Hey Sonic Retro! I've been lurking on this site for a while now, and more so just recently with a formal account. I just finished my very first video essay, several months in the making. I decided it would be opportune to post it here to create some discussion, as it's concerned with a topic I don't see a lot of attention payed to nowadays outside of modern Ken Penders drama. I'm primarily interested in seeing what everyone's thoughts are about the Archie comics. Although GENESIS likely isn't among the most loved stories from this book for most people, it's one that I adore because I had the opportunity to ruminate on for 10 years now, and I can't help but feel as if it was written with that perennial quality in mind. Are there any other stories from the Sonic series that have that same effect for people? I occasionally hear people talk about how the cinematic of Sonic Adventure 2 have a similar effect on them when they play through that game today and re-experience those narrative emotional beats. Aside from all that, I wouldn't mind getting some feedback on the video itself as well. It's the first time I've put myself out there like this, and there's bound to be some issues with how I presented things. Be as harsh as you like!
Something I didn't end up including but you can still hear about if you keep listening to the snippet of interview I linked was that he was a bit miffed that SEGA essentially mandated that the story take place as an event for the 20th anniversary. I'm biased, I know (that's essentially the theme of the video), but I really do think that the Genesis games' insertion ultimately spiced the ongoing story up a ton and made Sally's eventual robotosization hurt that much more. Even then, I still understand why he feels the way he does about it, because having creative control taken away from you midway through producing pretty well anything is a super frustrating event to go through.
At the time, Sonic 1&2 hadn't really been adapted in the form of a comic. I mean, they kinda were in STC, but not to a level that was Sega-accurate. So Genesis was exciting in that regard. However, all of Sonic 1&2 is adapted into four issues, while also layering in the DC story "For The Man Who Has Everything". It's a mess. Just look at how they introduce Wing Fortress and then immediately throw it out. What a waste of precious panel space.
Genesis was utter shit and I hated it. The comic loosely did Sonic 2 with the Sonic Quest mini-series so read that instead.
I glossed over a ton of issues that this arc to focus purely on what I thought made it special, but if I had taken the time to talk about some of the story's weak points, its pacing is up there as what's likely the most significant problem. Wing Fortress is the most baffling example. It's canonically accurate, sure, but it doesn't really add... well, anything at all. I think that's the unfortunate four-issue structure limiting its potential as a longer, more developed story.
I loved the art I can definitely say that. These are the exact types of hybrid designs I wish the series would use. Other than that, idk cute innocent enough thing. Definitely rushed, but it's hard to interpret 2 games in 4 issues. I wish they'd of treated these more like the Megaman adaptions where each game got 4 issues, but the best they ever gave us was this and the last 3 issues that covered the beginning or the end of Sonic 1, 2, and CD. Still annoyed they couldn't release Mega Drive 3 or the 3K adaption. They were so close why not just complete the arcs?
I have a fondness for Genesis, but that's likely nostalgia due to the age I was when I read it (Christ, Sonic's 20th was a whole ten years ago now, huh? I was just finishing my first year of high school...). Looking back, I think what it needed was more issues to space itself out, particularly for the Sonic 2 portion. The comic puts some enticing ideas on the table in terms of how they relate to the main book, but they just don't get enough time to build up.
