Megathread IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog - Megathread

[Shadowlax]

1 hour ago, PublicEnemy1 said:

I still think SEGA will be mostly hands-off with this one. If we're gonna be getting character development from Sonic, which was a big no-no to SEGA, then I think we're gonna be fine.

Eh, I think you are just trading one form of control for another

 

[Zaysho]

I feel we're overthinking this a bit. Sega is not going to be more hands-off with IDW. They aren't not going to be more strict with IDW. IDW will get the exact same treatment Archie did, so I wouldn't jump to any conclusions about Sega changing their tune with how they manage this franchise. The "case-by-case" basis is basically what Archie already had--it's making sure it's in line with Sega's vision of the brand. Really, the only thing I'd worry about is them wanting to insert dumb shit into the new comic to go with whatever they change in the games (and, no, this will not be reciprocated by adopting Tangle into the games).

[Razule]

I sense there is more to the "character development" thing. Previously it was that they couldn't change unless "approved". Maybe there'll be more leeway to what's approved, but it will still need to be approved.

Honestly, the fact that something as minor as "Sonic can't wear pants" is a thing should still raise an eyebrow. I'm sure Ian or someone from Archie would still say a very similar thing about the creative freedom they have, because it probably didn't impact the stories they wanted to tell nearly as much as the mandates might look like they did.

[MetalSkulkBane]

21 hours ago, Shadowlax said:

I feel like the issue is that, she already was shown what kind of character she was without the crush, or rather when it isn't important. In the comics...and she's a great character,

 

Hmm, fair point. I can say only two things to that.

1 To be fair all her funniest moments involve her crush (Ant/Bunnie Wedding scene, ending of SU 75, first meeting with Blaze, off-panel with Felidae, etc)

2 Flynn never wrote a character-driven script about her. Knuckles reflecting on his job? Nicole and Shadow looking on their origins? Geoffrey coping with choices he made? That's character driven.

Helping Blaze/Knuckles/Coral with their problems? Taking a role in a tournament, resistance again Iron Queen or giant crossover with Megaman? That's either somebody else's character or action-driven story.

Archie Amy is a fun character to have around, but not 'complex' in any meaning of this word. We never really see the word from her perspective.

[RedFox99]

To be fair, her speech to Knuckles in Shattered does help demonstrate her kind nature well. 

With that said, I think a more character-driven Amy story could be nice to have in the new comics.

[Shadowlax]

13 minutes ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

Hmm, fair point. I can say only two things to that.

1 To be fair all her funniest moments involve her crush (Ant/Bunnie Wedding scene, ending of SU 75, first meeting with Blaze, off-panel with Felidae, etc)

2 Flynn never wrote a character-driven script about her. Knuckles reflecting on his job? Nicole and Shadow looking on their origins? Geoffrey coping with choices he made? That's character driven.

Helping Blaze/Knuckles/Coral with their problems? Taking a role in a tournament, resistance again Iron Queen or giant crossover with Megaman? That's either somebody else's character or plot-driven story.

Archie Amy is a fun character to have around, but not 'complex' in any meaning of this word. We never really see the word from her perspective.

I would make the argument that outside of sonic, knuckles and the FF you never really got the see the world through the eyes of a lot of characters. There were a lot of character interactions and things that ... didn't really happen and when they did they were superficial. The knuckles and Amy thing was great because it was a great change of pace in that regard. Shadow got that for like... 2 seconds in his story and a half but not enough that it was satisfying. What I want for the characters are their view on the world and their view on other characters

I want like stories told for the perspective of characters, and we don't really get that. We get focus, but we never get the full perspective thing

[Your Vest Friend]

9 hours ago, DabigRG said:

Actually, Mr. Flynn clarified that Tangle wasn't meant to be a major recurring character. And if that's accurate, then the overhyping is indeed purely on IDW pasture.

Yeah, that is bad if so. The character teaser sequence and the IGN article on her debut made her out to be a major recurring character so hard, that might hurt the comic in the long run. 

[Shadowlax]

30 minutes ago, VEDJ-F said:

Yeah, that is bad if so. The character teaser sequence and the IGN article on her debut made her out to be a major recurring character so hard, that might hurt the comic in the long run. 

Eh it will probably be nothing some people go " Oh hey remember what's her face from the comic " . Or if its negative, just negative specific to her.

[Razule]

2 hours ago, Shadowlax said:

Eh it will probably be nothing some people go " Oh hey remember what's her face from the comic " . Or if its negative, just negative specific to her.

Maybe if the OC characters aren't that prominent, people will be less disappointed when they inevitably disappear

[DabigRG]

3 hours ago, VEDJ-F said:

Yeah, that is bad if so. The character teaser sequence and the IGN article on her debut made her out to be a major recurring character so hard, that might hurt the comic in the long run. 

Exactly.

I get that IDW is a different company with it's own way of doing things, but considering the circumstances that led to them gaining the license in the first place--not to mention the current events around the greater franchise at this time--, they really setup whatever portion of negative reaction they get through their own aggrandizing approach and somewhat intermittent setup.

[Multikaris]

53 minutes ago, Razule said:

Maybe if the OC characters aren't that prominent, people will be less disappointed when they inevitably disappear

Or, if they’re ugly, 2-dimensional (or less), and annoying. Kinda like Mario’s Oogtar, Wooster, Ratso, etc. 

Nintendo of America was on the right track with this thing, not letting people be attached to stuff licensors created (except in an ironic light, with the CD-i games and to a much lesser extent the aforementioned Oogtar), so they would never be missed. The sheer number of one-off characters within the video games of the House DK built helped a lot as well.

 

 

Sonic Boom’s kinda like this already...

[Korke]

So... let me see if I got this right. We had a huge reveal, a controversial shape made to increase the public awareness and discussion, a cover where she has more "image" than Blaze.... for a character that won't be recurring?

Does IDW worship Loki or something? Heheh

[Marco9966]

WHAT are the locations you wanna see in the comic??

For me, it would be Station Square!!

Please, don't separate the human world from the animal world Sega and IDW!

Think about us Sonic Adventure lovers!

[DabigRG]

1 hour ago, Korke said:

So... let me see if I got this right. We had a huge reveal, a controversial shape made to increase the public awareness and discussion, a cover where she has more "image" than Blaze.... for a character that won't be recurring?

Does IDW worship Loki or something? Heheh

Sonansu!

 

36 minutes ago, Marco9966 said:

WHAT are the locations you wanna see in the comic??

For me, it would be Station Square!!

Please, don't separate the human world from the animal world Sega and IDW!

Think about us Sonic Adventure lovers!

Just to give an answer, a Sonic Advance 2 area is something I don't think has been done yet, though I haven't played it.

 

[BlueSky]

On 08/02/2018 at 3:46 AM, NikoS said:

If they are to appear down the road i just wish that their core personality and character traits remain unaltered. (keep the designs and backstories too if possible pls). 

Why I suddenly feel like my long-ongoing mantra's got stuck in someone's head..?  But yeah, once again you stole words from my mouth.

___

Also, about Amy's personality in games, I think there's one good video talking about it.

Sonic Dissected 4.

[Fire-N-Space]

I would like to see a story base off Amy's actions but with Ian Flynn writing it she will either be push to the side for someone else, made fun of, hardly if at all flirt with Sonic or no longer acts cute the only thing so far that I don't like about the IDW Sonic comic's is that Ian Flynn's back.

 

[Slashy]

I wish the comics would stick to the main cast for the heroes, only ever adding characters that would appear for a specified arc. Archie was too loaded with OCs.

[PublicEnemy1]

42 minutes ago, Slashy said:

I wish the comics would stick to the main cast for the heroes, only ever adding characters that would appear for a specified arc. Archie was too loaded with OCs.

But quite a few of those OCs actually made the comic unique and special. If we get a good character only to never see them again, that would kinda suck, wouldn't it?

[Slashy]

4 minutes ago, PublicEnemy1 said:

But quite a few of those OCs actually made the comic unique and special. If we get a good character only to never see them again, that would kinda suck, wouldn't it?

It happens in the main series all the time. I'd rather the comic still resemble the source material then become someone's made up AU for the series.

[PublicEnemy1]

2 minutes ago, Slashy said:

It happens in the main series all the time. I'd rather the comic still resemble the source material then become someone's made up AU for the series.

Well, this is confirmed non-canon to the games already. Don't worry; Ian will make this work. He can build his own world instead of being on SEGA's leash.

[Multikaris]

12 minutes ago, PublicEnemy1 said:

But quite a few of those OCs actually made the comic unique and special. If we get a good character only to never see them again, that would kinda suck, wouldn't it?

Then be like Boom and try not to make them cool, memorable, interesting, and unique. Keep them bland, but hopefully not so stupid people cry foul. Yet be better than Boom and have these throwaway characters actually get thrown away, rather than keep being reused as a piece of window dressing. Kinda like how Mario did it in the late 1980s-1990s with their originals for the most part. 

[Slashy]

1 minute ago, PublicEnemy1 said:

Well, this is confirmed non-canon to the games already. Don't worry; Ian will make this work. He can build his own world instead of being on SEGA's leash.

I was already apprehensive about Tangle being a main character, so I hope he knows what he is doing. Until the Super Genesis Wave I had no interest in the comics because they were so far removed from the games. I understand that they have their own fanbase, but with the game plots being terrible since Generations and this being a reboot I hope it could feel like expanded material for the game canon.

[Korke]

42 minutes ago, Slashy said:

It happens in the main series all the time. I'd rather the comic still resemble the source material then become someone's made up AU for the series.

I don't know what to think of that...

It's a difficult task... The post-reboot tried to make a game adaptation to build with Unleashed and did not work, mainly because we already knew the key points...

[Zaysho]

1 hour ago, Miragnarok said:

Then be like Boom and try not to make them cool, memorable, interesting, and unique. Keep them bland, but hopefully not so stupid people cry foul. Yet be better than Boom and have these throwaway characters actually get thrown away, rather than keep being reused as a piece of window dressing. Kinda like how Mario did it in the late 1980s-1990s with their originals for the most part. 

What exactly is the point of this? Make characters as boring and unlikeable as possible and spare their readers from getting attached when IDW gets kicked to the curb (this would actually guarantee it happens sooner than later)? That sounds like a waste. If getting attached is your biggest concern, you can just not read the book. IDW and its original assets aren't inherently any more special than any other alternate media characters, and I'm not sure why this is such a big worry in this thread before the book is even out yet.

IDW fans will just have to deal with it like fans of every other version of Sonic out there, so just enjoy the ride while it lasts.

[Multikaris]

14 minutes ago, Zaysho said:

What exactly is the point of this? Make characters as boring and unlikeable as possible and spare their readers from getting attached when IDW gets kicked to the curb (this would actually guarantee it happens sooner than later)? That sounds like a waste. If getting attached is your biggest concern, you can just not read the book. IDW and its original assets aren't inherently any more special than any other alternate media characters, and I'm not sure why this is such a big worry in this thread before the book is even out yet.

IDW fans will just have to deal with it like fans of every other version of Sonic out there, so just enjoy the ride while it lasts.

Or, they could allow previous alternate media characters into future alternate media from now on, to reward those who get attached to them.

 

And when I talked about making new characters boring, I meant that the Sega characters are given lots of limelight and made interesting and fun characters to overshadow any original character and gain reader interest. So that characters who the game’s no longer have room to show off can actually be represented and developed. People will come for the sega characters.