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Sonic the Hedgehog IDW Comic Megathread

Discussion in 'General Sonic Discussion' started by Dark Sonic, Jan 22, 2018.

  1. Lanzer

    Lanzer

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    Confirmed, First issue was given away at a signing table for con goers and has been photographed in full:
    https://imgur.com/a/Ms6vA

    Enjoy!
     
  2. Dark Sonic

    Dark Sonic

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    It's so bizzare in a way. After all this time reading the Archie comics with its universe and characters this seems so empty. I mean I get why, and I know it won't always be that way but it's a bit bizzare seeing just Sonic and Tails.
     
  3. Turbohog

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    It's weird to me because it looks and reads exactly like Archie Sonic, yet it isn't Archie Sonic. Obviously expected, but still kind of odd.
     
  4. Antheraea

    Antheraea

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    "Hedgehog. Noun. A burrowing animal."

    okay, that got me hahahahah

    EDIT: I haven't really read any of the Archie ones but I like this quite a bit. Tails especially has some great characterization.
     
  5. TheKazeblade

    TheKazeblade

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    There really isn't much to complain about this early on. It looks fine, the writing is fine, everything seems to be fine. Hopefully as things go on there's an opportunity to build more layers on top of it.

    + - I like the idea of Tails feeling conflicted about wanting to just go with Sonic on adventures like old times vs. the responsibilities of helping rebuild and be a part of the resistance. I hope Sonic's drifter nature leads to some conflict of ideals in the future.  

    Good start. I'm confident Flynn will be able to expand on this in a successful way in the future. Can't wait to get my hands on this in a couple weeks.
     
  6. Unbekannt

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    Is there a release date for the new issue next month? I haven't really gotten into the comics beforehand, I am interested in this series, havent really read a comic book in ages though
     
  7. Dark Sonic

    Dark Sonic

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    ^ April will have 4 comics, 1 each week. Kind of a way to speed up intro stuff and a "sorry there hasn't been a new comic in over a year" kinda thing.

    That's another reason I found this issue bizzare, but there were subtle differences. These pages for example were far less busy than Archie's layouts.

    It's also weird seeing Egg Pawns and actual game badniks beyond like, Sonic 1 badniks. Even towards the end the Archie series was a Sega/SatAM hybrid, so there were like Egg Swats (basically a swatbot mixed with an Eggpawn) and foreign elements. This is all Sega stuff with gaps filled in like that particular village Sonic was in.

    It's also funny no longer seeing those boxes that were like *see issue 230. I mean, obviously, but still funny. Also yes I liked how Tails was characterized. Not sure how I feel about Sonic being super beloved everywhere he goes. I mean it makes sense, but those villagers were a bit too into him. Maybe that was just an issue 1 thing.

    How long do you think it'll be until fringe characters show up like Mighty, Ray, Fang (will they call him Fang this time?), Bean, and Bark? Will they keep their Archie characterizations/designs (particularly Mighty and Ray who received redesigns later in Archie, although Ray had like 3 redesigns throughout the series).
     
  8. BlackHole

    BlackHole

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    They had a similar joke in the Archie series, when Sonic's fighting Enerjak and Enerjak tries sending him to the core of the planet:

    [​IMG]
    I kinda hope they keep Sonic's 'burrowing species' thing as a legitimate trait, as well as the other Hedgehogs. I dunno, I just imagine them being perfectly capable of digging around, just not bothering.

    Well to be fair, he has just finished defeating Robotnik after his successful conquest of the planet. I'd imagine that would bring some idolizing.
     
  9. Roller

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    We finally have our official statement on the Freedom Fighters! Not in 2018, but confirmation they're not consigned to the dustbin, which is wonderful.

    I like the look of issue 1, definitely on board for the long haul.
     
  10. Dark Sonic

    Dark Sonic

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    1st off, I loved that Enerjak thing, I read that issue the other day.

    As for the obsessive fan boy all around the world thing, that may be true, but one of the things I liked about Archie's series was that some of the citizens sided with Eggman, while some worshiped Sonic, and then some were just kinda there. Yes, Sonic saves the world from Eggman all the time, but there's no need for that level of fanfare. I felt like later Archie had a good balance. Sonic was a hero, he was admired but not worshiped by everyone, and some sided with Eggman out of fear because he was a true threat (I feel like roboticizing/forced cyborging with bomb implants is a pretty dire threat, normal Eggman seems to just blow things up and put small, barely sentient animals into robots). Now to be fair, there is the other extreme of this that's even more stupid and that's Sonic Boom, where Sonic saves the citizens every week and they not only not acknowledge that, but in at least one case some of the citizens work with Eggman because they feel like it (different rules, different universe, Archie interpreted Boom Eggman as having a dimensional portal with an insignia of Eggman blowing bubbles, yea I get that universe is weird). But again, this is the 1st issue. There is no lore anymore. It's just games and eventually Tangle the Lemur. Everything else is just Sega which, if you go by the games, then yes Sonic is likely considered a universal hero (although I'll admit, cute nod to the avatar in the 1st issue. Probably the best way they could have gone about that).

    But it's very early in this series and this is weird territory. The 2 prior comics that existed were from a time where the lore was loose and they had to fill in the gaps. Sega's much stricter now and unlike those comics that were created in 1993, these have years of lore and history attached to them. While I loved the things the post soft reboot of Archie did with the series, I really loved what Flynn did in the post Penders era. I thought it was all brilliant, and he combined Sega and SatAM elements into a really fun story, and he had all those elements to work with. Then shit went down and half of it was eliminated, and now all of it is. So now we get the comics as told by Sega up until 2018. Not that that's bad, but it's weird. This comic will take some adjustment too.

    My only real critique is how they're introducing the characters. From the sound of it, the whole 1st year is character introduction. It's one thing if the character never existed (Tangle), but the rest of them have existed for qutie a while. Is it worth going through this slow process of introducing Amy, then Knuckles, then Blaze, then Tangle, then Shadow and the Chaotix, then Eggman of all characters who won't pop up until issue 5. Maybe it's just weird for me, I think I've read every Archie issue and a fair chunk of Fleetway issues (I'm not going to lie, both got weird at certain times, Fleetway especially). But who knows, I'll guess we'll see.
     
  11. Lanzer

    Lanzer

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    So we get Mighty and Ray back in the games but the tradeoff is that their perma-locked, like with the hooligans, to Mania and it's canon/lore.

    That's fucked honestly, all we can hope for is that they all get modern adaptions in the games someday and therefore can be used in the comics.
     
  12. Dark Sonic

    Dark Sonic

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    Where was that confirmed? I don't think they'll be locked away forever, I just don't know when and how they'll be introduced. I just don't imagine they'll be introduced early on since there are more vital characters (although they're getting them out of the way fairly quickly. By issue 6 we'll have Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Eggman, Shadow, Blaze, Rouge, and the Chaotix and that's kind of the core I guess).

    It'll honestly be a bit bizarre seeing the comic focus on Sega characters. The Freedom Fighters in the Archie series had a lot more screentime than every other character with the exception of Sonic, Tails, Eggman, and eventually Amy, although early in that comic's life she was hardly ever used. Also there was that weird period in Archie where Eggman was dead and kept coming back with different bodies. But what I want to know is, will there ever be an issue again where Sonic goes back to high school for some reason :v:/> (Yes that was an actual Archie arc, it was weird. Issues like 90 to 140 were just very strange)

    EDIT: Oh! I just realized, if the freedom fighters aren't off limits that means Snively isn't either. I hope they bring him back, I loved his post reboot characterization and they didnt get the chance to use him in any significant way.
     
  13. BlackHole

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    Well like you said, it's a new comic. It's likely that the ones on Robotnik's side are currently WITH Robotnik as he's biding his time and figuring out how to make his comeback. Even then, it's just one town, which doesn't denote universal praise, just that particular town. Hell, the first issue ends with someone sitting in Robotnik's chair scheming against Sonic and Amy. I don't think it's Robotnik, otherwise why would they hide him? We know who he is. We'll probably see some more D.R.A.T. member in the future.

    That it did, and it was great. Remember the unicorn that tried to get Tails to assassinate Doctor Robotnik with a goddamn Sniper Rifle round to the back? Good times.
     
  14. Dark Sonic

    Dark Sonic

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    I bet that is Robotnik in that chair, they're just saving him for a big reveal. We know he's the big bad but let's keep him hidden for a few issues because suspense.

    And oh yes, I do remember that Tails and the unicorn strip. That was really weird, actually all of Tails' sub plots were weird.

    That being said, the fleetway arc where Robotnik gained God powers from the chaos emeralds? Best Sonic story ever.
     
  15. Boxer Hockey

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    Opinions vary of course, but I actually prefer my licensed comics to go buck-wild with things like that. I'll always prefer some memorable turbulence over a smooth flight.
     
  16. Dark Sonic

    Dark Sonic

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    Fair. What do you think Tyson will this comic have that? With all the Archie nonsense and the pre-existing lore is there room for that weirdness?
     
  17. Roller

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    I bet that's
    Snively in the chair. "No Freedom Fighters in 2018" feels like a curiously specific denial, Eggman is wider than that backing, and Flynn said something interesting in an interview at one point that made me think he'd be digging in deep when picking baddies for the longer arcs.
     
  18. Boxer Hockey

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    I honestly couldn't tell you about the writing side of things, but I certainly hope so. Again, I know there are a lot of varying opinions on what a licensed comic should be, but a licensed comic will never have the ability to affect the canon at large, so it needs to be able to affect its own canon in interesting ways. In order for that to happen in an adventure book malleable elements have to be allowed to be introduced. I don't know, everyone wants something different from this poor comic lol. I'm maybe one of the few that likes how different each Sonic iteration can be from the last.
     
  19. ICEknight

    ICEknight

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    Except for Ray's shoes. :v:
     
  20. BlackHole

    BlackHole

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    [​IMG]
    We got some smart people in IDW.