Megathread IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog - Megathread

[Adamis]

6 hours ago, PublicEnemy1 said:

I wonder if Jon Gray could get in trouble for slipping in that Knothole Village reference. Last time someone slipped a SatAM reference (ABT), he got a stern talking-to by SEGA.

 

First time I hear that. Source please ?

[Shadowlax]

I may have fully embraced chaos with this book

[PublicEnemy1]

8 hours ago, Adamis said:

First time I hear that. Source please ?

It was in one of Ian's Bumblekast a few years back.

[KoDaiko]

3 hours ago, PublicEnemy1 said:

It was in one of Ian's Bumblekast a few years back.

That reminds me, a while back Ian said he's working on an archive for all the Bumblekast questions.

Wonder how long it's gonna take.

[Adamis]

14 hours ago, PublicEnemy1 said:

It was in one of Ian's Bumblekast a few years back.

Thanks but what are the details ?

[PublicEnemy1]

7 hours ago, Adamis said:

Thanks but what are the details ?

Well, he actually didn't give details about his encounter with SEGA, but given his tone of voice, I'm willing to bet they weren't happy with that little reference.

[Kaotic Kanine]

Preview pages for Issue #30 are up! (Spoilering, just in case)

Spoiler

I was not expecting Cream to encounter Zavok and I really hope she gets to fight him lol

 

[DabigRG]

Spoiler

Cream vs Zavok is not something I expected to ever see, even if from just having the two interact.

Probably would've been smarter to just leave well enough alone there. Twitter is right that his reply is unintentionally funny though.

I like Knuckles and Eggman's comparable thoughts on the matter.

 

14 minutes ago, Kaotic Kanine said:

Preview pages for Issue #30 are up! (Spoilering, just in case)

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I was not expecting Cream to encounter Zavok and I really hope she gets to fight him lol

 

Holy crap, the TSR weirdness ditchotomy is actually happening.

[Sonictrainer]

Spoiler

That Cacophonous Conch would be really helpful right about now.

 

[Kuzu]

You know what, I won't lie

I completely forgot about Zavok.

[Sonictrainer]

I'm surprised he can still stand after getting a beatdown from Super Sonic.

[DabigRG]

1 hour ago, Sonictrainer said:

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That Cacophonous Conch would be really helpful right about now.

 

Spoiler

Holy shit, it is gonna pay off, isn't it?

1 hour ago, Kuzu said:

You know what, I won't lie

I completely forgot about Zavok.

I'm surprised he's showing up again so soon, much less minutes after getting beaten by Super Sonic.

[Shadowlax]

3 hours ago, Kuzu said:

You know what, I won't lie

I completely forgot about Zavok.

I think uh... I think a lot of people did. I certainly did. If cream hadn't mentioned the rest of the d6 I would have forgot them too.

[Sega DogTagz]

When is issue 30 supposed to drop again? Still in the coming soon section over on IDW website....

[Sonictrainer]

2 hours ago, Sega DogTagz said:

When is issue 30 supposed to drop again? Still in the coming soon section over on IDW website....

According to Sonic News Network, it's August 19th

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

Previews world is still saying August 12th.

[Kuzu]

Why is the schedule so fucking inconsistent, jeez. 

[calamityCons]

Blame the pandemic, my friend. Schools, businesses, and everything else is also forced to deal with inconsistent schedules at this time.

[DabigRG]

So Bumblekast has been doing Q&A only episodes since July 15(following support from Black Live Matter) due to people preferring that according to the analytics; he is currently at episode 75 on a spreadsheet for all of the questions. As a reminder, you can email your questions to bumblekast@yahoo.com if you want them answered.

So here comes the first batch.

Spoiler

Of the other Sonic robots Mecha Sonic(who may be dead/Classic and he wonders if Metal Overlord may have been inspired by him) is the one he'd be most interested in bringing back, but on the catch of adding something else to him. Most of the Sonic robots lack the pizzazz of Metal Sonic and his silent killing machine deal is something that's shared with all of them. He would love to see Metal Knuckles come back into play though.

He's assuming the movie characters are off limits and he's not really interested in touching them over seeing what happens with them in sequels. He's also not fond of crazy lizard wizard and hopes the movies don't go too crazy.

There was Norse influence for Drogoon, as well as Skies of Arcadia, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Cowboy Bebop, Wakfu. He doesn't intend to include Sonic stuff and sees Drogoon as an escape. There are also things he isn't fond of acknowledged like Tolkien elves Asari

He doubts Sonamy would happen in the games because the whole point is that it is a chase. He agrees that certain versions of Amy would be unhealthy to pair up but he also enjoys the personality she had then. One of the notes for issue 2 was to dial back her outward affection, which he understands but feels she needs something else alongside her optimism like Adventure 1. 

Silver can be tricky to write due to how powerful he is capable of being.  He often falls back on his characterization to keep him from being unstoppable, though he sometimes ignores some of his extraneous skills to nerf him a bit. He also sees that in the 06 fight, where getting preoccupied with picking up a bunch of chairs at once allows Sonic to use his speed against him.

He assumes a Adventure 3 would be about what the first two were about structure wise. He also knows there wouldn't be a Chronicles 2.

He thinks the education system of Sonic's World would be incredibly weird to explain given that there is no currency, which is a considerable throw off. Forces can imply that jobs are voluntary as needed rather than something everyone needs to do and so perhaps everything is a form of communism being threatened by Eggman's capitalism. On a sidenote, he once messed with someone along those lines by likening Sonic vs Eggman to a reverse USA vs Russia.

Also, he entered a contest for Shonen Jump's 100th Anniversary(!) that will be over in September.

[Sonictrainer]

Spoiler

Well, we already got Metal Shadow... maybe some time after the Metal Virus arc, we could get some returning or new Metal or Doll Characters.

 

[DabigRG]

20 minutes ago, Sonictrainer said:

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Well, we already got Metal Shadow... maybe some time after the Metal Virus arc, we could get some returning or new Metal or Doll Characters.

 

Do we?

Spoiler

Makes me wonder if Metal Tails and Metal Amy fall under the Archie license.

 

[Sonictrainer]

11 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

Do we?

Sure, just ask Whisper...

...

...on second thought...

[Your Vest Friend]

I'm pretty sure that's Shadow Android, not Metal Shadow.

[Kaotic Kanine]

Ugh, I that bit about Amy annoys me to no end  Nevermind that Ian, the official writer for the Sonic comics, takes that cutscene in Sonic Heroes as seriously as everyone*. But the confirmation that SEGA officially wants to neuter Amy's open affection for Sonic makes my blood boil. There was nothing wrong with Amy being outwardly affectionate for Sonic; quite frankly, it's a refreshing change of pace from so many other female character (especially in Western works) who keep their affection for another character hidden out of "anxiety", "shame", and such. But just because two spin-off games and one television spin-off (none of which are highly regarded for their character writing) flanderized that trait of Amy's, now it's seen as something to be purged from her character when that isn't needed whatsoever. And now Amy is being turned into her complete contrast; becoming logical, calm, and easily tired out. Instead of the emotional, energetic, and tireless girl she was established as 

*

Spoiler

Seriously, it was ONE cutscene out of many involving Amy in that entire game actually presented her in bad light! And even then, it was one of the four "Team Battle" cutscenes, which were blatantly engineered to produce conflict for the sake of boss fights. Amy's "There no way out of marrying me!" beatdown is no more accurate to her character than Rouge's frankly out of nowhere hostility to Team Chaotix or Espio's "Now hand over that Chao, nice and easy". The rest of Sonic Heroes was actually a very ideal take on Amy, all things considered. Can we SHUT UP about that one freaking cutscene???

 

[DabigRG]

More Bumblekast Q&A

Spoiler

The fact that the Eclipse Cannon was seemingly destroyed by Sonic is likely just a plot hole bourne of sloppy story telling due to localizing the Japanese take on an English script; his observation is that Sonic getting there coincided with Eggman inserting the Emerald. It's also ambiguous as to how much Shadow knew about Gerald's plan beyond what to do to kick it off.

He listened to two songs suggested as themes for Tangle (Isuku Dosuka) and Whisper(Island in the Sun) and thought they were too repetitive and lazy, respectively; he imagines Tangle would be happy peppy Ska(over Jpop) and Whisper would have something instrumental & somber without being depressed.

He's had experience with MLP, Transformers, and Super Duck where he submitted his draft on the premise and the editor/headwriter decided how it would get printed. With Sonic, Evan Stanley will be the outright head that he works in some personal ideas on the side per what she and the editor guides.

If Tangle and Whisper gained voice actors, Christina Vee honestly could play either: Tangle needs to be energetic without being obnoxious and Whisper needs to convey a lot with a little. Kyle thinks Ashley Johnson could be Whisper.

He admits that he feels he learned more about writing in high school than in college, which was more about personal growth. However, experiences can vary and it's important to practice writing to get an idea of ones own preference as well as gain a grasp on effective conventions. As such, he suggests going to a community college.

If he made his own game, he'd want: a Knuckles Metroidvania involving collecting parts for Tails to create items and mystical items for use on replays; Rtype game for Tails flying and shooting Badniks, Witchcarters, and Battlebirds, though he could also have a Nights game about flying and using platforming to recuperate before flying again; a Sonic Forces esque game for Amy with different hammer abilities; a Shadow the Hedgehog 2 Sin and Punishment style game using weapons whether realistic or Wispons to pursue different story routes that aren't as ridiculous so as to be undone by a true ending; a Sly Cooper or Metal Gear style game for Rouge; an Eggman in Egg Walker game with Base builder elements to arm up for . Chao Gatch's game . He also has an unused docs for RTS WoW game he would make..

The New252 designs were meant to be gamelike: Sally was like Sonic with the Ring Blades standing in for lacking a spin, Bunnie was basically Gamma shooting and hovering,  Antoine could be a Metal Gear Rising flash, while he didn't know have as much of a solid framework, Rotor had a Drill Dive to move like Drill underwater, and Nicole was a platformer minigame require to interface with specific areas.

On the edge of a fan idea, Omega should see Metal Sonic as either a pinnacle target that's loyal to Eggman or a worthy adversary who he recognizes why he was allowed to stay in line compared to him. Which is still a reason to destroy him.

He generally does an accumulated two weeks of work a year for publishing the comics, but he's always thinking of new ideas both professional and for fun.

Bonus from aftercredits: The fact that the human world is apparently visible in TSR when they take off on Dodopa's rocket from Sonic's World could be proof that there is in fact no quality control.