Sonic the Hedgehog #226 (August 2011)

Pat Spaziante cover: it’s Sonic the Hybrid! He’s got the Classic Sonic paunch and Contemporary Sonic green eyes.

“Genesis: Part 1: In the Beginning”

Story: Ian Flynn: Art Models: Pat Spaziante; Art Finals: Tracy Yardley!; Ink: Terry Austin; Color: Matt Herms; Lettering: John E. Workman Jr.; Editor: Paul Kaminski; Editor-in-Chief: Victor Gorelick; Final Boss: Mike Pellerito; the Three Sega Licensing Amigos: Cindy Chau, Jerry Chu, and Judy Gilbertson.

“Whoa … seems like I dozed off for a minute there….” OK, so did Sonic die and go to Video Game Heaven? No, he’s back treading the well-worn pathways of the Green Hill Zone. He then asks “What was I doing again?” which is as good of a lead-in to an exposition as any. Turns out he’s on the lookout for missing “dudes” and animals.

His first clue is one that he almost literally stumbles over. Since he’s the Adam in this Genesis account and he gets to name the animals, he dubs the bugbot of indeterminate gender “Motobug” and spin-dashed on top of him, thereby liberating the bunnies and birdies and other cute things from within. Well, that’s one mystery that was cleared up in a hurry. It’s also sort of kind of the genesis of the whole roboticizer plot point.

Sonic hops a mechanical grasshopper or something and arrives at a roboticizer chamber being manned by … Snively? OK, we’re definitely not just recapping the game here, especially since Sonic still has green eyes. Anyway, Snively gets a glimpse of his future when Sonic lands on the mechanism, blowing it up and liberating more animals.

With appropriate up-lighting and literally drooling at the chance to ham it up, Snively speaks of how his uncle, Dr. Eggman, plans to turn the world into the well-oiled proverbial. After the ritual insult by Sonic, Snively releases the Golden Checkerboard Ball of Death or whatever it’s called, which just gives Sonic something to avoid while he pounds on Snively’s hover-whatever. “I must retreat! Uncle Eggy will know what to do about this!” In case you ever wondered why the earliest video games didn’t feature dialogue, now you know.

Sonic then hops on another roboticizer, thus liberating …

OK, the story just hit a good-looking speed bump because among the standard-design critters are Sally Acorn, Rotor dba Boomer, and “Antoine Depardieu” (obviously no relation to Gerard). The trio introduce themselves as “fighting for our freedom” and you’d have to be Stevie Wonder to miss the romantic interest ramping up between Sally and Sonic.

So it’s on to Marble Hill … excuse me, “The Marble Zone.” Sonic gets another chance to demonstrate his déjà vu when a Caterkiller shows up on the scene, but Boomer reverse-engineers it the old fashioned way by smashing it into something. Antoine ducks out of sight and into a Batbrain lair, but Sonic makes short work of them. Sal then expresses her appreciation to Ant for uncovering the ambush while Boomer reprograms one of the Buzzbombers. But because it needs an animal to operate, Sally literally charms a Flicky bird out of the trees (or off the top of a column, to be precise) to do the honors. It’s always good to be bilingual. Sonic clears a path of Caterkillers and Buzzbombers until they’re stopped by…

Magma. Why does it have to be magma?

It’s a perilous situation but since when has that ever slowed down the Blue Blur? While Boomer and Antoine hitch a ride on the Buzzbomber, Sally hops the Sonic Express and gets to hear him deliver the kind of pick-up line that should have died along with disco: “Is it hot out here, or is it just you?” When it comes time to decide whether this is a Best or Worst Line of The Year, I may have to flip a coin.

Once past the magma, who should they run into but Old School Eggman, looking like a plastic bath toy. Eggman chases Sonic onto some marble columns set in the magma, but like the Millennium Falcon zooming down on Darth Vader, the converted Buzzbomber has got Sonic’s back and enables our hero to do his hero thing, sending Eggman off into the next issue.

The Flickie is rewarded with a Royal Peck On The Beak, appropriately enough, and Sonic anticipates/remembers the scene from Mobius 25 Years Later 2.0 where Sonic says that reuniting with Sally “feels right.” But it’s time to take the game to the next level.

HEAD: Some stories have a very superficial narrative structure, and this is one of them. This story I’d characterize, quite simply, as a “side-scroller.” Not only is it a nod to the early Sonic games, but the story itself is relentless in its forward march toward the next development and away from the magma or whatever is keeping the character moving to the right of the screen.

In the Thicker Than Water story arc (S217-218), the events flowed from the story: Sonic and Bunnie find themselves at cross-purposes as they must each deal with the Sandblast Freedom Fighters and the Legionnaires led by Bunnie’s uncle. That conflict sets up the actions of Sonic, Bunnie, and their various allies and enemies. Here, the progression of events (there’s not really anything that could be called a “story”) has been programmed in sequence. Again, it’s a testament to the side-scroller. You’re always, ALWAYS, going to encounter the exact same hazards in the exact same sequence in whatever level you’re playing. That’s what this feels like.

Video games have grown since then. RPGs such as Sonic Chronicles rely on the one-two formula of Exploration and Fighting. The games have gotten so complex that a story in the Leaf Valley franchise has numerous endings which change depending on which of the town girls you pursue as your romantic interest. But here it’s all stripped down to the simplicity of side-scrolling.

Obviously, the comic isn’t going with a straight game adaptation. But the path they’ve chosen is problematic enough. Yes, they’ve brought in some characters from the SatAM Sonic series, but not all of them. And while Snively looks as he always did, Eggman is in classic mode. At least Sally didn’t get subjected to the comic’s flip-a-coin coloring job she went through.

This schizophrenia is a barrier that prevented me from really getting into such story as is available here. For whatever reason, Ian and the team of Spaziante and Yardley! try to have it both ways and as a result it felt like they weren’t even trying to tell a story based on a video game so much as they were playing head games with the readers. Rather than relying on a certain level of familiarity with the old school Sonic they subvert the familiarity. As a result, I couldn’t shake the feeling that my chain is still being jerked around despite the cliffhanger ending of S225. I want to read the next issue not out of anticipation but out of irritation. I’m waiting for this comic to begin playing straight with me about the developments it’s shoveled into a pile, from Naugus to the fates of Hershey and Sally. But Ian isn’t doing anything with the pile yet. He’d better hurry up before it starts to smell. Head Score: 5.

EYE: It’s good to see Pat Spaziante back, even though his work is being channeled by Tracy Yardley!. The detail is first rate, even if the emotion that Spaz brought to the comic feels dialed back considerably. And Matt Herms does exceptional color work when the scene shifts from sunlit exteriors to interiors lit by the magma. Eye Score: 10.

HEART: Is this comic book comical?

After several issues with the focus on high drama, there’s a feeling that for the time being Sonic is going back to his roots in terms of both the game and the comic. Keep it moving, keep it simple, keep it funny. And there’s a lot more funny this time around as Sonic gets to attack Snively, Eggman, and various and sundry bots while dipping into his trusty bag of quips and rejoinders.

But even here, Ian just can’t break away from what’s selling the comic today, and the Sonic/Sally relationship is a big part of that. From their Meet Cute at the Roboticizer to Sonic’s pick-up line to Sonic’s “Being with you guys seems right” line at the end, you get the feeling that Ian is really trying to have it both ways: in the midst of speculation concerning Sally’s possible death, he’s playing up the relationship between Sonic and Sally.

Unfortunately, this is drifting away from the hope that Sally is still alive where we left off in S225 and pumping up an alt-Sally in another dimension. I think. Honestly, Ian seems to be showing no interest whatsoever in helping us understand just what exactly Eggman’s wonder weapon accomplished in the last issue. Yes, I know it’s kind of fun watching Sonic go through his paces, but the “reality” of the situation is still gnawing away at the back of my mind, and Ian has chosen not to throw any kind of a bone to the audience. Instead it’s “Please keep your arms, hands, and minds in the car at all times during the ride.” But this roller coaster is going to have to pull into the station at some point; there’s just no getting around it. Knowing that compromises whatever comic edge Ian’s trying to build into this story. Heart: 7.

Sonic Spin: Paul Kaminski virtually takes credit for coming up with the “Sonic: Genesis” name. There’s also a display of ANOTHER variant cover, this one for distribution at the San Diego Comic Con.

FAN ART: Justin gives us Classic Green Hill Sonic, B. also does the central character, and Orion lets his chalking do the talking.

FAN FUNNIES: There’s been a number of crossover drawing marking the 20^th anniversary of the game, and Billy has Contemporary Sonic telling his predecessor what he can look forward to in terms of friends and enemies. At least he didn’t try to work Elise or Merlina into the picture.

OFF-PANEL: OK, seems like Eggman is just as confused as I am about what his own wonder weapon was supposed to do. But he’s also honked off that Sally has survived whatever cliff-hanger was devised for S225. Maybe.

SONIC-GRAMS: And if you thought Ian was playing fast and loose with Sally’s fate before, check out the letters section. Editorial jerks around Danielle’s feeling of “betrayal,” warns Dana that things are going to get wilder, doesn’t really address Kristy’s concerns, hedges like crazy addressing Troy’s question of whether there’s to be a cast change, but definitely states that Sonic Select #5 won’t be a Sally memorial issue. Finally, Cassandra is told that “all will be revealed” on the subject of Hershey’s fate, which I’ve been waiting for myself. And waiting is the operative word because I seriously doubt that those of us with questions will get any satisfaction in THIS story arc. But the way Editorial continues jerking the fans around on Hershey’s as well as on Sally’s fate, they should start calling this book THE MOST WAY PAST CRUEL COMIC!