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Sonic the Hedgehog (comic series)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sonic the Hedgehog is an ongoing series of American comic books published by Archie Comics, featuring Sega's mascot video game character Sonic. The comic book series debuted in America at the beginning of 1993, two years after the release of the first video game in 1991 for the Sega Genesis. Spin-off publications from the comic include a Knuckles the Echidna series starring the titular character, which ran for 32 issues; 15 48-page "Super Specials"; 8 single special issues; and 4 short three-issue miniseries, each starring a character from the series. On September 21, 2005, Archie Comics started a new series based on the TV show Sonic X.
Aside from the Sonic X series, all of Archie Comics' Sonic-related series take place in the same fictional universe. This universe features a mixture of characters, settings and storylines from the Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon, the Sonic video games by Sega, and various other incarnations of Sonic. It also includes many elements unique to the comic universe. While the ongoing game canon has influenced the comic canon, both exist as entirely different universes. Sonic the Hedgehog is not to be confused with Sonic the Comic, which ran in the UK and published more issues despite running for a shorter time (due to UK comics being published on more frequent schedule than in the US). As of November 2007, there have been 182 Sonic the Hedgehog regular series issues.
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The main focus of comic storyling is the title character, world-famous hero Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic is endowed with super-speed and a hatred of oppression, which puts him at odds with the nefarious Dr. Eggman. Sonic is in many ways different from his game counterpart - in the comics, he is depicted as having important ties with his family and friends, a characteristic absent from other incarnations. He is also portrayed as having a deep sense of duty - in the games Sonic treats his ongoing conflict with Eggman as just an opportunity to have a fun time, whereas in the comic he holds a personal grudge against the Doctor and understands his ability to protect the world from this menace.
Although Sonic normally goes adventuring by himself in the video games (with the occasional company of other player characters), in the comic he is affiliated with the Freedom Fighters, a ragtag rebellion that was formed to counter the tyranny of Dr. Ivo Robotnik (currently known as "Eggman") and his legion of unquestioning, warlike robots. The basis of the original issues were designed to closely mirror the animated television series, as well as the names and likenesses of Sonic's allies in the Freedom Fighters. Since then, the series has integrated many elements from the video games, which has led to ongoing story arcs involving Shadow the Hedgehog and others.
At the beginning of the series, the year is 3235, though by now it is approximately 3237. Sonic currently lives on Planet Mobius in New Mobotropolis. It was eventually revealed that Mobius is actually a future Earth (in an alternative reality), the year being A.D. 14,016 by our calendar.
- Originally, the date the Xorda attacked Earth was the year 0 by the Mobian calender (during the 21st century by our calendar), and that was known in Echidna theology as the first "Day of Fury". However, the date of the Xorda attack was retconned to have occurred roughly twelve thousand years ago from the current Mobian year. The reason for the Mobian date only being 3237 with the currect retcon is unknown.(Unless of course the years are longer, but this is just in theory).[1][2]
At the onset of the series, Sonic's original home was Knothole Village, a secret woodland base hidden within the Great Forest. Other main areas of setting include Angel Island, Station Square, Downunda and New Megapolis.
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Miles "Tails" Prower
- Princess Sally Acorn
- Freedom Fighters
- Amy Rose
- Knuckles the Echidna
- Julie-Su
- Chaotix
- Brotherhood of Guardians
- Dulcy the Dragon
- Dr. Robotnik/Eggman
- Snively
- Mammoth Mogul
- Ixis Naugus
- Doctor Finitevus
- Scourge the Hedgehog
- Fiona Fox
- The Destructix
- Dark Legion
The Sonic the Hedgehog comic typically runs original storylines based around characters from various Sonic media, but it has also made a number of adaptations. For instance, it has adapted a couple episodes of Sonic the Hedgehog, as well as complete or partial adaptations of the following video games:
- Sonic Spinball (#6)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (#13) (also combined with Sonic 2 and Sonic & Knuckles for the Sonic-Quest mini-series)
- Sonic & Knuckles (Sonic & Knuckles Special)
- Sonic CD (#25)
- SegaSonic the Hedgehog (#28) (arcade game)
- Sonic Triple Trouble (Sonic Triple Trouble Special)
- Knuckles' Chaotix (Knuckles' Chaotix Special)
- Sonic 3D Blast (Sonic Blast Special)
- Sonic Adventure (Super Special #13, and issues 79-84, originally planned to be 78-83, and Knuckles issues 33-34 before it was cancelled after issue 32)
- Sonic Shuffle (#92)
- Sonic Adventure 2 (#98)
- Sonic Rush (#160 & #161)
- Sonic Riders (#163 & #164)
- Shadow The Hedgehog (#171) (Shadow's origins)
- Sonic Rush Adventure (#180)*
Sonic and the Secret Rings(free comic made for the game)
Sonic the Hedgehog Episodes:
- Sonic the Hedgehog (Super Special #8, Episode: "Ghost Busted")
- Sonic the Hedgehog (#113, Episode: "Cry of the Wolf")
Sonic the Hedgehog was originally published as a four issue mini-series, with the first issue labeled as "issue 0" and the second as "issue 1" (despite the note on issue 1 that it was the "first issue"). At the end of issue 3 (the fourth issue of the series), it was announced that Sonic would return in a regular series, and the next issue was published as "issue 1" of the regular series.
In addition to the main Sonic series, Archie Comics published various special issues. Longer than typical issues of the comic, these specials feature stories involving Sonic and other related characters. Several miniseries have also been published, featuring characters such as Sally, Tails and Knuckles.
Because of the popularity of the specials and Miniseries featuring Knuckles, in 1997 Knuckles the Echidna became an ongoing series. Knuckles's stories featured its own cast of Characters, including the Chaotix and Knuckles's romantic interest, Julie-Su. Like the Sonic comic, Knuckles's comic is filled with background information about Knuckles's family history. Knuckles's family has split into two factions: the Brotherhood of Guardians and the Dark Legion. Knuckles is a member of the former, and Julie-Su used to be a member of the latter. Much of the conflict of the comic surrounds the relations between these two warring factions.
In 1999, the series was cancelled, but the stories were continued in the pages of Sonic the Hedgehog. After Knuckles's cancellation and until issue 125, a typical issue of Sonic included a Sonic story and a Knuckles story, sometimes even including a third story. This led to each story getting considerably less space than it previously had. Recently, Knuckles's appearances have been infrequent but his story continues within Sonic's stories.
The creators also have a comic strip similar to those found in a newspaper at the end of some issues called Off-Panel. Off-Panel was in every issue for a long time and continues infrequently in the comic series. The strips parody the lives of the editor and the writers as they walk around the office and interact with characters from the comic in various ways.
Sonic the Hedgehog occasionally features homages to other mainstream or third-party comic books. The most prominent among these include:
- The Anti-Freedom Fighters (a 'bad' version of Sonic and his friends) hail from the Anti-Verse, a parallel universe where evil replaces good. They are a spoof of Crime Syndicate, an evil counterpart to the Justice League, which inhabits a universe where Superman and his fellow DC Comics superheroes are corrupt.
- The Bunnie-Antoine relationship slightly mirrors that of Rogue and Gambit, one of the better-known couples from X-Men; Bunnie is famous for calling people "Hon" or "Sugah" (like Rogue), and Antoine often peppers his dialog with French phrases (similar to Gambit).
- A multiverse exists in Sonic's world that allows for travel to parallel universes, similar to the DC multiverse. Sonic and other characters navigate the dimensions using a literal superhighway called the Cosmic Interstate.
- Certain 48-page specials of Sonic have been devoted to thinly-veiled spoofs or crossovers with different comic publications. The Sonic Super Special "Parallel Paradigm" features a mass crossover with Savage Dragon, Shadowhawk, The Maxx, and other characters from Image Comics. A later issue chronicles Sonic's stint in another reality, where he meets a superhero-themed version of the Freedom Fighters that are based on Marvel Comics' Guardians of the Galaxy.
The Sonic the Hedgehog comic continuity is currently comprised of the following comics:
- Sonic the Hedgehog #1-#182 (ongoing) (Published thirteen times a year (every four weeks) thereafter)
- Knuckles the Echidna #1-32 (Published monthly from April 1997 to February 2000)
- Sonic the Hedgehog Miniseries #0-3 (Published monthly from February to May 1993)
- Princess Sally Acorn Miniseries #1-3 (Published monthly from April to June 1995)
- Tails Miniseries #1-3 (Published monthly from December 1995 to February 1996)
- Knuckles Miniseries #1-3 (Published monthly from July to September 1996)
- SonicQuest: The Death Egg Saga Miniseries #1-3 (Published monthly from December 1996 to February 1997, reprinted February 2007)
- Sonic Specials (Eight individual issues, published quarterly from 1995 to 1997)
- Sonic: In Your Face! (Winter 1995)
- Sonic & Knuckles (Summer 1995)
- Sonic Triple Trouble (Fall 1995)
- Knuckles' Chaotix (Winter 1996)
- Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles (Spring 1996)
- Mecha Madness (Fall 1996)
- Sonic Live! (Winter 1997)
- Sonic Blast (Spring 1997)
- Super Sonic Specials #1-15 (Published quarterly from 1997 to 2001)
- #1: Battle Royal (Summer 1997)
- #2: Brave New World (Fall 1997)
- #3: Sonic Firsts (Winter 1998)
- #4: Return of the King (Spring 1998)
- #5: Sonic Kids (Summer 1998)
- #6: Sonic #50: Director's Cut (Fall 1998)
- #7: Sonic/Image Crossover (Winter 1999)
- #8: Sally Moon (Spring 1999)
- #9: Sonic Kids 2 (Summer 1999)
- #10: Crossover Chaos (Fall 1999)
- #11: Girls Rule! (Winter 2000)
- #12: Turnabout Heroes (Spring 2000)
- #13: Sonic Adventure (Summer 2000)
- #14: Sonic Stew (Fall 2000)
- #15: Naugus Games (Winter 2001)
- Free Comic Book Day 2007 comic (a one-shot comic made for free distribution on Free Comic Book Day 2007.)
A comic called Sonic X, based on the Sonic X cartoon series, is also published by Archie Comics:
- Sonic X #1-26 (ongoing) (Published ten times a year from November 2005 onwards)
Sonic has appeared in issue #28 of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch as well in a two-part crossover which concluded in Sonic Super Special #10: Crossover Chaos.
Trade Paperbacks have also been released, typically collecting older, hard-to-find issues and compiling them in a single volume. These include:
- Sonic Firsts (1998) (Includes the first appearances of Sonic the Hedgehog, Bunnie Rabbot, Super Sonic, and Knuckles the Echidna, taking stories from issue #0 of the original Sonic Miniseries, and issues #3, #4, and #13 of the regular series. A special electronic edition of this comic is among the special features in the Sonic Mega Collection game. Forwarded by Paul Castiglia, a former editor of the Sonic comics.)
- Sonic: The Beginning (2003) (A reprint of the original Sonic Miniseries, with a foreword by their author Michael Gallagher)
- Sonic Archives #1 (November 2006) (A reprint of issues #1-4 of the regular series)
- Sonic Archives #2 (December 2006) (A reprint of issues #5-8 of the regular series)
- Sonic Archives #3 (May 2007) (A reprint of issues #9-12 of the regular series)
- Sonic Archives #4 (June 2007) (A reprint of issues #13-16 of the regular series)
- Sonic Archives #5 (September 2007) (A reprint of issues #17-20 of the regular series)
- Sonic Archives #6 (October 2007) (A reprint of issues # 21-24 of the regular series)
- Karl Bollers
- Paul Castiglia
- Romy Chacon
- Angelo DeCesare
- Joe Edkin
- Clayton Emery
- Danny Fingeroth
- Ian “Potto” Flynn
- Mike Gallagher
- Mike Kanterovich
- Benny Lee
- J. Oliveras
- Ken Penders
- Tania del Rio
- Tom Rolston
- Evan Skolnick
- Frank Strom
- Kent Taylor
- Chris Allan
- Jeff Axer
- Gary Bedell
- Dawn Best
- Al Bigley
- Steven Butler
- Colleen Doran
- James Fry
- John Hebert
- Michael Higgins
- Kyle Hunter
- David Hutchison
- Manny Galan
- Jon Gray
- Sanford Greene
- Ron Lim
- Dave Manak
- Art Mawhinney
- Sam Maxwell
- Harvey “Harvo” Mercadoocasio
- Nelson Ortega
- Ken Penders
- Nelson Ribeiro
- Tania del Rio
- Scott Shaw!
- Tom Smith III
- Patrick “Spaz” Spaziante
- Frank Strom
- Brian Thomas
- Jim Valentino
- Todd Wahnish
- Tracy Yardley
- Jim Amash
- Saleem Crawford
- Jon D'Agostino
- Pam Eklund
- Mike Higgins
- Rich Koslowski
- Harvey “Harvo” Mercadoocasio
- Al Milgrom
- Jay Oliveras
- Ken Penders
- Andrew Pepoy
- Jeff Powell
- Aimee Ray
- Josh Ray
- Nelson Ribeiro
- Henry Scarpelli
- Phil Sheehy
- Brian Thomas
- Conor Tomas
- Bill White
- Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog homepage
- SEGA's official page for the Sonic comics
- StH comic archive at Sonichq.org
- Mobius Encyclopaedia - the definitive resource for all things Archie-Sonic!
- Sonic HQ (1/17/06): [1]