Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW comic)

[Shinomi-chan 294]

Okay so I've read all of the 6 issues now, and honestly... While the "plot twist" if one can call it that, was boring.. The comic series itself has HUGE potential. I mean c'mon guys. The original Sonic The Hedgehog comic took 25 issues, before it TRULY kicked off. Before that it was just bunch of stupid puns, and plots for little kids. The new series could very well kick off after like 5 or 10 issues as well, since they're trying to get some new readers into this, not the old fans. (Well if they even think they have any old fans left after the oh so awful "Genesis Wave" arc.)

[Skye Prower 386]

The trouble with saying 'the old comics took a while to get going' is, well, they didn't!  They started off as funny comics for kids.  And in that regard, they were good, funny kids comics for the target market.  They didn't 'get good'.  They shifted focus from comedy to story.

And secondly, even if you don;t buy that, the origonal Sonic comics were treading new ground.  IDW has almost the same team that was working on Archie.  They shouldn't need time to 'get good'.  They should know what they're doing.

[Shinomi-chan 294]

The trouble with saying 'the old comics took a while to get going' is, well, they didn't!  They started off as funny comics for kids.  And in that regard, they were good, funny kids comics for the target market.  They didn't 'get good'.  They shifted focus from comedy to story.

And secondly, even if you don;t buy that, the origonal Sonic comics were treading new ground.  IDW has almost the same team that was working on Archie.  They shouldn't need time to 'get good'.  They should know what they're doing.

How long did they have to make a completely new story after the entire lawsuit thing, and the old comics just not being good enough anymore? The first 4 comics seem really rushed, I don't think they exactly had all the time, to make an interesting story that would be good for both new and old fans. I don't know whether it was because they had multiple ideas, or because of time limitations, but I do hope the story will only get better from here. 

[Skye Prower 386]

Someone who has been writing Sonic for as long as Flynn has should be able to churn out something better than the first four copy-paste issues, time pressure or no.

I do want it to get better.  But.... I'm not that hopeful. 

[Thire 121]

From what I’ve heard, IDW wanted Flynn to do like an intro to the whole thing before going to the real deal.

[ChaosKaiser 174]

So, eight issues... and we're still in a "introduction arc"? I'm not liking this... 

Also, a new character? AGAIN? Where's Tangle now? Now we have Whistle the Wolf. Cool looking, seems like an interesting character, has a special wispon or something... but, like Tangle, we know little to nothing about her. How are we supposed to care about these new girls, if we don't know where they came from, or her motivations?
Also, was it just me, or does Silver sounds a little silly in this issue? He's supposed to be naive and all, but... seemed too childish.

Oh, and the cliffhanger... alright, hope SOMETHING HAPPENS next episode, because seeing Metal Sonic sitting on the Master Emerald should be a big deal.
I'm assuming that the "Battle for Angel Island" will be the first big event in this series. Maybe something relevant may happen. Maybe. I dunno. You know, in order to have a interesting story. Like good comics have.

I'm loving the artwork tho: lively, energetic, dynamic. Evan Stanley is an artistic beast, and we can see she loves these characters. Also Matt Herms shows once again why he's been the colorist for so long. 

Edited 21 Aug 2018 by ChaosKaiser

[Skye Prower 386]

It's the same thing we had in the post-reboot.  To much world building, not enough character building or plot.

My stance on the comics as a whole has not changed, which is why I haven't been saying anything.

They're 'fine'.  Not bad, but not that good either.  And they should be more than just 'fine'.

[Shinomi-chan 294]

So, eight issues... and we're still in a "introduction arc"? I'm not liking this... 

Hidden Content

I'm loving the artwork tho: lively, energetic, dynamic. Evan Stanley is an artistic beast, and we can see she loves these characters. Also Matt Herms shows once again why he's been the colorist for so long. 

 

Oh hello new character! I loved the issue 7 art style, why'd they have to go back to the normal one in issue 8 though? ;_; Not that it wasn't good or anything, but HOT DAMN did ya see what they did in the previous one?!

Since Gold may or may not be in these comics anymore, GUESS WHO I ship Silver with? That's right. My Sunshine Child is going with Whisper. I hope. They'd be adorable together, AND they'd have sort of chemistry going on, especially now that for once it's reversed roles when it comes to who saves who. I did not expect Neo Metal Sonic being the "Eggman" though, but it was a welcomed change. Wonder what will happen to M.E and to Angel Island.

[ChaosKaiser 174]

I've read until issue 14, and so far, things are fine. Artwork is impressive (and probably the main reason I'm reading the comic): clean linework, nice soft coloring. Story-wise, the comic is nice. I think Ian Flynn is veeeery slowly building up this narrative -maybe too slowly for my taste-. Interactions between characters are still on point and present very nice dialogues (I specially love the bromance? between Sonic and Amy), where the artists can show fun expressions from the characters.

So far, the things I have really liked are the new "robotization" virus-thingy and the new villain: Doctor Starline.
Also, I think I'm seeing a pattern in all the non-event issues: Sonic and an ally fight random villains. Just remember the episodes before the "Battle for Angel Island" arc. Issue 14 Sonic and Silver fought Metal Sonic and Starline, so the variety of stories falls flat.

[Skye Prower 386]

I'm afraid I stopped reading.  As soon as I realised...

 

It's not a robotization virus.  It's another *bleep* *bleep* *bleep*ing *bleep* zombie virus.

[ChaosKaiser 174]

I see you don't like zombie viruses.

But I'm not sure it turn animals into zombies. They seem to be fully conscious, only more aggressive. And adding a Sonic Heroes 2-player mode-esque metallic skin.

[Skye Prower 386]

I saw the preview cover with all the arms reaching towards the Chaotix.  It scream 'zombie' at me.  And yes, it is a Zombie virus.  They lose control, aggressiveness is their ONLY displayed trait, even to former friends.  It's just metal flesh rather than decaying flesh.

[ChaosKaiser 174]

After reading issue 17...

...yep, they are zombies. I was foolish not to see that coming, as Skye said. 

Still, I like the fact that "zombies" exist in some form in the Sonic universe. Truth is, it's a really overused concept, but we'll see how it's handled here. For me, so far, so good... although could be far better story-wise. Nevertheless, the character interactions are great, and the Chaotix really shine in this issue. 

Tracy Yardley nails the art this time: chaotic panel layouts -yet maintaining clear visual narrative- , expressive and dynamic characters and very consistent inking. Leonardo Ito as colorist makes a remarkable job too: vibrant and eye-catching colours, but adding an intense shading to keep this "darker" atmosphere the story is going for.

 

Also, did I mention these comics officially made into Spain? So far we only got issue 1... 

Edited 6 Jun 2019 by ChaosKaiser

[ChaosKaiser 174]

(Hope this doesn't count as double-posting...)

So, I've read issues 18 and 19. Still enjoying the artwork in 18, Tracy Yardley is great at drawing Sonic stuff. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it.  Although I've noticed some tricks to fasten his work, like Cream's face being copied in two panels. Not a great deal, but it bugged me. C'mon, Tracy, don't do that, bro.
Leonardo Ito, still makes great use of flat colours (specially in a little flashback scene), but it feels a little off in some panels, considering the "darker" tone of the story.
As for the script...

Ian Flynn seems to foreshadow that doctor Starline might betray Eggman in the future... but for good reasons. I like how Starline saw Eggman as an icon, someone the idolized, but now sees how overconfident Robotnik truly is. Will we ever see these two villains part ways? Could be interesting.

The rest of the issue focus on making us know that Cream, Vanilla and Gemerl exist in this universe. Oh, and that chao can be infected by de metal virus. That's pretty much it. 

Issue 19 is drawn by a different artist: Jack Lawrence. I don't dislike his art, but it feels less "Sonic-like" than what other artists have made. On the other hand, the characters feel quite lively and dynamic, Lawrence nailed the expressions and created quite detailed backgrounds, so overall, great art too!
Coloring by Bracardi Curry has a strange sepia/orange tone over the first pages, which gave me the impression that I was reading a flashback, although that wasn't the case. However, this is corrected in the latest pages of the book. Overall, in this episode, the chromatic pallete seems to be give that "menacing" vibe previous issues didn't have.
Let's go for the story itself...

I have the feeling that each issue is telling less than the last one. This time, Sonic finds Team Dark saving people (and Omega not caring about people because they are robots now), and Shadow gets zombified by being an overconfident jerk that doesn't listen to Rouge's warning. Neat. So now, Sonic must fight Zombie-Mecha-Shadow. That's it. That's all the issue. 

 

I'll be honest, I feel the storytelling isn't really all that good. Progress is really slow or fast, each episode is just Sonic interacting with a character or a team... it's the same as the first presentation issues, but now with the infection thing going on. Also, visual storytelling isn't as drammatic or intense as it could. I don't blame the artist for it though. 
Heck, I feel like I shouldn't put the blame on Flynn -the writer- either. As some of you might already think, it's likely that now that Sega has more control over the comics, they are limiting what can and can't be told in these stories, or even directing the narrative structure of the issues. 

If that's true, I don't like where this might lead to... If it's not, what the heck is happeing? How long do we have to wait until we have a less repetitive story structure?

 

Edited 24 Jul 2019 by ChaosKaiser

[Thire 121]

Judging by how the storylines are (or lack of in this case) in the more recent Sonic games and comparing how the comics are being told now, I think it’s safe to say that SEGA is fully running the story. Flynn was doing a pretty great job at Archie with what he had before it was shut down but now I think SEGA is keeping a tight grip on the IDW comics.

[ChaosKaiser 174]

Perhaps the editors are in contact with Sega directly, and only stories approved by the company can be published. I doubt that Sega is running the story themselves, but instead, they let some limited creative freedom to the authors, and then revise and edit the scripts to fit with the kind of product they want to sell.

Still, whatever the process is, Sega has now more control over the comics than ever before.

[Skye Prower 386]

Zzzzzz.... snort

 

Oh, by the way, the zombie arc is going to continue next year.

Oh, and it was something Ian had planned for the reboot.... seriously...

Back to sleep

 

zzzzzz....

[Seviper the Fang Snake 368]

Seems every franchise gets a zombie story at some point...whether they fit in or not.

[ChaosKaiser 174]

 

Zzzzzz.... snort

 

Oh, by the way, the zombie arc is going to continue next year.

Oh, and it was something Ian had planned for the reboot.... seriously...

Back to sleep

 

zzzzzz....

Wait, so next 4 issues (september, october, november and december) WILL STILL FEATURE THE ZOMBOT INFECTION? Oh, jeez... so the story is going to progress even slower than I thought... 

I have nothing wrong with the concept itself, as I've said, I'm fine with it (although could have been better if it was just like the Archie's robotization process, but with liquid metal), but the way it's been handled, with that same structure episode after episode... feels lazy to me. And I'm pretty sure mr. Flynn can do it better. And he will have to do better to keep readers hooked if this arc won't be finished until next year.

Edited 25 Aug 2019 by ChaosKaiser

[ChaosKaiser 174]

(Okay, hope this doesn't count as double-posting...)

I've been reading the most recent comics and... wow, some serious sh*t has happened. There have been some interesting chapters in my opinion. Maybe it's because my expectatives were low, but I felt like stakes have gotten REALLY high. 

Like, at this point, a lot of characters have turned into robots: Shadow, Charmy, even Tangle. And I'll admit that Tangle's robotization scene was... emotional. Probably the best robotization scene of all.
The feeling of dread is quite intense now that the heroes seem to be at a desperate situation: Tails has lost the Tornado (saddest anime death 2019), he cannot deal with the infection without Sonic's data, Omega's body has been destroyed, Starline has now brought the Deadly Six (beings that CAN MANIPULATE MACHINERY) and Sonic about to transform into Mecha-Sonic zombot in any moment.

And I like that. But I fear that all they've been building story-wise gets solved via deus-ex-machina, and as much as I like the zombot concept, I still think it could have worked better if it wasn't handled like your generic zombie apocalypse.

Artwork is on point, as always. To me at this point the art the best quality this comic has to offer. I'll mention the great work made by Jack Lawrence (who seems to be the one drawing the most of this arc), newcomer (I think) Priscilla Tramontano in issue 22, and Adam Bryce Thomas in issue 24, giving us that manga-styled side of Sonic some of us love so much!
Also worth mentioning some really good character interactions that make me remember Ian Flynn is the one still writing, although Sega might limit his narrative skills in order to... errr... whatever Sega wants. 

(BTW, do we use this thread to talk about the Tangle & Whisper mini-series too?)

[Skye Prower 386]

Zzzzzz.... Are there still zombies?  There are.. oh... *goes back to sleep*

Sorry, I've been keeping abreast of what's happening.  But the whole zombot thing is just so off-putting for me.  And, tbh, the worst things get in story, the lower the stakes become to me.  Because the more likely it is that the final cure will be a complete reset button with utterly ZERO lasting effects.

This is like when Shadow died in the Archie crossover.  It didn't raise the stakes.  It signalled 'NONE OF THIS WILL MATTER!'

[ChaosKaiser 174]

Because the more likely it is that the final cure will be a complete reset button with utterly ZERO lasting effects.

Now THIS is what I fear the most, the fact that all this will most likely mean nothing in the overall narrative. 

Still, as long as Sega's shadow is over the scripts (again, if it's as how we think), seems like they will not try to change the status quo one bit. And don't get me wrong, you can tell great stories without any world-shattering crisis on the horizon, but if things don't change a little from time to time, a long running comic like this can end up feeling bland.

[Shinomi-chan 294]

So basically you're saying that:

 What Sonic IDW did was: Predict Covid-19. The zombot saga began before the whole pandemic thing, just sayiiin'....

But seriously tho, I love myself some of dat horror element. Plus since they're ROBOTIC Zombies, and not really "killing" anyone, I count it as new enough to be a fresh idea. (from what I have personally seen.) But these comics have given me new absolute favorites such as: Tangle/Whisper (yes I ship it shaddaap), Dr.Starline, and I do like Mimic's... gimmick :,3. I do wonder where they're taking this comic series. Has anyone of you read the "Bad Guys" Spin Off (which kinda needs to be read if you wanna be in with the story.) Cause whoooo boi. Dat ending.

 

[ChaosKaiser 174]

Yeah, they did predict it. Wish things would be as easy to solve in real life tho...

I do like the new characters in general. And yeah, you're not the only one that see Tangle and Whisper as ship material. 

Haven't read "Bad Guys" yet. Is it good? I remember the previos spin-off (Tangle & Whisper) being pretty sweet.

[Shinomi-chan 294]

Yeah, they did predict it. Wish things would be as easy to solve in real life tho...

I do like the new characters in general. And yeah, you're not the only one that see Tangle and Whisper as ship material. 

Haven't read "Bad Guys" yet. Is it good? I remember the previos spin-off (Tangle & Whisper) being pretty sweet.

I mean I might be a complete Sonic comic nerd and fanatic (do not quote me on that), But in my humble opinion: I frigging love it. Then again I think it's always a plus when the bad guys get the spotlight for once ya know?