The Archie Sonic Renaissance Options

[Shmeckie]

Enerjak: Are you quite finished?!
Sonic: Actually... Jumping-jak. Ener-tube. Flap-jak. Ener-state. Ener-jak-in-the-box. And come to think of it, "Enerjak" sounds like some kind of sports drink. Now I'm finished.

For awhile now, I've been preaching to folks the greatness of what has become one of my favorite comics of all time: Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog.

You heard me.

After the amazing new issue I just read, I feel I must share to you a tale many people have never heard, and spread the joy to you guys. A tale of a man who came from nowhere, and rescued a dying comic book, turned it around, and made it one of the all-time comic greats.

For those unaware, Archie's Sonic comic started out wierd; it had the cast of characters found in the darker-but-awesome SatAM cartoon, but was littered with Archie Comics' cheesy-ass brand of humor. The result... wasn't pretty...

Yadda yadda long story short the comic got darker and closer to SatAM, it got good, then lame, then great, then good, then pfffft.

Then they got a new head writer: Ian Flynn.

Flynn, believe it or not, formerly wrote his own shitty Sonic fancomic, called--get this--Other M. Then he stopped working on the comic and disappeared. Presumably training in the mountains under some guru of writing because JESUS. As of issue 160, Flynn has been systematically fixing every single god damn thing that's been wrong with this comic, and improving on everything right with it. Not only that, he's fleshed out character personalities, developed desperately needed personalities for characters who never had one in the first place, etc. Hanging plot threads/holes that have existed for years were systematically repaired, and an expansive and gripping story was formed. Around Sonic the Hedgehog.

To fully describe to you how this comic has turned around and why all of you should give it a second chance, let's go over Flynn's greatest achievements in character development:

- TEAM DARK. Yes, the "bad guy" team from Sonic Heroes. Flynn took these three, made them special agents for GUN (the military in the Sonic world), and give them personalities. Really, really good ones. EVen Shadow the Hedgehog, you may ask? Fuck yes, Shadow the Hedgehog. This god damn comic has made SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG A LIKABLE CHARACTER. With personality. But by far the best is Omega. In the games? A mindless hulking robot. In the comic? Well... Remember Gamma, the robot from Sonic Adventure that got sentient, wanted to do good, then died? Well, here in the comic, he was hunted down by Omega. Before being blasted to hell, he basically transmitted his self-awareness into Omega, essentially giving him a soul. Thing is, he didn't give Omega HIS soul. Just A soul. So, of course, Omega becomes another former Eggman robot who wants to help people instead of hurt them, right?

Fuck no, now that he has free will and a soul, he can ENJOY blowing shit to hell! Omega went from nothing, to one of the best damn characters in the comic. Dude's a riot. He just wants to kill shit, destroy shit, blow shit up, and make Die Hard references ("YIPPIE-KAY-YAY, PASTEL-COLORED RESISTANCE!").

- Dr. Eggman, who recently recovered his boss cred in the games, full-on recovers his villain cred here. Whereas Dr. Robotnik of the SatAM cartoon was a memorable villain, Eggman has recently one-upped all of that, becoming one of the greatest villains I have ever seen. Not Crocodile/Terumi level, to be sure, but if they weren't in the picture, Archie Eggman would be sitting pretty amongst those at the top. Affable, psychotic, genre-savvy (ESPECIALLY now, we'll get to that), and evil as fuck, Dr. Eggman is a bonafide motherfucker. Wuzzat? You want a few examples?

--Dude's a schemer on an epic scale. The world is just a game to him (meta reference, I know. It's kinda awesome), as he's capable of outsmarting anyone. Even gods. He's toyed with Sonic and Co. for years, because if he just conquered the world and was done with it, he'd get bored. So he allows the resistance to exist, gives them some simple schemes to foil, and enjoys the spectacle of it all. When he decided to end the games in issue 175, shit got REAL.

--He's got this affable insanity mixed with a firm reliance on pure logic that fits the "mad scientist" mold perfectly. These two pages tell everything about his personality in the comics that can be said. Right down to the macabre humor and crazy faces. It bit him in the ass, though, when he found himself stuck in a comic written by someone who is clever and tackled the issue of "hey, how come Sonic always wins if he's so smart." It made so little sense that Eggman LOST HIS SHIT, snapped, and turned into a babbling manchild quoting YouTube Poops, and his theme song. After a few story arcs without him, he regained his sanity through pure reasoning, realised why Sonic would always beat him, and came back far more dangerous than ever. He's recently made his epic comeback into the spotlight, complete with Death Egg MK II in tow (yes, THAT Death Egg), that must be seen to be believed. He's also become the ultimate in genre savvy (at one point, he instructs his men NOT to fire on Sonic; partially because he has a plan to deal with him--which actually seems to be working--and partially because "none of you will ever hit him, anyway."), a complete contrast from any version of the character we've ever seen.

- The love triangle bullshit. Flynn let it go on just a smidgeon longer, as it was actually beneficial to a recent plot arc, then dropped that shit and ended it all once and for all. No idea why Ken Penders had such a hard-on for that crap, but Flynn nipped it in the bud.

- Following what I said earlier, everyone has a personality. Even Cream the fucking Rabbit got a god damn noteworthy personality. That is how much this man has fixed this shit.

- Flynn has this habit of making fandom in-jokes and references that make things just an extra bit of fun. Crazed-Eggman's babbling of "SnooPING-AS usual, I see" and such are there, but there's a ton of other bits for the fans. Sonic revisits Oil Ocean from Sonic 2, the SSSSS from AoStH make appearances, lots of mythology jokes and shout-outs for long-time fans, Eiichiro Oda-style "hey, remember that shit from 5 years ago I mentioned in one panel? That's important now," easter eggs in the background, etc.

I could go on, but jesus this got long. There's still a few gripes to be had, but overall, as of issue 160, Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog has become one of the best comics on the market. It's got theSatAM feel--kid-friendly, with enough adult appeal and plot quality to appeal to older audiences--while obviously coming into its own. I don't know what Flynn did to himself to go from a piss-poor fancomic writer to the man who single-handedly saved one of the most infamously botched comic franchises in the history of the medium, but dammit, he did it, and his efforts should be rewarded with your readership. Issue 225, the latest issue as of now, has a nice summary of all the recent plot arcs to catch you up, and is an amazing piece of awesome that inspired this thread. There's also the new Sonic Universe--a series that spotlights the many side characters of the comic. Check that shit out.

There's a site I go to to download electronic copies of issues, but I dunno if Moab would find it kosher. So I'll just say look for a .NETwork that claims that TAILS.KICKS-ASS, register there, and catch up at your leisure, or read whatever issues strike your fancy. Hell, watch the metamorphisis for yourself if you're so inclined!

[Max-Vader]

Jesus, Eggman is fucking hardcore in this.

I just read the newest issue that you recommended and am now starting at 160.

[Soba]

I used to read this quite a bit when I was a lad, looks like I have to get back into it.

[Maniak]

I`ve read the comics not really in detail -mostly because even my comicshop gets the delivery from the US seldom when it comes to Archie comics- but regarding Eggman I have to say as far as I see it he seemed to have been for a longer time "flipping" with his position as the main big bad of the series as far as I kow. I mean, what was it I heard about the Iron Queen?

Still, I admit seeing panels like that:



Prove that we have here someone who could be more scary than ever thought. And considering that according to what I read on this particular wikipedia Eggman was at least on another world also a big bad par excellence; I am interested to see where they are going with him here.

This post has been edited by Maniak: Jun 14 2011, 10:16 AM

[Viashino_wizard]

I remember this comic! Unfortunately, I started reading just before it started going downhill into badly-executed GRIMDARK.

This definitely makes me want to look at it again, though.

[Yaoi Huntress Earth]

Thanks for suggesting this. I've thought on and off about checking it out.

[Soba]

I'm gonna see that face in my nightmares.
Which means Eggman rocks

[Shmeckie]

New Sonic Universe arc getting started, centerring around Scourge. Starts off with a nice summary of what his deal is for new readers, and we get the beginning of what looks to be a pretty sweet prison break plot arc.

Also, a blatant Monty Python reference.

And a hilarious joke at the expense of Sonic 2006.

Definitely check it out!

This post has been edited by Shmeckie: Jun 20 2011, 06:24 PM

[Soba]

The fact that this series is getting good again is gonna give me a nostalgiagasm.

[Shmeckie]

Seriously, this new arc looks to be ten kinds of bitchin'. Go grab that shit, people!

This post has been edited by Shmeckie: Jun 20 2011, 06:28 PM

[Soba]

I started around the time Knuckles turned green. And I read on and off since then, and I vaguely remember a turtle and something involving space. Wow it's been longer than I thought.

[Shmeckie]

Wow that HAS been awhile. I only barely remember the green Knuckles shit.

Also

[Soba]

And there was the whole Mina Sally Sonic thing, of course.

Knuckles was dead for awhile too, right? Damn, this thing was as big to me as calvin and hobbes, but I can't remember specifics.

[Shmeckie]

Yeah, the Mina/Sonic/Sally love triangle mercifully ended. Mina hasn't played a terribly large role since she became a singer, oddly enough. Flynn's made good use of her, though, especially in the recent Naugus arc.

I vaguely remember Knuckles being dead, but that was waaaaaaaay back when. I think it might've come before Robo-Robotnik/Eggman came into the scene, but I could be wrong.

[Soba]

Yeah, and there was a lot of people bemoaning the death of Knuckles, such as Vector and his girlfriend lady whose name escapes me. This was before I started liking Knuckles, so I didn't really care, but I digress.
It may have been around the time his dad was roboticized, possibly. It was long before Shadow was in the comics I know that much.

[Shmeckie]

I don't remember Knuckles' father ever being Roboticized. Sonic's father, yeah, but not Knuckles. I don't think any of the Echidnas were.

Oh, and Knuckles' girlfriend is Julie-Su, by the way. I always remembered because, despite the hyphenated tribespeak names alot of the Echidnas have, her name always sounded like a farmer's daughter to me.

[Viashino_wizard]

I know Eggman!Robotnik was already around while Knux was dead (and green).

[Shmeckie]

I think you're right, actually. The current Robotnik came around issue 70-something, and the original Robotnik died at issue 50, so that's a pretty short window for interesting things to be happening.

And not alot of them did during that span of time (oooo, sick burn, me!).

[Soba]

Did I say Knuckles' dad? Dammit I menat Julius, but I forgot that there was no way one could get "Sonic" out of "His".

I'm not even sure why Knuckles became my favorite character in both this series and the game one, I guess it's the martial arts fanboy in me.

[Maniak]

Here something I found:
Issue 225 as youtube video