The Sonic writers appreciation thread

Well, insecurity about your appearance is common among teenage girls in real life, so fiction addressing it too is understandable.

It's just that many writers (usually men) really do not know how to handle the subject maturely.

 

It's usually..."exclusively" treated comedically, doesn't really ever lead to an arc or anything. Either a character will age out of it and get what they want (no acceptance) or they're in a series where the characters don't age...meaning it'll probably come up repeatedly.

Sonic characters don't age and we barely get any kind of insight into their interest or insecurities most of the time, but ya know...it's not like this would pop up in the story for any reason.

 

I, personally, thought Sonic Colors overall was quite funny, and I liked that it went for that light & comedic tone. I wouldn't mind more games in that style, either. It just has to not be every game. Variety is the spice of life!

I didn't like their later contributions nearly as much, but how much of that was THEM and how much of that was SEGA is unknown, and also this is an appreciation thread. I DO think people go too hard on them.

Also, I know his name is gonna come up a LOT, but I gotta step up and simp for Ian Flynn.

I was subbed to Archie Sonic as a kid shortly before he took over, and I noticed the change instantly. (Tracey Yardley's more faithful art helped as well). For years I was hoping we'd get a game based on the Archie continuity written by him, and ...well, at-least half of that wish came true?

As a kid, I didn't suspect I'd get Male Pattern Baldness before a Sonic game written by Ian Flynn, but better late than never. LOL

 

I've had a few critiques of his writing as the years have gone on, but yeah, his early Archie work was incredible just in how he was, in a relatively short time, able to completely revamp that comic into something actually readable and at least semi-relevant to the games. Reading those issues as I got older and knowing the context they were written in, it's pretty clear how much of them were dedicated just to clean-up, but what's remarkable how he still made them good stories on their own. Like I think issues 170-200ish (along with most of Universe) were peak Archie Sonic, it's so tightly written. I remember reading issue 175 as a kid, with Knothole getting completely wiped out and all of Sonic's friends getting captured, and being blown away. I remember having my dad drive me to Borders right before they closed to pick up the next issue once it was out.

Christ I feel old.