Couple of things: The first volume of IDW Sonic is up for preorder on Amazon. Also includes some info. Also, on the latest BumbleKast episode, around 43:25, Ian confirms that the characters he created for Archie will not be in IDW Comics. Not all that surprising, but it might not look good for those who wanted the Freedom Fighters to come back, going by what he says. Still a possibility they'll return, but we'll have to wait and see.
So it continues on from Sonic Forces, I guess? Eh, I thought the game was alright, nothing special, clearly designed for kids, but a fun little romp anyway. But a comic could probably bring out more lore to the Forces world, such as why GUN weren't involved in events.
I don't know who that is :v: I watched (listened to) Segabits' Aaron Webber interview And so this post has something actually related to the topic I really hope the idw comics don't take place in the game universe. :v:
Eh, they might feel more confident with IDW, especially with Flynn at the helm. Other than past works, they might give them a bit more leeway.
I think it's ok that the comic will be somewhat grounded within Sega lore. The Archie comic pre Flynn is a good example of how off the rails things can get with practically no intervention from Sega whatsoever (They had some weird characters and plots. Sure a lot of it was based off the show but beyond that you had the Evil dimension, that Nate Morgan character, they had Sonic and Tails go to school in one issue for some reason). Also even when Flynn had to put Sonic into a more game esq universe after the soft reboot he did a pretty good job stitching things together, and Sega gave him some leeway with how some of the less important/less time specific games played out. Examples of that can be seen with Sonic 2 GG being tied in with the AoSTH Breezie plot, Tails Skypatrol being a follow up to Sonic 2 GG and including Naugus, and Sonic the Fighters taking place during Sonic Unleashed, which itself took place after Colors in that universe. Even Sonic 1 and 2's plot included aspects of SatAM. The only thing that kind of stood on its own was Sonic CD, which had a flashback issue that wasn't really tied into any specific point or secondary plot point. But then again that was the last issue before the comic was cancelled so we'll never know how it was tied into the SatAM world.
Whilst a new original setting would be great, I actually wouldn't mind if the Comics stayed tied-in and fleshed out more of the general game world story, which would keep the games themselves a bit more focused. Ian's Sonic Forces comics were pretty good example of this. I felt the comics felt more attached to the universe of Sonic more than the game's own events did, so more of that would be fine I reckon.
If the games are going to be this light on plot and lore as they have been since Colors for the foreseeable future, the comics fleshing them out and having them make sense is exactly what the franchise needs. At least until good narratives come back to the series. Creating another alternate universe will only make things more confusing. There should be an effort to make the existing canon sensible, rather than create another branch. It makes the series less approachable.
Come "back" to the series? Uh, in any case, I don't mind the cast not being all the Archie dudes. I want to see them again, especially the Egg Army, but focusing on the main game cast is something I'd prefer right now. I only wish we'd get to know more about the plots of games from a longer amount of time ago, instead of just whatever new ones come out that they can adapt.
Yeah, I think this would be ideal as it means the regular gaming people can play a streamlined Sonic game that doesn't require you to be so invested in DEEP LORE, whereas those do who want that can have a good resource to turn to. For example, a Sonic Mania comic adaptation could easily fill in the missing stage transitions from the game, and explain more about the nature of the Heavies and the Ruby amongst other things. It would also take the weight off Sonic Team or any other devs trying to come up with new confusing plots and risking more contradictions/retcons, etc by having someone who's a bit more tuned into that world and lore keeping everything tied together, preventing a PONTAFF 2.0 situation.
Evan Stanley art. Sonic is holding onto...something. I thought it was Sally's hands, then I thought it was Tails's tails. Now I don't know what to think.
I'd guess its Tails holding onto Sonic with both hands, looking backwards (we're seeing his hands, back of his head, whiskers and ear). If Freedom Fighters were back I doubt those characters would be the first shown. Still skeptical they'll show up, but crazier things have happened. If they DO show up, I'll be fascinated by what exactly that means when it comes to who on earth now holds the rights to the DiC characters besides Sega. Would that mean Sega is the sole rights-holder, or is there some sort of clause in the Archie contract that allows for their use to be transferred to a new publisher? 90's Sonic elements seems like a huge legal minefield, honestly.
I'm pretty sure SEGA's always been the holder? That's why they've never been the subject of any copyright issues.
Those hands (assuming they are hands) look a bit feathery, so I'm guessing it's a completely new bird character, possibly based on the bird Avatar from Forces. The synopsis for the first arc makes it sound like the comic will be taking place after Forces, so it'd make sense. Doesn't really look like any Freedom Fighter (unless they've received another major redesign), and an established game character (especially Tails) wouldn't be much of a surprise.
Oh lookie here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/16978811 We have pencils for what would have been issue 291/Genesis of a Hero 4/the Sonic 3 & Knuckles adaption. Unfortunately unless you subscribe $5 to Tracey's Patreon we won't see anything beyond page 1. Damn shame we couldn't get this one last issue.
So Yardley and ABT have both released their unprinted issues now and I honestly don't know wtf is stopping me from just posting Mega Drive 3?
That's the thing, there were no NDAs at Archie, I've only held off posting as a professional courtesy. But if that statute is lifted the only thing stopping me is that dropping MD3 would be considered a bigger deal than one of the regular issues. I guess the only difference is that it wouldn't possibly fly under the radar.