Megathread IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog - Megathread

[Silvereyes]

I enjoyed it. It's a fun small scale personal story. It just suffers from being a bit dragged out due to the weird scheduling. I think it will age better in hindsight. I like seeing a bunch of characters teamed up like this and put in a scenario like this. Probably the best use of Belle so far as well I think, and Jewel's slowly getting more and more prominence. Ofcourse for me my big investment is seeing where the next Tangle and Whisper plot is going to show up.

Still though, exciting to see Imposter Syndrome continue and to see the Chaotix take the spotlight.

[Sonictrainer]

Looks like things are going to get more interesting in IS #3

Spoiler

 

[DabigRG]

And with Issue 47, the campfire story inspired by personal experience is done. This might be one of the stories that actually requires a full read to be properly digested, given how mundane and somewhat uneventful it is. 

Spoiler

Kinda odd that had Ashe mention who started the fire only for Belle and Tangle to basically forget. I guess it's supposed to be implied that he told Smokey offscreen hence the ending, but still.

Amy did her friendship thing or something. Guess it was neat that she felt bad about getting the others wrapped up in another disaster.

Jewel came up with the plan here, but I honestly blanked on how she stepped up beforehand since its been a while. Her hints of skittishness were a minor touch, I suppose.

A bit disappointed that Belle's hand was just fixed so easily, but I guess bandages would've been difficult to draw very often. Also sorta hoped she'd get to have another conversation with Tails after her encounter with the Doctors, ngl; he's surprisingly the only worthwhile connection she's had thus far, I feel. But hey at least she gained a Motobug buddy like Heavy Rider and apparent intends to save other Badniks...? Don't know how I feels about that, tbh. 

Tangle has some semblance of an epiphany--she still wants to be an adventurer! ...Yaaah.... Idk, maybe that would work better if we'd actually gotten more interaction and exploration for Jewel's friendship with her? Idk

And goddammit, we really are doing a full sequel to the first miniseries apparently. We could've had Whisper finally strike out on her own again and maybe interact with any of the other characters she hasn't had time with if she needs a companion. But nooooo, gotta keep her in Tangle's shadow.

At least the Chaotix are officially confirmed to be going up against the Skunk Bros next issue.

 

1 hour ago, Sonictrainer said:

Looks like things are going to get more interesting in IS #3

  Hide contents

 

Nice to see Eggman having fun again

Not sure how I feel about that synopsis, though

 

1 hour ago, Sonictrainer said:

Looks like things are going to get more interesting in IS #3

  Hide contents

 

 

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18 hours ago, CrownSlayer’s Shadow said:

Yo, since these aren’t official, can we also get holiday Egg Bosses? =D

Santa Egg and Elf Thunderbolt?

10 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

 

And that Motobug needs a nickname and unique coat of paint to stand out.
I suggest pink & green and name "Toby" (As if MoTOB(Y)ug).

 

True and that's not a bad name. 

Wonder if they'd go with a theme name that fits hers, though.

7 hours ago, Silvereyes said:

. It just suffers from being a bit dragged out due to the weird scheduling. 

Seems Belle can't escape that.

[Sonictrainer]

Holiday Cream & Cheese

[DabigRG]

26 minutes ago, Sonictrainer said:

Holiday Cream & Cheese

Aaaw...wait, isn't that her Chao Racing outfit?

(Which I'm surprised they allowed in hindsight)

[CertifiedNobody]

Sorry if I seem too negative, but...

This arc is probably the first that I don't feel satisfied by. Maybe if the cast had some more underutilized characters, people that don't interact much, or contrasting personalities (Shadow and Charmy, for example) to spice things up, I could justify it, but it being solely focused on Amy's friend group didn't hold my interest. Although I don't think it would have been as bad if it weren't coming out at the same time as Imposter Syndrome.

Unlike the upcoming Chaotix issue, it's not really going to matter to the story until the good Badnik and Whisper stories are developed later down the road. At the moment it just comes across as a mediocre detour that will probably just be forgotten.

[VO.SUPER]

 

Well, this is relevant to IDW even if it's the movie contiuity. It will be great seeing the Movie cast in ABT, Yardley, and Evan's styles. I'm going to be especially interested in the variety of stories.

I remember they were going to originally release these in February as a mini-series. But I guess they felt it'd be better as a full release prior to the film.

[Kuzu]

I feel like Trial by Fire suffered from the fact that...its pretty much just a stopgap for Imposter Syndrome. Its rather clear the writers are more interested in building up Surge and Kit and their inevitable showdown with Sonic and Tails, so this arc just ends up like feeling like an afterthought as a result. The fact that its one issue shorter than a normal story arc just compounds it. 

Its a shame too because I thought the premise of focusing on the likes lower-deck characters like Amy, Jewel, and Tangle was a novel idea, but yea, the arc never really delved too much into their interpersonal conflicts like with previous arcs. Its not bad in all honesty, but it's clearly just here to build up the aforementioned showdown in issue 50 with the Imposters. 

And I feel like the Chaotix arc is going to be the same. 

[Rabbitearsblog]

1 hour ago, VisionaryofSUPER said:

 

Well, this is relevant to IDW even if it's the movie contiuity. It will be great seeing the Movie cast in ABT, Yardley, and Evan's styles. I'm going to be especially interested in the variety of stories.

I remember they were going to originally release these in February as a mini-series. But I guess they felt it'd be better as a full release prior to the film.

I am interested in seeing how Yardley and Evan are going to draw the movie characters.  I've been really enjoying their art so far!

[MetalSkulkBane]

36 minutes ago, Kuzu said:

 

Its a shame too because I thought the premise of focusing on the likes lower-deck characters like Amy, Jewel, and Tangle was a novel idea

"lower-deck"?  google fails me, definition please

[Kuzu]

3 minutes ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

"lower-deck"?  google fails me, definition please

As in supporting characters who rarely get the spotlight on them.

[MetalSkulkBane]

5 minutes ago, Kuzu said:

As in supporting characters who rarely get the spotlight on them.

I don't think Tangle or Belle fit that description.

[Kuzu]

1 minute ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

I don't think Tangle or Belle fit that description.

Tangle hasn't been the focus of a story arc since the mini-series which was two years ago.

 

It applies to everyone but Belle.

[CertifiedNobody]

1 hour ago, Kuzu said:

And I feel like the Chaotix arc is going to be the same. 

I think the Chaotix arc, if it is an arc an not just a single issue story, will be a little better since the Chaotix have a much more interesting dynamic and and more proactive in figuring out what's going on.

[Kuzu]

1 minute ago, CertifiedNobody said:

I think the Chaotix arc, if it is an arc an not just a single issue story, will be a little better since the Chaotix have a much more interesting dynamic and and more proactive in figuring out what's going on.

That's wishful thinking. 

Besides, you kind of already established that you never really cared about Amy and girls to begin with, so I don't think this arc was ever really going to appeal to you. 

[CertifiedNobody]

4 minutes ago, Kuzu said:

That's wishful thinking. 

Besides, you kind of already established that you never really cared about Amy and girls to begin with, so I don't think this arc was ever really going to appeal to you. 

Yeah that's true. I don't dislike Amy but her and the other Trial By Fire characters (except maybe Jewel) have already been explored in other story arcs so the focus on them didn't feel new or needed.

It's not solely due to bias that I think a Chaotix story will be an improvement. Trial By Fire felt tacked on to IS. If it were removed, the story would be entirely the same. The Chaotix are detectives, their whole purpose is progressing the plot, and they've been the catalyst for both the Mr. Tinker arc and the Metal Virus taking over Resistance HQ in their previous stories.

[VO.SUPER]

1 hour ago, Rabbitearsblog said:

I am interested in seeing how Yardley and Evan are going to draw the movie characters.  I've been really enjoying their art so far!

They'll either make them cartoonier or uncannily realistic. That tends to be the trend with movie-tie in comics.

I'm hoping they go with cartoony for the humans, but I imagine this story being pushed back could also have to do with the detail needed for drawing them realistic.

[Kuzu]

2 minutes ago, CertifiedNobody said:

Yeah that's true. I don't dislike Amy but her and the other Trial By Fire characters (except maybe Jewel) have already been explored in other story arcs so the focus on them didn't feel new or needed.

It's not solely due to bias that I think a Chaotix story will be an improvement. Trial By Fire felt tacked on to IS. If it were removed, the story would be entirely the same. The Chaotix are detectives, their whole purpose is progressing the plot, and they've been the catalyst for both the Mr. Tinker arc and the Metal Virus taking over Resistance HQ in their previous stories.

Yea, but they weren't necessarily the focus of those arcs; in the Tinkerer story arc, their main purpose was leading Sonic to him, and the focus of the story shifts towards how Sonic has to deal with Eggman's memory loss, and subsequently, Shadow from killing him. Like once Sonic arrives, and especially the fight between him and Shadow starts, the Chaotix quickly take a backseat. 

The Metal Virus arc isn't necessarily about them solving a mystery, but reacting to the Virus and how it affects them.

 

I'm not going to make any calls until we start reading the arc, but like I said, the writer's focus right now is building up to Imposter Syndrome and the fight between the imposters and the main heroes, that's the main hook. So I can imagine the Chaotix are merely a means of building further up to that in the same vein as Trial by Fire was. 

[VO.SUPER]

You also have to consider how these will read when they are collected in volume form.

[MetalSkulkBane]

1 hour ago, Kuzu said:

Tangle hasn't been the focus of a story arc since the mini-series which was two years ago.

 

It applies to everyone but Belle.

Then it applies pretty much everyone who isn't Sonic or Belle, arguably you can add Tails and few characters from Chao Racing.

[Kuzu]

6 minutes ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

Then it applies pretty much everyone who isn't Sonic or Belle, arguably you can add Tails and few characters from Chao Racing.

The main book has been focused on Sonic for the most part, and whichever character he's partnered with. Obviously its mostly Tails, cuz of course. 

But Starline and Zavok got to star in Bad Guys, and have been the main antagonists for the past couple of arcs; Starline in particularly is pretty much the main villain of this year more or less given he's created Surge and Kit.

Every other character has been mostly playing supporting roles in whatever arc they've appeared in. Trial by Fire is the first time the focus is exclusively on the secondary cast with both Sonic & Tails only appearing in the first and last parts of it. But like I Said, it's mostly just setup for the showdown with Starline and his creations. 

[CertifiedNobody]

8 minutes ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

Then it applies pretty much everyone who isn't Sonic or Belle, arguably you can add Tails and few characters from Chao Racing.

I'd put Tangle with Sonic, Belle, and the Chao Racing characters. The story hasn't centered around her but she was a major character in that portal tower story.

[Dr. Detective]

Personally, I feel like this arc, as of now, wasn't much on it's own. This last issue didn't have much to it and the dialogue felt really off to me. Perhaps it was just me but the constant "we can do it if we work together" stuff felt a little overdone. 

These Evan stories aren't bad but I feel like something is missing from the last two we've had. 

This issue in particular wasn't helped by that extra long wait. I know in the grand scheme of things I'll happily allow it to blend in with the grander narrative but right now I'm eager to finally get to the next big thing.

Then again, I was not one of those people who wanted to get off the constant danger train when the Metal Virus was going on so perhaps it's just personal preference talking.

[Kuzu]

I think the idea of having lower stake arcs is perfectly fine, and actually needed in a series like this...it just needs to actually be good lmao. Like I said, this arc just exists to build up to milestone issue in #50. And I'm sure once we get that showdown between Sonic and Surge, we'll all look back on this as some great type of foreshadowing. 

 

......But man, can Amy finally get an arc that she can call her own without either sharing it with bigger characters or just being used as a stepping stone for another arc. Girl can't catch a break. 

[Dr. Detective]

3 minutes ago, Kuzu said:

......But man, can Amy finally get an arc that she can call her own without either sharing it with bigger characters or just being used as a stepping stone for another arc. Girl can't catch a break. 

Out of the characters in this arc, I thought Amy was the biggest one. I don't think sharing it with big (or bigger) characters would be a problem. Or even being a stepping stone for another arc. What would matter to me the most would be the focus just being on her or whoever it was centered on.

Yeah, she's here because she really wanted that vacation but as far as the focus goes, most of it was on the other three characters she was with. I know the other three are the only ones who can well and truly develop, in a sense, but that's been a hurdle the book has managed to vi-pass by simply exploring more about what we do know about them. 

At least it had the good sense to only be three issues.