Reviews ComicBook / Sonic The Hedgehog Archie Comics

The Fastest Thing Alive

Let's get this out of the way first off. Sonic the Archie Comic wasn't perfect. The first 13 or so years, while having its' moments, were mired with bland or half-baked characters, nonsensical and convoluted writing, and a lot of stories that were either mediocre or just plain BAD. A lot of this was due to the most profilic writer of that era, Ken Penders, who was such an egoistic primadona that he would wind up stripping the comic of most of it's characters and lore just because he thought he was a special little snowflake, when his stories and characters as he wrote them weren't much to write home about in the first place. And niether were most of the other writers.

And then, in 2006, a miracle happened: Ian Flynn. In short order, he singlehandidly turned the comic from something that was mediocre at best and asasine at worst into a tour deforce; into something that was not only the best take on Sonic story-wise ever, but also just a kickass comic in its' own right, and that's saying something. For 11 years, the comic was now a grand mixture of awesome action with a suprising amount of character and heart. Sonic and co could be kicking butt one minute, and the next, you get a sobering scene of just how they failed a supporting cast member from a previous run. It's amazing stuff, and while I didn't care as much for the Postboot stuff as much as for the Preboot, it's still really good in its' own right.

And now, at long last, it's finally done. Over 24 years and an award for being the longest running comic based off a videogame ever, the comic has finally come to an end. So with all that said, is the comic as a whole really worth checking out? And the answer is: Yes. Absolutly. Even the pre-Flynn years for all their faults still have moments of enjoyment to be had, and while any grown adult with half a brain can tell a lot of them suck, there were still legions of kids back in the day who didn't know any better that still have fond memories of it all today. (Me included. Unfortuantly.) And the Flynn stuff is genuially kickass. Whether you're a Sonic fan or not, this is still one of the most noteworthy comics to ever hit the stands, and from Flynn onward, it's also one of the best.