Sonic the Hedgehog (Comic Series)

[The Old World Menace 0]

"Hehe..."

[BlurryDawgo 26]

"Hehe..."

I think she just had a cold at the time.

Anyways, anyone wanna talk about the upcoming issues for Sonic? (If they get released, that is.)

[Katmuffin 16]

What exactly is going on? I know that the comics might be cancled, but why is that?

[Skye Prower 386]

As far as I know, pretty much cause they're not selling enough

[Katmuffin 16]

Mabey if they did more origonal work than game adaptations, they would have more readers. Or if a certain illegal site got shut down...

Hmm, mabey that's why they didn't shut this site down earlier.

[Skye Prower 386]

Well Sega was the one who wanted the comic's more like the games!

[Danny Felixe 330]

I find it funny how we never actually said Archie shut us down but everyone assumes so anyway XD

But yeah... there is a limit to how much Archie and Ian Flynn can do with SEGA on its back

[Shinomi-chan 294]

Oh god please no.. I'd lose one of my favorite things ever ;_; 

[Katmuffin 16]

Same, but to be honest, things kinda went downhill after the reboot.

Edited 28 Jan 2017 by Katmuffin

[SilverShard42 6]

Really? I thought they got a lot better.

 

Yes, we lost some great characters (Shard and Scourge shoutout), but the universe was over-complicated to the point of confusion. Made it nearly impossible for a new reader to get into the story, because there was so much backstory.

 

The reboot  made the comic much more accessible. 

 

And related to the "losing money" thing, I was under the impression that this is the most profitable thing Archie has right now. Am I entirely off-base? I don't know where I heard that.

[Katmuffin 16]

That is a good point, but I live for over complication. Also, I noticed that Archie got a tv show (I think) perhaps that is taking funds from sonic or something, and they are hoping that the show is going to be big.

[ChaosKaiser 174]

I also think the reboot made some good to the comics. Don't get me wrong, I liked the plots going on before the Super-Genesis Wave, but as I see, they are more accesible now to newcomers, as @SilverShard42 said. Making the comic more like the game makes sense to me, specially in the designs. But I understand that they might need better stories, and writing something more "original" than just adapting the games. 

But the show is made by the CW based on Riverdale, right? I mean, Archie can make some money if it becomes successful. Also, we're talking about Sonic THE FRIGGIN' Hedgehog, one of the most popular videogame characters of all time. If they cannot make money out of it, what else could they get money from?

[Katmuffin 16]

I don't know, mabey it's Archie itself that's going out of buiness, I haven't exactly heard of it before I found the comics, then again, comics in general has been dying, not as many people know about them.

[The Old World Menace 0]

Well here is the main problem, we are talking about a company who only seeks profit, like most. Sonic the Hedgehog has had a lot of "inexcusably" terrible games for the new age, this goes to show that they don't care about Sonic really, they just bank on his popularity. The cheapest way is to rush out as much media as they can "which in the long run cuts costs,"  then sell them at full price.

With that in mind, SEGA will seize any opportunity to advertise their games to make sure the media gets a hype train and the sales come in. SEGA looks at these comics being published by Archie "which comics in general have pretty much been killed off by modern media, this makes Archie struggle." SEGA will force the writers to advertise their games now because it comes at no expense to SEGA really.

The comics becoming one big add removes all significance of the comics, which will end it... that means Ian Flynn would have to resort to making them himself... I don't know if he would though because he writes other stuff too.

In the end I think SEGA will cash out on Sonic and close the franchise all together "or shelve it for a comeback someday when nothing else is making profit," especially since they have other major hits they dump way more money into, like Total War for one. 

[SilverShard42 6]

I don't really think that's true for Sonic more than any other game franchise. When a franchise has been around for a long time, new titles are almost guaranteed to be unfavorably compared to older ones. Mario, Zelda, and other games get this too. The biggest problem is some reviewers really like to bash Sonic games, for some reason.

 

I think SEGA makes more profit off of Sonic than anything else, especially over the long term- I highly doubt he'll be going anywhere anytime soon.

 

Also, in regards to the comic being an ad- like someone said earlier, that's what it's always been. The LEGO movie was a giant ad, and it won awards. Just because something was made to advertise doesn't mean it doesn't have merit...

 

[Frostryu 13]

Pity they never tried taking it the other way, as in take ideas from the comic. That would be a surefire way to gain....

What they tried that? oh right, Penders. Sorry. Still, i can't be the only one who thinks Sega should try a team-up with Telltale to make a Chaotix game. Maybe call Ian in for writing support. Could work.

But Yeah, comics as a whole are dying, with everything going digital these days, and Archie really isn't advertising its online options very well. And when the big ship goes down, all the little ones will go with it. 

.. ok that was vague. *Ahem* When the Archie company goes down, we will lose the Sonic comics, if not before. In which case we either go the way of Sonic the Comic online, someone else picks it up or, *shudders* Penders picks that point to hit us with his *new* story.

[The Old World Menace 0]

If all of that is true, then lets hope Penhead doesn't mess everything up, since he was the artist right? I don't think he wrote any of the story before the Genesis wave? I am not too certain. I hope he goes non-profit so he can use Sonic, and restarts it before the Genesis wave, and properly continues the journey while including all the secondary plots. 

Call me desperate, but I want the original timeline to continue!

Edited 2 Feb 2017 by The Old World Menace

[Katmuffin 16]

I would tottally join you in your desperate cause, I've been sercretlly hoping that there woukd be another law suite or something, that allowed Ian Flinn to at least finish the story lines. Also because he doesn't seem to be going any where with lost hedgehog tales. I mean, cutting off abruptly like that at any time would of been painful enough. But at a dramatic climax like it did? (Probably to keep readers through the crossover.) I practically died when we got nothing on metal sally. Also we lost all the best characters, and know nothing about the new ones! There's no way I can play most of the Sonic games to get a better idea about this new world  I don't have that money, and I'm saving for breath of the wild.

And that's the end of the angry rant I've scripted out in my head since the reboot. Sorry if you're sick of this kind of stuff.

Edited 2 Feb 2017 by Katmuffin

[teamrandom21 26]

While I know they said they were having a printing press problem, I really don't believe it. Besides that and call it unpopular opinion but the comics during the reboot haven't really captured my attention and are literally physically painful for me to both talk about and think about.

[James Petitious 2]

I don't believe the series was cancelled at all- after all, there are several issues still in the works and I have heard word of new issues releasing in April. There are several covers of upcoming issues, including Mega Drive: Overdrive...

Plus I never got the last issue of Genesis of a Hero, which is more than a little annoying.

[ChaosKaiser 174]

I would also find the cancellation weird after announcing the next issues, and even showing the covers...

[Katmuffin 16]

So is the comics being canceled all speculation? Or mabey Arichie is just warning fans that the series could end in the next couple of years.

[Danny Felixe 330]

It's just speculation. As well as the fanbase starting rumours and some people taking it as a fact. Until Archie themselves state otherwise, just assume it's going on

[NegaMetallix 27]

If all of that is true, then lets hope Penhead doesn't mess everything up, since he was the artist right? I don't think he wrote any of the story before the Genesis wave?

If you mean Penders, then no, he wasn't an artist on the book. (Though I think he might have drawn some issues?) He was the main writer for a majority of the issues before #160, along with a few others. Every issue in the main series from #160 onwards was written by Ian Flynn (or his wife, Aleah Baker, in more recent issues).

[The Old World Menace 0]

If you mean Penders, then no, he wasn't an artist on the book. (Though I think he might have drawn some issues?) He was the main writer for a majority of the issues before #160, along with a few others. Every issue in the main series from #160 onwards was written by Ian Flynn (or his wife, Aleah Baker, in more recent issues).

Ok, so Penders was one of the main writers of StH, did he co-write with Ian Flynn, or did they make it strictly Ian or his wife after 160? (Not that my above statement would come true, but curiosity has me now.)