Community Works Archie Sonic Online - Fan Made Archie Sonic Continuation - NEWEST ISSUE: Sonic The Hedgehog Online #253

[MadmanRB]

Just glad someone is still making something from these great characters, you will never see this kind of dedication from Sega.

I am still unsure why the SatAM charscters have not appeared in full in IDW as I dont buy the "Archie owns them" claim as why did SatAM exist?

[antyep]

2 hours ago, MadmanRB said:

Just glad someone is still making something from these great characters, you will never see this kind of dedication from Sega.

I am still unsure why the SatAM charscters have not appeared in full in IDW as I dont buy the "Archie owns them" claim as why did SatAM exist?

Simply put; they just don’t wanna use them.

[GentlemanX]

Sega determines what IDW can and cannot use. Sega has, for now at least, decided not to allow IDW to use concepts from SatAM. Some day they might, or they might not. That's up to them.

[SBR2]

3 hours ago, MadmanRB said:

Just glad someone is still making something from these great characters, you will never see this kind of dedication from Sega.

I am still unsure why the SatAM charscters have not appeared in full in IDW as I dont buy the "Archie owns them" claim as why did SatAM exist?

I'm sorry this is going to sound bad but it's because they're not relevant. 

They don't represent the current canon so it's not a priority for them to be used. Granted a number of other IDW comics use characters from various continuities but it's up to the individual companies whether or not those characters or concepts are used.

[Multikaris]

4 hours ago, SBR2 said:

I'm sorry this is going to sound bad but it's because they're not relevant. 

They don't represent the current canon so it's not a priority for them to be used. Granted a number of other IDW comics use characters from various continuities but it's up to the individual companies whether or not those characters or concepts are used.

Yet IDW uses Neo Metal Sonic and several entirely new characters. 

[Dr. Detective]

1 hour ago, Miragnarok said:

Yet IDW uses Neo Metal Sonic and several entirely new characters. 

Neo Metal Sonic never stopped being apart of the games canon though. And creating new characters for the comic series wouldn't be something that's unallowed. Why would they care about that? If it's created for the IDW comic it's under the banner of the IDW comic. Things were different back in the 1960s or whenever the Archie Comics began. The Sonic series didn't even have Knuckles around back when the Freedom Fighters came into existence. The only reason they stuck around for as long as they did was thanks to a very old, dusty, decrepit, and now obsolete contract. With Archie gone, that old contract is gone too. The one they made with IDW is different and it asks and allows for different things. 

Doesn't mean it can't later allow for other things people might want later but if I were a fan of those characters I wouldn't hold my breath. 

I feel like they should be happy all things considered. They had a longer run than any of the other cartoon extras did. 

[MadmanRB]

On 1/15/2019 at 4:38 PM, SBR2 said:

I'm sorry this is going to sound bad but it's because they're not relevant. 

They don't represent the current canon so it's not a priority for them to be used. Granted a number of other IDW comics use characters from various continuities but it's up to the individual companies whether or not those characters or concepts are used.

Doesnt stop sega from using characters they dont care about like Silver and the Chatix.

If its sega not allowing them then I say fuck sega.

Its not like they know how to make a good game these days anyhow.

[Adamis]

If Sega didn't care about the Chaotix or Silver, they just wouldn't use them. What kind of logic are you using ?

I love the Freedom Fighters but they've had their time. They've been in a cartoon. They've been in a comic for more than 20 years, even after they've been relevant to the franchise. They're great, but they're associated with Archie, and all the good and bad that came with them. Sega might not want them for a variety of reasons.

Quote

Its not like they know how to make a good game these days anyhow.

Petty. Also, the people making the games are not the people making those decisions.

[Red Hot Jack]

There is also the matter of them wanting IDW to be different from Archie. And how do you do that? By taking away the protagonists of the Archie book. And the different approach doesn't hurt too. More casual and game centric. I actually really like the fact that it's so different from Archie, it's not all continuity and world building, but more stuff that actually happens. I found a lot of the Archie issues boring for that, because of too much world building and continuity heaviness, baggage and the fact that Ian tried to please everyone by adding a ton of characters in few issues. It felt crowded. This IDW comic has less characters to worry about, and a more simple and easy approach.

[MadmanRB]

Meh again no one cares about legacy or how outside content can influence things.

People forget Jimmy Olson, Harley Quinn, Livewire and the Batcave did not originate in the DC comics yet are staples these days.

Rocksteady and Bebop from ninja turtles were not originally in the TMNT comic books

But I get it only the games and segas characters matter, as if there has never been a bad sonic game or character ever... wait....

[Sonic Fan J]

Well even in Sonic there are examples of things from outside influencing the franchise, such as Amy and Charmy original being from a wild little manga. Unfortunately for the FFs though SoJ never took a liking to them and since they had final say on pretty much everything that was all it took. Combine that with SoJ's seeming dislike of anything SoA backed and it's of little surprise that they never found any footing outside of SatAM and the Archie Comics (bar what happened in Australia). Still though, considering how the Sonic franchise handles it's characters in an official capacity I think the FFS being left to the fans like this is honestly the better fate for them than letting SoJ have any say on how they should be handled.

[MadmanRB]

3 minutes ago, Sonic Fan J said:

Well even in Sonic there are examples of things from outside influencing the franchise, such as Amy and Charmy original being from a wild little manga. Unfortunately for the FFs though SoJ never took a liking to them and since they had final say on pretty much everything that was all it took. Combine that with SoJ's seeming dislike of anything SoA backed and it's of little surprise that they never found any footing outside of SatAM and the Archie Comics (bar what happened in Australia). Still though, considering how the Sonic franchise handles it's characters in an official capacity I think the FFS being left to the fans like this is honestly the better fate for them than letting SoJ have any say on how they should be handled.

Again the only thing i want is a cameo or a sign that Sega has not forgotten them.

I dont want them in the games but cameos in the IDW conics is something we can do.

Hell there could still be a story arc about them, like them being from a town or city under siege by Eggmans forces and Sonic helps them free said city.

And after the story arc we can say goodbye to them and only have cameos.

 

Thats all I want.

[SonicWindAttack]

Getting back on topic, Mobius Legends #4 is released!  Enjoy!

 

[Adamis]

17 hours ago, MadmanRB said:

Meh again no one cares about legacy or how outside content can influence things.

People forget Jimmy Olson, Harley Quinn, Livewire and the Batcave did not originate in the DC comics yet are staples these days.

Rocksteady and Bebop from ninja turtles were not originally in the TMNT comic books

But I get it only the games and segas characters matter, as if there has never been a bad sonic game or character ever... wait....

[sarcasm]Yes, yes totally. Only games characters matter. There's never been a bad Sonic game nor bad Archie Sonic comics, totally.[/sarcasm]

Give us a break, man. We all know about those examples. And as posted before, Amy and Charmy came from the manga before being in a game.

But the FF had their time, like the STC FF, Chris, Sonia and Manik. Let IDW be its unique thing like the others were.

[Kellodrawsalot]

16 hours ago, SonicWindAttack said:

Getting back on topic, Mobius Legends #4 is released!  Enjoy!

 

Ive already said most of the stuff at ASO so I be brief but second story was the best, it had a little to much talk and not enough show. but it does try it at the end, but not a fan of the last story, the way Sally is written, just yikes.

Overall the off-panel was hilarious and the artwork is overall great. every artist did a fantastic job and cover looks amazing

[Riggo]

Boy oh boy, it’s finally out! Great job to everyone involved! I think this might be our best Mobius Legends issue yet, but I’d have to go back and reread the others to say for sure.

I guess I’ll post my thoughts on the stories as well, because why not?

A Zoneful of Zones:

Spoiler

It’s pretty unanimously agreed on the ASO forums that this is the best story (though Twitter doesn’t seem to think so), and I agree! The writing is spot-on with Gallagher’s style, the dialogue is stuffed with personality, and the art is fantastic. Weevmo was definitely the best choice for this story, I think, with her great expression work and layouts. Crim’s colors are just as fitting—they’re weird, pretty, and fit the tone and world really well! If there’s any Mobius Legends story I’d want canonized, it’s probably this one.

Also, to clarify—that’s not Zonic, actually. He’s just a nameless rogue zone cop, which I didn’t realize until yesterday.

Cornered:

Spoiler

On the other end, we’ve got this story. Again, our members here and Twitter seem to disagree—the latter love it, but I’m not a fan. I actually hadn’t read it until the issue’s release last night, surprisingly, so I went into it without any real expectations. The art’s pretty nice, and I’m happy the artists were allowed to experiment with the tone and such—Caul’s pencilling mixed with Tim and Ja’s gritty inks and Mizukii’s coloring was probably the best combination possible for this issue, and I shows. The writing on the other hand, is. . . Just an exposition dump. It’s not poorly-written, per se, but it’s not very interesting to read when it feels so lacking in character and personality (though I guess it doesn’t help that I’m not much of a Finitevus fan). . .

Lying:
 

Spoiler

Reception to this one’s pretty mixed, huh? Everyone stop hating it you’re only making Ian more powerful

I won’t comment on the pencilling in this story much, since. . . I did it, so everything I say will be pretty skewed one way or the other (I’ll say I’m not a fan and leave it at that).

I don’t care too much for soap opera stuff in Sonic (or in general), but so long as it’s executed well enough and serves as an interesting read, I’m fine with it—and I think Ian PK did a good job of that. It was cool to see both these sides of Sally and Evil Sonic, and neither one feels out of character—the dialogue and pacing and the way everything comes together was pretty well done, I think. I can’t really comment on the Evil Sonic twist since I didn’t get to experience it, though (the first page of the script tells the penciller who he is).

As far as actual criticisms go, I agree that Sally cries a bit too much—I think it would’ve been more impactful had she done so more toward the end.

 

 

So yeah, those are my thoughts, be sure to leave yours down in the comments below, and don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe.

Edited January 18, 2019 by Riggo
Formatting was off

[SBR2]

I liked it a lot although Lying kinda rubbed me the wrong way. It's the kind of Soap Opera nonsense the actual book grew away from. 

Spoiler

And honestly there was a cool idea here. What if Sally fell out of love with Sonic? Seeing them talk it through and maybe deciding to call things off and following up on where they end up after could have been really cool. 

Instead we get Sally crying for like 8 pages and a if I'm going to be honest pretty nonsensical twist that really didn't need to be there.

 

[Dr. Detective]

Alright. Review time I guess!

A Zoneful of Zones

Spoiler

Okay, so I might not be the best person to review these particular stories since this a lot of the ground covered by these stories deals with details of the Archie comic that either confused me or I didn't pay too much attention to. I jumped in the original Archie series during that time Knuckles was Enerjak for one issue and didn't read it month to month until 196 onwards. I know about the earlier concepts and ideas, enough to have guessed that the person Zonic was talking to was probably some form of Robotnik, but my in-depth knowledge of this stuff might keep me from fully grasping it. So, I can only judge by what I feel was going on and how it carried itself through.

That said, this was the best of the three stories. There were only one or two instances where Evil Sonic looked a bit off, even for the different style, but on the whole it looked really great. The expressions were great. I liked the use of the word bubbles in some instances. The water and glowing effects impressed me. I also love it when shady people are doing shady things. I like the idea of following the adventures of Evil Sonic and preferably seeing him fail. 

Edit: Apparently that isn't Zonic. I have no way of knowing that because these zone cops all fade into my memory the same way. I still managed to guess that he was talking to a Robotnik though, which is odd. 

Cornered

Spoiler

I wasn't a fan of the art style here. It felt very odd in a lot of places. It also seemed a little inconsistent. There were times where Knuckles would look a bit more bloated in the head (like in the very beginning) and other times where he'd look a bit more like himself (like at the very end). I was really digging the aesthetic though. I liked how there seemed to only be two colors at any given moment and the only color change happened during flashback and when you saw the blue chaos emerald at the end. As for the story, I didn't mind the talking. Finitevus explaining what his deal was is something I'm usually on board for as far as villains are concerned. I'm not too sure as to why Knuckles was crying at the end but I guess it's just an echidna connection that I missed. It's an exposition dump, sure, but I usually handle those better than most so long as there's a bit of intrigue. 

Lying

Spoiler

Boy, you guys are taking full advantage of the freedom to have your characters cry. There's a lot crying in this one. And then it started raining when things got super dramatic at the end. I feel like this one, out of all of them, is the one that'd be the easiest to not take seriously at all had it been official. It's so heavy handed that it felt the most like a fan-comic out of all the ones I've read so far. Just at the very beginning when Sally breaks out with "Do you love me?". I'm not an expert on Sally but I couldn't help but feel that was a bit off.

It's not something I'm too bothered by in terms of Sally's character but that's because I don't really care about Sally. So, well-written or not I'm not the guy who'd be up in arms about it. I may not know or care about how she'd react to the real Sonic being gone but I have a feeling some people might take umbrage with the way she handled this set-up and its pay-off.

There are some things I liked about it. I actually really liked the conclusion that Evil Sonic comes to at the end. This idea that he made the right choice being who he was because it kept him alive in the end. That's a great sentiment. I also didn't see the initial twist coming. I guess that's my bias for bad guys coming out again.

The drawings were alright. It's easier to notice when characters are off-model when it seems like it's going for something a little more traditional. The coloring was great and I liked the backgrounds a lot. I especially liked the way the trees were drawn.  All I could think about during the scene where Sally was crying as Evil Sonic was walking away was "Damn... those are some really well drawn trees!"

So yeah. This one was... pretty bad. I don't hate it but only because I'm not invested in Sally nor her relationship with Sonic. I can only recognize it as what it is. 

So that's that. Hope that helps.

I swear, Blue Diamond had to have been on her way to Mobius during that last one.

[SonicWindAttack]

Recently I made an article about the behind-the-scenes work that was done for StHO #249!  If you're interested in learning some tidbits or getting an idea of the work that goes into making these comics, check it out!

https://blog.archiesoniconline.com/post/182130502687/sonic-the-hedgehog-online-249-behind-the-scenes

[MetalSkulkBane]

Whoboy. The theme for Mobius Legende #4 is heavy. On continuity, tone, and shading

A Zoneful of Zones
How Scourge (I refuse to use his original name) first found Cosmic Interstate...I don't really get the point of this story. Did we learned something here? For those who are confused by the ending

Spoiler

That's Robo-Robotnik, the Eggman eviler than our Eggman from a different dimension (he killed his Sonic). After Robotnik Prime died in #50 he took his place as main antagonist (he got himself a new "Sonic Adventure" body soon afterward). He worked with Scourge in his debut and panels above him reference stories which were related to him.

I still fail to see what this story adds up.

 

Cornered
Knuckles finally gets answers from Finitevus...Let's start with art. I really dig the B&W theme, but I'm not sure if it fits the narrative. I expected something really depressing or dark to happened, but not really. It seems to be greynesses for greynesses sake.
Story... I agree with comments above, it's mostly exposition dumb. I don't feel we learned much, just clarified we things. Feels kinda pointless if becuase like in previous issues, this story won't be followed upon. So what if Locke's not dead, story's over so he might as well be.
And then we learn Finitives motives and ... IDK, they feel kinda hokey. Should I feel bad for him? Is that the point of the story? If so I just don't feel it. I sorta suspect this is exactly kind of story Ian Flynn always avoided to write (which, BTW,  was a very good reason to make it. Even if I don't feel it, points for taking a risk)

Lying
Okay, spoiler box needed

Spoiler

I rolled my eyes reading this. Ooh, more melodrama. Sally doesn't love Sonic, because she's never happy, is she?

And then the twist happened and... I felt for Sally. And for Scourge. He's an ass, she's crying her eyes of, but I'm feeling for both of them, because I understand their motives which come from very human flaws.

...this might be the closest thing to Sonic in Steven Universe.

4

 

[Riggo]

1 hour ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

A Zoneful of Zones
How Scourge (I refuse to use his original name) first found Cosmic Interstate...I don't really get the point of this story. Did we learned something here? For those who are confused by the ending

  Reveal hidden contents

That's Robo-Robotnik, the Eggman eviler than our Eggman from a different dimension (he killed his Sonic). After Robotnik Prime died in #50 he took his place as main antagonist (he got himself a new "Sonic Adventure" body soon afterward). He worked with Scourge in his debut and panels above him reference stories which were related to him.

I still fail to see what this story adds up.

 

 

I’m not a lore expert or anything, but I don’t think we ever actually knew how Anti-Sonic was aware of the Cosmic Interstate in his first appearance, which is what this story explains (and it also sets up some arcs that the writer, MaverickIndigo, was hoping to get to, but likely won’t be utilized in ASO)

[SonicWindAttack]

Courtesy of Drawloverlala, we have a freshly-penciled preview of SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ONLINE #250 for you guys!* 

 *Dialogue subject to change  

[SBR2]

2 hours ago, SonicWindAttack said:

Courtesy of Drawloverlala, we have a freshly-penciled preview of SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ONLINE #250 for you guys!* 

 *Dialogue subject to change  

Aw, does it have to. XD

[SonicWindAttack]

Here's a behind-the-scenes look at Sonic the Hedgehog Online #248, if you're interested in the organizational disaster that was creating our first proper story: https://blog.archiesoniconline.com/post/182262861407/sonic-the-hedgehog-online-248-behind-the-scenes

 

[SonicWindAttack]

Hey guys, Archie Sonic Online is happy to announce we now have a Twitch account. Here, you'll get to see previews of issues as they get worked on by staff!  In fact, tune in right now if you want to see inks for the upcoming StHO #250! 

EDIT: Stream now over, but you can see the archived video here: