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| Sometimes, pretty covers make a comic sell. I'm not talking about this however. |
Now, I’m willing to do anything when I see it…as long as I got proof. After viewing Linkara’s 100th Episode of Atop the 4th Wall {In which, he reviewed Sonic Live!}, I decided to try to find a Sonic comic book that is equally ludicrous and confusing. A few months prior, one of my friends donated me some Sonic comics. There was the In Your Face! Special, a few issues, and a Super Special I’m going to be reviewing today.
These comic books known as Sonic Super Specials were released quarterly that fall into the continuity of the Archie Sonic comics. For those of you who focus on the games, the Sonic Comic is an adaptation-turned-continuation of Sonic SatAM, where Robotnik succeeds on ruling the world and it’s up a small group of Freedom Fighters to make things right again. I know people loved the show so much that the comic continues to be published to this day. Even a spin-off comic takes familiar Sonic characters from games and beyond and put them into new 4-story arcs, but we’ll get to that eventually.
Right now, I’m on the topic of Sonic Super Specials. It was about anything from Muppet Babies-inspiration to Image-crossingover to important plot elements in the Sonicverse, and then there is the possibility of other worlds. Like DC and Marvel, Sonic is no stranger to the worlds different from his. In fact, one story focuses on the exposition of many universes Sonic visited, or Zones {Much like the games}, and his first meeting of the Monitor of Watching Mobius and Beyond: Zonic.
Granted, it’s one of the stories featured in this 48-page special dish, but this is known as the weirdest tales of Sonic I have ever read. So, let’s spin dash to Sonic Super Special #8 and see if we still some rings by the end of the review.
STORY:
The first story is a prelude to another story called “Zone Wars”. Sonic is battling a female version of Robotnik, stumbles upon Sally Acorn as Sailor Moon and Amy Rose as a hot schoolgirl, and Girl-botnik gets defeated by…Knuckles wearing a tuxedo, which Sally is in love with…excuse me for a second.
5 minutes later…
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| If you think Girl Robotnik was werid, wait until you enlarge this! |
He also explains the reason he didn’t try to stop Sonic when visited Zones before {I do have Sonic #52 as well where Sonic goes to the Discovery Zone, which is simlaiar to noir} The reason he let them open so that Sonic can save them because he is the hero of time and space. It’s a weird way to put it, but he is the only defense Mobius has got.
The second story is as normal as you can get for a Sonic comic. “Running on Empty” has Sonic telling Amy that one of Snively’s plans, who is Robotnik’s nephew, almost killed him. After being lured to a trap set by Snively resulting to a laser blast, Sonic’s speed causes him to stop speeding and carry debris in his trail. Not only that, but whenever Sonic uses it, he ages, which increases his metabolism. The Freedom Fighters head to Robotropolis to reverse the ray’s settings and after a battle with Robotnik, Sally manages to trick Snively on blasting the ray on Sonic and the blue blur is back to being young and speedy.
Then, there’s a story featuring one of Archie Comics’ exclusive characters: Monkey Khan, called “Den of Thieves”. It’s basically him teaming up with some other Archie-exclusives known as Liu Fang and Lui Chi Mei to get the treasure back stolen by these Furby Gremlins. I’m serious, just look at these guys and tell me you find some similarities! Actually, they’re known as Yagyu Clan, infamous for plundering villages in the Dragon Kingdom. And no, it doesn’t count as a Zone because it’s located on Mobius. The three heroes get attacked by a Robot Dragon, but Khan manages to smash the tracking device attached to the dragon, which causes it to turn on the Yagyu Clan.
Finally, there’s a story called “Ghost Busted”. It’s just a story adapted from an episode from Sonic SATAM. So to save you the trouble, I’m giving you the link to watch the episode yourself: http://alturl.com/9zoby. If that link doesn’t work anymore, just find in the internet or get the DVD of the series. I’m not going to review something that was based off of something this comic has expanded on.
In short, it’s a mixed bag. You got Sonic in other universes, Freedom Fighters thwarting Robotnik, Monkey Khan kicking ass, and Antoine being French. It’s a good issue, but the thought of seeing Sally Moon again will remain a mystery…now, go make me some fan art! Your furry-induced fetishes command you!
ART:
Now, I’m going to break down the stories down with writer and penciler only because after all you’re going to need a verdict eventually. Also, I need some background information for these guys will edcaute you and me.
Zone Wars: Prelude: Dan Scott written the story and James Fry did the artwork. Dan does a great job with capturing the oddities and sliders this story has to offer. He’s did some Star Wars comics for Dark Horse as well. James Fry’s artwork shines on the characters and backgrounds pretty well. James was also responsible for comics from DC, Marvel, mainly on Marvel Comics Presents and Star Trek, so check them out if you find them.
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| That's not exaggerated artwork, Snively has been working out for months. |
Den of Thieves: Frank Strom did both story and artwork. Frank Strom did a good job making a short adventure story, but I didn’t care about it because I didn’t care about Monkey Khan in particular. His work however ranges from Looney Tunes to Scooby-Doo to Powerpuff Girls! He even did an issue for Captain Marvel, that was nice of them.
Ghost Busted: Now, the art is one thing I need to talk about in this story. While Pat Alee wrote the story for the cartoon, Jay Oliveras did the story and art for the comic adaptation! It was his first story in Sonic Comics and his artwork is known to be panned by critics. However, he inked the Sonic Quest miniseries and it was basically just an adaptation for Sonic 2, 3, and Sonic and Knuckles. I haven’t read them, so unless I decide to, try to give the miniseries a try if you find it.
HUMOR:
The humor is expected for these books from Archie. It’s kid-friendly and can get a little annoying after a while. It's decent, but the main problem is that I'm starting to question including the topic in my comic reviews.
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| No. Bad artwork has Sonic, you two-tailed twit. |
In conclusion, I want to replace that slot just in case I find more serious comics in the near future. So, that is why Humor is turning into Script. I’ll be focusing on how well the story is written and as well as give you some background of the writer who did it. Maybe some of his or her work might make it on the show, maybe.
We all need a little laugh in the world, but for the grittier times, it deserves the respect it needs.
FINAL VERDICT:
Back to the subject at hand, Sonic Super Special #8 is a good read. I might want to recommend it to the Sonic SatAM and hardcore Sonic fans only. The humor is tacked on and the art and script range from good to poorly received. So, the stories aren’t that harmful for little kids, but if you’re a new reader, try and read some of the past issues to get an idea what the Freedom Fighters are up to. That is why I’m sticking a 3-star rating for its mixed results and maybe a ½ sign for the possibility to revisit the Luna Zone in the future. I don’t know, maybe Tuxedo Knux sounds hilarious to me.
RATING:
* * * 1/2
Like I said, I got many Sonic comics and even purchased two of them to see how the characters and world around them changed. Since I got time, I’ll give a brief review for the recent issue I got.
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