Megathread IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog - Megathread

[Sonictrainer]

Here's the combined covers

Spoiler

 

[DabigRG]

9 minutes ago, Sonictrainer said:

Here's the combined covers

  Hide contents

 

Oooh, okay that's right.

Why is Tangle waaay to the over there, though?

[Your Vest Friend]

It looks like the whole image will be made up of three covers.

[DabigRG]

11 minutes ago, Your Vest Friend said:

It looks like the whole image will be made up of three covers.

Oh, okay. That would make sense and I sorta hope you're right.

Cause otherwise, that's somewhat egregious placement in the frame there.

Wonder who/what the other cover's gonna have?

[Kuzu]

Spoiler

Looks like everyone called Sonic ending up in the Sol dimension

 

[Sonictrainer]

Here's the combined covers again, but without text

Spoiler

 

[StaticMania]

Rouge is the most proud of this moment.

[MetalSkulkBane]

Sonic #30 is like watching janitor moping the floor while whistling an old tune. Calm, uneventful clean up. Basically it's necessary evil in a world where slower pacing demands that single issue can be worthless, but work well as a breather in larger saga.

Okay, technically things happen, but either unimportant, something we already knew or could see coming. Also, artwork is almost bad  EDIT mixed bag. Some panels are really cool, other feel rushed. Fight with Zavok for example

Spoiler

Zavok gets beat up again. Kinda boring and pointless, I guess we needed something for everyone to do, so Eggman can escape. Watching other Zeti run could been much shorter, but I guess it was pretty fun.

Eggman escapes. Sure why not. Omega as always saves average issue with golden dialogue.

Shadow messes up. I'm adding it to his counter (now it's 4 in a row). Sigh. Again, in vacuum it's fine, good even. His fight with Metal is short, but sweet. But stringed with his previous appearances...
But I find it interesting how silent he is. Maybe that's Flynn's new strategy silent Shadow can imply emotions without breaking any Sega rules. (Hey it works for Metal Sonic). Fight itself was short but sweet.

And few cutsy wusty moments. Rouge is cute, Babylon Rouges bland. Best is again Knuckles "any minute now", good mix of comedy/stubbornness/nobility in one constantly repeated line.

Also one large "holy cow" moment at the end. Brace yourself people

Spoiler

BLAZE CASTLE. OMG. WE'RE SEEING NEW PLACES IN SOL DIMENSION. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. WISH ARTWORK WAS BETTER BUT STILL. WOOO!

oh and sonic is not dead. yawn.

 

[SBR2]

I really will never understand why people think Priscilla's art is bad. Granted I have only seen a few images of it in preview pages or shared around but I think her pencils are really nice.

[Diogenes]

Feels like they could've accomplished all the same things in half the pages. Like they didn't have enough actual material to fill the space between the end of the virus and what the next issue will cover so they stretched things out.

I like what they did with Knuckles, at least. Both his "get the fuck off my island" attitude and milking his "any minute now" for both comedy and earnest characterization.

[Kuzu]

Its definitely kind of a nothing issue, since things technically happened but were pretty stretched out.

Zavok's last stand feels like it existed just to give Eggman an excuse to escape.

Metal Sonic goring Emerl was pretty visceral tho, the wonders of Robot gore. 

And Sonic, predictably, ends up in the Sol dimension. At least they didn't try milking his implied "death" too long.

 

That's about it...

[bingboomer]

yeah it was a bit of a meh issue but with a few cool panels in. and comedy from knuckles. 

[Shadowlax]

So I wasn't really gonna read this issue, or the next or the next. It hit that point where it felt like nothing mattered and I was waiting for the next arc. My twitter timeline lights up with " why is shadow so bad in idw" so i'm like " ok did shadow literally shit his pants or something". So I read the issue, and there are so many things kind off about this issue its wild

As other's have mentioned above, it kind of shouldn't exist. It isn't even a "necessary evil" it is purely unnecessary. The only kind of interesting part were the normal people dealing with fall out and the but that happens with sonic which are very small portions of the book. I do not think the character interacts in this book are worth it and it kind of feels like a giant waste of time and could have been sandwiched between a larger focus on the world dealing with it. The quality of the art kind of reflects that in ways too. Like there is a bunch of sequences where I literally can't quite tell what the hell is happening fight wise.

Spoiler

What the hell was that scene after metal gored gemril, like what happened I do not understand like did like charmy drop a brick on him or some shit like what happened.

I know covid was some wild stuff but there's just parts of this book I'm confused on to how the let this out of the door. Does sonic do that well for them? Maybe.

Speaking of " I don't know how they let this out of the door" Shadow's bit. Like why? Why is that even in the book. Like nothing happens during that entire thing that is interesting  and could be minor  exposition the next time shadow shows up. And given the internet reaction, it didn't really do it for people. It was kind of embarrassing.  It is strange that they thought that would be satisfactory for anyone who was interested with that character

Spoiler

They can't have like shadow kill eggman but a lot of people were confused that this robot which is normally nothing to a guy who previously beat up his super upgraded version bare handed couldn't handle him with ease this time.

Its bits like that which made it very clear that due to some editor or something the story needed padding out , but like this is just...how did you think this was ok? How did you think this was a satisfactory release of a book. I guess they feel like " we need to give him something. But he sega says he doesn't give a shit about rouge or omega so I dunno " maybe he just shouldn't have been in the book at all. Heck maybe most of the characters in this book shouldn't have been in or in as much.

This is the first book in a while that I can just call outright bad.

Like is this IDW editoral that's mandating these issues? Is it ian's doing , shits bad dude.

[Fire-N-Space]

Seeing this comic using the excuse "Amy helps everyone" as the reason she takes on this stressful job makes me cringe let alone Amy getting tired she used to be so energetic. 

When did Metal Sonic learn to use Nayru's Love how is he even doing that?   

[PublicEnemy1]

15 minutes ago, Fire-N-Space said:

Seeing this comic using the excuse "Amy helps everyone" as the reason she takes on this stressful job makes me cringe let alone Amy getting tired she used to be so energetic. 

When did Metal Sonic learn to use Nayru's Love how is he even doing that?   

It's the "Black Shield". It was also in SA2 and Archie IIRC.

[Dr. Detective]

No one in the comic even brought up the possibility that Sonic might be "dead". They were worried, as they expectedly would have been, but I feel like the idea that they were milking it at all kind of comes more from bracing yourselves for it rather than it actually being a thing. Like, he disappeared at the end of last issue and immediately, during the first couple of pages of this one Eggman's just like "Yeah right" and the talk the heroes had was more about searching for him. Then we see him at the end of this issue. I don't think the book was under much delusion that people thought he was dead, more so, wondering what exactly happened to him. I abstain from making predictions and usually am just along for the ride so him ending up in the Sol Dimension was more of an "Oh. Okay." moment for me. 

Gotta hand it to my boy Zavok though. I like the cut of his jib. I wish I could be a guy who just would not submit when the psychokinesis of life starts weighing down on me.

I usually really love aftermath issues but I surprisingly thought this one wasn't as good as the one that happened after the Battle for Angel Island. Probably because there was a lot less breathing room for character stuff and just way more action. I didn't expect that. That isn't to say there weren't any good character moments here. The book always remembers to deliver on that, regardless of what's going on, in some capacity. Here it was the stuff with Knuckles and Rouge that ended up being my favorite. It's nice seeing those two interact like that again. It feels so few and far between nowadays.

Zor is some sort of misery masochist or something. He gets off on not just putting other people in peril but putting himself in peril as well and its deeply concerning. Bad news is the only thing that makes him happy so I understand why but, my dude, you're unstable. There's gotta be a therapy Zeti up there on the Lost Hex.

I also appreciated seeing the Babylon Rogues be bros together. I'm always a sucker for that sort of stuff regardless of which characters I get it from.

My love and concern for Omega remains strong and true. Always. 

I think one of the other scenes I really appreciated was Amy self reflecting on just how extremely stressful her position this whole time was. It's clear she doesn't necessarily want to do this despite feeling it needs to be done. I wonder if the next arc is about her just... taking a vacation. Or at least attempting to. 

I don't have too much else to say. It was all just fine. I hope everyone enjoys the silly fun times ahead. I have a feeling Zor may actually be my spirit animal because I was ready to wallow in more of that tasty misery some more though. Mmmm~!

[Diogenes]

28 minutes ago, Shadowlax said:

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They can't have like shadow kill eggman but a lot of people were confused that this robot which is normally nothing to a guy who previously beat up his super upgraded version bare handed couldn't handle him with ease this time.

 

Spoiler

Well that "previous" thing never happened, first off. He short-circuited Metal's Super form with a surprise attack and got a few hits in, but that's it. He didn't "really" fight Super Neo Metal and a few hits on his non-Super form wouldn't have been enough to stop him. Sonic, Metal, and Shadow are all meant to be roughly on par with each other, given the latter two were designed as doppelganger rivals to the former. Special circumstances and narrative needs aside, you should expect one-on-one fights between them to be about 50-50 either way. And the narrative need for Eggman to get away means Metal wins this one.

 

[StaticMania]

So...is Metal Sonic being effective a "change of pace"?

Do like?

[Shadowlax]

Nope.

This book didn't need to happen, I do not want to get into right now. I'll come back later with a cooler head.

Just nah

 

 

[DabigRG]

So, Issue 30 is fine.  I'm skimping on trying to say much at the moment because I have a few other things on my mind; you can copy and paste a gist from Skulk's comment except a bit nicer for me in the meantime.
Gonna be honest, though, I completely forgot/missed this issue existed in the lineup. In my mind, it was three issues of Deadly Six fights to get the Emeralds-->final race against time with Colossal Zavok--> Celebration 2parter with Omega cheststroller and Solar Sonic, but low and behold, there was a whole "cleanup" issue just like Year One to go through.Also, I have answers from July's final two Bumblekasts that I'll have to clean up before posting.

8 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

Some panels are really cool, other feels rushed. 

7 hours ago, SBR2 said:

I really will never understand why people think Priscilla's art is bad. Granted I have only seen a few images of it in preview pages or shared around but I think her pencils are really nice.

Yeah, that sounds like a general way to put it. It's inconsistently rough.

8 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

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Shadow messes up. I'm adding it to his counter (now it's 4 in a row). Sigh. Again, in vacuum it's fine, good even. But stringed with his previous appearances...
But I find it interesting how silent he is. Maybe that's Flynn's new strategy silent Shadow can imply emotions without breaking any Sega rules. (Hey it works for Metal Sonic). Fight itself was short but sweet.

 

It's probably meant to highlight his focus on finishing the job, but yes, that dychotomy is there too.

8 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

Also one large "holy cow" moment at the end. Brace yourself people

  Hide contents

BLAZE CASTLE. OMG. WE'RE SEEING NEW PLACES IN SOL DIMENSION. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. WISH ARTWORK WAS BETTER BUT STILL. WOOO!

oh and sonic is not dead. yawn.

 

Was really surprised to see that so unambiguously. Guess that's where the "inspired by the games" mantra kicks in.

8 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

Best is again Knuckles "any minute now", good mix of comedy/stubbornness/nobility in one constantly repeated line.

7 hours ago, Diogenes said:

I like what they did with Knuckles, at least. Both his "get the fuck off my island" attitude and milking his "any minute now" for both comedy and earnest characterization.

I seem to recall that starting back in Issue 3.

Remind me, was it ever a thing before this comic?

7 hours ago, Diogenes said:

Feels like they could've accomplished all the same things in half the pages. Like they didn't have enough actual material to fill the space between the end of the virus and what the next issue will cover so they stretched things out.

5 hours ago, Kuzu said:

Its definitely kind of a nothing issue, since things technically happened but were pretty stretched out.

Zavok's last stand feels like it existed just to give Eggman an excuse to escape.

It does feel like it could've been presented in a better way.

2 hours ago, Fire-N-Space said:

Seeing this comic using the excuse "Amy helps everyone" as the reason she takes on this stressful job makes me cringe let alone Amy getting tired she used to be so energetic. 

 

That's why I've been bringing up how she needed a side story or two to headline.

The Restoration is basically one of those charity disaster fix organizations dedicated to helping people, so Amy being a part of it makes sense. But we weren't given much of what working with them actually entails; we see her doing paperwork for a page and that's kinda it--no getting close and personal with the people they're trying to help to lift up their spirits and whatnot.

2 hours ago, Fire-N-Space said:

When did Metal Sonic learn to use Nayru's Love how is he even doing that?   

I haven't played Smash in years now, but that's the crystal? 

It's the Black Shield--Metal's had that since at least SA2.

 

[Kuzu]

I'm honestly getting to the point where I just want Shadow gone from this book; not because of anything I have against the character in the book, I actually didn't have any issue with him this issue. No, it's because I'm really fucking tired of hearing about him any time he shows up and someone has to point out literally every single fucking flaw with him. It's so draining and just makes me not want to talk about the character at this point. 

 

Other than that, yea I admit this was a whole lot of nothing but some people treating like it's worse than trash? Like, it's a filler issue, nothing too egregious about it. 

[StaticMania]

13 minutes ago, Kuzu said:

Other than that, yea I admit this was a whole lot of nothing but some people treating like it's worse than trash? Like, it's a filler issue, nothing too egregious about it. 

Sometimes people can't take it when nothing happens...as if there's something to be gained from rushing.

Ya know.

[thumbs13]

Shadow miming so they don't have to give him bad dialogue is a brilliant idea if they have to use him in the future.
Cream sicking Cheese on Zavok is hilarious.

 

Spoiler

Also, I'm pretty sure this is where Marine would have appeared. But nice Rush Adventure callback with the koala guy.

 

[Wraith]

I thought Shadow getting checked by Metal Sonic was cool. Poor bot gets smacked around a lot but it's not like he's a pushover. 

Don't have much to say about this issue otherwise except that I'm glad Sonic ended up where I thought he would. Excited to see where that goes. I hope something happens there and they don't just send him right back.

[Shadowlax]

2 hours ago, thumbs13 said:

Shadow miming so they don't have to give him bad dialogue is a brilliant idea if they have to use him in the future.
Cream sicking Cheese on Zavok is hilarious.

 

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Also, I'm pretty sure this is where Marine would have appeared. But nice Rush Adventure callback with the koala guy.

 

I actually don't think its brilliant if the art and scene direction isn't there and it isn't there. This is on top of expectations of the character. I do not envy the writing staff. The silence is delaying a problem not solving it

 

That was a neat call back yes

 

The more I think about this book the more embarrassing it is