IDW Sonic the Hedgehog Comics General Discussion

Classic characters like Mighty, Ray, Nack, Bean, etc. won't appear as Sega doesn't want Classic and Modern to mix. https://www.reddit.com/r/SonicTheHedgehog/comments/90idsy/iam_flynn_sega_is_now_mandating_that_classic_and/

There IS hope however!

"M'kay - guys? I think we need to re-frame the collective perspective here. Yes, having some characters be Classic Sonic-exclusive is disappointing, but it is not worth the doom, gloom and gnashing of teeth I'm seeing. Here's why:

The comic is FOUR MONTHS OLD. 6-7 issues are out (depending on if you're one of the lucky #SDCC fans) We have /barely/ begun. There is /so much/ on the horizon in Year One alone, let alone what I've got planned for Year Two. In that time we've seen Tails ONCE. Amy ONCE. Knuckles, Blaze, Shadow, Rouge - ONCE. We've barely touched the Modern Sonic cast, which is massive, let alone the Classic Sonic cast.

We also have brand new characters we've /just/ introduced to explore the universe with in new ways. The amount of characters and material we have before us is enormous. We probably wouldn't see Mighty/Ray in 2018 anyway b/c of that. And things change. Two years ago, "Classic Sonic" as co-franchise wasn't a thing. One year ago Mighty and Ray were ghosts within the game franchise. Even longer ago Omega and Cream were off-limits in Archie!Sonic. See where I'm going with this?

What is "No" today may become "Yes" down the road. (and visa versa, but let's not get into that) So, no, Mighty and Ray won't be in IDW!Sonic in the foreseeable future. I promise you we'll have plenty of other characters doing fun/cool stuff in the meanwhile. If you -MUST- get your Mighty/Ray/Hooligans fix , tell @IDW Publishing you want a Classic Sonic book. Heaven knows I'm itchin' to get back on my two-Sonic-books-a-month gig."

Edited by lalalei2001 on Dec 12th 2018 at 6:03:19 AM

I'm watching the Game Grumps Sonic Forces playthrough and it's making me want Infinite to make a comeback in the comics.

Edited by RodimusMinor on Dec 15th 2018 at 12:17:42 PM

IDW announced the series' first annual is coming next year!

Featuring:

• 3 covers, including one by Modern Sonic designer Yuji Uekawa!
• 48 pages for $7.99!
• New talent including James Kochalka (Johnny Boo), Cavan Scott (Star Wars Adventures), Jack Lawrence (Transformers: Lost Light), and Gigi Dutrieux trying their hands at Sonic for the first time!
• Returning favorites like Ian Flynn, Evan Stanley, Caleb Goellner, Jonathan Gray, Jennifer Hernandez, and Diana Skelly!

New issue's out.

It's a little disappointing. It's basically just a filler issue with no real stakes, but I guess that's the problem of reading a comic monthly. The big draw of the issue is Eggman regaining his memories but it just kind of happens, and 12 issues later Flynn really squandered the story potential of an amnesiac Dr. Eggman and what that would bring, on top of Dr. Starline's potential as his own villain getting swept aside so he could be Eggman's fanboy. Thankfully it's propelled by strong character interactions to keep things interesting enough, and Whisper and Tangle continue to be the best parts of the series.

Edited by RodimusMinor on Jan 16th 2019 at 11:12:44 AM

Yea, basically my thoughts. Not bad, but not really great either.

Feels like Mr. Tinkerer didn't have much purpose beyond just padding out Eggman's eventual return and that's about it, Eggman just goes right back to what he was doing before. Dr. Starlene just seems to be another fanatic of Eggman and a loyal minion, and Rough and Tumble are, as he put it, minion fodder.

The character interactions are still nice, but that can only carry this series for so long.

The writing is just...ok. It's not really offensive enough to be bad, but not interesting enough to call it good. just... adequate.

Tumble dabbing was pretty great, not gonna lie.

I think you mean Rough

I'm nonplussed because I doubted this amnesia was going to last long. It's always Eggman. Except for when it's Metal Sonic.

While an amnesiac Doctor Eggman could have been interesting - and it was for a little while - are you telling me you'd seriously read Sonic comics where Eggman wasn't the villain for more than 20-30 issues?

That'd take some Shakespearean writing to sell.

Edited by Soble on Jan 21st 2019 at 5:32:38 AM

I thought it would have worked because it'd be a way to build up an original Rogues Gallery for the comic. Now all four villains of the last 12 issues are under Eggman's thumb.

Ian Flynn just recently confirmed via his latest Bumblekast, that Sega have declared Infinite the Jackal off-limits from the comics.

I wonder if they finally let him touch other guys who were off-limits, like Nega.

Aw, not another character-block. What's the matter with SEGA? Do they just not like being reminded of failed bad guys characters like Lyric and Infinite?

Man, I am actually starting to get worried about the future of the comic if Sega has so many hands in it.

Tangle and Whisper are getting a mini-series.

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2019/01/25/idw-april-2019-solicits-launches-dick-tracy-forever-1-by-michael-avon-oeming/

I for one am thrilled. They're the best parts of the comic and hopefully focusing on original characters will give Flynn some more creative freedom.

Edited by RodimusMinor on Jan 25th 2019 at 3:08:51 PM

If I remember correctly one of the mandates is that Eggman must always be the main villain, so whatever happens to oust him from the villain spot now or in the future would always be temporary. It's amazing it managed to last 12 issues.

EDIT: Here's the solicit. Not sure how I feel about this 'season' thing.

Fan-favorites Tangle the Lemur and Whisper the Wolf take the spotlight in this special preview for their upcoming mini-series adventure! Check out a sneak peek of their next adventure as two of the newest and already most beloved Sonic characters team-up! Also includes a recap of Season 1!

Catch up on Season 1 of Sonic as Season 2 picks up speed in the main series! Includes a special sneak peek of the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper mini-series, coming this summer!

Edited by lalalei2001 on Jan 25th 2019 at 7:59:19 AM

Of course it'd be temporary but Flynn didn't do anything with this cool new status quo for an entire year. Mr. Tinker just kind of shows up, gets kidnapped, and immediately reverts back to Eggman.

Anyway I don't get why Sega is so overprotective of Sonic in the comic of all things. They aren't exactly bolstering the franchise's reputation on their own if you get what I'm saying.

I'm saying they make lots of bad Sonic games.

Edited by RodimusMinor on Jan 25th 2019 at 11:07:18 AM

Sega I've heard are notoriously anal when it comes to Sonic being used by other parties; Nintendo wanted to add him sooner to Brawl, but negotiations with Sega meant they had to wait until literally the absolute last minute before they added him and it's why he still only has one remix ever.

They nixed more drastic design changes in Sonic Boom.

And recently in the comics, they've basically cracked down on can or can't be done with them.

They are extremely controlling about Sonic.

It's kinda the opposite of the situation is the 90's where Sega of America, Japan, and Europe all had their own ideas of what to do with Sonic and they all basically did whatever they wanted.

Well, nixing the character designs for Boom was probably for the best. Those designs◊ were...◊ blegh◊.

It's cool that Tangle and Whisper are getting their own miniseries, but I hope IDW doesn't do that thing that comics tend to do and have a hundred interconnected spin-offs that are just impossible to keep up with, logistically or financially.

I get that this is just one spin-off and that I'm probably overreacting, but this is one of the reasons I don't read Marvel or DC comics.

Edited by Primis on Jan 25th 2019 at 10:36:50 AM

Why couldn't they be as controlling about him that movie everyone (me included) are dreading?

Edited by TargetmasterJoe on Jan 26th 2019 at 9:50:22 AM

For what it's worth Takashi Iizuka, who is already supervising the comic, confirmed 7 months ago that he's also supervising the movie.

IDW already does that, especially with their Transformers, MLP, Ghostbusters, and Back to the Future series, so it was only a matter of time with Sonic, especially since Archie also had several Sonic miniseries, spinoffs, and specials.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_IDW_Publishing_publications

Edited by lalalei2001 on Jan 26th 2019 at 11:27:30 AM

Greaaaaat...

Starting a bunch of spin-offs that you need to read to get the whole story is 1000x more likely to get me to stop reading a comic than any    MANDATES.   

And this is (partly) why Marvel and DC are losing readers on a regular basis.

I doubt Tangle and Whisper is going to be required reading. It just seems like IDW caught onto their rapid popularity and are trying to capitalize on it.