Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 59

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 59

Publication Date: April 19th, 2023

Looking at the number in this issue of IDW's "Sonic the Hedgehog" comic is filling me with some thoughts. Maybe it's just because I was truly obsessed with Archie's "Sonic the Hedgehog" comic as a kid but I can't help and compare where the two series where at these same points in time. By issue 60, Archie "Sonic" had already killed off its main antagonist, during its first status quo shattering event story arc. Hundreds of characters already filled its world, multiple different Freedom Fighter teams being introduced all over the globe. Back story, magical MacGuffins, and romantic melodrama had already occupied the series' pages multiple times by this point. 

In comparison, as IDW nears its sixtieth issue, the cast numbers a little over fifty by my off-the-top-of-my-head count. The world is desperately lacking in detail right now, with the name of Sonic's home country or even the general geographical layout remaining a mystery. The backstories of the characters and world remain frustratingly vague, with most of the main characters essentially having none at all. Romance exists only in subtext. 

I'm not saying these differences make Archie "Sonic" better than IDW "Sonic." In fact, I'd say that IDW "Sonic" is, by most measures, a better comic than its predecessor. (In terms of art and writing, it's certainly a more consistent comic.) Yet the differences can't help but stick out to me. Especially when discussing the thus far subpar "Urban Warfare" story arc, continuing in issue 59, which might've easily been improved by a more detailed world with more readily defined stakes. 

Maybe the staff were aware of the lack of stakes up to this point, as part three of "Urban Warfare" — which has Evan Stanley taking over for Ian Flynn — is devoted to ramping them way the fuck up. Team Dark arriving does not makes things any easier for Sonic and his pals, as they are there on a totally unrelated mission. That is when Eggman makes himself known and drops a horde of super-powerful Shadow Androids over the city. This forces a temporary truce between the teams but even that is a prelude to a hasty retreat. Meanwhile, the still invisible and intangible Diamond Cutters investigate Eggman's control center... And return back to the main field of existence at the most inconvenient time. 

Like I said, the Ian Flynn penned half of "Urban Warfare" seem to focused on various characters using their superpowers to rip through a horde of unchallenging enemies in a largely empty city. It felt like a video game in the worst way. One assumes it was always plotted like this but Evan Stanley coming aboard immediately solves that problem. Eggman shows up pages in, giving a story previously without a concrete antagonist an obvious bad guy to cheer against. The army of Shadow Androids falling from the sky add an active threat to the heroes that they can't spindash through without breaking a sweat. In fact, the Shadow Androids are so powerful that it forces the good guys to fall back within minutes. 

Obviously, in this "Sonic the Hedgehog" comic, Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends are never going to actually die. Yet the Shadow Androids prove such an overwhelming adversary that I actually found myself thinking "How are they going to make it out of this one?" Tails panics. Amy begs for an escape. Blaze is shocked that a wall of fire does little to slow down the goons. See, that's how you get your reader invested in an action story! Even when the heroes are superpowered demigods that have fought off far worst villains before, you still have to make it seem like this latest problem might be the one time they don't all make it back. 

In fact, Stanley is so determined to make the scenario seem dire that she makes sure even the victories the heroes get here are short-lived. As the Shadow Android close in, the actual Shadow is asked to utilize his Chaos Control powers to even the odds. He's told that the artificial Chaos Emeralds powering the city should provide just as much juice as the real deal. It works, in the sense that the so-called Ultimate Lifeform beats back the synthetic imitators. Yet, immediately afterwards, Shadow's powers have some crazy interaction with the fake emeralds. The crystals' growth goes into overdrive and Shadow is overwhelmed by a surge of energy. Constantly upping the stakes like this are a good way to keep the suspense elevating. 

Considering this is part three of five, things going from bad to worst serve another purpose too: They insure that this issue has a hell of a cliffhanger. Following the explosion, Shadow is missing. Now the Restoration and Team Dark have to work together to find their mutual friend. Meanwhile, the temporary blip in power brings Tangle, Whisper, and Lanolin back to standard reality... And right into Eggman's lap. Since we are super invested in their fate as well, this provides another exciting note to pause the story on. I was going to be back next month anyway but a strong cliffhanger like this makes sure I'll want to be back next month. 

A much stronger structure insures issue 59 is much more compelling than the narratively inert last two issues. Yet Stanley still makes time for glimpses at the characters' personalities, making them more than just action heroes running through a standard plot. Sonic and Shadow snipe at each in their rival-tastic way. Rouge is flirty as ever, especially when Amy questions her on her real motivations for coming here. Omega gets lots of amusingly dry and snide comments in at the expense of the various fleshipoids around him. Shadow is personally insulted by the robotic copies of him. Eggman's villainous monologue is delightfully hammy. 

Even a single panel, showing Metal Sonic's unyielding glare while Eggman talks about his other inventions feels like insight into that particular cast member. (Especially since Metal Sonic seemingly feeling underappreciated feels like a developing plot point lately.) These are actually living, breathing people in this story, with personalities and quirks. We can never forget that, no matter how action packed the events around them might be. 

This is especially true of the Diamond Cutters. They aren't in physical danger for most of this story but they remain the most emotionally vulnerable of the cast members. When Whisper sees the Shadow Androids, she has a flashback to watching her friends die. This is beautifully illustrated by a panel of darkness closing in around her... That is until Tangle reaches out from beyond the veil and pulls her back. She gives her a big hug which I mistook for a kiss on the cheek at first. The three silently walk off together, Tangle and Lanolin supporting their friend. It's just a few series of panels on a story that is otherwise preoccupied by other stuff. Yet it counts for a lot, for Stanley to pause long enough to acknowledge that Whisper is on a serious emotional journey here. (Tangle and Lanolin's interaction remains as adorable as ever too, such as when the lemur interacts with her surroundings while still intangible.)

This issue doesn't just benefit greatly for swapping out writers. Thomas Rothlishberg did great last time but Adam Bryce Thomas pencilling this issue really gives it the epic scope it needed. As I've noted in the past, ABT's artwork sometimes gets ahead of itself during the action scenes. A series of panels devoted to Blaze grabbing Sonic and Amy and tossing them into the fray takes a minute or two to scan. The artist is determined to squeeze in so much detail that sometimes the panels get awfully small and cramped. Yet, when he brings it, he fucking brings it. An entire page is devoted to Shadow unleashing his Chaos Control on the Androids and it has the impact of a old-school Spaziante cover. Nearly a whole page is devoted to the Androids falling out of the sky or Eggman making his grandiose announcements, while Badniks circle around the structure. It adds a grand feeling to these events, making sure the scale of what is happening is really felt. 

And Thomas is just as good at the smaller gestures too. Sonic's unimpressed blank stare in response to Eggman's villainous monologue or Blaze going wide-eyed at Shadow's display of power are easily missed moments that made me chuckle at inappropriate volumes. While the writing does the heavy lifting in the emotional scene with Whisper, Thomas' pencils further help sell what is definitely the highlight of the issue. In other words, Adam Bryce Thomas continues to show that he's probably the best artist regularly working on this book despite the fierce competition all around him. 

And while I'm praising the artwork, let me give a shoutout to Natalie Haine's work on Cover B. It's a hand-painted image of Shadow confronting the Shadow Androids as they crowd around him. The brush scrolls are detailed and bring an otherwise still image to life. Haine was apparently influenced by Renaissance painters like Alexandre Cabanel, whose painting of Lucifer called "The Fallen Angel" specifically inspired the look of consternation in Shadow's eyes. That's, uh, not a sentence I ever expected to type. Anyway, issue 59 is a leaps-and-bounds improvement over the last two issues. I don't want to say that you can tell when Ian Flynn is phoning it in and when Evan Stanley is putting her heart and soul into something... But, well, I just wrote it so I guess I do want to say it. [8/10]

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.41: Bro-Down Showdown

(Sorry I died for two months. Here's a normal update. I'm going to try and get back on schedule now, though I can't make any promises. Thanks to anyone who stuck around during the unexpected hiatus.)

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.41: Bro-Down Showdown

Original Air Date: August 29th, 2015

In the late 2000s and early 2010s, American popular culture was suddenly fascinated with the idea of "bros." Guys had been calling each other bros since at least the early 20th century but apparently the term came into its modern usage – a word a guy calls another guy, usually a close friend -- in the seventies, Wikipedia tells me. The term really took root in the culture thanks to the popularity of surfer dude/metalhead lingo in the eighties and nineties. This is probably where the word gained its association with a certain type of guy: A bro is a man – almost always a young man – who mostly spends time with other men, usually doing activities widely enjoyed by young men. This is understood to include partying, drinking, playing video games, eating large amounts of unhealthy food, doing stupid stunts to impress each other, working out in the gym, and – in keeping with the sexism deeply entrenched within American culture – both excluding women and coveting them as objects of lust and conquest. 

This association, unsurprisingly, led "bro" to have largely negative connotations going into the new millennium. Bros were meat-headed dudes, reveling in their own bro-ness at the expense of everyone else. They thrived in male dominated spaces and were totally disinterested in examining the sexism inherent in those spaces. Yet something strange started to happen as the 2000s wore on. Firstly, peppering your speech with "bro," even using it as an all-purpose exclamation, became a meme. In 2007, a University of Florida student went viral for screaming "Don't tase me, bro!" before getting tased. Combining the word with literally any other word became a full-blown phenomenon by the end of the decade. There was also mystifyingly popular sitcom "How I Meet Your Mother," which featured a womanizing sociopath named Barry Stintson. He inexplicably became the show's breakout character and helped crystallize the idea of what a "bro" was in the public's mind. They even published a book about it.

As the term grew in popularity, so did its meaning. The concept of masculinity has evolved in the last twenty years. While this has meant a rise in reactionary attitudes, reaching its apotheosis in our modern incel problem, it also meant a wider range of ideas of what manhood – and thus man-on-man friendships – entailed. Phrases like "metrosexuals" and "manscaping" we're coined, showing there was room for personal hygiene, grooming, and fashion in the Bro world. Inevitably came the "bromance." This referred to an exceedingly close male friendship, the homoeroticism and borderline romantic underpinning of the bond being built right into the phrase. 

This went manly-hand-in-hand with an embracing of emotional needs. Guys were striving to better understand their feelings, to be emotionally open and vulnerable with each other. Manly tears and manly embraces were now socially accepted and cries of "no homo" faded on the wind. Suddenly, we were all gonna make it, brah. Having bros went from strictly the domain of crass frat boys to something... Cute. Wholesome, even. It was a real brorenaissance. (This led the way for the rise of the modern himbo, a vapidly bro-y bro who, nevertheless, respects the thoughts, feelings, and boundaries of other genders, cultures, and orientations.)

As with all things, the bro-surge of the mid-2000s was quickly commercialized. A bromantic comedy hit theaters in 2009. The idea popped up all over books, magazines, TV, and the internet. By 2016, bro-dom was so widely understood that Geico could build a whole annoying commercial around it. The spirit of the bromance era lives on in "kissing the homies goodnight" memes and the ironic integration of "bruh" into the internet lexicon. Mostly though, the New Age of Broness was largely an overexposed fad by 2015... And that's when the "Sonic Boom" writers, proving once again that they are about five years behind the cultural zeitgeist, decided to build a whole episode around the enduring bro bond between Sonic and Knuckles.

And that is how this rambling introduction finally comes around to the topic at hand: Episode 41 of "Sonic Boom," "Bro-Down Showdown." After winning a trip for her selflessness, Sonic and Knuckles talk a reluctant Amy Rose into house-sitting for her. The guys immediately make a mess of Amy's feminine space, despite her explicit warnings not to. After ruining her fancy coach, they see an advertisement for a game show called "Bro-Down Showdown," in which knowledges of one's best friend is pitted against other duos. The prize is, of course, a coach. Sonic and Knuckles seek to enter but the casting director decides Sonic has better chemistry with Eggman than Knuckles. This forces a wedge between Sonic and Knuckles' bro bond, which the villainous Eggman seeks to take advantage of. 

How bro-ish Sonic and Knuckles' relationship is depends on what “Sonic” media you're consuming. They always end up as allies but the degree to which their initial rivalry turns into a deep friendship varies wildly. In fact, that's even true of individual episodes of “Boom,” where they are sometimes best friends (as depicted here) and, other times, the hedgehog seems to barely tolerate the echidna. Yet even this sort of makes sense within the context of this episode. Brolationships are full of trials and tribulations. Here, Knuckles and Sonic's joyous activities are interrupted after spilling nacho cheese on Amy's couch. As they try and move it outside, things almost get heated. Similarly, once Sonic is placed on a team with Eggman (and does well enough), Knuckles starts to get jealous. Bros are not always great at feelings and, sometimes, emotions can get tangled up as two guys attempt to explore and define their friendships. 

Of course, two dudes being this clingy and emotionally dependent on each other is low-key gay. “Bro-Down Showdown” actually, in its own way, leans into the homoeroticism of dude-on-dude bonding in subtle, amusing ways. Sonic and Knuckles' weekend plans, initially, involve doing dumb-ass stunts in Amy's house. Once they are broken up into rival teams by the game show, Knuckles' actions grow increasingly petty. Yet the bro code is stronger than an engineered conflict on a television show. Eggman attacks with a giant killer robot and Knuckles attempts to fight it off. If Sonic helps him, that'll be interpreted as Sonic fighting his own teammate and disqualify him. While he tries to resist, eventually, Sonic has to come to his best dude's rescue. It's a triumphant reunion, as meaningful as if Sonic had rescued a love interest from the same peril... Assuming Knuckles isn't the love interest here, since Sonic clarifies vehemently that Amy is not his girlfriend mere minutes earlier. The show stops just shy of going even further with it, like a grown-up sitcom happily would have, but it's still funny to see Sonic and Knuckles' hyper-macho dudery go so far in the other direction that it just becomes borderline romantic. 

The idea of basing a whole episode around two males' bro-y bro-ness is a pretty typical sitcom story idea, especially in recent years. How many episodes of “Scrubs” or “Boy Meets World” ran with similar ideas? Similarly, the idea of two slovenly dude-bros house-sitting their prissy female friend's bungalow – so Sonic can enjoy a change of scenery and Knuckles can enjoy cable – is a similarly hacky set-up. Similarly, Amy's unhinged shouting in the first scene – a deliberate contrast to her winning the “Most Selfless” award – feels like a gag out of an underachieving sitcom. Honestly, I like how effortlessly this episode blends typical sitcom writing like this with scenarios that could only happen in a “Sonic” cartoon. Like Sonic spindashing a metal plate into another evil Eggman robot's face. Or the hedgehog surfing along the walls of Amy's hut. 

Stock-parts as some of these jokes and premises might be, “Bro-Down Showdown” still made me laugh a decent amount. There's a number of amusing meta gags in this script, like Knuckles bemoaning that this won't be a “Sonic and Knuckles episode.” Or Comedy Chimp referring to the coach as a “narratively convenient prize.” There's plenty of good ol' fashion silliness here too. Such as Lady Walrus and Dave the Intern being paired together, which results in a silly line about villainy and working in the fast food industry. Eggman and Sonic being forced to work together, another example of their weird friendship, also is a consistent source of laughs in the second half.

Probably among the episode's most unexpected gags is its surprisingly downbeat ending. Spoiler alert for a seven year old cartoon that, if you're reading this, you've probably seen already: Sonic and Knuckles do not win a replacement coach for Amy. With no other options, they... blow up the inside of Amy's house with a missile and blame it on Eggman? The final minute of the episode is devoted to the heroes deferring all responsibility for their actions, Amy being sad that her coach got destroyed, and that pathetic turtle guy falling to his feet and crying. Considering “Sonic Boom” usually reinforces some moral relativism in its story, I'm honestly surprised this cartoon went with a comic non-conclusion so bleak.

“Bro-Down Showdown” is not a top-tier “Boom” episode. Aside from Sonic and Knuckles' relationship, probably the most interesting narrative detail here is the reveal that Eggman wanted to be a traffic cop as a kid. Is that why he's such a control freak now? Yet I was still reasonably amused by this one. I imagine it honestly plays a little better in 2023 than it did in 2015, when jokes about “bros” had been run into the ground. By the way, if JD and I were to go on Bro-Down Showdown, we would absolutely dominate the competition. Collectively, come at us, bros. We can deadlift like 350 together, no problem. [6.5/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue #58

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue #58

Publication Date: March 1st, 2023

The exact machinations of comic book release schedules remain a bit mysterious to me, as you've no doubt observed during previous reviews. Issue 58 of IDW's "Sonic" book was originally due out on the first of March, 2023. For whatever reason, it was then pushed a week ahead... Yet, through methods I can only speculate on, the issue ended up leaking on the original release date. This prompted IDW to just go ahead and put the book out on the 1st digitally, with the physical release following on the 8th. This really raises the question of why the issue was delayed in the first place. Are their weird contractual or printing factory limits involved or something? My fiancée was the business major, not me, so this kind of shit goes over my English-major-having ass. 

Anywho, "Urban Warfare Part 2" picks up with Sonic battling Badniks in the otherwise empty Eggperial City. He gets a helping hand when Silver, Blaze, Amy, and Tails show up. After clearing out the army of robots, the quartet formulate a plan to disrupt Eggman's new power supply and free Whisper, Tangle, and Lanolin. The Diamond Cutters, while inside this weird micro-dimension, talk out some insecurities and try to put their own plan together. 

I criticized the previous issue for Ian Flynn's structure-centric writing. The first part of "Urban Warfare" was really preoccupied with laying the groundwork for the rest of this story arc. Unfortunately, this matter-of-fact, plot-heavy style continues in this second part. After being joined by the other heroes and clearing out the Badniks, Sonic and his friends turn their eyes towards saving their friends... Which means busting up the power source for Eggman's city. This leads to several very dull pages of our cast reasoning out how Eggman's latest scheme is powered and how they can interrupt that cycle. Really, the panels devoted to Sonic or someone suggesting an approach, only for that plan to be rebuked via another character spouting off some exposition, feels like the stuff of fanfiction. I don't read this comic to learn the mechanics of Eggman's improbable mad science! Approaching a story only in terms of what the plot can and can't do – much less devoting most of the dialogue to that exact topic – strikes me as pretty boring.

It also doesn't help that this story feels strangely free of tension. At the very beginning of the comic, Sonic is alone in a city surrounded by enemies. That sounds pretty upsetting, especially since he just watch his friends get sucked into an inter-dimensional reverse wedgie. Instead, the hedgehog is smirking in that first panel. After his friends show up, they make scrap metal of the Badniks quickly enough. Especially with Blaze and Silver's superpowers. These pages are devoted to the heroes tearing up the robots, not struggling against them. Amy grabbing the mallet from an Egg Hammer robot and turning it against the machine is played like a big, bad-ass moment... Yet it's hard to feel like the heroes have ever been challenged in these scuffles. Only after dropping the hammer on the machine's head does Amy seem to sweat any. It's a scene devoted to showing how tough and strong she is, not to making the good guys feel like they are outnumbered and outgunned. 

The cumulative effect is an issue that feels like it has little at stake. Even the Diamond Cutters, stuck in a pocket dimension, don't seem to be in any particular danger. They're just cut off from their friends. Sonic and the gang focus on cleaning the Badniks out of the city, before turning towards destroying the giant crystals that are now powering the city. I suppose some people might consider this a positive feature but that kind of structure – of “let's do this thing and then go here and then do this thing” – feels like a video game. It might be fun to play through a game and achieve such objectives. But reading something like this is not very entertaining or involving. 

About only one character moment emerges out of this collection of superpower displays and simple A-to-B plotting. While rushing off to their next goal, Sonic shares some banter with Tails and Silver. He reflects to himself about how much easier these things are with friends and how much fun he's having. (Maybe this mission being “fun” is why there's not much suspense in this issue.) I've noted in the past that Sonic works best when part of a team setting. While the IDW series has waffled back and forth on whether Sonic is a regular member of the Restoration, I'm glad to see Flynn outright admitting that the hedgehog is better served when surrounded by his allies. 

I guess, if the Sonic half of this issue is devoted to uninvolving action, the emotional content here is devoted to the Diamond Cutters' subplot. While trapped inside this alternate dimension, the trio end up talking out their differences. Lanolin is feels like she's failed her friend, in the way she herself felt after her village was attacked all the way back in issue 2. Whisper expresses her still lingering pain over the death of the original Diamond Cutters, which she was reminded of when Tangle brought up that name. She then realizes that her friends have never given up on her, even when she's given up on herself. By the end of this conversation, the trio re-devote themselves to escaping their situation. 

Ya know what this whole sequence feels like to me? A group therapy session. The same sort of mechanical writing that is evident in the A-plot is also clear here. Ian Flynn approaches the characters' emotional problems in the same sort of direct fashion that he does the action storyline, just having everyone bring up what's bothering them and then immediately resolve it with a few words. It doesn't feel very emotionally honest but, ya know what? I'll take it. Simply just because seeing Whisper get back together with Tangle, to finally put this schism between them aside, makes me happy. May our favorite furry lesbians never be torn asunder again.

What does end up elevating this moment further is that Tangle is, simply put, friggin' adorable. Thomas Rothlisberger clearly has a great time drawing the lemur and all the BIG EMOTIONS she likes to express. She grasps her hands towards the heavens and makes a goofy face when screeching about “this sci-fi whatever!” She springs up in the air on her tail while giving Lanolin a pep talk. She wraps herself in her tail and mumbles through it when Whisper expounds on her pain. After Whisper and Lanolin shake hands and agree to keep using the Diamond Cutters name, Tangle beams with utter joy. I just love this big goofball, you guys. 

Rothlisberg's artwork is excellent all throughout, of course. It's not as detailed or dynamic as some of his past work. Which is not to disparage his action scenes, which are well organized if a little overly posed. (A panel of Silver standing in a psychic bubble with his arms out looks a bit too loose for my taste as well.) Yet the big cheesy grins, hyper-expressive faces, or silly expressions the characters wear throughout do a lot of heavy lifting here. I'd wager that Rothlisberger's artwork adds more emotional heft to this story than Flynn's script does. 

Maybe it's just because I've gotten used to Evan Stanley's particular style of writing but I can't help but feel like Ian is phoning it in on this one. Thus far, “Urban Warfare” has felt largely uninspired with extremely ho-hum plotting. The last two issues have mostly been tedious plot set-up and action scenes so lacking in tension that they might as well be filler. Throwing a bunch of Sonic's friends together on a robot murder-fest feels like a desperate attempt to gain fan approval. This continues to be the case as the final page approaches and promises add yet another group of Sega-created cast members we haven't seen in a while. I'm really getting taken back to the “Hedgehog Havoc” arc here, another time when Flynn threw together a bunch of characters and had them fight it out simply because I guess he didn't have any better ideas that month.

If it wasn't for the interaction between Tangle, Whisper, and Lanolin, I would like this singular issue even less than I already do. The Diamond Cutters are about the only thing this particular arc has going for it so far. I guess there's still time to sort things out before the end. Will adding an actual antagonist to this story, as opposed to wave after wave of easily disposed of Badniks, improve things? Or will some actual thrills start to form as Sonic and his pals get closer to achieving their goals? I would like that though I'm not exactly excited based on these two issues. [5/10]

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.40: Tails’ Crush

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.40: Tails’ Crush

Original Air Date: August 22nd, 2015

In fandom spaces, there is no concept more commonplace, and contentious, than “shipping.” (A, honestly, kind of dumb abbreviation of “relationshipping.”) The more popular a show, movie, anime, comic book, piece of musical theater, or literally anything is, the more likely you are to find people passionately debating who should be dating and/or screwing who. Nothing makes humans nuttier than romance, so as wild as it is to think about, it’s not surprising that folks manage to get enormously invested in the love lives of people who don’t actually exist. Shipping wars have torn apart many once civil internet communities. Even a lack of actual romance in a story doesn’t stop people from putting enormous amounts of time and energy into manifesting and defending whatever match-up makes them the giddiest. 

“Sonic” media being so fractured, and “Sonic” fans being so uniquely impassioned, maybe makes the shipping debates in this fandom more frothing-at-the-mouth insane than the usual level of madness. Just the mere mention of Sally Acorn is enough to set some people off. I think even Sega, seemingly indifferent to most fandom drama, eventually became aware of how bad the shipping issue is. These days, they have an official policy of there being no long-lasting romances between game-originating “Sonic” characters in tie-in media. No matter how passionate the SonAmy or Silvaze crowds are, it's unlikely these pairings will ever actually exist in the "Sonic" games, comics, or whatever. Which is a little funny, when the games are where Amy’s unrequited crush on Sonic and Knuckles and Rouge’s flirtatious relationship began. 

Of course, it wasn't always this way. Obviously, the old cartoons and comics are full of love interests for the various "Sonic" characters... Which brings us to the topic of today's review. Sonic having a plethora of potential girlfriends makes sense, because he’s a hyper-confident teenager. Yet what of Tails’ various partners? Despite his official status as a prepubescent child, Tails has had a number of crushes and girls interested in him over the years. Sometimes she’s a plant, sometimes she’s a robotic doppelgänger, sometimes she's inappropriately aged for him. Not to mention the fans have shipped Tails with anyone and anybody. As kind of weird as it is to imagine an eight-year-old cartoon fox with a girlfriend, I get it. Tails is Sonic's sidekick and just as beloved as he is. If the hedgehog sparks intense infatuation with various females, why shouldn't his best buddy? Isn't it only fair? 

In its fortieth episode, "Sonic Boom" would add another name to the surprisingly long list of potential romantic partners for Tails. In "Tails' Crush," Sonic is noticing that the young vulpine engineer seems unusually distracted. After the gang notices him making goo-goo eyes at a cute fox girl named Zooey, they all figure out why. Tails is in wuv. Having an analytical mind, he decides to asks his friends on strategies for getting Zooey to notice him and fall for him. None of this goes well, as all his friends have weirdo answers for him. The best advice, that brings Tails and Zooey together, comes from the most unexpected place. 

"Tails' Crush" is a classic sitcom setup. Someone who is young and naïve in the ways of romance goes to different people in a group. Everybody gives them wildly different feedback, resulting in many awkward scenarios as the young person attempts to woo the object of their desire. You've definitely seen this play out in fiction before. But there's a reason for that: Having a first crush, and trying to get them to notice you, is a pretty universal event. Similarly, everybody has different approaches that work for them which will frequently (usually) not work for anybody else. We all have different experiences with romance, with failures and successes in attracting partners. Love is a messy, complicated thing and chemistry can be unpredictable. The dating advice industry is enormous but the most common, and aggravating, truth is that "the heart wants what it wants."  Whether or not someone is attracted to you, or vice versa, is something we actually have little control over. Yet everyone thinks they know best, everyone thinks what works for them will work for other people, and everyone is desperate for help. So people follow others' techniques in hopes of attracting a mate. When the messy truth is, they are usually just figuring out what about them sparks interest and attraction in a potential partner. 

Because sitcoms exaggerate reality in wacky ways, in order to produce laughs, this plays out on TV as a young person doing a bunch of dumbass shit in order to impress their crush. Sonic tells Tails to be "cool," which seems to mostly mean being tauntingly unavailable. Knuckles thinks being hyper-masculine, lifting weights and eating red meat, impresses girls. Amy assures Tails that drippy declarations of romantic longing and poetic complements work the best. Sticks, being a complete lunatic, recommends animalistic displays of colorful plumage. This results in ridiculous comedic moments. Such as Tails totally failing to appear effortlessly cool or absolutely fucking up the romantic poetry. (While dressed as the Phantom of the Opera, which made me snort.) Maybe the best of these predictable, if highly amusing, punchlines is Tails constantly undermining Knuckles' advice to appear macho and tough. This includes an incongruous interest in woodworking, a gag the show runs with in a funny way. 

We know all these attempts are going to fail not just because "Tails' Crush" follows a well understood comedic formula. These techniques fail because they don't represent who Tails is. He's not a cool bad boy that intrigues women with his mysteriousness. He's not a sculpted piece of sinew that activates lust. And he's not an eloquent romantic who can charm with pretty words. He's kind of an awkward nerd, truthfully. But Tails is brilliant and brave and adorable. When he squees over a Meh Burger Happy Meal toy or defeats a killer robot with the cool airplane he built, things he would've done anyway, that's what impresses Zooey the most. That's why Eggman's advice of "Be yourself" is what actually works. As frustrating as it can be to hear sometimes, I think this cliché nugget of wisdom is the best dating advice you can get. The right person will be attracted to who you are, for all the unique individual qualities you have. 

As wacky as it gets, this is still one of the most down-to-Earth episodes of "Boom" yet. Most of it is devoted to Tails being adorably dorky. When he sees Zooey, his tails start to spin and he floats up into the air. That's both a funny little gag and a good visual representation of what it feels like when you're crushing on someone. Tails' youthful awkwardness, honestly, is more charming here than it probably would be in reality. Tails' fans like it when he's being a fuzzy little guy, which is probably why this episode is more popular than the one where he wants to fuck his airplane. Zooey clearly already seems to like him, as she gets friendlier and slightly giggly whenever she's around him. Watching these two kids work towards each other is pretty gosh darn cute. 

I do wish Zooey was more fleshed-out though. Tails' object of infatuation is named for the new millennium's prototypal manic pixie dream girl, Zooey Deschanel. Yet I don’t think Zooey is even defined enough to classify as that trope. What do we actually learn about Zooey in this cartoon? Well, she's a female, with a very traditionally feminine style of dressing and accessorizing. And she likes Tails! And, uh, um... Well, we see her shopping for fruit in one scene. But that's pretty much it. I get that this cartoon has limited time to explore its character but they probably should've given Zooey more of a personality than this. 

She really does just exist as a plot device for Tails to have a puppy-dog crush on. In the last act, he rescues her from Eggman's robot and she immediately rewards him with a kiss. Not to accuse "Sonic Boom" as a show, or Reid Harrison as a writer, of being sexist or anything. but stories like this where the female character just exists as a prize for the male hero to win, who then hands out romantic attention as a reward, look pretty antiquated in 2023. I can't imagine it looked much better in 2015.  

Despite this, Zooey is a fan favorite. In fact, she's probably the most popular of the "Sonic Boom" characters unique to the cartoon. This is almost assuredly because Tails fans are desperate to validate their favorite boy with a cute GF, which is exactly what Zooey is. I know the character appears in more episodes this than one, so hopefully she actually develops a personality. 

The episode around her seems to be among "Boom's" most popular installments as well. I don't think this is just because giving Tails a love interest was going to instantly catch the most obsessive fans' eyes. This is a likable, amusing episode. There's a decent number of laughs, including a really funny subplot where Eggman is aggravated with the local postal service. (Another example of "Boom" contrasting its superheroic characters with utterly mundane frustrations.)  The script balances the typical "Boom" wackiness with more character centric sequences. It's a mechanically well constructed episode too, telling a complete story. If Harrison and the rest of the team had actually bothered to give Tails' titular crush an actual personality, I probably would've given it an 8/10 instead of the [7/10] I'm giving it instead.

 

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.39: Battle of the Boy Bands

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.39: Battle of the Boy Bands

Original Air Date: August 15th, 2015

As I mentioned in the introduction, I've seen very few episodes of this cartoon before. By 2015, I had stopped paying for cable, mostly due to my dislike of "prestige television" stretching narratives out for 24 hours and everything about the reality genre. Though a new "Sonic" cartoon piqued by interest, I was still skeptical of "Boom" for a long time. I guess it wasn't until I heard folks talking positively about it online that I decided to actually try the program out. While at my mom's place, I looked "Sonic Boom" up on OnDemand, and this was the latest episode. I was reasonably amused and intended to follow the series from that point on. And then I didn't do that, for reasons. Anyway, the point of this rambling introduction is that "Battle of the Boy Bands" is one of the few "Booms" I've boomed before. 

This is also a rare "Boom" episode that doesn't feature Eggman at all. Instead, the plot revolves around Justin Beaver, a new pop singer that is driving all the females in the village giddy with his dulcet tones and boyish appearance. Amy, caught up in Beaver Fever, even manages to make Sticks – initially skeptical of the corporate music – into an obsessive fan. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles quickly realize something is up. (In addition to hating Beaver's music.) They decide to infiltrate the boy band industry by forming a pop trio called Dreamboat Express. Soon, the trio does in fact uncover a conspiracy to brainwash females with hypnotic tunes. 

"Battle of the Boy Bands" takes us back to that frightful time when an earlier pandemic gripped the globe: Bieber Fever. Actually, by the time this episode aired, Justin Bieber had been a hugely successful pop star for five years. The cherubic castrato with the lesbian haircut had grown into a tattooed, abbed bad boy who was pissing in public, renting Brazilian sex workers, egging his neighbors' houses, and earning the obligatory aging child star DUI. His 2014 concert movie made 67 million less than his previous one. Two months before this episode debuted, he was the subject of a typically ribald Comedy Central Roast, confirming Justin as a punchline. Bieber Fever had been successfully inoculated by this point. But I guess the pun of combining the Canadian crooner with his home country's national animal was too hard to resist. What was the show gonna do to be more relevant in 2015? Introduce a character named Shawn Muskrat? Doesn't blend as well! Or maybe this cartoon was just written by old men who are perpetually five years behind whatever's current. I can relate to that. 

Regardless of how relevant a specific reference like "Justin Beaver" was by 2015, some things are evergreen. Teenage girls, and sometimes older females too, have been losing their collective shit for popular musicians since at least the days of Franz Liszt. Alan Denton and Greg Hahn's script nails the reason why. Justin Beaver's song titles include "Girl, I Like You" and "Yes, I'm Actually Talking About You." He tells every female at a record signing they are "the only fan he cares about." Yet his songs are filled with generic platitudes like promising to take you places you like and unspecific praise like "complex" and "interesting." Boy bands are designed to have as wide an appeal as possible while simultaneously making every girl's fantasy feel validated. Beaver's image is also blatantly non-threatening, as he promises to return home before curfew and perform only symbolic vandalism in the name of his love. This contrasts with the lewd, awkward behavior of actual teen boys, further marking teenybopper icons like Bieber/Beaver as blatant fantasy figures. 

Most guys as you probably know, haaaate this. Denton/Hahn seem to understand the root behind that as well. Part of it is jealousy. Many a sweaty, stubbly teen boy has secretly wished the Bieliebers and Directioners and BTS Army were creaming their panties for regular guys like them. This is an unspoken reason why Sonic immediately forms his own boy band. Most adolescents would never stoop to that level because the blustering, macho ego cringes when presented with such one-size-fits-all-teen-girls fantasies. Knuckles fears that dressing snappy, looking pretty, and doing synchronized dances will threaten his "street cred." Tails directly says boy band behavior isn't manly. Guys want to appear gritty and genuine, which is why Dreamboat Express quickly mutates into by a three-piece hard rock band... Which is named "Dude-itude," a moniker that rejects the innocuous androgyny of the Tiger Beat set. They are DUDES! And they have ATTITUDE! The stereotypical young female wants to be pampered by soft, cute guys who respect them. The stereotypical young male wants to establish his prowess, to leave no question that he is male. The two concepts are hard to reconcile. 

Of course, the rock star fantasy of melting faces with sick riffs and banging sexually pliable groupies is also a ridiculous, manufactured ideal designed to fan unrealistic, youthful desires. Most teen boys aren't self-aware enough to realize their own daydreams are as fake as their distaff counterparts. I guess middle-age animation writers aren't either. "Battle of the Boy Bands" has fun mocking prefab pop. Beaver's music is literally hypnotizing girls into being rabid consumers, to make his manager lots of money. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles mastering the boy band aesthetic so quickly suggests it's easily replicated. This is also reflected in Dreamboat Express' lyrics, which are all about how their music is generic, safe, and sellable. Yet the guys saving the day with The Power of Rock – breaking Justin's spell by blasting him with a bolt from Sonic's guitar, which gave me "Underground" flashbacks – is too tidy. Saying pop music caters to commonplace fantasies, in service of capitalistic greed, is subversive. Saying acts like Justin Bieber are fake and suck and rock music rocks is simply being a boomer. At the very least, Dude-itude should have been mocked more after defeating Beaver, as their music is pretty objectively bad. 

Nevertheless, this is a very funny episode. Denton and Hahn include more of those meta gags they like. Sonic and the guys master the boy band dance moves in a scene transition, so they devote the allotted montage time to thinking up a name instead. The episode then mocks the typical visual language of montages, such as calendar pages sweeping by. There's two separate lines about dramatically waiting until the scenery changes to finish a sentence. Cartoon contrivances, like the villain revealing his scheme just as the heroes are listening or characters wearing the same outfits every episode, are lampshaded. There's also a Benny Hill homage, which always makes me laugh. Overall, "Boom" simply makes good use of its characters here. Amy's enthusiasm, the incongruity of Sticks becoming a fangirl overnight, and Knuckles' attempt to play the trumpet are all worthy chuckles. Even Soar the Eagle and Fastidious Beaver get laughs here. 

"Battle of the Boy Band's" parodying of pop music and the accompanying industry could maybe be a little deeper. I’m not going to blame the short runtime, for once, as “Blue With Envy” pulled off some similar insight within the same length restraint. Then again, maybe expecting in-depth pop culture commentary from an episode built around a fifth-grade level pun is an example of me being a pretentious dweeb and not this show missing the mark. I liked this one the first time I watched it. Now that I've seen every proceeding episode, it's solidly funny. Lots of good jokes and better written than it had to be, even if the ending kind of whiffs. [7/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 57

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 57

Publication Date: February 8th, 2023

Ian Flynn has, more-or-less, been the driving creative force behind the “Sonic” comics for the last seventeen years. Considering his recent contributions to “Sonic Frontier” and a few episodes of “Boom,” you could even make the argument that he’s been the most consistently working writer of the character over his entire existence period. While I still tend to think of IDW “Sonic” as Flynn’s baby, Evan Stanley has technically been head-writer for a bit now. The truth is more like Evan and Ian have been trading back and forth for the last few arcs. While I’m sure Stanley had a hand in crafting the new plot that kicks off here in issue 57, this is the first story in a while that feels more like Flynn’s work than Evan’s. 

The issue is entitled “Urban Warfare, Part 1” and it starts in media ras with Sonic, Tangle, Whisper, and Lanolin swinging into Eggperial City. They find the metropolis strangely empty while also noticing that it’s bigger than the last time Sonic explored it. The heroes soon determine that the city is constantly expanding, by totally stripping the resources from the ground underneath it. Just after discovering this fact, Sonic and the team are ambushed by the portal technology from the “Test Run” arc. The hedgehog is soon left all alone in enemy territory, surrounded by Badniks. 

When I say that “Urban Warfare” is clearly more of a Flynn joint than a Stanley one, I don’t necessarily mean that in a positive sense. Don’t get me wrong, this is a decent issue, with one or two caveats. It’s also very much the first part of a loner story, displaying the kind of “laying the groundwork” story structure that is both Flynn’s greatest strength and most prominent weakness. This issue is very much devoted to establishing our team of heroes and their dynamic, while also introducing the threat they will be facing off against. It’s the first act of a longer story in a way that feels a little perfunctory at times. Here’s the guys, here’s what they’re up against, the actual good stuff starts next month. 

Either because Sega insists that Sonic has to be a free agent, or out of a desire to distinguish the IDW books from the Archie continuity, the blue hedgehog and his gang of video game-appearing friends are not technically members of the Restoration. In fact, it feels like the comic has been stepping back from the Restoration premise in the last year, as the chaos of the Metal Virus Saga fades further into the memory. So there has to be a rather laborious set-up scene here, of Sonic coming on as a freelance agent to the Restoration as Jewel puts together a new team of proactive agents. (Which Tangle quickly dubs the Diamond Cutters.) No wonder Flynn starts off in the middle of an action scene before flashing back to this relatively dull, expositonary set-up sequence. 

And anyone with any familiarity with storytelling knows that a standard scouting mission, which Lanolin presents this as, is never just that. Flynn tries to establish a sense of mystery, with the eerily empty city. The reader figures out long before the characters do that Eggperial City is some sort of self-perpetuating machine that heals itself and is always growing. (Not the least of which because it recalls the Nanite City premise from the Archie Comics a little bit.) Sonic insists the team stay and fight after Lanolin suggests going back, after which things go predictably awry. It feels like this was probably an ambush, a carefully laid trap, and the heroes not recognizing that makes them seem a little foolish. 

That Eggperial City draws the power necessary to fuel its ever-expanding growth by strip-mining the earth under it, admittedly, caught me off-guard. I honestly expected Eggman to have a Chaos Emerald or something shoved in a corner somewhere to get all of this rolling. That Eggman’s latest scheme revolves around sucking all the resources from the Earth is a nice return to the often overlooked ecological subtext of this series. If Flynn was a more insightful writer, the idea of a city that is always growing, at the price of destroying the environment, would be a handy little metaphor for capitalism gobbling up everything it can and not caring about the consequences. Since “Sonic” isn’t that deep, it’s simply a neat idea to insert here, to let kids know that unchecked growth of industry inevitably means the destruction of the natural world. 

This issue was hotly anticipated among IDW “Sonic” nerds specifically because it’s the technical proper introduction of Lanolin the Sheep. Now, Lanolin has existed in this series since the second issue, as a regular citizen that Sonic rescued before quickly cropping back up as a member of the Restoration. Because “Sonic” fans have a laser-like focus on new characters being introduced, readers immediately embraced Lanolin as a favorite. Even though she was literally just a reoccurring face in the background up until this point. This issue sees Lanolin — whose name we’ve known for months, after it was revealed on social media —introducing herself to Sonic and actually contributing to the plot for the first time. 

Lanolin represents a fairly unprecedented bit of evolution. In this comic, and in Archie before, new characters being introduced was usually done with a big trumpeting announcement. IDW didn’t sneak in Tangle. It dropped her right on the cover and said, “Look! It’s your new favorite!” Lanolin growing from nothing but a bit player, the comic book equivalent of local color, an artist sneaking an O.C. into the background just cause he could, to an actual character has never really happened before. It’s pretty neat. And I can see why fans latched onto Lanolin quickly, as she’s got a cute, eye-catching design. 

Of course, Lanolin’s origins and appearance has nothing to do with whether or not she’s actually a likable character. Now that the little sheep has an actual personality, what do I think of her? As opposed to the energetic Tangle and the quiet Whisper, Lanolin is a focused and practical soldier who always puts the safety of her teammates and the furthering of the cause above everything else. That’s nice, I guess, and distinguishes her from the overstressed Jewel. Lanolin also has a little purple wisp friend that hides in her bell, which gives her some action-worthy superpowers. 

Though the prominent role the Wisps continue to play in this comic always throws me — a guy for which “Sonic Colors” is just another game and not a beloved classic — for a loop. The moment where Sonic fuses with Whisper’s green wisp and turns into a flying spiral shaped like his own head confused me for a minute. “Oh, yeah, he can do that now.” Overall, I do find the characters getting random power-ups, at the whims of the writers when they don’t forget about them, distracting. Little floating alien guys that can snipe Badniks right out of the air, in very uninvolving action beats, still don’t feel like they belong to the “Sonic” franchise to an old fogey like me. But I guess that’s more my problem than anyone else’s. Since clearly “Colors” has long been accepted into the canon of actually good “Sonic” games by this point. 

Lanolin’s introduction is fine and the plot here is a potentially promising start, even if it’s pulled off in a somewhat dull manner. Yet the real heart of this issue happens between Whisper and Tangle. This is the first time the “very, very good friends” have been reunited since their mini-series together. Following the apparent break-up referenced in “Trial by Fire,” the two remain tense. Tangle tries to get friendly with Whisper several times, only for the wolf to give her a cold shoulder. When Lanolin asks how Whisper “handles her,” she replies that she doesn’t. This chilliness continues until Tangle yells at her near the issue’s end, about how she needs to stop trying to “go solo.” 

Of course, any resolution of this particular moment will have to wait, as the plot interrupts the gooey emotions. I’ve already pegged what is happening here. After seeing Tangle get Zombotted during the Metal Virus Crisis, Whisper is afraid of loosing somewhat she loves. So she is attempting to cut her girlfriend out of her life, in order to keep her love and her own heart safe. One expects Tangle will prove to Whisper that the joys of having love in your life is worth the risk that you might loose it. But we aren’t there yet. Until then, the “Sonic” franchise’s favorite sapphic pairing will continue to be apart. Hopefully this is resolved by end of “Urban Warfare,” as I hate to see my moms fight. 

As you probably expect, the art here is excellent. The opportunity for Adam Bryce Thomas to make his O.C. officially official canon is clearly invigorating for him. The character interactions are extra sharp here. Sonic’s clear boredom after Lanolin tells everyone to be cautious or the chilliness between Tangle and Whisper — which results in the lemur hugging her own tail awww — are expertly conveyed. The action is great too. A page made up of long, vertical panels, showing the heroes fight off an incoming wave of Badniks, is fantastic. (And Thomas clearly details in getting to draw a bunch of classic Badniks.) As is a panel where Lanolin drops down into the totally empty cavern underneath the city, which is portrayed in total darkness at first. Thomas is pretty definitively the best artist working regularly on this book and he proves it again here. 

Issue 57 is a slightly mixed affair for me. Whether or not this arc ends up going some really exciting places remains to be seen. As a kick-off, it feels a little by-the-numbers. The cliffhanger can’t help but be frustrating, as it separates Sonic from the characters I’m actually invested in here. Hopefully, there continues to be a balance between the interpersonal manners and whatever story line shenanigans Flynn is planning as we move forward. [6.5/10]