Megathread IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog - Megathread

[DabigRG]

1 hour ago, silvereye27 said:

My copies of #7 and #8 finally came today. A little annoyed I must admit, since I wound up being spoiled about Metal Sonic Neo being in #7, but to be honest, it did seem to be the most obvious candidate. #7 is pretty great in terms of art, and the fight scenes. I'd almost call it anime-esque, with the way Sonic is drawn as he fights Metal Sonic Neo. Not much plot behind this one, really the intent of this like #1-#4 is to basically introduce a character into the comic, but this time it is our current villian, and to showcase why he will be a threat for Sonic and co in the coming issues, so it avoids that repititon. Good stuff, and I do find it well written as to why he is masquerading as Eggman and how this will lead somewhere.

#8 I must admit does suffer the flaw of #1-#4 of just having the same structure. See, I think #1-#4 got away with it though it because they were all released within a month, so there wasn't much of a wait, and it was to serve as a proper introduction for newbies. #8 having the same structure does feel a bit disappointing, and not to mention considering how #7 introduces us to our villain, and it seems that #9-#12's The Battle for Angel Island will serve as the big finale for this story arc, it arguably feels a little fillery. Hell, you could basically take the revelation of Metal Sonic Neo having invaded Angel Island and have him reveal his plan in #7, and lead straight into #9 theoretically.

But that isn't the point of #8, the point is on having (arguably) our last major Sonic game character, Silver, be introduced properly in the comic, and to introduce another newcomer, Whisper the Wolf, and I think it works just as well as it has previously. Silver is written very much with his goofy and dorky side out in the open, but keeping him very much a capable hero. It makes him very likable, and I think works well against Sonic's coolness. Whisper, we really don't know anything about, except for being shy, presumably hurt by Eggman in some capacity, her power set of utilising Wisps and generally being super adorable. Be interesting to see if Whisper and Silver have some kind of friendship in the future of the comics, to be honest Silver is probably the Sonic character who generally most needs someone to be tied with, since him and Blaze is in a game's plot that never happened.

I like #8, but I must admit it does make me feel a bit eager to get #9 honestly, considering how it seems as if #8 will be the last issue dedicated to setup, and #9-#12 will hopefully be a nice big payoff, and see basically everyone get some kind of role. I'm also hoping that #13 onwards will perhaps see some more complex stories with the last issues being at a walking speed, I really want to see it running.

Not much to say about the art honestly. I like all the artists, and I think they've all brought something to the table. I can't say I have a preference over any artist, since everything so far is easily better than some of the rubbish art that plagued Archie Sonic around #75-#150.

Eh, for what it's worth, I personally "liked" #8 more than #4, which was more or less the same general setup except more gaggy and with an ending cliffhanger to something that admittedly hadn't really been showcased yet.

You're right though that it still somewhat feels like filler, albeit the kind that plants seeds for both future development and the next scale of the/a big threat.

I also don't consider Silver and Blaze full-major characters in a way, but I will concede that they're inclusion often brings some inherent stakes on a grander scale to the table, so I really didn't mind them popping up when they did.

[Silvereyes]

4 hours ago, DabigRG said:

Eh, for what it's worth, I personally "liked" #8 more than #4, which was more or less the same general setup except more gaggy and with an ending cliffhanger to something that admittedly hadn't really been showcased yet.

To tell the truth, I'm not sure I could ever really rank any of the issues so far. I honestly think the quality has been very level so far, in terms of art and writing. The first 4 issues are so similar in structure I feel like I could only choose which I prefer almost purely on what characters I like more. I mean, I guess if I had to rank them, from best to least best:

#5-#6: The only traditional 2 parter so far, I like this issue because it has a moral problem: what to do with an evil man who has lost his memory. I mean, I understand that a Sonic comic has to have action and quips, but I do like it when a story has a moral, or a difficult decision. The issue with Eggman leads to a conflict between Sonic and Shadow, with the 2 debating it. Not to say the other issues are dumber or don't feature interesting character dialogue, but I do think so far it is the only story thus far where the allies are at conflict with each other over an issue, compared to the others where they are just fighting bad guys. I guess in my mind, the story in #5-#6 is the sort of thing I want more often, but obviously don't want it to be as pretentious, dull, melodramatic or insanely serious like the worst of the Penders era.

#4: I like Blaze and I like Tangle. Not much more to that really, even in a basic story, but I do feel like I'm willing to let it slide here abit in #4 and #8 because they are introducing a brand new character in the Sonic universe, so the focus has to be on her. Again though, Blaze is one of my favourites, and I really like Tangle, and I am excited to see her do some more stuff hopefully very soon.

#8: I do feel like the problem of this issue is how it feels like #7 could of directly led into #9, but still #8 is fun. I like Silver's comic portrayal, I think they write him very well, and I really am interested by Whisper, and again hopefully we'll get more of her in the next few issues.

#7: How good #7 is really does depend on how much Neo Metal Sonic as the villian of this arc pays off. Still, fantastic action, and it does show NMS as a credible villian. I just have the feeling that we'll see more interesting stuff with NMS and Sonic and co when we get to #9-#12.

#3: Rough and Tumble is what makes this issue for me. Having a couple of idiot egotistical comedy villians really does help differentiate from issues #1, #2, #4 and #8. Knuckles is good here and I think it works well when he and Sonic have a couple of baddies to bounce off of, metaphorically and literally.

#1: Sonic gets his moments to shine and show off his personality, and we get Tails, being a great sidekick, and having an emotional moment which does far more for the character than anything in Forces presumably did. Pretty standard stuff but for a first issue, I think it works.

#2: I actually really like Amy in this, and I like the banter her and Sonic share. I just think it suffers because it is literally the same plot as issue #1, and unlike #3 which has the gimmick of 2 new bad guys, and the gimmick of a new character in #4 and #8, it feels the most derivative.

4 hours ago, DabigRG said:

You're right though that it still somewhat feels like filler, albeit the kind that plants seeds for both future development and the next scale of the/a big threat.

Maybe filler is the wrong word. To me, there has been a gradual escalation. #1-#4 all stay at the same level, #5-#6 ramps things up with a couple of allies in conflict over the discovery of the main antagonist and the mystery behind his amnesia, #7 gives us a big new villian who Sonic can't defeat and will need help to do so. Then #8 happens and like #4, it is just Sonic, introduction of existing ally and introduction of new character fighting generic Egg goons. To me, it feels like a deescalation, and that it feels like a stumble for when #9-#12 kicks off which will begin the arc's finale. Still good, and you are right about future development, with Silver's future and Whisper's backstory. I do like the issue, I just think it feels like a slight step backwards when #9 promises to begin paying stuff off.

4 hours ago, DabigRG said:

I also don't consider Silver and Blaze full-major characters in a way, but I will concede that they're inclusion often brings some inherent stakes on a grander scale to the table, so I really didn't mind them popping up when they did.

Well, I mean at this point, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow and Dr Eggman are the only major characters really. I guess when I say major, I mean major in the sense that they are a part of the core game ensemble, like Generations or Forces, hence why Blaze's absence in Forces was considered weird enough by many to point out.

[DabigRG]

5 hours ago, silvereye27 said:

To tell the truth, I'm not sure I could ever really rank any of the issues so far. I honestly think the quality has been very level so far, in terms of art and writing. The first 4 issues are so similar in structure I feel like I could only choose which I prefer almost purely on what characters I like more. I mean, I guess if I had to rank them, from best to least best:

 

 

You're not the only one to say that.

Still, there are technically enough for a short-term top five and they can certainly be compared in terms of how much one personally enjoyed, if they so please

5 hours ago, silvereye27 said:

I mean, I guess if I had to rank them, from best to least best:

#5-#6: The only traditional 2 parter so far, I like this issue because it has a moral problem: what to do with an evil man who has lost his memory. I mean, I understand that a Sonic comic has to have action and quips, but I do like it when a story has a moral, or a difficult decision. The issue with Eggman leads to a conflict between Sonic and Shadow, with the 2 debating it. Not to say the other issues are dumber or don't feature interesting character dialogue, but I do think so far it is the only story thus far where the allies are at conflict with each other over an issue, compared to the others where they are just fighting bad guys. I guess in my mind, the story in #5-#6 is the sort of thing I want more often, but obviously don't want it to be as pretentious, dull, melodramatic or insanely serious like the worst of the Penders era.

#4: I like Blaze and I like Tangle. Not much more to that really, even in a basic story, but I do feel like I'm willing to let it slide here abit in #4 and #8 because they are introducing a brand new character in the Sonic universe, so the focus has to be on her. Again though, Blaze is one of my favourites, and I really like Tangle, and I am excited to see her do some more stuff hopefully very soon.

#8: I do feel like the problem of this issue is how it feels like #7 could of directly led into #9, but still #8 is fun. I like Silver's comic portrayal, I think they write him very well, and I really am interested by Whisper, and again hopefully we'll get more of her in the next few issues.

#7: How good #7 is really does depend on how much Neo Metal Sonic as the villian of this arc pays off. Still, fantastic action, and it does show NMS as a credible villian. I just have the feeling that we'll see more interesting stuff with NMS and Sonic and co when we get to #9-#12.

#3: Rough and Tumble is what makes this issue for me. Having a couple of idiot egotistical comedy villians really does help differentiate from issues #1, #2, #4 and #8. Knuckles is good here and I think it works well when he and Sonic have a couple of baddies to bounce off of, metaphorically and literally.

#1: Sonic gets his moments to shine and show off his personality, and we get Tails, being a great sidekick, and having an emotional moment which does far more for the character than anything in Forces presumably did. Pretty standard stuff but for a first issue, I think it works.

#2: I actually really like Amy in this, and I like the banter her and Sonic share. I just think it suffers because it is literally the same plot as issue #1, and unlike #3 which has the gimmick of 2 new bad guys, and the gimmick of a new character in #4 and #8, it feels the most derivative.

 

Really now?

A number of comments that I remember seemed to agree that Amy's might've been the best, while 6(by itself) was discussed as being a disappointment.

Granted, those weren't absolute community rankings and there's certainly room for bumping on revisits, but that's my understanding/concurrence.

5 hours ago, silvereye27 said:

 

Maybe filler is the wrong word. To me, there has been a gradual escalation. #1-#4 all stay at the same level, #5-#6 ramps things up with a couple of allies in conflict over the discovery of the main antagonist and the mystery behind his amnesia, #7 gives us a big new villian who Sonic can't defeat and will need help to do so. Then #8 happens and like #4, it is just Sonic, introduction of existing ally and introduction of new character fighting generic Egg goons. To me, it feels like a deescalation, and that it feels like a stumble for when #9-#12 kicks off which will begin the arc's finale. Still good, and you are right about future development, with Silver's future and Whisper's backstory. I do like the issue, I just think it feels like a slight step backwards when #9 promises to begin paying stuff off.

 

Ah, I get'cha.

I guess one thing I can give 4 is that it technically doesn't break the pace and in fact sets up future higher stakes before the main plot properly kicks off with the cliffhanger.

5 hours ago, silvereye27 said:

 

Well, I mean at this point, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow and Dr Eggman are the only major characters really. I guess when I say major, I mean major in the sense that they are a part of the core game ensemble, like Generations or Forces, hence why Blaze's absence in Forces was considered weird enough by many to point out.

Oh yeah, we're getting mincy with the terminology, huh?

Well, from what I generally see, the ranking of importance in a series goes "Main, Major, Supporting(with Major and Minor being attachable), Minor, Bit/Extra/Whatever."

Eh, but they're just terms to be thrown around like others.

 

In my mind, Blaze and Silver kind of hover between the second and third/fourth categories due to their infrequent appearances, but association with higher stakes.

[Sonic Fan J]

So in light of the comics being an entertainment medium, I'm kind of wondering what characters have entertained you the most so far in the IDW run? Maybe it's a little early yet but first impressions are important.

For me, It has easily so far been Amy in #2, Tangle in #4, and the Chaotix in #5 & 6. Silver in Eight gets an honorable mention just because I love his awkward dorkiness and Metal gets one as well in #7 just for his awesome scuffle with Sonic.

[DabigRG]

11 minutes ago, Sonic Fan J said:

So in light of the comics being an entertainment medium, I'm kind of wondering what characters have entertained you the most so far in the IDW run? Maybe it's a little early yet but first impressions are important.

Uh, odd stipulation, particular to define, but okay.

Off the top of my head, Rough n Tumble, Sonic, and Charmy had some fun moments. Oh, and Cubot and Rouge to a lesser extent.

Is that what you mean?

[Sonic Fan J]

4 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

Uh, odd stipulation, particular to define, but okay.

Off the top of my head, Rough n Tumble, Sonic, and Charmy had some fun moments. Oh, and Cubot and Rouge to a lesser extent.

Is that what you mean?

Yeah, that's pretty much it. Just a question of what characters have you found the most entertaining in the IDW run so far.

[Scape]

Issue #2 is where this series truly demonstrated it's purpose to me

To keep these characters in line when Sonic Team is shitting the bed

[DabigRG]

6 minutes ago, Sonic Fan J said:

Yeah, that's pretty much it. Just a question of what characters have you found the most entertaining in the IDW run so far.

Honestly, despite how rinse n repeatey some of the issues have been, there's not too much to appreciate in any context. 

The lack of satisfactory story in some instances probably has something to do with that and/or isn't a very good reflection alongside it.

[Skull Leader]

5 minutes ago, Scape said:

Issue #2 is where this series truly demonstrated it's purpose for me

To keep these characters in top form when Sonic Team is shitting the bed

Just in terms of characterization and interaction dynamics, I don't think this one can be topped any time soon.

And agree on how ST could learn a thing or two from IDW, but then most likely won't... as usual.

[DabigRG]

1 minute ago, Skull Leader said:

Just in terms of characterization and interaction dynamics, I don't think this one can be topped any time soon.

Hmph.

Hopefully, Year 2(whenever the hell that's defined as) will give us more stories that happen to cross into that territory.

[knuckles20]

1 hour ago, Sonic Fan J said:

So in light of the comics being an entertainment medium, I'm kind of wondering what characters have entertained you the most so far in the IDW run? Maybe it's a little early yet but first impressions are important.

For me, It has easily so far been Amy in #2, Tangle in #4, and the Chaotix in #5 & 6. Silver in Eight gets an honorable mention just because I love his awkward dorkiness and Metal gets one as well in #7 just for his awesome scuffle with Sonic.

Amy in #2 and Rouge in #6 were highlights for me.

[DabigRG]

1 minute ago, knuckles20 said:

Rouge was a highlight for me in #6.

Probably because she was seemingly the only intelligent plot element in that issue.

[Silvereyes]

I think everyone has been well utilised, honestly. I havn't played Forces so have only heard about how bad the plot is and how it handles characters, so it does lead me to appreciate little moments like Tails looking genuinely sad when he remembers Sonic being prisoner, the way Amy's relationship with Sonic works, or Silver having his dorkiness embraced. Not to mention Whisper and Tangle both getting great introductions. It does seem like #9-#12 is where there is going to be pay off, so I kindof hope it leads to lots of character interactions, which we really havn't had when it doesn't involve Sonic.

I must admit as well, having been reading through the Archie run (which I've been posting about in the Archie thread), I've been loving Universe so far 20 issues in. I kind of hope that IDW may get around to doing a second series to run with the main Sonic comic, but I don't know how long that kind of thing would take to do, or how successful the main comic must be. Archie managed to have 2 comics running with X and then Universe running for around 13 years right until the cancellation, so it doesn't seem that unfeasible. And I doubt they would give the second comic to another single character like Knuckles or Shadow.

[StaticMania]

3 hours ago, Skull Leader said:

Just in terms of characterization and interaction dynamics, I don't think this one can be topped any time soon.

And agree on how ST could learn a thing or two from IDW, but then most likely won't... as usual.

As usual? There hasn't even been a game released since the IDW comics have started...who even knows what they'll know.

[Marco9966]

2 hours ago, StaticMania said:

As usual? There hasn't even been a game released since the IDW comics have started...who even knows what they'll know.

The backlash from Sonic Forces is huge, it would be insane if Sonic Team doesnt notice it and tries to improve (=no bitchy Tails, no Classic Sonic, have everybody do something)

[Red Hot Jack]

I loved Sonic and Amy in issue #2, Knuckles in issue #3 and Blaze in issue #4. Then we have Metal Sonic and Silver and Whisper. Tangle kind of disappointed me, she's just a toned down Sonic for now, I was hoping for a little subplot but instead I got it with Whisper, which is a lot more unique.

Tails also was so-so, I mean he was perfect in the sense that he was nice (not a jerk like in the games), not a coward like in Forces, he's written well but there wasn't anything interesting in issue #1, so... it was a bland introduction to be honest, there was very little to it, and it's kind of sad because the first issue is supposed to grab you for the whole series, thankfully it seems fans are sticking around, but for me it's like, the worst issue of the bunch.

Mr. Tinker is also good but compared to Dr. Eggman, eh, I definitely want to see my favorite villain back!

Shadow, Rouge and the Chaotix were good too, I thought, but I still preferred Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, Blaze, Silver, Neo Metal Sonic and Whisper. And I'm very hyped for next arc and I hope everyone gets a chance to shine in it!

[Silvereyes]

1 hour ago, I Love Sticks said:

Mr. Tinker is also good but compared to Dr. Eggman, eh, I definitely want to see my favorite villain back!

I think that is pretty much inevitable. If the Mr. Tinker angle isn't resolved in the next 4 issues, I would wager it will be resolved in 2019.

[DabigRG]

1 hour ago, I Love Sticks said:

Tangle kind of disappointed me, she's just a toned down Sonic for now,

I thought she was barely even that in practice.

1 hour ago, I Love Sticks said:

 I was hoping for a little subplot but instead I got it with Whisper, which is a lot more unique.

 

Definitely.

1 hour ago, I Love Sticks said:

 

Tails also was so-so, I mean he was perfect in the sense that he was nice (not a jerk like in the games), not a coward like in Forces, he's written well but there wasn't anything interesting in issue #1, so... it was a bland introduction to be honest, there was very little to it, and it's kind of sad because the first issue is supposed to grab you for the whole series, thankfully it seems fans are sticking around, but for me it's like, the worst issue of the bunch.

 

I think part of that could be that Tails is probably most "boring" of the characters. Part of that sentiment has to do with what I remember of him in Boom, I realize, but yeah.

Stick him in the first issue, which is...well, the first episode, and you'll likely just get a so-so.

[Shadowlax]

38 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

I thought she was barely even that in practice.

Definitely.

I think part of that could be that Tails is probably most "boring" of the characters. Part of that sentiment has to do with what I remember of him in Boom, I realize, but yeah.

Stick him in the first issue, which is...well, the first episode, and you'll likely just get a so-so.

The thing with tails is that I like the idea of tails more than tails actually. Tails is pretty boring, he's just... nice? I guess that's why they often try to give him attitude because there's nothing really there. He was a character for all of adventure 1 and 2 and in sonic x but a lot of the time he just kind of exists to be a guy who builds things for plot convenience. Hopefully this comic gives him a bit of character again. 

Also if we are ranking characters I would put shadow as we have seen so far as lowest on the totem pole, highest might be amy. Everyone else was pretty good, though I don't really have high expectation since its the beginning of the book. Hopefully things improve 

[DabigRG]

20 minutes ago, Shadowlax said:

The thing with tails is that I like the idea of tails more than tails actually. Tails is pretty boring, he's just... nice? I guess that's why they often try to give him attitude because there's nothing really there. He was a character for all of adventure 1 and 2 and in sonic x but a lot of the time he just kind of exists to be a guy who builds things for plot convenience. Hopefully this comic gives him a bit of character again. 

More or less the issue.

He's a kid prodigy who sometimes has self-worth issues and was somewhat cutesy in nonverbal presentations. In actual story presentation aside from SA1(and for better or worse Lost World and Forces), he's mainly the somewhat hypercompetent, expositing straight man.

20 minutes ago, Shadowlax said:

Also if we are ranking characters I would put shadow as we have seen so far as lowest on the totem pole, highest might be amy. Everyone else was pretty good, though I don't really have high expectation since its the beginning of the book. Hopefully things improve 

That's fairly accurate, off the top of my head.

Again, we're barely 10 issues into this, what, 20 page comicseries? If the game cast we have preestablished exposure, storytelling, presentation, and biases for sometimes clock in as around okay, the newer cast being introduced from scratch definitely need time to really leave much impact. 

[dbzfan7]

In some games Tails is boring, and in others he's not. It sorta depends on the game. Kinda like for all characters really. Sometimes they're better, and other times they're worse. He's definitely shined the least in IDW as despite actually being a well rounded character again, he was still pretty much point for point what we expect from Flynn. He's good again, but good in the sense of being at the starting point he should have always been that the games have dropped the ball on. They honestly could do a story arch on how pathetic he was in Forces, and going for a redemption arc. That'd have probably made issue 1 better if that was his motivation.

I mean he's back in issue 6...or was it 7......in any case he barely showcases himself at all there so it doesn't look good. Though I enjoyed his brief interaction with Knuckles. How a "Super Genius with Sonic's powers is much worse than just a Super Genius", even if Eggman wasn't the culprit. Instead of in Boom or the modern series where this interaction would make Tails look like an asshole and make Knuckles look stupid, it instead has Tails apologize and as Knuckles put it, take the small victories when you can. Though seeing Forces, I bet Knuckles was very used to that idea.

[StaticMania]

I don't see the modern series doing an interaction like that at all...all the characters just talk at eachother.

[Multikaris]

2 hours ago, StaticMania said:

I don't see the modern series doing an interaction at all...all the characters just talk at eachother.

Hey at least it’s SOMETHING to see them talk at each other and not just at Sonic. 

[StaticMania]

Yeah, but that's just as boring. Seeing Sonic and Tails actually interact is better than the characters expositing info at eachother if it's all they're going to do.

Chemistry Physics Writing.

[Red Hot Jack]

What I hated the most was in Generations, where only Sonic, Tails and Eggman were allowed to talk in main scenes, the others were only cheering or being silent or saying "Sonic, you can do it! You're the best!", yeah they had their cutscenes where they were rescued and spoke to Sonic but it wasn't an interaction, it was just a one way dialogue without Sonic talking. Generations had perhaps the worst story, but at least the characters were there.

Yeah, I definitely preferred Forces' story, the characters were at least talking, without personality though, it was just exposition I guess? And that is a crime because I'm a big fan of the Sonic cast, they are so diverse and full of personality IMO, they are definitely underused.