Megathread IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog - Megathread

[Chaos Control Freak]

3 minutes ago, Blue Blood said:

Definitely wasn't. I was implying that people didn't want any reversion to the shit that happened before.

I never read the Flynn-era stuff because getting into a comic that already has so many years of baggage (rotten baggage, even) is daunting. But you don't need to have read it to know what a significant improvement it was. The Archie comics ended when they were arguably at their best.

I totally feel ya.

But, I highly recommend going back and reading all of the Flynn-era material. It's all wonderful, and really got me through the "Dark Ages of Sonic fandom" (he started writing the book the same year Sonic '06 came out).

I personally think the stuff he was writing around the time of the Sonic: Genesis special, and before the Reboot, was the high point of the comics.

[RedFox99]

What could an interesting idea would be a st9ry focusing on tensions between a group of humans and a group of Mobians. Maybe it could tackle racism Ala the Fishman Island Arc.

[BlueSky]

13 hours ago, RedFox99 said:

What could an interesting idea would be a st9ry focusing on tensions between a group of humans and a group of Mobians. Maybe it could tackle racism Ala the Fishman Island Arc.

I wonder what "Fishman Island Arc" you're referring to, the one I think about first isn't for Sonic after all.

And I suppose not many writers would tackle racism at all in Sonic comics, let alone in that style...

Nah, when I think about racism and Sonic the first thing that comes to my mind is Nate Morgan getting juice'd by an overlander-hating mobian... I dunno, I think this falls into same category as the topic about "drugs in Sonic comics".

[RedFox99]

Just now, BlueSky said:

I wonder what "Fishman Island Arc" you're referring to, the one I think about first isn't for Sonic after all.

And I suppose not many writers would tackle racism at all in Sonic comics, let alone in that style...

Nah, when I think about racism and Sonic the first thing that comes to my mind is Nate Morgan getting juice'd by an overlander-hating mobian... I dunno, I think this falls into same category as the topic about "drugs in Sonic comics".

It's an arc from One Piece. Well, I guess  it depends on how ssubtle the writers tackle the subject.

[BlueSky]

Just now, RedFox99 said:

It's an arc from One Piece. Well, I guess  it depends on how ssubtle the writers tackle the subject.

So, I guessed it right. I doubt writers would love to make it exactly like Mr. Oda did though, it was pretty bloody and unnerving when you approach it from the context of an US "suitable of all ages" comics I think.

There would be a need for amazing amout of subtlety and rug sweeping, I suppose it wouldn't resemble One Piece version at all after that.

I think one of those BumbleKasts Mr. Flynn put it pretty well when he answered on that drug question someone asked at one point (and I suppose it could fit in this too, though bear in mind, this is my opinion, I just used that drug thing as an example, sorry); do we want that kind of stuff in our colourful world of blue speedy hedgies running circles over overweight-madmen (not his exact words mind you)...

I dunno. I'd like to have a proper plot more than debating about racism, even when it could be somewhat interesting.

---

And I started to wonder about that BD idea again, is it me or does Sonic seem a bit more of a secondary main character than the first one, considering the nature of his character?

You know, it usually seems to go that way; the first main is usually pretty calm and does stuff more by the book than the secondary one, who's usually got more "antics". Well, Sonic has no antics per se I suppose, but then again, he's the loudmouth throwing witty comebacks in all compass points, seemingly dislikes water and has a bit of an ego as far as I can see still being competent (if not the most competent) and (at least in this case) equal to the main character in most of the other things. Looks to me pretty secondary-modeled after all actually.

Gee I think too much about this, and I'm not even too certain if my wondering can take any daylight without crumbling, I haven't really analysed each and every single BD out there after all, this is just a feeling I got after some wondering, please correct me if I'm wrong...

[Mangoaxe5]

On 9/10/2017 at 1:07 PM, Chaos Control Freak said:

One of the few things I liked about Sonic X, is how it set Sonic's world and Earth apart.
 

Personally I'm not a fan of the whole "Two Worlds" thing. To me it just makes things more complicated.

[Shaddy Zaphod]

As much as I love One Piece and think Sonic should be more like it, tackling race relations or whatever is a dumb idea, and made fun of due to the nature of the series...still existing. No thanks.

 

The world-wandering idea is an okay one, the problem is that it's hard to tie it to Sonic and the main series cast (Freedom Fighters or not) due to the gap in speed and Sonic's own nature as being so fast there's no journey. To compare further to One Piece, the whole planet has no major continents, excluding a large ring of land stretching across the entire planet, bisected by a straight line of an ocean where the majority of the story takes place, and all land is based in (relatively) small islands dotted across this ocean, one for each arc. Because there are literal masses of water between each of them, there's a true sense of time and movement between each one because characters need to physically sail (or, uh, rocket boost) their ship to every destination. Sonic can't get that same sense of progression when he can run from one side of Northamer to the other in a few seconds, and the world is largely contained in continents.

Now, certainly Sonic doesn't need the same progression sense as One Piece to have world-travelling adventures, but it does need them somewhat to be a serial story that feels connected, which is what I want. Arcs with no sign of what exist between them feel too self-contained and episodic for me, and that's a problem that the Shattered World arc suffered from. One month we're in the desert, the next we're in China. It feels disjointed and I don't want that.

 

Also, on the subject of returning characters, now that I've thought for a while (read: forgot this thread existed), I'm honestly more tied to the Egg Army than I am the Kingdom of Acorn and all their factions.

Like when it comes to the Freedom Fighters, I like Bunnie and Antoine as a unit, I like Nicole, and...that's about it.

But the Egg Army? Cassia, Clove, Hood, Nephythys, Abyss, Maw, Conquering Storm fucking THUNDERBOLT. They're an all-star group and I really want to see more of them. Maw and Abyss haven't had much to their development (other than squid girl being cute), but they show promise.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

To be frank, if I were forced between the two groups I'd be okay with the Egg Bosses returning over the Freedom Fighters, mainly because of Conquering Storm the fact that they're among the most recent additions in the franchise, and they have a lot of potential that got wasted due to Archie Sonic's cancellation. Plus, they're antagonists of varying levels of villiany and different motives all joined under one banner that is Eggman, and we've never had such a group of this size on Eggman's, much less loyal ones (or desperate in the case of Cassia and Clove) who prefer him over the heroes. Eggman's had henchmen, both flesh and blood and robotic that worked for him, but never an army size of them working with his Badniks.

That's not to say I prefer them to the point of forgetting about the Freedom Fighters, hell no--I'd want both if at all possible. But given that the villians in the franchise have been sparse compared to the heroes, and Eggman is often dealing with the good guys alone, I find it refreshing to see that shaken up and have a conflict that isn't fully black and white, and Egg Bosses provide a level a grey for the villains that isn't very common in this franchise.

[GentlemanX]

The biggest problem with including the Egg Bosses in concept, regional leaders for Eggman, is that it implies Eggman has conquered large portions of the world. It's his SatAM/Archie/Fleetway persona that has that trait. If the book is to be more aligned with the Sega game continuity, like most here speculate it will, Eggman's hold over the world will need to downsize and that would affect the positions of the Egg Bosses. Don't get me wrong, Cassia and Clove are probably my favorite post-reboot characters, but the Egg Boss/Grandmaster concept is just ill-suited for a Sega Sonic book.

[Chaos Control Freak]

1 hour ago, GentlemanX said:

The biggest problem with including the Egg Bosses in concept, regional leaders for Eggman, is that it implies Eggman has conquered large portions of the world. It's his SatAM/Archie/Fleetway persona that has that trait. If the book is to be more aligned with the Sega game continuity, like most here speculate it will, Eggman's hold over the world will need to downsize and that would affect the positions of the Egg Bosses. Don't get me wrong, Cassia and Clove are probably my favorite post-reboot characters, but the Egg Boss/Grandmaster concept is just ill-suited for a Sega Sonic book.

*cough* Sonic Forces *cough*

[Polkadi~☆]

1 minute ago, Chaos Control Freak said:

*cough* Sonic Forces *cough*

Keep in mind that it'll probably be for just that game. Sonic Team don't really like changing the status quo.

[Your Vest Friend]

Sonic Forces only supports what he says. In order to take over, he needed Infinite, who seems to be the equivalent of an eldritch abomination, to not only keep Sonic completely out of the way, but somehow make or get Sonic's most powerful enemies to pad out the numbers. And after the fact? He's got those same enemies to lead his his troops, and robots for everything else. Folks like the comic's Egg Bosses just don't cut the mustard. 

[Chaos Control Freak]

Everyone seems to be getting caught up on the idea that the IDW comics are gonna be set in the same continuity as the games, for some reason. I really don't think they will be, guys. Being "unique and beyond what we know from the SEGA games" is pretty much the entire draw of the comics.

As long as they're visually and tonally consistent with the games, it's okay for the comics to do their own thing.

[King Scoopa Koopa]

I didn't think the Egg Bosses were in charge in all cases, but merely opposing/invading forces facing off against the local resistance in some cases.

[Celestia]

45 minutes ago, Chaos Control Freak said:

Everyone seems to be getting caught up on the idea that the IDW comics are gonna be set in the same continuity as the games, for some reason. I really don't think they will be, guys. Being "unique and beyond what we know from the SEGA games" is pretty much the entire draw of the comics.

As long as they're visually and tonally consistent with the games, it's okay for the comics to do their own thing.

I mean, all we know so far is that this will be going in a "new direction" which is...vague enough that it could mean anything, admittedly, but I think people are understandably assuming that this direction will be much closer to the games. This is a fresh start in an era where they're more strict about Sonic after all.

 

On the other hand, Sonic Boom was allowed to happen.

[Your Vest Friend]

Sonic Boom was a massive multimedia push, not just a single comic. 

[Multikaris]

58 minutes ago, Celestia said:

I mean, all we know so far is that this will be going in a "new direction" which is...vague enough that it could mean anything, admittedly, but I think people are understandably assuming that this direction will be much closer to the games. This is a fresh start in an era where they're more strict about Sonic after all.

 

On the other hand, Sonic Boom was allowed to happen.

I think Boom was in fact the reason for this new era. 

[Chaos Control Freak]

1 hour ago, Celestia said:

I mean, all we know so far is that this will be going in a "new direction" which is...vague enough that it could mean anything, admittedly, but I think people are understandably assuming that this direction will be much closer to the games. This is a fresh start in an era where they're more strict about Sonic after all.

 

On the other hand, Sonic Boom was allowed to happen.

I absolutely think it's going to lean closer to the games, aesthetically and tonally.

But, no iteration of Sonic, that's outside of the games, takes place perfectly within their continuity. They're all their own thing, with their own exclusive characters and unique quirks. And I very much think that's a good thing.

[Multikaris]

1 hour ago, Chaos Control Freak said:

I absolutely think it's going to lean closer to the games, aesthetically and tonally.

But, no iteration of Sonic, that's outside of the games, takes place perfectly within their continuity. They're all their own thing, with their own exclusive characters and unique quirks. And I very much think that's a good thing.

I initially thought Dengeki was an exception, but they made some minor plot changes, like adding Big and Omega to Generations, and much lower stakes. But then again, I think the X chapter books are the only exception to this rule. I hope we don't get a second...

[SBR2]

19 hours ago, Celestia said:

I mean, all we know so far is that this will be going in a "new direction" which is...vague enough that it could mean anything, admittedly, but I think people are understandably assuming that this direction will be much closer to the games. This is a fresh start in an era where they're more strict about Sonic after all.

 

On the other hand, Sonic Boom was allowed to happen.

Wow a totally uncalled for shot at Sonic Boom how unique and brand new.

[Celestia]

8 minutes ago, SBR2 said:

Wow a totally uncalled for shot at Sonic Boom how unique and brand new.

Uh, sorry? While I'm no fan of Boom, that wasn't really a jab. I was just saying that Boom is really different from SEGASonic, so anything's possible.

[SBR2]

45 minutes ago, Celestia said:

Uh, sorry? While I'm no fan of Boom, that wasn't really a jab. I was just saying that Boom is really different from SEGASonic, so anything's possible.

Woops sorry. I'm so used to absolute hatred of it that's just how that read.

[havikinazuma]

The thing is people are always saying the comics are better, than the games or the main continuity because the games barely have a fleshed out story, or connection, etc. Wouldn't being close to the games provide answers to a lot of unanswered questions? I'm sure there are benefits to this.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

2 hours ago, havikinazuma said:

The thing is people are always saying the comics are better, than the games or the main continuity because the games barely have a fleshed out story, or connection, etc. Wouldn't being close to the games provide answers to a lot of unanswered questions? I'm sure there are benefits to this.

How about the games answer their own damn questions as oppose to relying on a more niche medium to do it for them, like they should have done in the first place?

Why a more interactive and immersive media like video games would need the comics to provide answers that it can do much better on its own is something that makes absolutely no sense by comparison.

[BlueSky]

Let alone the fact that I really doubt they'd get enough freedom to retcon game canon or even explain things, especially if they were to keep writing purely about games.

I get the feeling more in-tune they need to write about the games the less they can explore the stories (and thus explain things) on their own, like they'd mostly just write stuff exactly like it happened with no explanations about anything that hasn't explained.

 

It would be cool to get explanations in somewhere, but I suppose that wouldn't really happen too likely, though what'd I know, maybe that's the only thing they're allowed to write or something.

Though I think it should be explained on the games, even when someone could counter saying "it's boring for the guys that are in only for the gameplay and such, if you like stories go buy the comics". That'd be a bit "meh" solution for me. I actually tend to care about the stories in the games, unless it's some kind of fanservice-fighting game or something between the lines.