Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 36

 
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 36
Publication Date: May 1996

SatAM gave Sonic and Sally both personal goals, beyond defeating Robotnik’s regime. Both heroes endeavored to rescue family members that had been taken from them. Sonic hoped to retrieved his robotocized Uncle Chuck while Sally sought to find her exiled father, King Acorn. Both missions were referenced in the comic’s early issues but both tended to take a backseat. Over the last few issues, Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic brought Uncle Chuck into the story, filling his role as a double-agent for the resistance. In Issue 36, the book finally revealed where King Acorn has been all this time, the foundation for another pillar of the series’ mythology set.

Rotor receives some startling images from the camera he dropped in the Zone of Silence back in Issue 30. (This is after he clears up a continuity error, explaining that the Void and the Zone of Silence are two separate places with different properties.) The image is of a fearsome dark knight on a black horse, riding through the emptiness of the dimension. Sonic zips into Robotnik’s base, certain he has something to do with this. What he discovers is that the Zone of Silence is actually expanding, consuming other dimensions, and Robotnik has been working to contain its growth. The two form a shaky truce before the Freedom Fighters head into the Zone of Silence themselves. The Black Rider confronts the heroes and Sally soon discovers that this malevolent man is… Her father.

The best stories, in this comic or otherwise, have an emotional core. Too often, the comic would sacrifice that emotion for action or a forward moving plot. “Heart of Darkness” actually presents its characters making some hard decisions, accepting some difficult truths. Sonic has to put aside his hatred of Robotnik, in order to receive the villain’s uncertain help. When Sally knocks the Black Rider’s helmet off, she discovers that its her dad. It immediately disturbs her that the King doesn’t recognize her and is acting like a violent madman. As the heroes flee the Zone of Silence, she looks back, uncertain of what to think. Sally ends the story in tears. Sonic, meanwhile, has to make the tough decision to set off Robotnik’s Energy Inhibitor bomb, stopping the dimension’s growth. This, however, pushes the King even further out of their reaches. After activating the bomb, Sonic thinks to himself: “What have I done?” An earlier panel shows Sonic’s face contorting in rage as the King prepares to strike his own daughter. Perhaps he acted too rashly? It’s pretty serious stuff for a comic book about a blue hedgehog that runs fast.

After filling out Knuckles’ backstory in the back pages, Ken Penders returns to the cover story. Where he also starts to fill in some backstory. We flashback to the day of Robotnik’s coup, when he tossed the King into the Zone of Silence. We discover that Robotnik had a mentor named Kodos, that he previously disposed off. We see that Robotnik is actually working to prevent the destruction of the world this time. (After all, if there’s no world, what will he conquered?) This information is shown in about as eloquent a way as Penders knew how. There’s some narration and science-y sounding exposition but it’s never distracting. As for the Zone of Silence itself, it’s a very odd place, a gravity-free void inhabited by strange grey creatures. And horses, apparently.

Issue 36 has another striking cover image from Spaz, who makes King Acorn’s armor look truly threatening. Disappointingly, that dramatic image – of a flaming lance, a smoke-spewing horse, an opening gate – never quite appears in the story. Art Mawhinney provides the pencils. While I obviously love Mawhinney’s work, I wonder if he was the best artist for this job. King Acorn and his grey underlings both look a little too cute for such a serious situation. However, Mawhinney’s gift for facial expressions gets shown off here. Sally’s shock, Sonic’s anger, Antoine’s fear, and King Max’s psychotic determination are all beautifully represented. Even if someone maybe should have handled the horrific elements, Art’s pen definitely helped this story find its emotional soul.

The back story seemingly concludes the extensive flash-back Knuckles’ has been undergoing for the last two issues. Inside his newly made tower, the now empowered Dimitri threatens his brother and the Echidna Magistrate. He explains his plan to conquer the Floating Island, enslaving its populace, and then taking over the world. Luckily, a legion of fire ants show up in time, destroying the tower from the base down, burying Dimitri inside. Afterwards, Edmund and the rest of the echidna society decide to abandoned technology. Edmund, meanwhile, decides he will watch over the Island and the Chaos Emerald for the rest of his life, passing that responsibility down to his son. Thus, Edmund becomes the first Guardian of the Floating Island, a tradition that continues with Knuckles.

I sort of wish there was a more elegant way to get this information out there. Knuckles has been wandering around, searching for his kidnapped friends for months now. The last three stories have featured him flashing back to his father’s teachings, recalling the history of the Floating Island. It makes the hero look slightly ineffectual and drops some forward-momentum from the plot. However, it’s still a pretty interesting story. The sudden appearance of the fire ants is a bit of a cheat, naturally. There is something poetic in a hugely powerful entity being taken down by the smallest of creatures. Ken’s dialogue is no less heavy-handed. At times though, he finds a nice line or two. After the tower’s collapse, the Magistrate actually quotes Proverbs 6:6 and refers to the ants as God’s humblest creatures. (Which suggests Christianity apparently survived into the Mobian era but it’s also not something you expect to read in a kid’s book.) I also like the reveal that Edmund was the first Guardian. The story is all slightly ham-fisted set-up for Knuckles’ up-coming mini-series. Yet it’s still pretty interesting, an appropriately mythic background for perhaps the most mystic Sonic character.

The combination of two pretty great stories makes Issue 36 a stand-out example of Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” series. Considering how much it would set up, it’s probably one of the most important issues in the series’ history. The directions this foundation would lead to wasn’t always smooth yet it’s a great set-up never the less. [9/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 35

 
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 35
Publication Date: March 1996

I mentioned before how I would sometimes grab “Sonic” comics from my local Martin’s grocery store. Issue 35 is another one I remember buying in that place. It’s eye-catching cover immediately drew my attention. By this point, Patrick Spaziante’s cover artwork had become a regular presence in the series. No matter the quality of the artwork inside, Spaz always guaranteed that the outside of the book looked great. The story inside issue 35 is as about as experimental as a Sonic story ever could get.

While being chased by Robotnik, Sonic gets struck and looses his rings. He races off and grabs another ring, which is apparently his One Billionth Power Ring. This feat teleports him to an alternate dimension lorded over by the Ancient Walkers. The immortal beings pose questions to Sonic, hinting at the mystical origins of the Power Rings and their link to the Chaos Emeralds. Sonic, meanwhile, is hoping to get out of the strange place with his body intact.

Recently, I’ve been focusing on Ken Penders’ attempts to expand the Sonic world’s mythology. Yet, slowly and less flashy, Mike Gallagher has been adding his own elements to Mobius’ back story. “Ring of Truth” shows him continuing to deepen that mythology. We get another appearance from the Ancient Walkers, those mysterious, omniscient knowers of secrets. This time, they actually speak, their words echoing over the pages in bright colors. This story confirms what the “Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles” one-shot proposed: The Power Rings and Chaos Emeralds are connected… Somehow. Despite a promise that this mystery would be explored further soon, it would take years before this quarry was settled. When the origin was revealed – that a human scientist created one from the other – the reveal was disappointing, to say the least.

“Ring of Truth’ seems slightly confused as well. In the video games, Sonic gathers Power Rings as life insurance. As long as he’s still holding onto one, he’ll survive otherwise lethal blows to his body. In the Saturday morning cartoon show that would inspire the comic, Sonic would use the Power Rings – created there by his Uncle Chuck – to give himself a temporary speed boost. The comics, meanwhile, tend to constantly change what the rings can do. Sometimes they give Sonic some extra speed. Other times they’re just an indistinct power source. Occasionally, they operate like they do in the games. “Ring of Truth” definitely seems most focused on the games’ style. The story begins with Sonic being chased by Robotnik, swinging the wrecking ball he used at the end of the Green Hill Zone. Sonic gets struck and looses his rings, a common occurrence in the games but something that’s never happened before in the comic. Gallagher just seems to be tossing different elements from different continuities into this book, leading to some confusion for this reader.

“Ring of Truth” is still fun, just because of how defiantly off-the-walls it is. The zone Sonic finds himself in is pretty wild. He flies through the air, through a tunnel of rings, until he encounters the Pterodactyl Ancient Walker. He is then lifted into the air by a pillar of land, created by the One Billionth Ring. He falls into a sea of Chaos Emeralds, is nearly drawn by a torrent of Power Ring Chains, and finds himself climbing upside down in another weird space. Lastly, he’s racing through the Power Ring as it morphs into an infinitely looping figure eight. Though there are some goofball puns in the script, Gallagher mostly restrains his tendencies. One joke, where the Ancient Walker’s request of one question is bluntly answered, even got a chuckle out of me. Mostly, the story creates lots of opportunities for odd-ball images. Dave Manak’s pencils are fine but imagine what Art Mawhinney or Spaz could have done with these ideas.

The cover story isn’t the only one building on the book’s mythology. The Ken Penders written-and-drawn Knuckles back-up story continues to fill in the history of echidna civilization. Several generations after the Floating Island took to the sky, the residents debate ways to return the land mass to the ground. Knuckles’ great-grandfather x10 Edmund, and Edmund’s hot-headed brother Dimitri, create a device called the Chaos Siphon. It is capable of slowing draining the power from the gems, thus slowly lowering the land mass. This plan, however, is vetoed by the Echidna authorities. Dimitri steals the Siphon, draining the power from six of the seven Emeralds. He absorbs into his person, being reborn as a massively powerful entity.

Penders is laying the groundwork for the upcoming “Knuckles the Echidna” mini-series here. What we’re seeing is the origin of Enerjak, a character who would soon emerge as Knuckles’ archenemy. There’s something mythic and comic-book-y about Dimitri fall from grace. How his transformation into a supervillain had good intention, how he was brought down by his own hubris. That the echidnas were working on a way of lowering the Floating Island is interesting, since they otherwise seem content to float in the sky. Sadly, just as this story is really picking up steam, Penders runs out of pages. This dialogue is typically flowery and stilted. His artwork is just passable, though the Echidna Magistrate looks seriously silly in that white powdered wig. Overlooking the expected flaws of the artist and writer, this isn’t a bad story.

And Issue 35 isn’t a bad issue. It had more potential, in both of the stories, but overall I enjoyed re-reading this one. [6/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 34

 
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 34
Publication Date: March 1996

Though primarily based on the Saturday morning cartoon show, Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic would delightfully expanded into its own weird thing over its long run, taking elements from the video games and other cartoon shows but mostly from the writers’ weird imaginations. At times, the book would struggle over its identity. Issue 34 attempts to bring the comic in-line with certain events from the cartoon show. Meanwhile, it introduces a new breed of robotic mooks that would, briefly, supplant the SatAM-created SWATBots.

In Knothole Village, Sonic and Rotor discover that nothing they can do effectively de-robotocizes Uncle Chuck and Muttski. The two Robians seem in high-spirits about it, just happy to have their freedom back. Meanwhile, Robotnik, who has developed a new military fetish, unveils his latest line of weapons: The Combots, a heavily-armed fleet of robotic soldiers. Dulcy hears in on this and reports back to Knothole. Sonic, Uncle Chuck, and Muttski head into Robotnik’s lair to destroy the machines before they can be deployed. However, Chuck and the dog are blasted by a beam, their free will zapped again. Now, Sonic is strapped to the front of Robotnik’s tank and the Combots are marching towards the Great Forest, wiping out everything in their path.

“To ‘Bot or Not to ‘Bot” is a story with potentially high stakes that manages to squander all of them. The story has both a visceral threat and an emotional threat. The Combots are said to be super-destructive new machines. Robotnik, with a new militaristic zeal previously unseen, seems very determined to murder his enemies. The emotional threat, meanwhile, is to Uncle Chuck and Muttski. After getting back his uncle and dog after so many years, Sonic is now faced with loosing them all over again.

These ideas could have made an impact but writer Angelo DeCesare drops the ball on both points. First off, the Combots never actually get to show off their dangerous abilities. They stand around, look intimidating and do some marching. The only serious thing they wind up doing is walking off a cliff. Keep in mind, this is at least the third time one of Robotnik’s newest machines where destroyed by being led off a cliff. You’d think he would just stop attacking that part of the Great Forest. The Combots look cool. Their metal scowls, spiked shoulders, and camouflage color schemes certainly make them visually threatening. However, they end up not being very impressive.

The emotional threat fizzles out too. Spoiler alert for a nineteen year old comic book: Uncle Chuck and Muttski aren’t reduced to robotic slaves again. In a cheap, last minute plot twist, Rotor reveals that he planted them earlier with the microchip meant to maintain Sally’s free will, from back in Issue 29. The whole story was an act of misdirection. It looks like Robotnik has victory in his grasp but he was never close. Chuck reprogrammed the Combots to march off the cliff and Robotnik flees in defeat. On one hand, this is meant to give Comic Uncle Chuck the same purpose Cartoon Uncle Chuck. He’s a double agent for the Freedom Fighters, acting like a robotocized cog but actually reporting back to his nephew and friends. Unfortunately, it also ends the story on a total cheat.

Providing pencils for Issue 34 is Brian Thomas, an artist who rarely worked on the book again. It’s not hard to figure out why. Thomas doesn’t seem to have a grasp on the Sonic characters. Sonic, Uncle Chuck, and Muttski look all right. Everyone else is wildly off-model. Rotor’s snout is too long. Snively’s eyes are too wide. Sally’s head is too big and her eyes are too blue. Antoine’s forehead is too large. Bunnie’s neck disappears. Tails’ nose points too far up. Robotnik, meanwhile, spends the whole issue in a General Patton get-up, with reflective sunglasses, a kaiser helmet, and medals lining his shirt. Along with Thomas’ squishy art, he winds up looking like an entirely different character. Thomas obviously has some skill but he doesn’t seem suited to this book at all.

Rounding out the book is another Penders “Knuckles” story. Luckily, this isn’t a lame two pager and actually provides some backstory. In the shadow of Mount Fate, Knuckles recalls the history of the echidna empire. How the Floating Island was once on the ground and echidna society was scientifically advanced. When a white comet was on a collision course with the city, the scientist harnessed the power of the Chaos Emeralds and the island floated into the sky. This is a suitably mythic origin for the Floating Island and would inform most of Knuckles’ mythology. Since this is another action-light story, they’re aren’t many opportunities to draw attention to Penders’ weaknesses as an artist. (Though his decision to make red the default coloration for all echidnas was probably a mistake.) The dialogue is slightly heavy-handed but the writing is decent and the artwork is acceptable.

A decent back story only brings up the quality of Issue 34 so much. The cover story is a dud, thanks to an underwhelming script and some seriously off artwork. [5/10]

Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles

Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles
Publication Date: February 1996

This one was a big deal when I was a kid. Though still a relatively new addition to the “Sonic” universe, Knuckles had already emerged as the hedgehog’s most prominent rival. He was a hero too, and well-established as one by this point. Yet Knuckles still had a certain grit to him, an edge, that Sonic lacked. Inevitably, the two would come into conflict. At this point, every single time Sonic and Knuckles met, they would fight. So what made another issue devoted to them fighting such a big deal? You don’t get it, man, these were their super forms! The fight had been elevated to a whole other level! There was also a certain novelty to seeing a character besides Sonic achieve a super transformation. Unlike the many other 48-page specials Archie would publish, “Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles” felt like an event. For Sonic-obsessed little nerd kids like me, it was an event.

The comic doesn’t waste too much time getting to that main event of a showdown either. Worried about the Floating Island’s stability, Knuckles hopes to retrieve a spare Chaos Emerald, should anything happen to the current one. After consulting a book of arcane knowledge, Knuckles suspects a link between Power Rings and Chaos Emeralds. He heads down to Robotropolis, to the mystical Ring Pool. The echidna’s loyalties still uncertain, Sonic is sent to investigate. The two immediately get into a fight. Their rumble unearths the entrance to a new Game Zone. Once inside the alternate world, Sonic and Knuckles quickly gather fifty rings and seven emeralds, both transforming into their super-forms. Now, the fight really gets ugly.

While reviewing the “Triple Trouble” special, I commented on how Sonic and Knuckles’ constant fights were getting tiresome. At this point, they should know the other was a good guy. However, “Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles” is built entirely around that fight. The book contextualizes the two heroes’ constant scuffles in a new milieu: It’s a game. They recognize each other as worthy opponents, each knowing the other can take the punishment. They like to fight because it allows them to be challenged and to show off. Thanks to Mike Gallagher’s script, Sonic and Knuckles drop puns frequently during their fist fight. There’s no risk of a battle to the death, since both characters are heroes. So instead, their conflict becomes a pair of super-powered boys rough-housing. It’s a competition, one where neither can come out on top but both enjoy the race. There’s so much macho posturing during the comic that Sonic and Knuckles start sounding more like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bill Duke in “Commando” then colorful video game mascots. (And like any good eighties action flick, eventually the guys’ one-liners start to seem less like pithy attempts to take down their opponent and more like romantic flirting.)

Like-wise, most of the book’s 48 pages are devoted to that fight. Gallagher seems to delight in thinking up new ways for the heroes to wail on each other. Knuckles punches through a piece of paper. Sonic rams the echidna with his figure 8 maneuver. Knuckles tosses the hedgehog into a tree before Sonic yanks the tree up by its roots and slams it on Knuckles. Once the two go Super Saiyan, the fight truly escalates in ridiculousness. Entire page spreads are devoted to the guys punching, slamming, and kicking each other. Knuckles tears stones out of the walls to smash Sonic in the face, while a two-page spread has Sonic yanking on the echidna’s dreadlocks. In their superforms, both are more-or-less invincible, making their fight seem even more like an overblown game.

It’s a lot of fun though. Art Mawhinney really gets to stretch his drawing muscles this time. His strength for action is right at the forefront. Since the book is double-length, it allows the artist to devote whole pages to dramatic action artwork. Considering half of the story is located in a psychedelic game zone, that also allows Mawhinney a chance to show off. The fight concludes when Super Sonic and Hyper Knuckles take running tackles at each other, the force of the blow collapsing the pocket universe and tossing both back into reality. That’s how hard Sonic and Knuckles wail on each other this time: An entire alternate universe is torn apart by it.

Sonic and Knuckles’ fight doesn’t advance the plot much, even though it’s the reason we're here. By the end, a potential power source for Robotnik is destroyed, Knuckles gets the extra Chaos Emerald he wanted, and Sonic gets an active work-out. Everybody wins! The only true emotional beat the story has is the reveal that Sally and Knuckles know each other, that they met at some point in their childhoods. This makes Sonic jealous, furthering the two’s conflict. Knuckles would never emerge as a serious love interest for Princess Sally though. The jealousy Sonic feels over their friendship would truthfully only deepen the relationship he has with his Princess. It does here anyway, as the reveal leads to some pretty cute flirting between the hedgehog and the chipmunk.

Unlike most of the 48-page specials, “Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles” is only composed of two stories. The back-up story is “Fathers and Sons,” a Ken Penders written-and-drawn story. Unlike the needlessly drawn-out Archimedes saga playing out in the back pages of the “Sonic” book, “Fathers and Sons” actually moves the story forward. Knuckles’ father Locke is properly introduced, as we see Knuckles being trained by his dad in the ways of guardianship. Since Locke is teaching his son valuable lessons, Penders’ exposition-heavy dialogue actually makes sense. Knuckles reflecting on the events of his childhood also gives the story a slightly melancholy feeling. The recollection of his feelings after being abandoned by his dad adds some much-needed heart to this story. (Growing up alone on a peril-filled island might also explain why Knuckles is an asshole sometimes.) From a writing perspective, “Fathers and Sons” is actually pretty good, expanding the mythology while also expanding the characters without belaboring the points. Because there’s no action or dramatic posing in the story, Penders’ artwork doesn’t suffer that much either. It’s still pretty squishy in parts, and Locke’s goatee looks ridiculous, but it’s fairly passable.

So there you go. The cover story of “Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles” is a fun, fight-centric story that defiantly satisfies those that want to see Sonic and his most important rival beat the shit out of each other. It’s funny without being goofy and action-packed without loosing sight of the characters. The back-up story, meanwhile, finally shows Knuckles’ story growing. Add in some killer Art Mawhinney pencils and you’ve got a winner. [7/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 33

 
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 33
Publication Date: February 1996

As I’ve mentioned before, as a child I didn’t read every issue of “Sonic the Hedgehog” as soon as it hit the newsstands. Many issues alluded me for years before I finally had a chance to read them. One such issue was number 33. I saw the cover several times in the preview sections at the end of every book. There’s no doubt that 33 has a very eye-catching cover. Sonic is up to his hands and knees in… Something. Some sort of orange, bubbling substance. As a young kid, I assumed it must've been lava or a similar substance. When I finally got around to reading the comic, I was disappointed by the reveal. It’s snot, you guys. Or, even worst, another type of bodily fluid.

Yeah, “Let’s Get Small” is that type of story. Sonic returns to Knothole Village to find the place weirdly deserted. Rotor, visibly very ill, informs him of what happened. While Sonic was out, the Freedom Fighters order some take-out. Unfortunately, the fast food place was a front for Robotnik. He infected the food with his new nano-bots. Now, all the Freedom Fighters are extremely sick. Using some re-purposed Robotnik technology, Sonic shrinks himself down to microscopic size and enters his friend’s body, like “Fantastic Voyage” minus the submarine. Inside, Sonic meets Rotor’s “Auntie Bodies,” who is overwhelmed by the “Paris-Site’s’ force.

We are deep in goofy territory here, people. A microscopic journey into someone’s immune system is not that uncommon of a story. (I’m pretty sure the Atom does it about once a year.) Because Sonic doesn’t have a spaceship or a bitching super-suit, the story comes off as far more… squishy. Dave Manak seems to really delight in detailing the interior of Rotor’s body, with nerves, postulating sores, and squirmy tissue walls. At one point, Sonic is covered in green and grey goo by weeping lesions. It’s just gross, you guys. And since Sonic is deep inside his buddy’s body, this is technically the goriest issue of “Sonic” Archie would ever publish.

Then there’s the issue of the puns. Rotor’s immune system is personified as Auntie Bodies, an old lady version of Rotor in a dowdy dress, with grey hair and a cane. Paris-Site, who looks like a greasy corn kernel, wears a beret, has a pencil mustache, and carries a cane. Mike Gallagher apparently missed the memo that this comic already has one character that speaks with an exaggerated French accent. Paris-Site’s accent is actually even more incomprehensible then Antoine’s. A second antagonist named Fever doesn’t even get a punny name, as he’s just a being made of flames. There are also jokes about “micro-bars” and “cellular phones.” All of this is excluding the obviously goofy fast food business.

The story has relatively high stakes. Sonic is, after all, fighting for the lives of his friends. However, let’s get small has a disappointing ending. Sonic’s pep-talk gives Auntie Bodies the strength to fight back. Together, they clobber Paris-Site and Fever. Similar insurrections are going on in the other Freedom Fighters’ bodies. Sonic then spin-dashes into Rotor’s nose, so he’ll be sneezed towards the shrinking device. Oh, and here’s a super-nerdy nitpick about the story. The device Sonic uses to shrink himself was taken from the portable Roboticizer the Freedom Fighters seized back in issue 3 of “Sonic.” Wouldn’t it have made more sense to use the actual shrink ray Robotnik invented back in Issue 8’s “A Little Sonic Goes a Long Way?” Or is this an example of a nerdy reader remembering an obscure detail that the writers forgot about?

Clearly not done rising the comic to a new artistic standard, issue 33 also tags on two Penders-drawn stories. The first of which is yet another entirely useless continuation of the on-going Knuckles subplot. Knuckles himself doesn’t even appear in this two pager. Instead, a hooded figure – which we now know is Locke, Knuckles’ dad – watches his son, Archimedes, and the Chaotix from a computer set-up. Each appears in a different monitor, detailing events seen in previous two-pagers. The short story hints at the plot to come, by mentioning Mount Fate. Otherwise, this is another example of Penders dragging this story on and on some more. This plot could have been told in a single back-up story but Ken was bidding his time until the “Knuckles” mini-series got a green-light. That’s still three issues away so we’ll probably see this story dragging its feet some more before it finally reaches some sort of point or relevance. (At least the artwork's not too bad, since the two pages revolve around a hooded guy looking at some computer screens.)

As pointless as that one is, the second back-up is actually way worse. “Sonic Shot” has Sonic and friends indulging in a game of hockey. A bored Snively, along with a group of SWATBots, show up and ask if they can play. Robotnik ends up announcing himself and decides the game should be played for keeps. Sonic and friends naturally whoop the robot’s ass and win the game. I can only assume Penders is a hockey fan and felt the need to incorporate his favorite sport into a Sonic story. The details don’t make much sense and this kind of story was basically already covered, all the way back in Issue 5. Ken’s artwork actually shows some improvement here. Instead of looking like paper cut-outs moved around a stationary background, there’s actually some sense of flow and movement to his panels. However, all the characters still wobble off-model a couple of times. Snively looks especially unflattering in Penders’ bland, shaky style.

If you’re looking for a classic “Sonic” story, you can skip Issue 33. The cover story is goofy and honestly kind of icky. The back-up stories are varying degrees of useless. This is a filler issue, if I’ve ever seen one. No future writers, not even continuity-nerd Ian Flynn, have felt the need to reference Auntie Bodies or Paris-Site. Cool cover aside, there’s not much to recommend. [4/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 32

 
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 32
Publication Date: January 1996

A few issues back, Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” series uncovered the old “hero gets amnesia, unwillingly works for the bad guy” story troupe. Despite being a haggard cliché, that issue became my favorite of the 1995 season. To open 1996, the comic would try its hand at another well-known story device: The defrosted caveman. Mummies of prehistoric men frozen in ice have been found before but just melting the ice isn’t, you know, enough to bring them back to life. In fiction, it’s a different story. “Blast from the Past,” issue 32’s cover story, puts a Sonic spin on this concept. Since this is back before the whole “Mobius is Earth thousands of years into the future!” idea, the caveman is actually a cavebear.

“Blast from the Past” begins with a dramatic one-page spread of Sally falling into an icy crevice. (Though this recalls the not-too-far-off “Endgame” arc, Tails rescues her in time.) The Freedom Fighters are in the frozen mountains of Mobius for some reason when a gang of SWATBots ambushed them. Turns out Muttski, Sonic’s roboticized dog, led them there. After escaping the machines, Sonic and friends stumble upon a frozen Neanderthal man bear. They take the block of ice back to Knothole Village, where it naturally melts. Dubbed Mobie, the cavebear starts wrecking shit in the village before returning back to the mountains. Despite his dislike of the critter, Sonic takes chase.

“Blast from the Past” has two emotional threads running through the story. The first of which involves Mobie. He’s a pretty silly character. First off, he doesn’t look much like a bear. Instead, he resembles the classic caveman design, with some furry Sonic elements added to it. The plot follows the traditional outline of stories like this: The caveman is accidentally thawed out, thanks to a device called Glaciator which we’ve never seen before and would never see again. A man out of time, Mobie immediately starts freaking out, smashing shit with his club. The Freedom Fighters’ attempts to communicate with him only remind the caveman of his family, all of whom are assuredly dead now. (The comic kind of skims over that last point.) Because this is a Sonic book, they had to involve him somehow. So Sonic goes from being annoyed by Mobie to learning to like the big guy. That makes sense, since Mobie just wrecks shit upon being defrosted. The reconciliation between hedgehog and cavebear is a bit rushed though.

This is because “Blast from the Past” has to sneak in another emotional plot. Sonic’s Uncle Chuck returned in Issue 30, the robotocized Mobian regaining his free will. 32 heavily features Muttski, Sonic’s pet dog. Having spent lots of time around him, Muttski can easily track Sonic’s scent. (How a robot can smell is another issue all together.) The story directly deals with Sonic’s reaction to his best canine friend becoming a robotic killing machine. This provides the story with its emotional heart and works a little better then the Mobie A-plot. Disappointingly, even that plot thread has a too easy resolution. Off-panel, Uncle Chuck restores Muttski’s free will, Sonic regaining his beloved pet, at least in robot form. Mobie, meanwhile, is left in a jungle, safe from Robotnik but still lost in a strange new world without his family.

Stuck between the book’s two stories is another two-pager from Ken Penders, “Prisoners.” Picking up where “The Hunt is On!” from “Knuckles’ Chaotix” left off, the Chaotix awaken in a darkened room. A voice speaks to them, telling them not to get violent. After a minute of talking, he opens a door and reveals himself to the heroes, if not the reader. I really wonder if it was a page-count thing or a conscious decision on Penders’ behalf to stretch the reveal of Archimedes out so damn long. Tiny stories like this really do nothing but irritate the reader and belabor the point. Soon enough, Archimedes would be revealed and Knuckles’ story could actually begin moving forward. Even though it’s only two pages long, “Prisoners” still features some very flat, awkward artwork. Penders really doesn’t know how to draw Mighty. Every time he appears in this story, his shape changes some.

Issue 32 wraps up with the second part of “Tundra Road,” the Rotor story that began the previous month. Rotor is rescued from the arctic waters by two members of the Arctic Freedom Fighters: Sealia and Augustus. Teaming up, they take the fight to Robotnik, sneaking into his base with the old Trojan Horse ploy. Though they wreck his base, Rotor’s family ends up on an ice floe, floating out into the ocean, still hypnotized. Instead of trying to rescue them, Rotor heads back to Knothole Village.

Yeah, “Tundra Road” ends on an odd question mark. I’m not sure why Rotor couldn’t have jumped into his submarine and pursued his family, protecting them until he can figure out how to cure them. I mean, I understand the real reason. Rotor can’t stay away from Knothole Village for too long, in case he’s needed for a story. Yet the hero leaving his mother, little brother, and friends alone to float through the wilderness seems awfully callous. Rotor teaming up with the Arctic Freedom Fighters is a natural story decision, considering the location. The Trojan Horse bit is a little odd. Personally, I wish “Tundra Road” could’ve had a third part. Or was expanded into a three issue mini-series, which I suspect might have been the original plan. It would’ve given Rotor more time to explore his situation and allow the story to have a proper conclusion. Instead, it had to be squeezed into two back-up stories. Rotor’s mom and little brother wouldn’t be mention for years afterwards.

The cover story isn’t bad but every tale in issue 32 is slightly strangled by the page count, trying to do too much in too little space. [6/10]

THE 1995 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG COMIC BEST/WORST LIST!

1995 has to have been one of the busiest years for Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” series. Within the span of twelve months, the company would put out ten regular issues of the series, two separate three issue mini-series, and three one-shot specials. That’s enough hedgehog and echidna action to satisfy anyone, I’d imagine.

1995 was also a year of impressive growth for the comic’s mythology. This was the year Ken Penders – controversial as his name may well be – really started to build up the comic’s world. The groundwork for his divisive “Knuckles” solo series was laid, the main cast doubled, and myth arcs that wouldn’t be resolved for years were first introduced. ’95 was also the most serious year for the comic yet. Good or bad, for better or worst, this was the year the comic truly started to break away from the cartoon shows and video games that spawned it.

All right, enough yapping. Let’s get on with it. The issues covered in this retrospective are as follows:

Sonic the Hedgehog: #22-31
Princess Sally (Mini-Series): #1-3
Tails (Mini-Series): #1-3
Sonic and Knuckles
Sonic Triple Trouble
Knuckles' Chaotix

BEST COVER STORY:
Ken Penders, "A Scrambled Hedgehog" (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 27)

Issue 27 didn’t reinvent the wheel. The central crux of the story – hero gets bopped on head, looses his memory, and is recruited by the villain against his friends – has been done many times before and after. However, “A Scrambled Hedgehog” is a damn satisfying yarn. It doesn’t undermine the seriousness of Sonic turning on his friends. Sally and the Freedom Fighters are smartly portrayed, as they immediately realize something is off for Sonic. Moreover, this is an action packed issue, devoted to Sonic blasting through Knothole’s defenses, that moves so quickly that the flaws barely register.

WORST COVER STORY:
Ken Penders, "A Robot Rides the Rails" (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 31)

Like I said, Penders’ stuff is divisive. It’s not that “A Robot Rides the Rails” is a god-awful piece of shit. Instead, it’s an awkward story, held down by heavy exposition. The characters stumble towards their objective without focus. Despite its name, the Dynamac-3000 is not a dynamic threat. As far as evil robots go, it’s pretty boring. And neither of the main heroes defeat it either. If not the worst, this is easily the most forgettable story of the year.

BEST BACK STORY:
Mike Gallagher, "Growing Pains Part 2" (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 29)

While Tails’ mini-series proved disappointing, the back-up stories leading up to it featured the best characterization the two-tailed fox yet. Tails grows a lot over these two stories, as he feels betrayed by his idol, rebels, falls in love, gets his heart broken, and strikes a major blow against the enemy. The second part of “Growing Pains” is high-lighted as it features most of the action. The story borders on melodrama at times – what with Tails’ pronouncements about his lost youth – but somehow it works. Lastly, Tails’ tale wraps up on a bittersweet image, of the robotic Fiona Fox shedding a single tear.

WORST BACK STORY:
Ken Penders, "The Hunt is On!" (Knuckles' Chaotix)

Pender strikes again! “The Hunt is On!” has a mysterious threat appearing out of nowhere, defeating and capturing Knuckles’ friends. Where this threat comes from isn’t expanded on, the story lurching forward without much explanation. The way the enemy strikes – floating balls of doom, sudden robots – are deeply uninspired. The worst part is that all of this is a huge misdirect. The man behind all this chaos will soon be revealed as Knuckles’ mentor! That eventual reveal tells me that Penders was just making shit up as he went along.

BEST STORY ARC:
Ken Penders, "A Scrambled Hedgehog"/"Saturday Night's Alright for a Fight" (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 27-28)

I’ve already written about the pros of “A Scrambled Hedgehog.” Promising beginnings have been spoiled by weak follow-up before in this comic. However, issue 28 is a lot of fun too. It doesn’t wimp out on Sonic rumbling with his friends. Many characters get their abilities and talents shown off during the battle too. The ending is a little cheesy but these two comics make for a fun read.

WORST STORY ARC:
Ken Penders, "Fire Drill"-"First Contact"-"The Hunt Is On"-"Lost... and Found Part 1" (Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic Triple Trouble, Knuckles' Chaotix, Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 31)

As lame as “The Hunt is On!” was, it was part of an even lamer story arc that would stretch on into the next year. ‘Stretch’ is the important word there. The final part of the story to appear in 1995 was “Lost… and Found Part 1,” a story that ran for all of two pages and did nothing but belabor the point. In other words, all of these short stories are just saving time until the “Knuckles” mini-series started. It also features Penders’ worst habit: His self-involved myth-making that involves grand, terrible destinies that are rarely elaborated on. Booo.

 
BEST COVER ART:
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 29 - Patrick Spaziante

Spaz did a lot of good work in 1995. His covers for 21, 22, 25, and the one-shots are all quite good. (He wasn’t the only cover artist doing good work, as Art Mawhinney’s moody cover for issue 30 is a clear runner-up for this award.) However, issue 29 features his best work yet. It’s an unnerving image of Sally, gasping in terror while her famous red hair is tossed about, being transformed into a robot. Her flesh twists into machinery above her, emotion struggling against the robotization process. It’s no use and a sinister machine emerges. Meanwhile, Sonic and Dulcy watch, helpless to prevent the destruction of their friend’s soul. Intense stuff for a kid’s book, huh?

WORST COVER ART:
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 23 - Dave Manak

Issue 23 features one of the goofiest stories of ’95, though I have some mild fondness for it. The cover, on the other hand, I have less affection for. Car-Heeem glowers overhead, looking like a D-list Marvel villain. Sonic and Robotnik are squeezed into a glass orb in the alien’s hands. Robotnik looks constipated while Sonic looks like Sega clip art. The whole thing is presented against an uninspired space background.

BEST STORY ART:
Patrick Spaziante, "The 3 Stages of E.V.E." (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 21)

I nearly gave this award to Art Mawhinney’s work in issue 28, which featured some moody use of shadows and exciting action. Yet you can’t ignore Spaz’ proper debut in the book. The action explodes off the page, aided by Spaziante’s dynamic and excellent pencils. He contributes a fantastic sense of motion to an action-packed story. The combination of intimate detail and manga-influenced action makes issue 21 an awesome looking comic. Any time Spaz would draw an issue in the future, it would be an event. That’s the reason why.

WORST STORY ART:
Ken Penders, "The Hunt is On!" (Knuckles' Chaotix)

I’m not done bashing “The Hunt is On!” just yet. Penders is uneven as a writer but far worse as an illustrator. If Spaz’ action feels practically animated, Penders’ action is totally inert. When characters get tossed or beaten, they look like cut-out paper dolls stiffly moved around. His sense of scale is off, as Charmy and others shift size throughout the story. It’s not a good look. If Spaz’ pencils were greatly anticipated, Penders’ pencils were always dreaded.

BEST NEW CHARACTER(S):
The Chaotix

In 1995, Knuckles would go from being a loner to having a team of friends and partners. The Chaotix are clearly defined from their first appearance. They’ve also all got fuckin’ superpowers, which correspond to their personalities. Mighty is super strong, which fits his boisterous but also gentle personality. Espio is mysterious and knowledgeable, which is appropriate for a chameleon who can disappear. Charmy is flighty, since he's both a bee and the youngest of the team. And Vector… Okay, Vector is totally useless. Aside from him, the Chaotix have always been a favorite of mine.

WORST NEW CHARACTERS:
Guru Emu

I’m a fan of the Downunda Freedom Fighters too. (If Barby Koala had gotten a little more development, she might have claimed the above award.) As irritating as Vector is, at least he occasionally contributes something. What about Guru Emu? When you’re fighting a guerilla war against a robotic dictator, why would you want a pacifist hippy around? That’s Guru Emu’s biggest problem. He’s a lame visual joke that’s out of place.

BEST IDEA:
Deepening the World and the Cast

In 1995, five new teams of Freedom Fighters would be introduced. Sonic and his friends would travel around the world, into the depths of the ocean, to the freezing north, and to islands on the other side of the globe. Sonic’s girlfriend and sidekick would have adventures of their own, without their hedgehog companion, gaining new love interests and enemies. In the first two years, it felt like the comic rarely traveled beyond Knothole, Robotropolis, and the Floating Island. In 1995, Mobius began to feel like a real world.

WORST IDEA:
Mythological Wheel-Spinning

I’ve already mentioned Ken’s bad habit of setting up huge story lines that rarely paid off. Despite this, they were constantly referenced in grave tones. The crumbs of Knuckles’ grand, terrible destiny as a Guardian – and all the considerable baggage that came with it – were started this year. We also learn about Tails being a Chosen One, a myth arc the comic wouldn’t resolve for a long time. Hammered-home and unending gobbledygook like this would quickly became my least favorite thing about this book. And it all started here.