With the excitement for Sonic’s 20th anniversary building, it should be of no surprise that Archie Comics – the company that has been making the Sonic comic for the last 18 years – is gearing up to celebrate in the best way they know possible. The news of the Sonic Genesis arc has been featured on this page beforehand, but next week in the United States (6/29/2011 for those keeping score) the first issue of that arc is finally meant to come out at direct comic book shops. Though it has gotten into the hands of certain subscribers early, the first of the four part story begins with the most familiar location of all: the Green Hill Zone. With Sonic jumping right into the action and not being completely aware of the insanity that happened last issue, he immediately begins to free Flicky and the rest. Though it begins as Sonic the Hedgehog does, it soon takes a turn right into Archie territory.
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Even though the focus of this site has been, first and foremost, the Sonic game franchise, it wouldn’t be fair to completely gloss over the other aspects of the world of Sonic the Hedgehog, especially one corner that has been continuously printed since 1993. Of course, I’m talking about the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series from Archie, which has been in production since 1993 and whose 225th issue is just around the corner. Coming out May 25th, the anniversary issue signals the end of the “Countdown to Genesis” arc, with Dr. Eggman finally making his big move after going crazy back in issue 200 and subsequently regaining his sanity only to go into hiding. With last issue showing the launch of the newly-rebuilt Death Egg, much speculation has gone on about how this will lead into the nostalgia-fueled “Genesis” arc. Though some spoilers have leaked in their respective corners of the Internet, issues #226-230 are more then certainly going to shake things up in the comic, if the hype can be believed.
Pop culture news site IGN has an exclusive five-page preview of the issue, so if you want to avoid any and all spoilers, it might be best to not click here and read them. Otherwise, go ahead and have a blast.
If you just can’t wait until the 25th for your monthly dose of Sonic the Hedgehog, tomorrow does mark the release of Sonic Universe #28, the final issue in the “Silver Saga” arc. Sure, maybe Silver the Hedgehog is not the most compelling character ever created, and the tale might be using elements from one of Ken Penders‘ unfulfilled plot devices, but…well, it’s not all that bad.
Both Sonic the Hedgehog #225 and Sonic Universe #28 are written by Ian Flynn and drawn by Tracy Yardley.
With the excitement over Sonic Generations bubbling all over the Internet, people have been looking back on the classic games, hyping themselves up over what may be coming down the pipeline. What zones might come back, what friendly classic faces they’re going to run across again, hoping beyond hope for Metal Sonic to redeem himself for what he did in Sonic Heroes. Looking back on the classic era, it might be easy to overlook the Master System/Game Gear games, since the first two weren’t as critically hailed as their Mega Drive/Genesis counterparts. But the Sonic & Tails series (known as Sonic Chaos and Sonic Triple Trouble over here in the west for…well, I have no idea why) delivered some amazing moments on its own, even with the restraints by the 8-bit hardware. Many people even think of Sonic & Tails 2 as a contender for the “true” Sonic 4, since it was made during the same era. And it does have Fang the Sniper. Who doesn’t love Fang the Sniper?
So of course, Archie had to make it a comic book.
I’m not entirely sure if Sega asked Archie to make this or not, since it was a Game Gear title and, while a money maker for Sega, not nearly as high profile as their major titles. With a cover date of October 1995 (meaning it came out a couple months before…but still way after the fact when you take the game’s release date into consideration) the cover proudly states its collector’s edition status. The four-part, 24 page tale hiding within, written by Mike Gallagher and drawn by Dave Manak, is sure to be a rip-roaring good time, so without further adieu, let’s jump inside!
People love anniversary issues in the comic book world. Every 25 issues, something intense has to happen. Something crazy. And with the 50 and 100 marks, it has to be even bigger and crazier. Sonic the Hedgehog is no exception to this rule, and his first anniversary issue wanted to be nothing but the biggest and best. Devoting an entire issue to one story, the crew at Archie comics decided to adapt Sonic’s other “best game ever,” the one and only Sonic the Hedgehog CD. And even though it features the Knothole Freedom Fighters, I can say right now that it stays far more faithful than Sonic’s last two outings in the world of game adaptations. With that said, was it any good? Did people care? How was Sonic‘s silver anniversary when all was said and done? Read on and find out, good sirs and madams!
Issue 225 gets closer with every passing moment. Even though you can argue about the quality of the comic (and believe me, I’ve heard it all) you still can not deny that the fact the series has gone on this long is an amazing accomplishment. Every other series of its kind has quietly gone under, disappearing once their show/game/movie was out and done with. The Sonic series, even through the dark times, has been holding on, not only being the longest and most successful video game comic, but still one of Archie’s top sellers. The only good thing about making a comic based on a successful video game series is that there is no shortage of material, with at least one new game coming out each year. And hey, with twelve issues needing to be filled per year, who knows how much you can derive from one game? Two issues? Four? Seven?!
It’s been away for a while, but it’s back to kick some butt in Wild Canyon! Well, not really. But after a hiatus of a couple weeks (for even I can only read the Archie sonic comic for so long) we are back for the Fifth Anniversary Spectacular![tm] of “Sonic-Grams!” Once again, letters from the golden age of the comic book series have been hand picked, tilled from the yard, and placed upon the table for your consumption. Let us give thanks to the proverbial comic book gods of the sky for giving us this bounty of questions directed to a blue hedgehog. Or we could all just go about our business and pretend none of this ever happened.
Here we are, week four! And maybe the actual week Sonic the Hedgehog #221 comes out. Seems release schedules aren’t as clear as they once were. Either way, we know the deal here – looking at letters fans like us wrote a decade and a half ago. They cover a wide range of topics, and while none of them are looking for Dr. Robotnik’s phone number…well…no harm in reading on anyway, right? Strap yourselves in – we’re up for one crazy rollercoaster of a ride.
Today, issue #221 of Sonic the Hedgehog hits comic shops across the country, which means in only four short months another anniversary issue will be in the hands of those who still care. So for the month of June, you’ll get to read…issue #226. Which is almost as cool, right? Either way, it’s that time again. Another Wednesday, another volume of “Sonic-Grams.” So we can sigh at our younger selves, cringe at our words, and be baffled at how we still can’t form coherent sentences. Charge up those spin-dashes, people! Just remember, back then you didn’t have to hold forward afterwards to have it send you more than two feet.
Ah, another Wednesday, another edition of Sonic-Grams. If I keep up this schedule, we might actually have a feature beyond the Monday Links that lasts. For those of you who may have forgotten, this is when Sonic Retro takes a look back to a time when Sonic fans were still young, impressionable, and full of hope because their beloved franchise hadn’t entered its downward spiral. Rummaging through the many issues of Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog, we’ve once again gathered letters from the golden age of Sonic comic-dom. Some good, some bad, but all charming in their own way. So, without further ado, let’s get onto it, shall we?
The Sonic the Hedgehog fanbase has a very unique reputation. Made up of fans from across the globe, it is split up in so many directions that it can cause your head to spin. People who love the old games, the new games, one of the four TV shows, the American comic, the English comic, the Japanese comics, the OVA…people who love to talk about who Sonic should marry or how he should sound or what he should look like…yeah, it’s not hard to see why the Sonic fandom isn’t the most well-respected on the planet. There are those who yearn for a simpler time, when half of those continuities didn’t exist and the fandom seemed to be a bit more gelled together, giving off the impression that it wasn’t as bad as it is nowadays. And with SEGA getting ready to celebrate Sonic’s 20 years of existence, isn’t it only right to celebrate 20 years of the fanbase? To remember the good ol’ days? And what better way to do that then to turn back the “page” of history, and look fondly at “Sonic-Grams,” the first physical form of communication for numerous Sonic the Hedgehog fanatics…