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A collective sigh of relief for Sonic and friends – 2019 Annual

So maybe you’re a new comic book reader or a parent looking into IDW’s Sonic book for your child. “Annuals” are extra long special release books that come out once a year and may or may not tie into the storyline going on in the main book. The Sonic 2019 Annual fits between issues 12 and 13, after the Metal Sonic story arc but before the Metal Virus saga.

It contains five child-friendly and heartwarming stories in the Sonic world with colorful art and some fan-favorite characters.

Bonds of Friendship

The first story in this collection opens not with Sonic but with our new comic-exclusive characters.

Whisper visits Tangle in Spiral Hill Village and is introduced to Jewel the Beetle, Tangle’s childhood friend. She and Jewel used to go on little adventures together and collected a number of gems and treasures, which Jewel now displays in a museum she is the curator of.

Just as the girls are all getting acquainted, the Babylon Rogues break in and raid the place. Storm accidentally abducts Jewel, thinking that she is actually a giant gemstone. Tangle and Whisper team up to save her and in the process humiliate the Babylon Rogues and get the gems back.

All in all, a very charming and cute adventure that doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Also, as a fan, it’s nice to see the Babylon Rogues return since they’ve always been exclusive to the Sonic Riders series. We did see Sonic and Knuckles ride their extreme gear in the Battle for Angel Island, so we could infer that Riders is included in the continuity but this really seals it.

Being penned by Ian Flynn, this story serves mainly to flesh out more of Tangle’s backstory and to develop her close relationship with Whisper going forward. Having just introduced these characters less than a dozen issues ago in the comic’s run, they’re the ones most in need of new content so it makes sense.

Also Jewel will be an important character going forward, so readers would benefit from seeing her debut in 2019 Annual before digging into the next story arc.

The art by Jennifer Hernandez was much more charming in this story than it was in “Fallout!” and I think her art style was better suited to this kind of jokey adventure.

Jet Set Tornado

Sonic and Tails go for a test flight on the Tornado with a new booster rocket attached. In a unique twist, Sonic is piloting the biplane instead of Tails because Sonic is better suited to maneuvering at high speed. Plus, it’s a nice reminder that the Tornado was actually Sonic’s plane, not Tails’.

Their test flight is interrupted by a badnik but the two manage to take the winged machine down and fly off into the sunset. Sonic asks Tails to take over the yoke because it’s more relaxing for him to ride. Besides, you have to go slow to land.

This story was great for showing Sonic and Tails’ close relationship and how much they believe in each other. Writer Caleb Goellner managed to squeeze a charming story into very few pages and artist Jack Lawrence effectively used a clean art style and uncluttered panels to communicate all the needed visual information without any of it looking simplistic.

Victory Garden

This one is by far my favorite story of the bunch.

Blaze the Cat goes looking for Silver the Hedgehog in the ruins of a town, presumably one bombed during the Eggman War. She finds him trying to plant a garden in a crater, but Silver isn’t having any luck with it.

Blaze uses her fire powers to burn the weeds away and then tells Silver to turn the ashes into the soil to nourish his garden and sure enough, he soon has a flourishing garden of sunflowers, tomatoes, and carrots.

This story is both somber and heartwarming. And it re-establishes the friendship between Silver and Blaze. Longtime fans will know that their relationship is a bit canonically muddled, but they make a good team so I’m glad to see their friendship rebooted here.

I also loved that Blaze would know the role fire can have in renewing plant life, considering her magical attunement to fire. Silver, coming from a post-apocalyptic future, would naturally be attracted to gardens and vibrant plant life but wouldn’t know the first thing about gardening.

Curse of the Pyramid

Our bandits, Rough and Tumble, search for Eggman’s pyramid base and the treasure that waits within.

They don’t expect to run into Rouge the Bat! She’s searching for the same thing, of course, because of her addiction to jewels. Tumble tries to throw her off their trail using his powerful stink but while running away from Rouge stumbles into the Egg Golem (from Sonic Adventure 2!)

While the goons fight the Golem, Rouge goes to find the control unit to disable it but stumbles onto something else! She comes back covered in mummy bandages warning them of the pyramid’s curse!

Rough and Tumble run for it and then it’s revealed that Rouge isn’t actually cursed, she just dressed as a mummy to scare the idiots off. It turns out a group of animals moved into the pyramid after Eggman moved out and they use the “curse” to ward off thieves.

I think it’s hilarious that Eggman is constantly building these unique bases all over the world, and even hides treasure in some of them, but will abandon them at the drop of a hat.

I also like when Sonic characters use their more unique abilities in fun ways because it’s one of the series’ strengths. Even among children’s media, most don’t have a colorful cast both this large and with varied powers. Seeing Rough and Tumble actually use their stink as skunks makes perfect sense and gives them a unique attack when needed.

Sonic Fan Club

The last story of the 2019 annual is a meeting of the Sonic the Hedgehog fan club.

The meeting quickly devolves into a struggle for power as the kids argue about who should be club president. They begin trying to embody different virtues of Sonic to prove they deserve to be president.

They go for a foot race to see who’s the fastest, roll into balls just like Sonic, and fight a badnik to prove they’re brave like Sonic.

The Egg Pawn proves to be too much for them to handle and Tangle steps in to help. Of course, Tangle says they should have a Tangle fan club instead but because she got too distracted, she ends up tangling herself up in her tail and humiliating herself.

As a kid who grew up with Sonic, there’s nothing more charming than the idea of a bunch of kids having a Sonic fan club. I had a stupid grin on my face for the entire story.

The Verdict

The 2019 Annual is a cute little special to pick up but maybe not required reading for IDW Sonic. Kids could pick up this book and understand everything going on without any of the context of the previous 12 issues, but it will enrich their reading going forward.

#idw sonic #sonic the hedgehog

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IDW Sonic one-shot "Spring Broken!"

Cover A art by Adam Bryce Thomas

"Spring has sprung! The flowers are in bloom, and so is trouble! When Sonic, Tails, and friends try to take some downtime, they run into a mystery that's spring broken! A seasonal whodunit in the Sonic style!"

#idw sonic #sonic news #sonic the hedgehog

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The giant robo-dragon is heading straight for us! – Volume 3: Battle for Angel Island (#9-12)

The last two volumes have set the stage for a major battle the likes of which we usually only see at a game's climax! It's going to take all of Sonic's friends and allies working together to pull this one off.

Neo Metal Sonic, acting as the temporary head of the Eggman Empire, has seized the opportunity to occupy Angel Island and with it, he's taken control of the Master Emerald.

Sonic and the Resistance rally to save Angel Island, and the whole world, from the robotic monstrosity's machinations.

Story

The stage is set. Metal Sonic sits on a literal throne on top of the Master Emerald, self-assured that his victory is now inevitable.

Sonic and Amy rally the Resistance as well as outsiders like Silver and Blaze, newcomers like Tangle and Whisper, and even wildcards like Shadow and Rouge. They lay out a plan for a three-pronged attack focused on disabling the Egg Fleet, neutralizing the badnik ground forces, and of course getting the Master Emerald out of Metal Sonic's control.

Not one to be out-done, Knuckles volunteers to go after Metal Sonic while Blaze the Cat volunteers to take out the Egg Fleet on her own with her super form, Burning Blaze, and the Sol Emeralds.

The plan immediately goes off the rails when the team's airship takes heavy fire and everyone has to bail out on Extreme Gear hoverboards, plus Shadow completely ditches the Resistance and goes straight for Metal Sonic.

Sonic and Knuckles break into the "throne room" and rush for Neo Metal Sonic, who uses the Master Emerald to charge up into a super form, baiting the heroes to "show me what you're made of." Neo then easily overpowers both Sonic and Knuckles and is only stopped by a surprise attack from Shadow.

Coming into contact with Shadow allows Metal Sonic to copy his data, however, giving him the final piece he needs to transform into his monstrous form: Metal Overlord, a giant robotic dragon abomination.

The Resistance rallies together to help the boys fight off Metal Overlord and in the melee, Knuckles is able to remove the Master Emerald from the robot's chest and get it back to the shrine on Angel Island before the island could crash into the world below.

With Metal Sonic neutralized, the team celebrates their victory. Meanwhile, Rough and Tumble return and they're sent by a mysterious Dr. Starline to kidnap Mr. Tinker. Starline uses hypnotherapy and electroshock to try and restore Dr. Eggman's memories to no avail.

Sonic and Tails reactivate Metal Sonic in his original form, minus his weapons. Sonic offers him a truce and asks if they can coexist in the wide world. Metal Sonic, of course, rejects this offer and runs out on them, only to rejoin with Eggman and trigger his awakening, restoring the Doctor who plans to unleash a new terror on the world in retribution for his defeat at the hands of Sonic and the Rookie.

Review

Characters

We have an embarrassment of riches in this story arc when it comes to characters both new and old. While the video games have been content to strip the cast down to as few as possible for years now, the comics shine by giving everyone a role in the big climactic moments like this.

Seeing Amy take on a leadership role in the Resistance was a surprise when I first read this one, but it makes sense the more I've thought about it. The games have needed to do some serious reworking with Amy's character for years now that it's no longer acceptable to just make the girl character's entire personality her infatuation with the male lead. In a world where girls are looking up to more complex characters like Princess Bubblegum and the Crystal Gems, Amy can't just be Sonic's stalker anymore. Plus moving her into a leadership role fixes another problem: Knuckles.

It never made sense for Knuckles to be in charge of the Resistance since his number one priority is and always has been the Master Emerald, as its guardian. Now, Knuckles is free to go back to Angel Island and the status quo has been restored.

Shadow and Rouge are still a little out of character in this volume but it's not as bad. Rouge has gotten involved in team ups like this in the past, but usually while following Shadow's lead, so when they get separated at the beginning of the battle I thought it was strange that she stayed to help Amy and her group.

Shadow charging in to fight Neo Metal Sonic almost felt forced in order to get us to Metal Overlord, but I could buy it either way.

Even our new supporting characters, Tangle and Whisper, had some screen time in the fight but they weren't in this arc very much. More like a reminder that they're around while the main cast took the lead on this one. I definitely didn't expect Rough and Tumble to ever come back, let alone for them to be the ones to get Eggman back into the villain game!

Artwork

Battle for Angel Island has some of the best spreads we've seen in IDW so far. From the Resistance charge against Metal Sonic to the full-page spread of Neo Metal giving his villain monologue while sitting on the Master Emerald.

Especially in issue 11, I noticed that artwork duties were swapping between Tracy Yardley and Evan Stanley from page to page, but I felt that their styles were coexisting nicely. I think they met somewhere in the middle on how they stylize these characters so it didn't distract from the flow of the story.

That said, I actually started to prefer Evan Stanley's art here with the shape of the eyes, the fangs on some characters' teeth, and the expressiveness she brings to the characters.

Writing

Overall I think writer Ian Flynn does a good job of keeping the pace of the battle moving forward. While the scenes cut back and forth between different fronts of the battle, it does so to show us interesting moments like Blaze firing a kamehameha at the robotic wings attached to Angel Island. It's not just cutting back and forth for the sake of it.

I did think the "missing piece" part of Metal Sonic's plan needed to be explained a bit better. I haven't played Sonic Heroes since 2003 so I didn't recall him needing Shadow's data in order to transform, so I felt like the gravity of his mistake was lost on me when it should have been a shocking moment.

The Verdict

We've now finished our first story arc of the IDW Sonic comics. We've seen Metal Sonic's rise to power and the culmination of his plans in an epic showdown that united the entire Sonic cast, something we haven't seen in the game continuity in a long time!

IDW has a talented team of writers and artists who are taking care of this brand and keeping these stories going. I think fans owe a lot to the work these people have put in over the years.

And the story only continues from here, because Dr. Eggman has a new plan ready to go and this next story arc is even longer and the stakes only get higher!

Next week we'll be reading the 2019 Annual, which covers some of the aftermath from this arc and sets us up for what's to come. It might seem optional since it's not in the main Sonic book, but the Annuals are essential reading for fans of the series!

#idw sonic #sonic the hedgehog #ian flynn #tracy yardley #evan stanley #sonic comics #metal sonic

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Judge, Jury and... Mr. Tinker? – Volume 2: The Fate of Dr. Eggman (#5-8)

Typically there is little to no connective tissue between Sonic games and we almost never see any actual aftermath to the events of the games. IDW's Sonic comics opened with "Fallout!" which showed us exactly that: Sonic's world in a state of fallout from the Eggman War.

The comics are also establishing that the events of the games have happened on a continuum and are canon to each other. Continuing into issues 5 through 8, we have the rare opportunity of seeing how this world remains resilient in the face of so many challenges.

The big question at the end of issue 4 was "who is in charge of the badniks if Eggman is gone?" And maybe just as important: "where is Eggman?"

Story

The Chaotix Detective Agency contacts Sonic and brings him to Windmill Village, where they believe they have found the missing Dr. Eggman, but here’s the catch: he doesn’t remember who he is.

Dr. Eggman has been living in this sleepy little town ever since the end of the war as “Mr. Tinker,” a kindly handyman who’s been helping the townspeople. This presents an interesting conundrum for Sonic. Can he hold this man accountable for the evil things Eggman has done if he truly has lost his old personality?

But before Sonic can make a decision as to what to do with Mr. Tinker, Shadow the Hedgehog arrives on the scene to put the doctor down, once and for all. The two hedgehogs quickly come to blows with one another over their differences of opinion. Sonic appeals to Shadow’s better nature by reminding Shadow that he too once was an amnesiac who did evil things but was turned back to the side of good. Reluctantly, Shadow agrees to let Sonic decide what is to be done with Eggman.

Sonic decides to leave Mr. Tinker alone for now, but the Chaotix will be checking up on him regularly for any signs of his old personality resurfacing.

His next stop is to fly up to the Eggfleet with Tails on the Tornado. They hope to hack into Eggman’s computer network to see who’s calling the shots. Before Sonic can do any of that, however, he’s confronted by… Dr. Eggman?

Sonic calls the imposter’s bluff and the figure of Eggman morphs into the imposing figure of Neo Metal Sonic, the upgraded Metal Sonic from Sonic Heroes (2003). It turns out Dr. Eggman had upgraded Metal in anticipation of the final battle to come in Forces, but he came online too late. Sonic and Co. had already defeated Eggman and Infinite and the doctor was nowhere to be found. Neo resolved to take command of the badniks and conquer the world on the doctor’s behalf until he returned.

Sonic escapes from Metal Sonic’s clutches, leaving behind a crippled fleet unable to shoot after the escaping Tornado.

In a final effort to hack into the Eggnet, Sonic and Silver infiltrate an old Eggman base where they encounter the sniper, Whisper the Wolf. Whisper is armed with a transforming wispon, capable of using multiple color powers such as a sniper rifle, hammer, and parachute/parasol.

Sonic quickly picks up on Whisper’s timid nature and her reluctance to socialize. She talks in hushed tones, as her name implies. Silver, on the other hand, is completely oblivious to it and spooks Whisper repeatedly.

During the war, Whisper was an effective sniper, always covering the Resistance’s advances but never showing herself to take credit. Silver thought of her as “the guardian angel of the battlefield.” It’s also clear that she has some sort of trauma from that time and is bent on hitting Eggman back for it.

After infiltrating the computer core of the base, Sonic and Co. discover that Neo Metal Sonic has changed tactics — with Knuckles occupied as leader of the Resistance, Angel Island and the Master Emerald are unguarded!

Review

Writing

Ian Flynn does start doing something kind of funny in this series where he has characters spout off song lyrics from the games’ most iconic themes but he weaves them in in a way that they usually don’t stand out or seem out of place. For example, when Neo Metal has Sonic by the throat he threatens to drop him off the edge if he doesn't tell him where Eggman is and Sonic says "I never fear the fall" referencing the lyric from "His World," the theme of the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog game. It fits as something Sonic would say in this situation because he really doesn't have any regard for his own mortality and it sells that cocksure attitude.

Characters

So the elephant in the room is Shadow. Fans have been panning this version of Shadow's character for years now and with good reason! Shadow is a fan-favorite character largely because of the growth we saw in his character arc between Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), all of which are canon to the IDW continuity.

This Shadow acts rashly, doesn't listen to others, and seems hell-bent on killing Dr. Eggman as judge, jury and executioner. In the past we've seen Shadow as more than willing to work with Dr. Eggman if the situation called for it and beyond that his character has always been more inclined to over-thinking rather than rushing into a situation. We've also seen he has a deep respect for Sonic, even when he was "evil" he didn't disregard Sonic or what he had to say, so for him to show up and completely ignore Sonic is pretty weird!

Overall, the comics do what they've always done best: make good use of Sonic's extended cast of characters. The games have really fallen into a trap of only utilizing Sonic and Tails since Sonic Unleashed. In most games since then, the rest of the cast have been relegated to cameo appearances at best. Even when Sonic was "dead" in Forces, the other characters did practically nothing. The plot only progressed by bringing in another Sonic from another dimension and with the avatar character, which is pretty sad!

In these issues, we saw the Chaotix not only make an appearance but also getting their work done by actually tracking down Eggman. Rouge shows up not just as a cameo alongside Shadow, it's revealed that she specifically manipulated events so that the Chaotix would bring Sonic to the village at the same time Shadow arrived to stop him from attacking.

We even get some love for Silver by showing that he's still in the present timeline and working with Sonic to prevent the bad future.

Then the cherry on top is we get a brand new character with Whisper! So far I have much love for the original characters in IDW but Whisper is probably my favorite from her character design to the way she ties in to the previous game. One of the customization options for the avatar character was a kabuki mask and Whisper has a mask with the same shape but with an in-universe reason being that it's a snipe scope as well as tech to help her communicate with her Wisps. Plus I love that she's an anti-social character in a universe that's already practically bursting at the seams with extroverts.

World-Building

I really like that Ian Flynn goes out of the way here to plug another hole in Sonic Forces' plot, being the absence of the real Metal Sonic. Infinite used the Phantom Ruby to make "clones" of Metal, Shadow, Zavok and Chaos but the real Metal Sonic was nowhere to be seen. It seems odd that Eggman would employ virtual reality clones of the bot but leave the real one on the bench. Neo Metal Sonic explains that he was in the process of being upgraded to this form during the war and was therefore unavailable. Plus, it gives IDW an excuse to reuse one of the coolest designs of Metal Sonic!

And while we're on the subject of crafting some continuity between this and the games, I liked seeing the re-introduction of the Egg Fleet from Sonic Heroes, which we haven't seen since Shadow the Hedgehog. Good to know this fleet of airships is still floating around somewhere in between games.

My biggest question after this part, however, is what kind of legal system do they have in Sonic's world? Sonic makes it sound like each town has their own hierarchy and their law goes. The village elder gets the final say on what to do with Eggman just because he woke up in his town? Plus he says he defers to the judgement of a famous hero like Sonic, so what Sonic is sheriff of the world? I know I'm overthinking it but that's my job.

The Verdict

This second volume continued the forward momentum we had at the end of part one, but takes the time to establish a little bit more context for the world Sonic lives in and how our heroes fit into things. I especially liked seeing more fan favorite characters not only appear but also drive the story forward.

Bringing in Neo Metal Sonic as the first antagonist of the series is a smart move, in my opinion. We have seen dozens of Sonic vs. Eggman stories so it's always nice to see someone else get the chance to antagonize. Plus it's nostalgic for an older fan like me who has fond memories of Neo's first appearance in Sonic Heroes.

I'm excited to keep reading as we head into volume 3: "Battle for Angel Island" which collects issues 9 through 12. I'll see you guys next week!

#idw sonic #sonic the hedgehog #dr. eggman #ian flynn #tracy yardley #adam bryce thomas #evan stanley

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Sonic's world recovers from the Eggman War – Volume 1: Fallout! (#1-4)

I've been reading Sonic comic books since I was a tween. I remember picking up Sonic the Hedgehog #145 from my local comic shop because it had the tagline "Shadow returns... and Sonic doesn't stand a chance!" and I was obsessed with Shadow the Hedgehog as a kid.

I had no idea what was going on or who any of those characters were jumping into the Archie continuity so late but I knew one thing: I wanted to read more!

There's no better time than now to get into reading Sonic comics if you're a fan, like me! With the license passing from Archie to IDW Publishing in 2018, an entirely new continuity has begun and you can find trade paperbacks of every issue easily at big booksellers and comic shops alike. And what's even better is the new series is in the games' continuity so you have all the background you need if you're a gamer. Bare minimum, you just have to know what happened in Sonic Forces to know where we are in IDW Sonic.

Last time on Sonic Forces, Dr. Eggman nearly took over the world with one simple trick: a gemstone called the Phantom Ruby controlled by a mercenary who called himself Infinite. With the help of a brave Resistance fighter "Rookie" (who you get to create and customize in the game), Sonic and Classic Sonic were able to defeat Eggman and Infinite!

IDW Sonic picks up in the immediate aftermath of that conflict. With Infinite defeated and Eggman missing, the world is left to rebuild. In the absence of a leader, the doctor's badniks have begun to roam the countryside directionless but still dangerous.

My mega review of IDW Sonic begins with volume 1: Fallout! which collects issues 1 through 4 of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Story

Sonic arrives in a small town beset by badniks and super badniks. He bumps into none other than Tails and the two team up to save the town. Tails however is concerned that this band of badniks was more coordinated than usual and theorizes that someone must be behind this, but with the lack of evil speeches and knowing Eggman's flare for the dramatic he doubts it could be the doctor's doing.

Tails resolves to stay behind and help the town rebuild while Sonic runs to the next closest town to see if he can unravel this mystery.

Once there, Sonic teams up with Amy Rose to stop yet another badnik horde. She tries to convince him to return to the Resistance to help coordinate their next move, but Sonic believes he’ll be put to better use scouting ahead and helping more towns. He can cover more ground alone with his signature speed, of course.

With the help of Knuckles the Echidna, Sonic saves another town from a pair of bandits, the skunks Rough and Tumble.

Finally, Sonic makes his way to Spiral Hill Village, home of Tangle the Lemur, the first original character of the IDW cast. Tangle is a ring-tailed lemur capable of using her tail to fight as well as pulling and launching herself all over the place. She’d been defending her home for a while from the directionless badnik hordes, but this more organized bunch is another story.

Sonic begins to help but then another ally from his past arrives: Blaze the Cat. Sonic informs her she’s several months late to help with the Eggman War, but she might be just in time to help with this new problem. The trio dispatch the horde in short order, as you might expect.

All the while, we see a shadowed figure in Eggman’s old command chair watching Sonic and Co. from a distance. His menacing dialogue is clear — there is someone pulling the badniks’ strings, but who and why?

Presentation

Artwork

All of the artists in what we’re calling part 1 are returning artists from Archie Comics’ Sonic series, though most of them are new to me as their tenures started after I stopped reading Archie.

Tracy Yardley is one of the longest-serving artists for Archie Sonic and having him return to illustrate the debut issue of IDW Sonic was no coincidence. Yardley’s art style perfectly fits Sonic and his mastery of these characters’ likenesses is essential to establishing the authority of the new series.

While having Yardley, in the beginning, was comforting, he’s eventually phased out in favor of newer artists like Evan Stanley and Adam Bryce Thomas, whose work has absolutely blown me away.

When I first opened up issue 4 and saw this spread of Sonic outside Tangle’s village (above) I was completely blown away by the level of detail Adam Bryce Thomas was bringing to the table.

Evan Stanley’s art has quickly become my absolute favorite for this series, to the point that I wish the games and TV shows would start using her art as a reference. The stylized colorful eyes, the shapes of the characters’ features and their expressiveness adds a youthfulness to everything and highlights Sonic’s appeal to children.

Out of this part, the only artist I didn’t like was Jennifer Hernandez in issue 3. While Yardley’s art is functional and familiar, Stanley’s is cute and vibrant, and Thomas’ art was breathtaking, Hernandez’s is just a little too simplistic and chibi for my taste. It doesn’t fit into the other three art styles in this arc and it honestly clashes.

The highlight of her issue however was the introduction of Rough and Tumble, whose character designs really shine through. They immediately present like past hoodlums in the Sonic series like Fang, Bark and Bean and they help make Sonic's world feel "lived in."

Characters and Writing

Continuing the trend of relying on the old guard of the Archie days, Ian Flynn is the head writer of the new Sonic comics and I couldn’t be happier.

Ian Flynn is by far the best writer for Sonic across all mediums. His grasp of these characters is rock-solid and you can tell he does his best to push the development of these characters as far as he’s allowed to with Sega’s strict guidelines because he genuinely wants the best for this series.

The new characters introduced in these first four issues are immediately endearing. In terms of named characters we have Tangle, Rough, and Tumble.

The best part of Tangle is that she fits in like a game character. She's not just a random humanoid animal, she has a game mechanic with her stretchy tail and you can easily imagine her as a playable character someday. Plus her bubbly personality somehow both fits in with Sonic’s colorful crew while also standing out.

World-Building

The world of Sonic that we got in Sonic Forces was different than what we’ve seen in the past, but the IDW team had to make it work as if the games have one continuous continuity. For example, in Sonic Adventure (1999), we see that Sonic lives in a world populated by humans in metropolitan cities like Station Square. In Sonic Forces, the world is primarily populated by anthropomorphic animals and Eggman seems to be the only human.

We see in the IDW comics that the animal population lives in small villages spread across a beautiful, undisturbed landscape. To me, this fits into older Sonic games’ focus on the nature vs. humanity theme with natural areas like Green Hill Zone in sharp contrast to the industrial Scrap Brain Zone. It does, however, make Sonic’s world look very small and simplistic compared to what we’ve seen in the past. In future issues, we’ll see that the animals also live in their own metropolitan areas, though this clashes with the environmentalism we see in Part 1.

I also enjoy how Sonic is shown to be a celebrity figure in his own world. After saving the world so many times, he would obviously be a hero in whatever cultures exist on his earth, but beyond that we see animals talk about getting his autograph.

The Verdict

Overall, IDW Sonic starts strong and cements itself as the definitive Sonic comic book experience. I would never recommend a casual fan start with the previous Archie book when IDW exists.

The creative team is exceptionally talented and making great efforts to put out the absolute best book possible for fans and children alike. You could easily pick up issue 1 with no prior knowledge of the Sonic series and not be lost at all, while at the same time, dedicated fans have plenty to chew on.

Next time we'll be reading Sonic the Hedgehog vol. 2 "The Fate of Dr. Eggman" which collects issues #5-8. If you'd like to read along, pick up a copy for yourself and I'll see you next time!

#IDW #IDW Sonic #sonic the hedgehog #mega review #IDW comics #Ian Flynn #Tracy Yardley #Adam Bryce Thomas #Evan Stanley #Jennifer Hernandez

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Sonic the Hedgehog #69 Cover A

Art: Min Ho Kim (@deegeemin)

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I wonder who lives here

#miles tails prower #Sonic the hedgehog #IDW Sonic #cute #video games