THE 2006 SONIC THE HEDEGHOG COMIC BEST/WORST LIST!

At the beginning of 2006, Archie's “Sonic the Hedgehog” book was on life support. Directionless scripts hampered by out-of-character writing and lame plot developments had just about killed the book. I don't know how well the comic was selling at the time. I don't know if indiscriminate kids and faithful die-hards were keeping the series successful. Yet, if things had continued in this fashion, it's difficult to imagine the book going on much longer.

And then, a miracle happened. A new writer and head artists came onto the book, resurrecting it. Ian Flynn's run would completely revive “Sonic,” injected a much needed sense of direction and energy. For the first time in a long time, “Sonic the Hedgehog” was worth reading. The series made the jump from kind of shitty to kind of great in only a few issues. While Flynn would have his own ups and downs as head writer, there's no doubt that he saved “Sonic” in more ways then one.

(The “Sonic X” spin-off would also find its voice in 2006, if briefly.)

So let's look back on the year that changed Archie “Sonic” forever. The material covered in this retrospective is:

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 158-Issue 170
Sonic X: Issue 5-Issue 15

BEST COVER STORY:
Ian Flynn, “Order from Chaos: Part 1 – The Gathering” (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 168)

In a year full of satisfying stories, the first part of “Order from Chaos” easily emerges as my favorite. 2006 was defined by Flynn cutting away at the previous writer's pile-up of useless plot points. In “Order from Chaos,” that vision reaches it crescendo. The true identity of Anonymous is revealed. Tommy the Turtle finally finds a sense of purpose. Shadow's status as Robotnik's henchman and Tails' status as the Chosen One developed a point. The Nanites became actually dangerous. Through this amazingly efficient script, Ian even managed to find some powerful emotional moments involving Bunnie and Sonic's dad. It just kicks so much ass, you guys.

WORST COVER STORY:
Joe Edkin, “Bad Eggnog” (Sonic X: Issue 15)

Archie's “Sonic X” adaptation actually featured some really fun stories in 2006, especially when Joe Edkin embraced his inner horror fan. Issue 15's “Bad Eggnog,” sadly, wasn't one of them. A pretty lame Christmas special, it recycled plot points from the old “Sonic Christmas Blast” TV special. The script has the people of Earth acting rather gullible. Eggman's evil scheme is full of holes. The story's conclusion is its most disappointing element, as the story is resolved without much conflict at all. “Sonic X” was an uneven book, with stories like this representing the lower points.

BEST BACK STORY:
Ian Flynn, “Courage and Honor” (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 168)

While Ian Flynn's cover stories were usually devoted to big plot upheavals, his back stories usually focused on character moments instead. This led to a surplus of good back stories in 2006. 165's “Call of Duty” was a cathartic confrontation between Knuckles and Locke, father and son severing their relationship for good. Issue 162's “Ties That Bind” re-center Snively's recently abused personality, giving that character a proper purpose again.

Yet issue 168's “Courage and Honor” rises above an already strong pack.. Firstly, Flynn re-establishes the importance of Bunnie and Antoine's romance. He then tosses an emotional gut punch the reader's way. Antoine's ill father – another often ignored plot point – comes back to the forefront as the old man passes away. Before dying, he has a touching final conversation with his son and his fiance. It's a powerfully conveyed story.

WORST BACK STORY:
Mike Gallagher, “Inside Treading” (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 158)

With Flynn's arrival, Archie also saw fit to utilize what I suspect were a number of long shelved stories. Mike Gallagher's various contributions – 167's “Hedgehog Day,” 170's “Island of Misfit Badniks” - varied between useless and deeply dumb. Yet at least those stories didn't actively annoy me. The same can't be said for issue 158's “Inside Treading,” which also comes from Gallahger's pen. Another five pager set in the farcical Off-Panel world, “Inside Treading” recycles the story construction of previous Worst Back Story winner, “Better Read Than Dead,” while being pumped full of even lamer jokes. Worst yet, this story actively insults the reader's intelligence, by assuming none of us understand how movies and comics are actually made. Thankfully, with the new sheriff in town, further Off-Panel shenanigans would be confined to simple stripes in the back. Where they belong and were they can be easily ignored.

BEST STORY ARC:
Ian Flynn, “Order from Chaos” (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 168-169)

“The Darkest Storm” was meant to be this year's big event and “I Never Promised You a Chao Garden” from issues five and six of “Sonic X” was a lot of fun. But “Order from Chaos” remains one of my favorite story arcs Ian Flynn would ever contribute to the story. As previously established, Flynn successfully did away with a number of lingering story points, combining a collection of plot tumors that the previous writers' likely intended to stand alone. Which makes the title very literal.

What makes “Order from Chaos” especially great is that Flynn kills off Tommy the Turtle, the widely loathed symbol of everything that was wrong with the book at the time. Even more impressively, he even manages to redeem Tommy a bit in his final moment! Now that's a real achievement!

WORST STORY ARC:
Joe Edkin, “Wicked Sweet Shuttle Shenanigans” (Sonic X: Issue 8-9)

I really wanted to give this dubious honor to the last two parts of the Metal Sonic Trooper saga, as Ken Penders' final work on the book. That's not really fair, since the story began in 2005, but mostly because Ken Penders' last contribution to the book wasn't that terrible. Instead, I once again turn to the “Sonic X” book, a title I really did start to like this year. Having said that, “Wicked Sweet Shuttle Shenanigans” from issues eight and nine were not Joe Edkin's best effort. The story doesn't know what to do with the character of Emerl and throws Big the Cat into things for no reason. The climax comes too early, leading to a lengthy and underwhelming conclusion. Most of the main cast is involved but they aren't given very much to do. It really does feel like a lame filler arc.

BEST COVER ART:
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 161 – Patrick Spaziante

As always, Patrick Spaziante drew some bad ass looking covers in 2006. The triptych he drew for “The Darkest Storm” arc – the last such three-part image he would contribute to the book – was a beautifully constructed, visually exciting image. His cover for “Sonic X” issue 6 had Sonic looking nicely perturbed as a legion of evil Chao gather around him. Then again, Tracy Yardley create the cover to issue 169, which leaps out at the reader's eye.

Yet issue 161 emerges as my favorite. It shows Scourge the Hedgehog bursting onto the book, literally shoving Sonic and Shadow aside. The looks of annoyance on the other hedgehogs' face establish how they feel about the new baddie. Scourge's cockiness and attitude  is also clearly evident in his body language and facial expression. The other little attributes Spaz adds to this one – the Sega style background and ring – are also a nice touch.

WORST COVER ART:
Sonic X: Issue 12 – Patrick Spaziante

Issue 170's cover was a bit crowded and awkward. Sanford Greene's work on issue 166 was fairly bland, showing the heroes and villains standing around, not doing much. Yet issue 12 of “Sonic X” grabs this award because it's a rather incoherent image. I've looked at this cover a bunch of times and I'm still not entirely sure what's happening in it. I think Sonic and Knuckles are holding up one of the alien tripods as it falls over them. If that is what we're looking at, why is the laser sighted alien eye craning around and looking at the heroes? Why are they posed in front of a series of television? Why is Eggman's little blue henchman floating in the corner? There's nothing wrong with the character modeling, line work, or coloring but the image just doesn't make any sense.

BEST STORY ART:
“Leak” – Tracy Yardley (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 165)

Tracy Yardley contributed quite a lot of good artwork to the book in 2006. I single out “Leak” because it features some of my favorite bits of action from Yardley. Scourge rushing at Sonic, the two chasing up a tree, and kicking and punching at each other's faces are all memorably entertaining moment. Yardley not only knows how to add some expressive colors to the fight scenes but these moments also show Tracy incorporate a sense of speed to the fast-paced fight scene. The earlier scenes, devoted to Rouge's interrogation, also feature some nicely moody use of shadow as well.

WORST STORY ART:
“System Reconfiguration” – Ron Lim (Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 158)

Thankfully, there wasn't too much subpar artwork in 2006. But there were still a few moments. Gary Bedell's off-model artwork in “Courage and Honor” was the sole negative aspect of that story. Tim Smith 3's artwork in “Sonic X: Issue 8” featured some seriously sketchy, flat artwork from Smith, an inconsistent talent.

But I couldn't resist using this spot as one last chance to jab at one of my least favorite artists on the book. Ron Lim's artwork on issue 158's “System Reconfiguration” was his penultimate credit on the book. As always, Lim draws the character with huge heads, skinny limbs, and blank facial expressions. Everyone is off-model and unimpressive. Issue 158 is especially notable for how loose the artwork is, even by the standards of Ron Lim. Too often, he reduces the characters blue blurs or undefined shapes. I will not miss you, Ron Lim.

BEST NEW CHARACTER:
Scourge the Hedgehog

With Ian Flynn's arrival on the book also came a number of fan favorite characters. Bean and Bark got a long overdue proper introduction as a comedic duo, one goofy and the other silent. Those guys are cool but another fan favorite emerges as the best new character of the year.

For a long time, Evil Sonic – or Anti-Sonic or whatever the hell you want to call him – was a lame nuisance, never distinguishing himself as a proper threat and usually being easily thwarted by Sonic and pals. Flynn would transform this clown into a proper enemy by giving him a dye job, a new jacket, and some scars. Oh yeah, and a total personality overhaul that made him a physical equal to Sonic and an amoral inverse to everything the hedgehog hero believes in. Flynn would make a number of additions to Sonic's rogue gallery over his long run on the book but Scourge the Hedgehog is my favorite, a perfectly hatable shithead with his own sense of style and personality.

WORST NEW CHARACTERS:
The Babylon Rogues

In addition to Bark and Bean, Flynn would introduce a few other Sega exclusive characters into the comic in 2006. Blaze the Cat and the Babylon Rogues would get their introductions in quicky two-parters in the back pages, that quickly dusted off the plot of their respective video games.

While Blaze showed some potential, the Babylon Rogues strike me as a totally generic set of undefined stereotypes. Jet the Hawk is yet another speedy rival to Sonic, joining Shadow, Scourge, and Metal Sonic. Storm the Albatross is an undefined big, tough guy, another character type the book hardly lacks. While Wave the Swallow is referred to as the brains of the operations, she seems more defined by her status as the token female. And despite being birds, all three of them float around on hover boards for some reason. Some Sega people really like these guys but I consider them utterly disposable.


BEST IDEA:
The New Guy Takes Out the Trash

Getting some new talent was clearly the best idea the Archie “Sonic” editorial had in 2006. With his arrival, Ian Flynn injected some much needed cohesion into the faltering book. For his first trick, Flynn would toss, dispose, write out, and do away with a number of unpopular, unneeded, unnecessary, or ungainly story elements. Flynn would clean up and streamline Sonic's world, making the book more accessible and more logical without loosing any of its history or legacy. There's a number of reasons as to why Flynn could pull this off – he's better at the brass-tacks narrative mechanics of writing then any of the previous writers Archie employed – but there's one real reason for his strengths. Flynn was a fan of the book. He loved it too. He knew what to do to fix it. He succeeded.


WORST IDEA:
Indecisiveness

For his obvious strengths, a number of flaws on Flynn's behalf would soon become apparent. He sometimes seemed a little uncertain on what to focus on. In 2006, he actually sped through a few story lines too quickly. His contribution to the “Mobius: 25 Years Later” setting easily could have breathed some more. His attempts to develop all of Sonic's supporting cast, while introducing a few new cast members, sometimes spread the script a little too thin.

This indecisiveness was more apparent in the “Sonic X” spin-off. Joe Edkin would regularly interrupt his own stories to make room for events that had or would happen on the cartoon show. Instead of letting “Sonic X” be its own weird thing the way Archie's main “Sonic” book had become, Edkin was pulled between telling original stories and writing around things that would happen in another medium. The results often gave me whiplash, especially since I've never seen much of the “Sonic X” cartoon anyway.

Sonic X: Issue 15

Sonic X: Issue 15
Publication Date: December 2006

As it did with Halloween, “Sonic X” continues to distinguish itself from Archie's other “Sonic the Hedgehog” book by acknowledging the passing holidays. I guess this makes sense, since “Sonic X' is actually set on Earth. Being a December release, issue 15 is the “Sonic X” Christmas special. Unlike Halloween, Sonic had encountered Christmas before. Whether you're talking about the “Christmas Carol” inspired back-up in issue 6 or the obscure but wacky “Sonic Christmas Blast” TV special, the hedgehog has tussled with the jolliest of holidays before. How does this story stack up to those previous stories?

In “Bad Eggnog” - nice title, Edkin – Chris and his family introduce Sonic and his friends to the Earthly custom of Christmas. While Cream happily embraces the story of Santa Claus, Sonic is more skeptical. Eggman has found out about Christmas, building a evil scheme around the holiday. He dresses as Santa Claus, presenting himself to the world as the jolly old elf. Eggman Claus threatens the children of the world that no one will get any Christmas presents unless Sonic surrenders himself. Naturally, Sonic sees through this plan and begins to work to undermine it.
“Bad Eggnog” puts Sonic in an interesting position: That of the skeptic. Up until this point, the “Sonic X” version of the character hasn't shown a much deeper personality then he's penchant for heroics. In issue 15, the hedgehog says he doesn't believe something unless he can see it with his own eyes. Naturally, he's not very impressed with the story of Santa Claus. He's so determined to figure out the truth that he races up to the North Pole to search for Santa's workshop. When Grandpa Chuck tells Sonic that Santa's workshop only appears on Christmas Day, the hedgehog remains unconvinced. We knew Sonic was the blue dude with 'tude but who knew that attitude included a rationalist streak?

Sadly, “Bad Eggnog” doesn't celebrate Sonic's critical thinking. The hedgehog's refusal to believe in Santa Claus gets him in trouble. The world falls for Eggman's paper thing disguise and happily turn on the heroic alien. The ease with which humanity believes the clearly fake Santa's words reminds me of the deeply cynical “Invader ZIM” Christmas episode. While that show was taking about as edgy a jab at Christianity as a Nickelodeon show could, Joe Edkin's script is only attempting to ratchet up the tension. And when I said “world,” I meant it. Germans and Frenchmen are shown attacking Sonic. (Obviously, the comic doesn't acknowledge that these country have Saint Nicholas and Pere Noel instead of Santa.) Sadly, this doesn't work very well because only one page is devoted to it.
Joe Edkin wasn't the first person to touch upon the resemblance between Eggman and Santa Claus. “Sonic Christmas Blast” had Long John Baldry's Robotnik also disguising himself as Santa, though his scheme was slightly different. I guess both of them being fat guys who wear red is just too obvious a connection to go without comment. Just as in that special, this scheme makes the population of Earth look highly gullible. Eggman is obviously not Santa Claus. Being a genius in robotics, you'd think the villain would build a suitable Santa facsimile. Instead, he simply throws on a red suit. He doesn't even color his mustache white! Later, Eggman's plot takes an even sillier turn. He has Decoe and Bocoe stand on each other's shoulders, wearing a fake beard and a red suit! Show some fucking oversight, fat man.

Instead of giving us an awesome showdown at the North Pole, “Bad Eggnog” ends in a hugely disappointing manner. Sonic goes with Decoe to the North Pole. Grandpa Chuck ensures Eggman's plan is undone on TV. He has Estella dress as Santa and wave in the distance, saying she's the actual Claus. Sonic is tossed a Power Ring and unmasks the robots. Instead of the hedgehog whooping on his arch-enemy for attempting to ruin the holiday, Sonic and the Thorndykes allow Eggman to get away. The spirit of giving is one thing but allowing an internationally feared terrorist leave scot free is an entirely different matter.

Issue 15 is pretty disappointing but I will give it perks for two things. First off, Todd Wahnish's artwork is great. Wahnish goes out of his way to copy the art design of the “Sonic X” TV show. That's a good feature for a licensed book, I suppose. Another positive element of “Bad Eggnog” is how inclusive Joe Edkin's script is. The opening page features Sonic and friends looking at a shop window, filled with Christmas decorations... and a Menorah. Later, Station Square's Christmas tree lighting ceremony is also accompanied by the lighting of a huge menorah. I tried to look up Joe Edkin, to see if this decision perhaps reflected a mixed heritage, but the only info I could find was about the work he's done for Marvel and DC.

Despite playing the true nature of Santa Claus ambiguously throughout the comic, issue 15 of “Sonic X” ends just the way you would expect. Presents pile up under the Christmas tree the next morning, suggesting that Santa Claus really does exist. It even convinces the formally skeptical Sonic. Which I guess is fine, considering this is a kid's book. Yet it's a bit disappointing, considering this story had way more promise then that. [5/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 170

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 170
Publication Date: December 2006

By the time 2006 came to a close, Ian Flynn had wrapped up the big two story lines he planned for the year. Instead of spending the last month of his freshman year setting up another big plot line, he decided to take things a little more slowly with issue 170. The new head writer continued his habit of resolving plot points other writers left hanging and simplifying a universe that had, perhaps, gotten a little too unwieldy.

“Comings and Goings” begins with King Acorn still in an unconscious state, have never recovered from the poisoning Anti-Antoine delivered. Uncle Chuck, Tails, and Dr. Quack have cooked up a machine that might wake the King up. The problem is they need a Chaos Emerald to do it. Using a new device Rotor has invented, Sonic and Tails enter the recently transformed Special Zone and grab a Emerald. Afterwards, Merlin uses that Emerald and Knuckles' guiding stone to travel across the galaxy and rescue Tails' parents.

I'm not sure why, post-”Endgame,” Archie decided that everyone of the main characters needed to have living parents. Before being introduced to Tails' parents in “Sonic Kids 2,” I sort of assumed they just perished in the Great War. For whatever reasons, the writers chose to build this bizarre space epic around the elder Prowers. Ever since Sonic got back from “Tossed in Space,” Tails' mom and dad being on the other side of the galaxy has been referenced from time to time. Well, the fox finally gets his family reunion. Ian doesn't overdo the emotion. Tails is shy about approaching his mom and dad, which is a cute moment. Rosemary Prower is overwhelmed with emotion, fighting back tears as she sees how much her boy has grown. It's a pretty good moment.

Ian also uses this opportunity to conveniently do away with the wildly unpopular science-fiction elements that had crept into the series recently. After being zapped away to Argentium, Sonic and the gang notices the planet is in the middle of the war zone. Turns out, the Xorda and the Black Arms are deadlocked in a war above the planet. Amadeus Prower suspects they'll be fighting each other forever. This makes sure the Xorda, already widely disliked by the fanbase, won't be appearing in the book again anytime soon. It also prevents the Black Arms from showing up too. Rumor has it this was actually a Sega mandate but it works out either way, as most fans were eager to disregard the relatively recent but critically reviled “Shadow the Hedgehog” game. For that matter, the outer solar system being fraught with combat meant Sonic didn't have much reason to travel outer space either.

“Comings and Goings” is almost evenly cut in two halves. The important business with Tails and his parents occupies the second half. The first half deals with retrieving the Chaos Emerald. This confirms what was widely foreshadowed last time. The Zone of Silence has been transformed into the Special Zone. It most heavily resembles “Sonic the Hedgehog 2's” special zones. There are long, winding tunnels littered with rings, bombs, and Chaos Emeralds. This is another attempt by Ian to reconfiguration the comic book universe so that it resembles the video games a little more, while simultaneously cutting down on some of the book's repetitive moments. There's no longer the Zone of Silence, the Void, and scattered around Special Zones. There's just one of those.

Yet Flynn doesn't just tossed unneeded comic elements. He also respects this book's history. He takes Feist, that giant panda bear creature that briefly appeared back in issue 66, and brings him back into the story. Now Feist has transformed into a god-like entity, overseeing and controlling the Special Zone. Luckily, the cosmic panda has no ambitions to rule over Mobius. Instead, he simply reshapes the Special Zone, allowing Sonic and friends to race through its traps for prizes, just for his own amusement. This allows Flynn to revisit any of the other Special Zones from the video games but in a way that makes sense for this book. (Compare to the post-reboot attempts to integrate video game canon with comic canon and see how much more elegant this is.)

Last time, Flynn wasn't just determined to kill Tommy Turtle off again. He was determined to make the turtle's second death mean something. This mission continues in “Comings and Goings.” After most of the plot business is over, Sonic and Knuckles meet each other in Knothole's graveyard, whose occupancy has really gotten a boost recently. This re-emphasizes how Tommy really was a childhood friend of Sonic, how he's hurt by his passing. Yet Sonic is too much of a manly man to tearfully express those feelings. Instead, he works through his pain with some good old fashion homoerotic posturing joking around with Knuckles. This provides a candid moment for the two heroes, which is mildly touching.

After two whole pages of Off-Panel stripes for some reason, we are presented with another... Mike Gallagher story? In “The Island of Misfit Badniks,” Sonic is racing through the Great Forest when he literally stumbles upon a hidden alcove Robotnik would use for sneak attacks. Inside, he finds a map to an island where damaged badniks – those easily disposed robots Sonic jumped on in the original video games – automatically returned to when damaged. After tracking the island down, Sonic discovers a bunch of D-list baddies eager for revenge. Among them is Pseudo-Sonic, the very first mechanical copy of Sonic.

According to those hedgehog scholars at the Mobius Encyclopaedia, “Island of Misfit Badniks” was published in order to drum up interest in the Sonic Saga trade paperback that Archie was finally beginning to publish at the time. This suggests to me that this was an old story that was sitting on the shelf for some time. It's not as if Mike Gallagher has contributed a non-”Off-Panel” story to the book in a while. Considering the multiple callbacks to the comic's early history, and its vague placement in continuity, there's no reason not to think this story could've been written years ago.

As far as the actual content goes, “Island of Misfit Badniks” is typical Gallagherian silliness. Sonic easily bests the badniks. Though there might be a certain novelty to seeing Sonic fight Pseudo-Sonic – seeing as how the characters never actually fought back in issue 9 – the scuffle only lasts a page. The fight ends with the two guys running directly at each other, not unlike Gallagher's “Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles” one-shot. The island is also a metal submarine. When it sinks at the end, the Badniks have actually just hidden themselves. The story concludes by promising that these ancient villains will return. (Mike, somehow, resists the temptation to have the characters directly beg the readers to request their return.)

By the way, Tracy Yardley's artwork continues to be high quality on the cover story while Dave Manak's illustrations on the back-up are as loose as you'd expect. Issue 170 takes 2006 out on a fairly strong note. It tells a meaningful, emotional story while also embracing the new writer's stated goals for the book. [8/10]

Sonic X: Issue 14

Sonic X: Issue 14
Publication Date: November 2006

Last time, I referenced the weird push-and-pull inside “Sonic X.” This is two fold. Joe Edkin is clearly pulled between telling the original stories he wants to tell but, for some reason, is stuck working within the TV show's timeline. This makes the book really frustrating to read, sometimes. I suspect it made it frustrating to write too. The more pressing divide is in the book's tone. With issue 13, and it was evident in a few other issues too, you can see Edkin desiring to write a fun book referencing eighties horror flicks. On the other hand, this is still a book for little kids, forcing him from going too far with the monster movie shenanigans.

Picking up were we left off last time, Chris and Cream are being chased around a mansion by the ghost-possessed versions of their moms. When they attempt to escape, they find the home surrounded by more zombies. The two kids stay inside and fight off the ghosts with what they can get their hands on. Eventually, Cream finds a magical plot device that protects them and, eventually, helps them resolves the story once Sonic and Tails are sprung from prison.

In its opening pages, “Hare-Um Scare-Um: Part 2” is actually a pretty great horror story for young kids. The presentation of the ghost-possessed people – floating a few inches above the ground, huge but blank eyes, sharp teeth – is just eerie enough to be potentially creepy. Though we still don't know Vanilla and Chris' mom very well, parents attacking their children is edgy for this book. Edkin continues to make the zombie parallel rather literal. By surrounding the house with the possessed people, forcing Chris and Cream to hide, he intentionally recalls “Night of the Living Dead.” This builds towards my favorite sequence in the comic. Chris and Cream hide in an old wardrobe, while their demonic mothers float outside. The two have to stifle their screams while the creepy faces pass outside, visible through the crack in the door.

That scene is honestly as spooky as “Sonic X” was probably allowed to get. Which might be why the book immediately retreats into goofiness afterwards. We get a lot of really stiff, childish dialogue between Chris and Cream. The boy grabs a golf club, as if that'll protect him, before rather improbably ending up with a sword and a shield. Afterwards, we get a blatantly comedic sequence of Cheese being possessed by a ghost. At that point, the ghosts' true form – goofy, floating blue spectres – is revealed. This is significantly less spooky then the floating, corpse-like possessed bodies. After this scene, “Hare-um Scare-um” never recovers, remaining in a strictly goofy mood.

Admittedly, I chuckled lightly at the reveal concerning why the ghosts are here. Turns out, Mrs. Thorndyke's tennis court is haunted. The exact specifics why are escaping me at the moment but King Boom Boo – the giant ghost boss from “Sonic Adventure 2” - has taken up residence under the concrete. The constant sound of balls bouncing awoke and disturbed him or something. That's a goofy, amusing gag but leads to a rather disappointing conclusion. The ghosts explain his motivation before some nonsense about a magical talisman – another carry over from the cartoon show – wraps the story up. Kind of a bummer.

Continuing from last month, we get a few pages devoted to Sonic and Tails being in jail. There's one or two funny joke here, about Sonic slowly going stir crazy inside the small cell. He even helps Eggman assemble refrigerators – another carry over from the cartoon, Jesus Christ – strictly because he's going slightly mad from being pent up. Eggman's delight at the hedgehogs' anxiety makes for a decent laugh. As does his robotic henchmen saying the boss probably shouldn't admit to liking prison so much.

Sadly, this subplot also gets a hasty, lame resolution. Grandpa Chuck makes some phone calls, absolving Sonic and Tails of all guilt. They are immediately freed and instantaneously join Chris and Cream on the island. By this point, the ghost business has already more-or-less resolved itself. Sonic only shows up again so he can race the magical plot device controlling the ghosts or something back to its rightful place and so on and so forth.

David Hutchinson does the artwork for this issue but it's a major step down from his usually reliable work. Sonic and Tails go horribly off-model in several panels. There's a lack of mood and atmosphere throughout the latter half of the issue. This is odd, considering that is usually Hutchinson's strong suit. Sometimes, the perspective and proportions are kind of weird. In a major no-no, he even uses a stock picture of grass as the background in one panel. Seemingly in a move swiped from Tim Smith 3, bright, primary colors are used as the backgrounds on several other pages. In fact, I thought this was Smith's work at first. I guess Hutchinson was really rushing it on this one. He's capable of better work.

After a really promising start, “Sonic X's” first Halloween story arc ends in a very disappointing way. One or two dynamite moment can't make up for a flimsy script, overly easy resolution and mediocre artwork. And, just think, we were this close to a “Sonic” version of “Evil Dead.” [6/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 169

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 169
Publication Date: November 2006

With issue 169 of Archie's “Sonic the Hedgehog,” it was confirmed that – like God – Ian Flynn is one of us. Goobble Gobble. I mean, that he wrote a fan comic before coming aboard as Archie's head writer probably should've been our first indication. The point I'm making is that, as his first year on the book made clear, Ian was just as frustrated with the mess the book had become as we were. He was tired of all the bullshit plot turns, out-of-character writing, and wasted potential. His biggest objection as the writer was to fix that. He was also sick of Tommy Turtle. One of his explicit objectives was to murder the turtle. See? That's how you knew he was a fan.

“Order from Chaos – Part 2: The Great Harmony” picks up with Sonic sneaking into A.D.A.M's nanite city, checking to see that his dad is okay. After determining that his father is fine, Sonic rushes over to rescue his friends, Tails and Tommy. (And Shadow too, I guess.) With Robotnik's aerial egg-fleet flying in to bomb the Nanite City to ashes, Sonic has to act quickly. A.D.A.M uses his homing rod, powered by Turbo Tails and Hyper Shadow, to draw different colored Chaos Emeralds from all over the galaxy, using the powers to make himself into an invincible super-form. Luckily, Sonic utilizes the same Emeralds to make himself Super Sonic. Ultimately, it's not the hedgehog that saves the day though.

By this point, Ian's task of cleaning up the mess Ken and Karl left behind was just about wrapped up. I mean, he would continue to tidy up remaining plot points and expand on neutered characters. Throughout his next year, he would really focus on making the comic his own. With “Order from Chaos” - again, I don't think that title was picked just because it was catchy – he was really sweeping the debris under the rug. By the end of this story arc, the Nanites and Tommy and Tails' prophecy as the Chosen One would all be gone for good.

I know I've talked shit about Tommy Turtle pretty much non-stop since he was brought back to life. Back when the comics were new, I remembered Tommy Turtle being shoved into everything, just interrupting the flow of the book and annoying the hell out of everyone. Re-reading these issues, the turtle was present a lot less then I remembered. Though still annoying, still a symptom of the book's worst year, Tommy was less of a tumor than I recalled. Still, after considering it (and notably leaving the reptile out of most of his issues), Ian decided that Tommy must die. And I still consider it one of his best decision. All Flynn did was right what was set wrong previously. Tommy was never suppose to survive past his initial appearance.

Most surprising of all, Flynn even manages to somehow redeem Tommy Turtle in his final appearance. Fans were annoyed by Tommy but he was still Sonic's childhood friend, making him reluctant to beat his face in. (This makes A.D.A.M a better villain, as he takes advantage of that.) Tommy's final act is to seize control of his body long enough to end his life, flying into the Egg Fleet's cannons, destroying A.D.A.M and saving the world. After he's gone, Sonic and Tails reflects on the courage, determination, and willingness to protect others that was needed to do that. It's... Poignant? Surprisingly so! That's some ace writing, taking one of the book's most despised characters and making us kind of sad to see him go.

Tails being the Chosen One was a plot point that was more-or-less resolved already, save for one point. Tails was supposed to bring about the Great Harmony. That, by all appearances, didn't seem to happen. I mean, it's not as if Tails could remove all the conflict from the book. So Ian changes the meaning of the Great Harmony. After Tommy drawls all the Chaos Emeralds from the galaxy to Mobius – a nice callback to the Tossed in Space arc – Tails spills the emeralds into the Zone of Silence. We'll soon discover that this'll fuse the thousands of Emeralds into seven, while transforming the Zone of Silence into the Special Zone. Which makes the comics a little bit more like the games while clipping away at some confusing aspects.

Another interesting aspects of “Order from Chaos” might have been unintended by the writer. The issue begins with Sonic discovering Jules inside the Nanite City. (A nice touch: A.D.A.M told the Robian to self-destruct but didn't specify a time. So Jules set his countdown clock for forty years.) Later, while fighting with A.D.A.M/Tommy, the computer program claims that all his chaotic antics were done to emulate and impress Robotnik, his quote-unquote father. All along, Anonymous was trying to stand up to Daddy. This draws a parallel between Jules and Robotnik as dads, the effect their parenting has had on their respective sons. It doesn't solidify into an actual point, which is why I don't think Ian did it on purpose. But it's certainly interesting.

If “Order from Chaos” can be said to have any problem, it's being a little too plot heavy. The first half was, indeed, a bit heavy on the exposition. This second half is so focused on resolving its point that it doesn't find time to return to Knothole, letting us know what happened with Bunnie. It would've been nice to get a follow-up on that. In truth, Tommy's death is the only time this issue pauses to feature some real emotion. Shadow doesn't have much any reason to be in the story, after A.D.A.M utilizes his abilities. These are the kinds of things Dan Drazen would complain about. The second half isn't as solid as the first but it's still pretty great.

Despite being pretty front-loaded, issue 169 still finds room for a back-up story. “...For a Friend” focuses on the Chaotix. While Knuckles and Julie-Su are on a double date with Charmy and Saffron, the others focuses in on the still-Robotnik-controlled Golden Hive Castle. Otherwise known as Charmy's childhood home. Espio sneaks inside, discovering that there's no chance on saving the hive, that it's been totally assimilated by Eggman. Determined to save his friend the grief, he blows the whole thing way the fuck up.

Plot wise, “...For a Friend” resolves a pretty minor previous point. I can't say I really cared about Charmy being a prince much. It was always a kind of pointless development. Thanks to this story, we don't have to worry about that any. What makes this story worth reading are the smaller, character-oriented moments. There's a cute character beat where Espio spies on an Egg Drone playing Solitaire on his computer. This leads to the chameleon talking with Nicole. She appears on a computer screen in her lynx form, a cute foreshadowing of that becoming her default appearance soon enough. Even by focusing on Ray's stuttering, Flynn finds some minor character developed for the often neglected squirrel. Of course, Espio blowing up the building to save his friends' grief is interesting too, playing into the chameleon's developing personality as a stoic ninja.

Interestingly, Ken Penders did the inking and lettering for this story. I wonder how that worked out, the guy returning briefly to the book following his not exactly mutual separation? Anyway, Steven Butler handles the pencils. While usually reliable, Butler is having a slightly off day. Espio's limbs appear a little too noodly and angular at times, almost as if Ron Lim did some uncredited clean-up on this. Luckily, Butler still packs in some memorable images, like Espio rushing into the castle.

The flaws of “Order from Chaos” are really just nitpicks. Honestly, my biggest problem with this comic book is the eleven page ad shoved in the middle, advertising some long defunct, kid-centric social network called SparkTop. They dragged the Teen Titans into it, which was just rude. Anyway, while “The Darkest Storm” was supposed to be Ian's first big event as a writer, this is his first really great story arc for the book. He managed to take a disorderly, messy world and reorganize it in such a natural way, that makes so much sense. The result is so very satisfying. Tracy Yardley's artwork is pretty solid too, it must be said. While the first half of the story was superior, “Order from Chaos” still wraps up on a pretty great point. [8/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 168

 
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 168
Publication Date: November 2006

As the book reached the end of his first year as head writer, Ian Flynn really pulled out all the stops. Issue 168 is when it was explicitly clear to me that Archie's “Sonic the Hedgehog” book had entered a new era. And, for the first time in six years, that was a good thing. The waste of the old was being cleared away to make room for something new. Despite the goofy cover art, this is one very good comic book. Let's, as a blue cartoon hedgehog is fond of saying, do it to it.

In Robotropolis, Dr. Robotnik has finally put all the pieces together. He figures out that A.D.A.M, his sentient computer virus son, has been Anonymous, the malicious third party acting against both him and the Freedom Fighters, all along. Being a master planner, A.D.A.M foresaw this. Using the Nanites in his shell as a conduit, the virus takes over Tommy Turtle. He has the Nanites that infected Bunnie and Jules activate in Knothole, creating a distraction and grabbing Tails. He incapacitates Shadow the Hedgehog. Both Shadow and Tails are valuable parts of his plan. The villain's endgame falls into place and he's rearing to take both Eggman and Sonic out.

With the first part of the very appropriately named “Order from Chaos,” Ian Flynn pulled off practically a damn miracle. As their run on the book came to an end, Ken Penders and Karl Bollers threw out probably a dozen plot points that never went anywhere or did anything. Seems like both writers were just throwing lots of things against the wall, seeing what would stick. Or maybe they were out of ideas. Either way, the book had become a mess. Though he started his clean-up in “The Darkest Storm,” with “Order from Chaos,” Flynn takes nearly every point the previous writers sets up and ties them together into a coherent plan.

That lame attempt to make Tommy Turtle interesting by giving him Nanite-powered transforming abilities? Actually a plot by Anonymous to give himself a physical form. The Nanites being released and building a city? The city was a distraction, so the Nanites could pulled the homing rod A.D.A.M really needs for his plan. That business of Bunnie, Nicole, and Jules being infected by Nanites? That was so A.D.A.M has eyes in Knothole and perfect ways to distract the Freedom Fighters. Those robotic Destructix that appeared and reappeared a few times? Fakes, sent to make sure Robotnik watched the faked video of somehow talking to them. Shadow working for Eggman? Well, Shadow is needed for Anonymous' master plan too. That business of Tails being the Chosen One and bringing about the Great Harmony? The writer is going to get to that as well. It might seem convoluted but that it makes sense at all is fucking amazing.

Probably the greatest stroke of genius was turning Tommy Turtle into a villain. (Or, at least, the physical embodiment of one.) In the two-or-so years he had been a main member of the cast, Tommy had accomplished nothing but annoy the hell out of readers. Making him into a bad guy redirected all of that fan resentment in the right direction. Flynn even makes some of Tommy's previous incompetent antics intentional acts of sabotage carried out by Anonymous. The turtle gains a silvery redesign that is even somewhat intimidating, looking like what I imagine Mecha-Gamera would be. To prove he's a bad-ass, he has A.D.A.M./Tommy easily subdue Shadow. Which is probably an example of Shadow succumbing to the Worf Effect but, fuck it, I'll allow it.

Yeah, I guess another somewhat unsightly cliché is employed in this story. As Anonymous slots Shadow and Tails into his machine, he explains his master plan. That's right, he performs a villainous monologue, detailing every aspect of his evil scheme before crushing his opponent. You could even call this exposition, as A.D.A.M pauses to explain something about Chaos Emerald, the objects he seeks to gather. All of this is true. But I'm so impressed by the writers ability to make sense out of all this nonsense that I'm willing to let this stuff slide a little.

What elevates “Order from Chaos” from being a good story to a truly outstanding is that Flynn still finds room for some emotional content. When Bunnie marches into Rotor's lab, she is not under her own control. The Nanites are forcing her arms and legs, causing her to smash Nicole's monitor and attack Sonic. All the while, tears are streaming from her eyes. The Chaotix are called in to subdue her. Unlike the quasi-rape Bunnie suffered in “Sonic's Angels,” Ian makes sure that Bunnie keeps her agency during this ordeal. It's not just an action beat but a sequence of honest emotion. Sonic's interaction with his dad, also controlled by the villain, gets another almost tearful moment from our hero.

In the back pages, Ian Flynn picks up another plot point that a previous writer introduced and then seemingly forgot about. I'm referring to Antoine's father falling sick. “Courage and Honor” opens with Antoine in his hut, still in disarray from Anti-Antoine's time in Knothole. A touching moment between Bunnie and Antoine is interrupted when Sonic bursts into the room. He has bad news. General D'Coolette, who was also poisoned by Anti-Antoine, has taken a turn for the worst.  The coyote and his girlfriend gather around his sick father, having a heart-to-heart before Antoine's dad finally passes.

General D'Coolette becoming sick is a plot point that nobody has mentioned since Karl Bollers introduced it back in issue 153.  Even the clarification that Anti-Antoine poisoned the General is Flynn's invention. That's how little attention the previous staff paid attention to stuff. Flynn uses that dangling plot point to build a touching story. As Antoine and Bunnie sit around the General's hospital bed, Antoine apologizes for his past cowardice and rash actions. His father forgives him, insisting that he was always proud of his son, that he always loved him. He even finds time to bless Antoine and Bunnie's relationship. The elder D'Coolette was never much of a character but, in his last appearance, Flynn makes him a real living thing. He makes his loss felt. It's surprisingly heartfelt stuff. (I imagine Ian's feelings were genuine. He dedicates the story to his deceased mother.)

“Courage and Honor” is a really well written story. It's a shame that the artwork isn't up to that same standard. Someone named Gary Bedell does the pencil for this story. Bedell draws the Mobians with weirdly stretched out bodies. Bunnie, for one example, looks about seven feet tall. Everyone's limbs are too long, too skinny. The heads are too round, everyone's faces looking the same. Sonic's spines, meanwhile, drape all the way done his back in a really weird looking way. I will give Bedell this much. His facial expressions are good, so he still manages to express the emotion at the center of this story.

Tracy Yardley's pencils on the cover story, by the way, are up to his usual standard of quality. Flynn's script has to unpack a lot in this one, which is why I forgive him for one or two contrived move. Otherwise, the cover story moves super quickly and smoothly, cutting through about two years of bullshit in a way that looks easy. The back-up story, meanwhile, is a genuinely touching story about a father and son coming together just as one of them is about to die. I don't give out really high grades on this blog very often but, fuck it, this is a [9/10.]

Sonic X: Issue 13

Sonic X: Issue 13
Publication date: October 2006

It's not often that Archie's suite of “Sonic the Hedgehog” books acknowledged the holidays that happened around their release schedule. The book featured a Christmas story all the way back in its first year but that's about it. Considering Mobius is an Earth millions of years in the future, it makes sense that Sonic and his pals would have no conception of human holidays. The “Sonic X” book, however, appears to be a different story. Issue 13 pays homage to objectively the best of all holidays, by featuring Sonic and his friends trick or treating on the cover. The corresponding story also contains some seasonally appropriate spooky elements. That's right, kiddies, this issue is something I thought I would never get: A Sonic the Hedgehog Halloween special.

Following last month's cliffhanger, where Tails emerge from an alien war machine, both Sonic and his two-tailed sidekick are taken into government custody. Captain Westwood, fearful of being punished for his own screw-up, claim both Mobians have been working with Dr. Eggman the whole time. As a result, both are tossed in prison. Meanwhile, Vanilla has expressed some concerns about whether Cream and Chris are safe going on adventures with Sonic. Hoping to ease her mind, Chris' mom takes the four of them on a trip to a private island the family owns. The vacation is far from peaceful though. As Chris and Cream discover, evil spirits have possessed everyone living there.

Before we get to the spookiness, I'll discuss the element of government intrigue in the first part of “Hare-um Scare-em.” The idea of the Earthly government turning against Sonic and Tails is an interesting one. On one hand, it strikes me as slightly unlikely. As one of the presidential aides point out, Sonic has helped save Earth countless times. I'm also not quite sure what G.U.N. targets Sonic for, since he took down the alien war machine that was attacking the city last time. Still, there's something suitably powerful about the image of the comic's heroes being detained, interrogated, and tossed in prison by those that employ them. (Though, yes, Sonic and Tails wearing stripy prison uniforms is a goofy sight.)

Moreover, “Hare-um Scare-um” has Captain Westwood graduating from minor annoyance to full-blown villain. We already known that Westwood is a coward more then happy to manipulate people to further his own goals. In this issue, he reveals a truly treacherous and scummy side. He sells Sonic and Tails up the river to protect his own ass and as petty revenge for previous humiliation. He's more then happy to stroke anti-alien sentiment in the president in order to rise to power. I know this is a ten year old kids' comic but, considering this was the same year our fucking president tried to ban an entire religion, the “Sonic X” president turning against “aliens” is a weirdly unnerving sight.

But let's put all of that stuff aside in order to discuss this comic book's most important element: The motherfucking zombies. Or, at least, zombie-like entities. Confirming my suspicion that he's a huge horror dork, writer Joe Edkin shoves a bunch of “Evil Dead” references into this issue. Upon arriving on the island, the Thorndykes find it eerily empty. As the ghost-possessed humans attack Chris and Cream, they moan out cries of “Join us!” You probably wouldn't expect a “Sonic” comic to feature ghostly humans, with creepy doll-like eyes, floating above the ground and attempting to attack a pair of children. “Hare-um Scare-um: Part 1” even concludes on a page portraying Vanilla and Chris' mom taken over by the evil spirits. That's an image that probably traumatized a copy of young readers. At least, I hope it did.

Of course, “Sonic X” is still a goofy kid's book. Things aren't allowed to get too creepy. When Chris and Cream are attacked by the zombie/ghosts inside an ice cream parlor, they fight off the creatures by flinging Rocky Road at them. That's a good way to undermine the spookiness of your threat, don't you think? That a pair of actual children, Chris and Cream, can easily outrun the possessed also makes them seem less dangerous. All of this is apparently a reference to a previous episode of the “Sonic X” cartoon, where Amy Rose was possessed by the ghosts from “Sonic Adventure 2.”  (As another random shout-out to the events of the show, apparently Emerl is still alive, living with the Thorndykes as Cream's personal bodyguard? I guess that's another thing that happened when we weren't looking.)

Through the government betrayals and ghostly zombies, an actual theme of sorts emerge from “Hare-um Scare-um: Part 1.” Vanilla and Chris' mom – who has a name, I guess – bound over their mutual concerns about their children's well-being. Thorndyke seems pretty confident that the aliens and such he's hanging around with are enough to keep Chris safe. Vanilla is still concerned about Cream, even though “Sonic Advance 2” portrayed the little bunny as a confident crime-fighter. Presumably the events of this story arc, featuring Chris and Cream fighting some monsters, will make both mother realized that their kids can handle themselves. I mean, that's where I assume Edkin is taking it.

It could probably be a little better balanced, and isn't as much fun as the “Gremlins” inspired story he previously wrote, but this is still one of my favorite “Sonic X” issues so far. This is, after all, a comic containing both Sonic the Hedgehog and some “Evil Dead”-style zombies. I mean, holy shit, how could I not love this? David Hutchinson provides some solid, even atmospheric artwork, furthering my theory that he's probably the best artist working on this book. Who knows if Edkin can provide a solid conclusion to this story but I sure did enjoy this first half. [8/10]