Megathread IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog - Megathread

[Celestia]

6 minutes ago, Marco9966 said:

I can't open the link.

Can someone copy-paste it here? (with spoilers to not annoy other users).

Here ya go:

Spoiler

Sonic The Hedgehog ran with Archie Comics for nearly 25 years until Sega partnered with IDW last year. With unfinished storylines and an unclear direction, the most notable constant is writer Ian Flynn: a Sonicseries regular who has also worked on Mega Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and an upcoming Arms storyline. With several other old friends and a bold, fresh start, we talked with Flynn about the new Sonic line that will be debuting April 2018.

You worked on Sonic comics long before you got your start with issue #160 since you wrote fan-made comics. How did those specifically help you break into that industry and get you the role of writing official issues?

I did do fan comics in high school. That's true. And not to toot my own horn, they were high school comics. They were awful. Don't look for them. This was back in the day when the internet was first starting to gear up as a medium for fans to interact and share creatively. Everybody wanted to do their own comic or whatever, but the one that I was a part of went for 30 non-standardized issues, and just through interest alone, it was translated into two or three different languages, which is crazy! It didn't really help get me anywhere professionally, but on a personal level, it taught me a lot about story structure and working with an artist and maintaining reasonable expectations with deadlines. This was way back during what I like to call the "fan renaissance" where everyone had a "I scratch your back, you scratch mine" outlook when we created together for the sake of creation!

Anyway, it taught me about making comics and how hard it can be, and I think that tempered a bit when applying to the old books. Back then, I was pursuing my English degree and it dawned on me that, once I graduated, I had to get a job. What do you do with an English degree instead of teach English? I thought, "I like writing comics. I like the Sonic comic. I like to write in general. Let's see if I can get on board with that." So I knocked on the editor's door for my entire university career and didn't get an answer. Then, right as I was about to graduate, I was contacted by one of the editors, who more or less said, "You ain't bad, kid. Let me show you how you're supposed to do some things." I was doing some early data-gathering and worked my ass off. I sent in improvised manuscripts and impressed them enough. He first reached out to me October 2005 and then I was head writer by March 2006.

What drew you to comics in general or to the Sonic ones in particular?

The reason I got into Sonic was because I was raised in a Genesis household, thank you very much. Because Genesis does what Nintendon't ... which is drop out of the console market. [coughs] Anyway, I was big into X-Men comics in general, but my little brother liked to read them, too. Those books were a little too much for a five-year-old, so what's on the shelf? Sonic. We like the games, this should be safe enough. Oh, he wants me to read them to him? Well, I'm this big, important middle-schooler. Oh, wait ... this is actually pretty interesting. But what really got me into it was my best friend who gave me an issue since he was a subscriber of the old series. He said, "Here, I think you should have this." I asked why, and he responded, "I don't know. I just had a feeling." And right there, that set me on my career for the rest of my life, thanks to him.

You had some issues in the works before Sonic went to IDW. Will old fans get a sense of closure with the upcoming relaunch? Is it, in any way, going to continue or be based on some of the lore you established over the years?

IDW is brand new. There's no connection from before aside from the creators that are involved. All of us are approaching this as a blank slate. This is fresh, new, just-off-the-vine Sonic. You don't even have to be super familiar with the games to get into it. If you know that Sonic is fast, he fights robots, and Dr. Eggman is a villain? Boom. You're set. I'm going to jump in and treat this series how Sonic adventures should be. Fast-paced and fun. Takes itself seriously enough so that you're engaged, but not so serious that you're rolling your eyes and saying, "Come on, this is a blue hedgehog. Chill out." I would love for there to be an opportunity down the line to at least cover the notes of what I would've done with the old series, but we are in uncharted waters at this point. The IDW book hasn't even launched yet. It's brand new and so is our relationship with Sega. We're feeling out what everyone's comfortable with and what we can do with the future. So right now, I'm not focused so much on resolving the past as I am setting up a successful future. Whatever comes from that down the line should be interesting.

Now that you're working with IDW, are there any major creative changes or freedoms you have now that you didn't before? Since it's a newly styled canon and world, where do you and IDW want to take Sonic in ways that haven't been done before?

When I got on the original book, there was already something like 15 years of continuity. Multiple writers, editors, changes in the game franchise direction, cartoon - I rolled all these things together. There were so many visions and I was just one person trying to contribute to the pile. I tried to streamline and bring it all into one focused vision, but that's a lot of stuff! It set the tone for where it is and where it's going. With IDW Sonic, we have the backdrop of the games to draw from, but there's no overhanging expectation with what the book should be; nobody's come before and set the tone or done something wacky. We can do whatever we want. We can go wherever we want because we have the same freedom that Sonic does to just run with it.

From the outset, I'm only considering the game material to draw from because you never know what the licenser wants represented or not. So, down the line, we might incorporate other older elements and fringes of the franchise, but for right now, it's that core game feel. Straightforward stories, lots of cinematic action early on. No long monologues or deep world building. No heavy focus on lore or backgrounds. It's focused on the adventure we have on hand and building on that.

It's about the journey rather than the destination.

Exactly. That being said, folks who know my writing style know I love the long con, so we're going to be setting up a surprise early on that will play out within the first year. There's a new antagonistic force that...I don't know if I can talk about it, but the first four issues are all bite-sized, but they're all building to something, and boy howdy, it'll be amazing once we get there.

Any hints you can drop about this new antagonistic force or what direction it'll be taking the story in?

I will say that long-term fans will probably piece it together very early on. Casual fans will find it new, exciting, and interesting. They might not even know that it's a reference to something older.

So it'll feel like a new antagonist but is based on something obscure from the games' past?

Yeah. We'll put it that way.

What games are you drawing inspiration from specifically? Is Sega involved with the comics? Do you see the company collaborating with storylines like tie-ins?

The first few issues are kind of an unofficial follow-up to Sonic Forces. The one that's freshest in everyone's minds. You don't really need to play the game because Sonic beat Eggman and the world a saved, but because Dr. Eggman had conquered the world before his defeat, he has all these robot armies scattered around the place and they're leaderless. They've all gone rogue and they're forming all these chaotic pockets of danger and Sonic is running around to take care of it. That sets the stage, so if you played Sonic Forces and you got into the storyline about the Resistance and putting your own little fuzzy buddy in there and whatnot, you get a continuation of the story. Here's chapter two. If all you know about the game is that it's Sonic, you're still golden.

As for the Sega relationship, they approve everything. From the story pitches to the scripts to the artwork, everything has to go through them. This time around they've been more directly involved with the stories themselves. Not that they've dictated anything, but they've offered suggestions here and there on where to tweak things and I've been excited because it makes it feel a little more "Sonic-y," you know? It's not just me doing Sonic like I have all these years. Sega's saying, "That's a neat idea, but what if you did this instead?" and I'll say, "Yes, we'll do that instead!" I'm sure we'll be incorporating future game elements. That's just the nature of the beast, so one thing I'm trying to be mindful of when constructing new characters is that I want them to feel like they belong in the game universe, so that if Sega were to say, "Hey, that's pretty neat. Maybe it should be in a game," I can squeal like a happy pig in the corner and get validated a bit. Ain't holding my breath, but it would be neat!

If you had the opportunity to write a story for a Sonic game, what would you do?

[Laughs] I have ideas on top of ideas. I would love to be involved with any Sonic game that comes down the line, but it wouldn't be up to me to construct the story. My understanding is that Sega presents the baseline story and the writers extrapolate from there. Very similar to what we did with the online exclusive Sonic Forces tie-in comics that were on social media. They gave the storyline for each issue and it fell to me to turn it into scripts by pacing it out, deciding where the page count was and how everything should be wrapped up by the end. I'd imagine any game would be the same way. Here are the game mechanics we're introducing, here are the new story elements and characters we want you to touch upon - go. But having not worked on any of the games, I'm not sure 100 percent if that's how it would go. I'd love to find out, so fingers crossed. We'll see how it goes.

You have a new character coming along: Tangle the Ring-Tailed Lemur. What makes her exciting and different? What about the new villains Rough and Tumble?

When introducing any new character to the series, I don't want them to be baggage or superfluous. I want them to fill some kind of niche that isn't already provided by the games. For example, Dr. Eggman is the main villain. We don't need to introduce some other major villain. Sonic doesn't need another sidekick because he has Tails. With Tangle, there aren't a ton of female roles within the Sonic franchise. Off the top of your head, I always think of Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Shadow first. Beyond that, you've got Amy, who's somewhat active yet is all over the place. Rouge is competent but has that odd sex appeal for a cartoon bat. Cream is like a six-year-old who isn't supposed to get involved, so the singular kick-butt female character is Blaze, and she's awesome! But she has the universe problem of being from an entirely different dimension and you have to use the MacGuffins to bring her over and why she's making the trip and so on. So, let's have a character that can easily go on Sonic adventures and be cool. She was inspired by the prototype Sonic design back in the day. One of the concepts for Sonic was a rabbit that could use his ears to pick up and throw objects. That style of gameplay was too slow to show off the power of the Genesis, so Sonic the Hedgehog was chosen since he could roll into a ball and go down slopes, shoot up into the air, and so forth to show off how fast the processor could be. The rabbit character mutated into another game called Ristar, which needs a sequel!

But the idea of a character that can reach out and grab opponents stuck with me as a neat idea, so that morphed into Tangle. Now, what if she were in a Sonic-style game? What would her gameplay be like? You got the general running and jumping down, but the tail is like a grappling tether like Sonic meets Bionic Commando: Something engaging that'd be fun to play with a character that's rowdy and vivacious. Someone who can keep with the pace in Sonic's universe that's fun to watch.

With Rough and Tumble, you need more villains than just the big bad. You need some small fry to mix things up, and I think they're going to fulfill that role. They're kind of nasty guys that are a lot of fun.

They sound like a close duo...

Yes. Yes, they are.  

Would you like to see video game properties crossover with the relaunched Sonic like what happened with your stint on Mega Man?

[Laughs] IDW loves its crossovers, so I'd say it's a foregone conclusion. It just depends on the licensers and if they want to play ball. With the Sonic and Mega Man crossover, I especially loved that because Capcom approached Archie about it. We said, "Sega, can we go over to Capcom's house and play?" and Sega said, "Sure." Okay! Just drop this right in my lap!

Was it hard to connect the two universes?

You have two mad scientists! All you need to do is open up a portal between dimensions and you're good. Eggman and Wily have so much to bond over: they like to build robots, are underappreciated geniuses, have blue guys always getting in their way - it just wrote itself. As for IDW, I've been writing some of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle line by them, so being familiar with that and Sonic, I'd love to have those two meet. Just about any video game franchise would be interesting to see how they'd mix with Sonic.

What are some other properties you might like to adapt to comics?

I could write you two years of Star Fox comics right now! I'd love to play in Metroid's sandbox. I know exactly how to approach that. Mario would be the most challenging, but I wouldn't mind that feather in my cap. I'd love to return to Mega Man, whether that be classic, X, or Beyond. Heaven help me, I know what I'd do with an Animal Crossing book. Don't ask me how but I figured it out. I'm actually doing a graphic novel line for ARMS with Dark Horse. Overall, whether it's Shovel Knight or Splatoon or Pokémon, I love it all.

There's a lot of crossover between comic book and video game fans. Why do you think those two mediums attract the same kinds of people?

I think it's because these two mediums are able to explore fanciful notions and stories and themes without any kind of restriction. Video games are a more interactive media, but you never stop and say, "You can't do that in a video game. Video games have to be westerns or platformers." They can be anything. Just the sheer depth of western RPGs alone - never mind JRPGs - is staggering. Comics are the same way. They're more narrowly focused in the West, but graphical storytelling is boundless. There's freedom to just "do," and for those who are visually inclined, it's immediately more understandable than straight prose. With so many tools coming out to make game-making more accessible these days and comics being a comparatively easier medium to jump into as a fan - if you see something you enjoy or want to do in a different way, you can. The explosion in the indie game scene proves that with titles that address new topics with interesting stories and artwork. There are people saying you can't do that, but they're wrong. You can just create and the audience is there.

Overall, what should all interested readers expect from the new Sonic comic?

The new Sonic book is made by Sonic fans for Sonic fans, and if you're not, we will convert you because it's a fun book. You don't need to know anything coming in. Just that Sonic's blue and goes fast.

 

 

 

[Marco9966]

Thank you!!

[GentlemanX]

I like how open Ian sounds in that interview. In the later years of Archie, interviews were filled with PR speak and felt very artificial to me, like you could tell they were dancing around the legal red tape caused by the reboot. Here though, he sounds like a fan again and mentions the kind of things fans want acknowledged. It's better than what other IDW staff have said so far.

[Forte-Metallix]

"From the outset, I'm only considering the game material to draw from because you never know what the licenser wants represented or not. So, down the line, we might incorporate other older elements and fringes of the franchise, but for right now, it's that core game feel. Straightforward stories, lots of cinematic action early on. No long monologues or deep world building. No heavy focus on lore or backgrounds. It's focused on the adventure we have on hand and building on that."

Sounds good. Here's hoping we get some locations and maybe even characters from the likes of Boom and SatAM down the line, but I'm fine with sticking to the games for now. Heaven knows that universe could use some development.

[RedFox99]

I'm rather interested by the lines about Tangle, Amy, and the other girls. Granted, his words about Rouge and Cream kind of rub me the wrong way.

[Heckboy]

Quote

No long monologues or deep world building. No heavy focus on lore or backgrounds. It's focused on the adventure we have on hand and building on that

Honestly glad to see this. The excessive focus on DEEPEST LORE was one of my gripes with the reboot.

Overall this interview was good. Intrigued by this "antagonistic force that's a reference to something older" thing. Cautiously optimistic.

[RedFox99]

8 minutes ago, Mister X said:

Honestly glad to see this. The focus on DEEPEST LORE was one of my gripes with the reboot.

Overall this interview was good. Intrigued by this "antagonistic force that's a reference to something older" thing. Cautiously optimistic.

At least he admits past faults. Wonder how much lore we will get.

[Marco9966]

I wanna know for you guys what lore is too much lore?

For example, was SA1 very lore-heavy or not very lore heavy?

I want to use a scale.

[RedFox99]

1 minute ago, Marco9966 said:

I wanna know for you guys what lore is too much lore?

For example, was SA1 very lore-heavy or not very lore heavy?

I want to use a scale.

People seem to find SA1 as being in the middle.

[Red Hot Jack]

I agree with the lore point, the reboot was too much catching up with the world-building to provide what the old continuity did, but it didn't have to because it was a different universe, so there was no point other than trying to please the fans, but it wasn't a good narrative in my opinion. I don't like when things are too simple either, we'll have to wait and see but right now I'm very excited!

As it's been said the main universe could really use some tying up, clean up and development, I'm excited to see more of the games' own lore explored, instead of throwing tons of fan fiction ideas that take over the game lore.

I also like the girls question, I think Sonic has a lot of girls, there are 7 of them that are at least recurring, so I'm not worried, compared to other franchises like Mega Man or Mario, but Tangle is a great addition too and I want to see where she fits.

I'm not too sure about how SEGA is directly involved this time, could be good or bad, good because it seems they care about the comic now, unlike with Archie, and they might be more Sonic-y, but it could be bad because of the possible restrictions and "Sega's crazy ideas".

Ian is really an awesome person, not just as a writer, but he's funny and he's gotten really professional in the last couple of years.

About the question of the "surprise antagonist", I like the sound of that, and I know the book is not out yet, but... any guesses? They said it's a reference to old aspects of the franchise, so I predict it will be a new character based off some old obscure Sonic game that Ian hasn't adapted yet. Could it be one of the villains from the Sonic 1 concept art?

[dbzfan7]

And while it seemed inevitable, there is the Forces comment. Ugh. Hopefully it's just Forces happened in a way, and not exactly how it was in that game.....ugh. I'd only be happy if they acknowledged those faults and characters improved off of it, so at least a good story can come off of a bad one.

[RedFox99]

14 minutes ago, Jack of Tangles said:

, there are 7 of them that are at least recurring

7? I can only think of Rouge, Amy, Blaze, and Cream and Tikal.

[Razule]

14 minutes ago, RedFox99 said:

7? I can only think of Rouge, Amy, Blaze, and Cream and Tikal.

Tikal doesn't have enough appearances to count as recurring (one). Wave isn't in the main games (we have forgotten Wave apparently, RIP Riders games). Marine's the same as Tikal.

 

[Cuz]

Eh, there's been enough Rider games for the Babylon Rogues to be on the reoccurring list. It helps that they tend to crop up in cameo roles for ensemble spin-offs like the Olympics titles, and even the board game is throwing a few of them in. The Olympics seem to be a big reason Blaze has stayed relevant herself.

[Sgt Nate V]

Calling it now, this new fucker is...

Spoiler

ANTON FUCKING BERUKA!

 

[DabigRG]

25 minutes ago, RedFox99 said:

7? I can only think of Rouge, Amy, Blaze, and Cream and Tikal.

There's also Wave and maybe Zeena.

[Red Hot Jack]

I think it's this giant guy:

[Shaddy Zaphod]

9 minutes ago, Sgt Nate V said:

Calling it now, this new fucker is...

  Hide contents

ANTON FUCKING BERUKA!

 

I kinda hope so. The manga in my eyes has always been the most plausible and fitting setting for Sonic's backstory, so I'd love to see it's elements get adapted

[Razule]

19 minutes ago, Jack of Tangles said:

I think it's this giant guy:

I remember when people theorized the Time Eater was that thing.

[UmbraTheHedgehog]

I really like Ian Flynn from what I have read so I have high hopes for this series.  My only 2 specific hopes for this series is that Honey the Cat from sonic the fighters comes back because I really like her character and I noticed his emphasis on female characters in this recent interview so I hope its possible. As for the freedom fighters characters I am ready to say goodbye to them because the Archie series lasted a long time so I'm ready for something new. My other hope for the series is that this greater focus on the games allows for us to see more of various settings and characters from throughout the game series history and to develop them more, that would really take advantage of this greater game focus. Who knows what old settings could come back? I'm a little disappointed that he said there would not be much world building but I'm sure that will change as the series goes on.

[NikoS]

Quote

It's about the journey rather than the destination.

Exactly. That being said, folks who know my writing style know I love the long con, so we're going to be setting up a surprise early on that will play out within the first year. There's a new antagonistic force that...I don't know if I can talk about it, but the first four issues are all bite-sized, but they're all building to something, and boy howdy, it'll be amazing once we get there.

Any hints you can drop about this new antagonistic force or what direction it'll be taking the story in?

I will say that long-term fans will probably piece it together very early on. Casual fans will find it new, exciting, and interesting. They might not even know that it's a reference to something older.

So it'll feel like a new antagonist but is based on something obscure from the games' past?

Yeah. We'll put it that way.

Inb4 this guy is the "new antagonistic force"

[Splash the Otter]

Quote

 

They sound like a close duo...

Yes. Yes, they are.  

 

Calling it now, Rough and Tumble are a same-sex couple.

[Your Vest Friend]

I'm thinking Battle Kukku Army for the overarching whatever antagonists. 

I love Anton, but he's literally just a street punk. He wouldn't stand up to Charmy in his current form, let alone a super-powered team of heroes. 

[JosepHenry]

18 minutes ago, Splash the Otter said:

Calling it now, Rough and Tumble are a same-sex couple.

Heck yeah

Why would you jump to that conclusion all of the sudden though? lol

[Razule]

2 minutes ago, JosepHenry said:

Heck yeah

Why would you jump to that conclusion all of the sudden though? lol

Probably because of 

Quote

They sound like a close duo...

Yes. Yes, they are.  

But what if they're like... actually combined or something.