one hand, it's really just a line-up of key players from the story. Mogul, Naugus, Robotnik, the Mystic Walkers and some of Sonic's pals appear in stationary windows. Yet the visual device of Sonic running between the covers provides a nice beat of movement and continuity. Moreover, the mixture of colors – muted in the back, searing in the front – helps draw the eye. As Flynn's run went on, Spaz would do fewer covers for the series though he still contributed one occasionally. In a way, this three-part cover would be his big farewell to fans.

The third chapter of “The Darkest Storm,” subtitled “Downburst,” picks up with the Freedom Fighters battling the combined forces of Mammoth Mogul and Ixis Naugus. They are holding their own but the sheer scale of the battle is weighing on them. Attempts to retrieve the Crown of Acorn from Mogul prove unsuccessful, as the immortal wizard has already corrupted the remnants of the Source of All. Two surprise moves end up saving the day. Firstly, Sir Connery sacrifices himself to destroy the Sword and Crown. Secondly, Robotnik sends an aerial assault force to capture the villains, promising to return to Knothole someday soon to destroy it.

As his first epic on the book wraps up, Ian Flynn continues to clean shit up. I missed this detail last time but, after re-entering Mobius, Ixis Naugus fused the Void and the Zone of Silence into one place. That's fine since there was really no reason for those dimensions to be two different places anyway. That's not the only unnecessary element the writer ejects. The Sword of Acorn, Crown of Acorn, and Source of All are all gone for good by this issue's end. Sir Connery destroys them all to prevent Mammoth Mogul and any other villains are using them for evil. And good riddance. That mystic clap trapery did little but annoy me from the moment it was introduced.

When Ian Flynn brought Sir Connery back two issues ago, the character was one of the most obscure Archie “Sonic” characters in the book. When I first read this story eleven years ago – Christ, I'm old – I had completely forgotten who he was. In his final moments, Flynn takes Sir Connery from a footnote to a bad-ass. First off, James Fry actually draws the knight so that he looks like a horse, instead of the weird lizard monster Ken Penders created. Though he speaks in a slightly aggravating faux-Olde English speak, the equine's bravery and devotion to his duty is sort of inspiring. That he ultimately dies to protect others means he isn't just giving lip service to his duty. He's a real human horse being and a real hero.

The writer remains good at sneaking in character moments among the action beats. Since his introduction, Elias has always been a divisive character. The book often kicked the character around, not sure what to do with him, writing the Prince out for long stretches of time. At his worst, Elias came off as a whiny wienie. Though he accepted his role as royalty a while ago, Ian finally makes the character's transformation feel earned. Connery's sacrifice makes the newly minted King eager to keep his kingdom strong and united. Ian even finds some character development for Robotnik. Turns out the doctor was personally hurt by M's death and is in such a bad mood that he doesn't flatten Knothole when he has the chance to.

Yet my favorite character beat is maybe the smallest. In the opening pages, while the Freedom Fighters are battling the Destructix and Naugus' spider ninja minions, Fiona asks Sonic to pick up the pace. Afterwards, he sneaks a line of dialogue to Sally, referencing their long romantic history and congratulating the Princess for getting back on the battlefield. It's a tiny moment but thank god for it. Right here, Ian would begin the long rehabilitation of Sonic and Sally's romance, fixing the ridiculous break-up the previous writers hoisted on him. He also works towards fixing Sally's “chickification,” getting her out of the castle, stopping the constant weeping, and letting her kick ass again.

In the back pages, the “Sonic Riders” adaptation reaches its conclusion. After his humilating defeat at the hands of the Babylon Rogues, Sonic talks the event over with Knuckles and Tails. Tails yanks a trio of hoverboards out of his lab, saying they might be what Sonic needs to best the bad birdies. Deck out on the boards, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles head off to challenge the Rogues at their own game.

Like a number of Archie's previous game adaptations, “Sonic Riders” is nothing much more then a tie-in with Sega's corporate product. This one also ends by encouraging the reader to seek out the video game, where the story is apparently continued. Considering Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are shown to live together in a cave of some sort, I'm not even sure this story is meant to be in continuity with the comic. Having said that, the second part of “Sonic Riders” is slightly more satisfying then the conclusion of “Sonic Rush.” There's a few funny lines of dialogue between Sonic and Knuckles, the echidna lightly roasting the hedgehog for his failure. It's not a lot but, considered Sega demanded minimal effort to get this thing out in time, I appreciate the writer for including anything personable.

How about that artwork? James Fry's work on the cover story is excellent. There's a great page where Sir Connery draws his sword against three panels of Sonic talking to the King. This set-up is mirrored later in the book, with a shot of Elias pulling his sword. The page depicting Connery's sword fight with Mogul is especially well orchestrated, full of dramatic lighting and intense panels of the fighters facing off. Tracy Yardley's work on the back-up is also well done. Sonic's facial expression in the first part are amusing. The action scenes featuring the Rogues are well done, with a decent sense of motion.

By the way, Ian ends the issue by confirming that A.D.A.M. and Anonymous have some sort of connection. Yet he continues to utilize the original Robotnik red herring. Which, I don't know, amuses me for some reason. I guess because it's cool that Flynn took a pretty lame idea set up by a previous writer and used it as a clever misdirect. With the conclusion of “The Darkest Storm,” the new writer has gone a lone way towards making the comic's world a little more concise. Along the way, he created a satisfying three parter, made all the better by the character moments he included in-between fight scenes. Really, my only problem with issue 164 is yet another five page HeroScape ad shoved in the middle of the book. I wish Archie would stop doing that. [8/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 162

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 162
Publication Date: May 2006

The “Birthday Bash” two-parter, in addition to introducing fan favorite Scourge, was mostly Ian Flynn's proclamation to long time fans that he knew what the fuck he was doing. With “The Darkest Storm” story arc, Flynn would begin his real mission: Cleaning up the mess the book's previous writers left for him. It's a trilogy – including a bitchin' Spaz penciled triptych on the covers – designed to cut away as many unresolved plot points as possible. The result would be a new, clean foundation for Flynn to build upon. Let's get to it

A number of events are happening at the same time. King Elias talks with Sonic about his desire to restrengthen the Kingdom of Acorn. Robotnik begins to utilize the Egg-Grapes, the specialized  containment units he stuck a bunch of people in a while ago, as a way to power a new weapon. That's before Uma Arachnus' kids waltz in with the Sword of Acorn and mess up his plan. Merlin Prower and Sir Connery arrive in Knothole with some disconcerting news for our heroes: That the Ancient Walkers are on the verge of death and Mammoth Mogul could be released. Overseeing it all is Anonymous, the unknown new villain that has been conspiring against Eggman and Sonic for quite some time.

Karl Bollers introduced the idea of Anonymous – an outside force with seemingly unlimited resources fighting both Eggman and the Freedom Fighters through insidious means – two years ago in issue 135. In all that time, Anonymous did little but make a few offensive moves against Robotnik. One of Ian's first acts as head writer was to refocus Anonymous' goal: To totally tear down everything on Mobius. With “The Darkest Storm,” this mysterious villain begins to actually go to work. In other words, Flynn used the lingering Anonymous plot point as a way to dispose of a bunch of other lingering plot points. That's killing, like, six birds with one stone.

One of the biggest goals of “The Darkest Storm” was to get rid of all the mystical bullshit that had been infecting the book for years. So the Mystics Walkers are dying, poisoned by Mammoth Mogul centuries ago. Before the end, Sir Connery – who I had entirely forgotten about – would be dead too. Merlin Prower arrives in Knothole to grab the Sword and Crown of Acorn. You know, those super dumb mystical MacGuffins that book would drudge out every once in a while. It's clear that Flynn was no fan of these elements either. Instead of just forgetting about them, like Ken and Karl did, he found an organic way respectful of the series' mythology to write these things out. He also brings back Uma Arachnus' off-spring, another neglected plot point, and finds a way to tie them into this as well.

Despite the heavy plot machinations going on in the first part of “The Darkest Storm,” Ian still finds room for some softer character moments. Elias' concerns about the Kingdom's stability isn't just a plot thing. Instead, it shows his insecurity as a new ruler. This same moment also provides a cute moment for Sonic. Elias offers to reinstate the hedgehog's knighthood. He respectfully declines, showing no interest in royal intrigue. Which is a cute, in-character moment. But the best moment is saved for Tails. When reunited with his uncle, Tails starts to cry. With his parents still on the other end of the galaxy, the young fox really appreciates seeing a family member again. This plot point gets pushed aside pretty quickly but it's nice that Flynn saw fit to include it.

“The Darkest Storm” isn't just cutting unnecessary fibers. Ian is also building up pre-existing elements that were maybe unappreciated. The new writer also continues to rejuvenate Sonic's rogues gallery. He already started by turning Anti-Sonic into Scourge. In this comic, the Fearsome Foursome are reintroduced as the Destructix, since there's six of them now. Mammoth Mogul is back in the story by this issue's end, his imprisonment proving short-lived. Ian even goes about rebuilding Robotnik's power level. He's got the Egg Grapes on his side and, before the comic is over, begins taking the fight to Knothole finally.

Speaking of which! In “Ties That Bind,” Eggamn contacts Snively. Despite co-habituating with the Freedom Fighters, the villains' nephew still doesn't feel like he belongs. His uncle offers him membership in his evil empire again. His choices are limited since the doctor plans to bomb Knothole into ash soon. Before leaving, Snively tries to convince Hope – his niece – into coming with him.

Getting Snively back in Robotnik's good graces restores a long neglected aspect of the “Sonic” legacy. Snively had been tooling around as a free agent for far too long. He's at his best when playing Robotnik's toady. Yet Flynn finds some possible soul within the scumbag's blackened heart. Snively trying to talk Hope into coming with him presents an ambiguous element that I like. Does Snively actually care about his niece? Or is he just playing into his own agenda? It's an interesting question. Either aspect would make him a more complex character. Either Snively is showing the ability to care about somebody or he's become even more manipulative and conniving. Either way, that's new growth for the guy.

Soon, Tracy Yardley would be taking over primary duties for the series. So it's nice to see James Fry drawing the cover story. His work is slightly more loose then usual, as the facial expressions are a little too James Gray-ish for my taste. He still does some good work, especially with the fight scene between the Freedom Fighters and the Destructix. Yardley draws the back-up and it has the usually sunny artist in a darker mood. In order to illustrate Snively's shadowy interior mind, Yardley utilizes a lot of shadows as well. He still brings the cuteness, during the scene where Snively and Hope are talking. I also like the redesign Snively gets, putting him in a smaller version of Robotnik's get-up. Snively getting some new clothes is long overdue.

Flynn is juggling a lot here and I can't remember if he pulls it all off. However, his strategy of tying together as many loose ends as possible is a concise one, even if his method stretches the script to the breaking point. Still, the rebirth of Archie's “Sonic” title is already off to a good start. After 2005 nearly killed the book, I really appreciate that. [7/10]