The Importance of the Sonic The Hedgehog Comics

Hello dear readers and welcome back to the game room. I’ve once again been thrust into the mystical land of studying, so I haven’t had a whole lot of time for video games lately, let alone writing about them. However, I recently heard some news that sparked a long-dormant interest of mine that I’ve had since the year 1995. It isn’t really a video game itself, yet is inextricably tied to video games that I loved as a kid, and it’s something I generally have a lot of thoughts about.

Even if you’re just casually into video games, I’m sure you are aware of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. It’s something I’ve already talked about at length on this blog, seeing as it was one of the first video games I ever played in the early 90s and one of my cherished childhood franchises, right alongside Ghostbusters and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. 

The video games are only half of what made me love Sonic so much though- the other half was the comic books. As a kid, I had a monthly subscription to the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series by Archie Comics which I was absolutely obsessed with. There was nothing in the world more exciting than seeing a new issue in my mailbox at the turn of the month. Every time I got one, I’d instantly snatch it up and run to my room to read it. The stories were like an extension of the video games; when you were done playing one of them, the comics would continue right where they left off. And in addition to being its own standalone series, it also produced tie-ins to each new Sonic game that came out- Sonic Spinball, Sonic CD, Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic Triple Trouble, Sonic 3D Blast and more all saw their own comic book adaptations.

The reason this all has been brought to my attention is because word has recently spread across the internet that after a 24-year run and nearly 300 issues of the main series, the comic is finally being cancelled. There hasn’t been any formal announcement as of yet, but it’s been placed on an indefinite “hiatus” and the general speculation is that this is the end for the blue blur in the comic book medium.

Although I haven’t actively been reading the comic for probably 16 or 17 years now, it’s still kind of sad to think about, considering that I grew up with the series by my side. The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has basically been the butt of every joke in the video game community for a long time now, but the comics, to me, represent Sonic is his prime. Looking back on it, it just makes me realize that a majority of the affection I feel for the franchise was not so much because of the games, but rather because of the comics. Anyway, with that in mind, I thought I’d do a little reflection on my personal experience with the series.

I arrived a tad late to the party, as the very first issue I had was #24, bought for me by my mom in May of 1995. The instant I read it though, I was hooked. In the beginning, the series didn’t have much of a narrative and each of the issues were lighthearted, goofy little stories about the evil but bumbling Dr. Robotnik causing trouble and Sonic and his gang of pals squaring off against him in a variety of different scenarios. The story went that Robotnik was constantly seeking to rule the world by turning animals into robots, all while polluting the landscape and converting everything into some kind of mechanized factory. So, basically the same story as the early video games. Sonic and his friends (dubbed the “freedom fighters”) had been driven into hiding in a secret forest hideaway called “Knothole Village,” where they would meet and strategize on how to take on Robotnik next in their ongoing underground revolution against him. 

The comics introduced some new characters to compliment Sonic in his adventures. There was Princess Sally, often the brains of the operation and Sonic’s semi-love interest, Antione D’Coolette, a snooty rival-type character to Sonic who was friendly but often resented him, Boomer (later called Rotor), the technical expert who often cooked up new gadgets for the team, and lastly Bunny Rabbot, who was half robotic thanks to nearly becoming “roboticized” by Robotnik before being rescued by Sonic and the team. And of course there was also Tails, who made his first appearance in the game Sonic 2. Tails was often portrayed as a young child, looked down upon a bit by Sonic and the others. This added to his characterization, and as time goes on he begins to resent this fact, which leads to him having his own 3-issue mini-series in which he proves that he can go on his own adventures and be a hero too.

Which leads me to another point- aside from the main series, there were often  individual “specials” that were released in between issues, some of which were the aforementioned game tie-ins, while others were mini-series’ that focused on side characters like Tails, Sally, and later, Knuckles. At first, the specials were just side stories that had nothing to do with the main series. However, later down the line these specials became very closely linked to the main series. The specials had to be ordered separately, since they were not delivered in the mail with your regular yearly subscription, so getting your hands on one felt like a real treat (and mind you, this was in the pre-internet age where we had to get our parents to actually send out for things in the mail).

Anyway, as the series went on, it gradually started to get more and more serious. It developed more of a solid narrative, with a lot of backstory devoted to Sonic’s and Sally’s pasts, Robotnik’s origins, the beginning of the revolution, and more of a focus on Knuckles, who didn’t appear until issue #13 but gradually became a mainstay of the series. In fact, Knuckles became so popular that he eventually got his own spin-off series that lasted for 32 issues, as well as various specials of his own (a fact that I spoke about in my review of the game Knuckles’Chaotix a while back). Knuckles develops much more as his own character, as Sonic’s nemesis who is not quite on his side yet not quite an enemy either.

 As Knuckles became more popular, he gradually earned his own set of comics.

It all culminates into a thrilling four-part story leading up to issue #50, where Sonic is framed for Sally’s murder and Robotnik develops a massive weapon with the power to annihilate everything. Wow. That took a turn, didn’t it?

Also, I should mention that the artwork for the early era was absolutely awesome. The panels are very well drawn, representing Sonic perfectly in still image format. I also totally loved the cover art, especially for some of the specials like the Knuckles mini-series (issue #1 pictured above) and the Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles special (I'll get to that in a bit).

Anyway, even though the series would continue all the way to issue #290, issue #50 was pretty much the climax for me. After that issue my interest gradually began to wane, as I was getting older at that point and my interests were shifting to less cartoony things (after all, this was roughly around the time that I first played Resident Evil, which became my next obsession). I still continued to receive it in the mail all the way up to around issue #80, but by then it had changed so much since the old days that I completely lost interest. My mom had also gotten sick of buying it for me and finally stopped renewing my subscription.

Looking back now, I still feel a great deal of affection for issues 24-50, as well as a few other early ones that I managed to get my hands on. The story arc leading up #50 was amazing, including both the main series and the various specials and mini-series’ that complimented it. Rather than talk about it on a whole, I’ll just discuss a few personal highlights that I remember best from these issues.

As I mentioned before, issue #24 holds a special place in my heart as the very first issue I ever read. The plot involves an alternate universe in which Robotnik is the good guy, pursued by an evil version of Sonic and his gang of counterparts. This gang somehow crosses over into the regular Sonics’ universe and begins framing Sonic and his friends for a number of misdeeds. Sonic catches wind of this, which sparks a battle between good and evil duplicates- a classic story.

The next issue, #25, is a tie-in to the game Sonic CD in which Robotnik develops a robotic version of Sonic called “Mecha-Sonic,” which challenges him to a race across the massive “Stardust Speedway” zone, just like in the climax of the game. Sonic also has to deal with the fact that Robotnik has kidnapped a cute little fan-girl of Sonic named Amy, which was also a part of the game.

There’s issue #33, which is one of the very last of the “sillier” issues before things got more serious later on. In this issue, Robotnik has infected all of the freedom fighters with a deadly virus, except for Sonic, who is then shrunk down to microscopic size in order to combat the virus from inside of each of his pals.

Then there’s issue #35, which is probably one of the craziest and most bizarrely creative issues of the entire series (at least out of the issues I remember, anyway). Upon collecting his billionth magic ring, Sonic is transported to a strange alternate universe, where he’s tested by the mythical “ancient walkers” who give him all kinds of mysterious and cryptic riddles. It’s so out there and weird, I remember loving it as a kid.

There’s also the “Mecha Madness” arc, which was a three-part story that included its own special. In issue #39, Sonic concocts a plan to let himself become roboticized by Robotnik, while using some kind of special microchip that would allow him to retain his own free will as a robot so he could then infilitrate Robotnik’s defenses. However, the rest of the gang denies his request by Sally’s royal decree, on the grounds that Sally herself attempted something similar in issue #29 to no avail. Sonic is pissed and leaves in a huff, only to ambushed and captured by Knack the Weasel, a character from the Game Gear game “Sonic Triple Trouble,” which had its own special as I mentioned before. 

Anyway, Knack delivers Sonic to Robotnik, who promptly turns him into a robot and sends him off to destroy Knothole village. One by one, Mechanized-Sonic kicks all of his friend’s asses, including Knuckles, who has joined in on the fight. All seems lost, which leads into the “Mecha Madness” special issue, which I remember begging my mom to order for me after issue #39 came out. In this issue, Knuckles is roboticized by Sally and the gang with the experimental microchip, which works well enough for him to fight back against Sonic in robotic form. The two kick the shit out of each other with Knuckles barely winning out. They are then transformed back to normal and everything is well and good…right? Nope. Once turned back to normal, Sonic is promptly arrested for treason, since Sally believes he defied her royal decree. Issue #40 starts with Sonic in prison, awaiting trial for a crime he didn't commit. He is eventually granted a chance to prove his innocence, and heads out to track down Knack and show that he was captured against his own will.

As I already mentioned, issue #50 ends on a thrilling note, with Sonic finally defeating Robotnik once and for all (seriously, he is actually DEAD after this and never comes back!). I thought the comic would actually end here (it was called the "Endgame" saga, after all), but it turns out that this was just the beginning; afterward Sonic finds many other foes to fight, but once again, I sort of stopped reading the comics after #50.

 Sonic actually fights Robotnik TO THE DEATH in issue #50. Think about that.

By far though, my favorite issue of the entire series was not even an issue from the main series, but a 48-page special released between issues 33 and 34 titled “Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles.” In this issue, Sonic and Knuckles find a special zone where they each collect 50 rings and 7 chaos emeralds (just like in the games!) and transform into super-powered versions of themselves, then beat the total crap out of each other in an knock-down drag-out brawl. This was just amazing on so many levels. You didn’t even need to read the comics to know that the two were bitter rivals- at the climax of the video game Sonic & Knuckles, they square off with each other in a battle, only to put aside their differences when Knuckles realizes that they both have a common enemy in Dr. Robotnik. However, this moment is the only time the two ever actually fight in the games, and afterward they become friends.

In the comics, however, Sonic and Knuckles frequently clashed with each other, with neither ever admitting that the other was an ally. Actually, when Knuckles got his first mini-series set of side comics, the title described their relationship perfectly- “Sonic’s friendly nemesis.” So in “Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles,” seeing the two in super-powered form pounding each other’s faces in was just incredible. I loved this issue so much that I still have my original one, which is almost completely falling apart, if not for the ancient pieces of scotch tape that are holding the spine together.

 My original copy of "Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles," barely still in one piece.

Anyway, all this nostalgia filled me with a desire to read the first 50 issues again, even the ones I never had when I was kid. As such, I’ve started collecting issues, starting with the very first one. I’ve never been much of a comic book collector, and I definitely did not keep my originals in very good condition AT ALL; nearly all of them I owned have pretty much deteriorated into a pile of shredded paper. Thankfully, most issues are still readily available online for very cheap (with the comic’s imminent cancellation, this might change soon as more people like me suddenly want to relive their childhood!). It might take a while, but I think it will be worth it, as I can appreciate it on a different level as an adult.

This small stack is all I have left of my original comics that are still intact enough to 

read- the rest have been completely shredded beyond legibility. Hopefully I'll have more soon.

If you have an interest in the Sonic the Hedgehog series and you’ve never read any of them, I highly recommend checking them out. Whether you’re an old or a new Sonic fan, there’s enough there to satisfy your interests and then some.

So thanks for reading and remember, fun is infinite. Stay cool my fellow Mobians.