The short answer is because it was my intro to the Sonic series as a whole, but I haven’t reread most of it since I was a kid. But I’ll go into a little more detail about that below the readmore, as well as outlining what I will and won’t be reading for this blog
Sonic the Comic issue #80 rewired my brain and changed my life
Now, the first issue of StC that I bought as a kid was #80. I should add a disclaimer here that there was a kid I knew back then who recommended me the comics - she had issues #78 and #79, so I probably at least glimpsed those as well. But #80 was the first issue that I had for myself (and I still have my copy!), so that’s the one that gave me my first impression of Sonic
I’m sure StC fans will know why this issue was a big one and even Sonic fans who have a casual familiarity with StC will probably see Super Sonic on the cover and guess that a lot of stuff happens in this issue… and you’d be right!
I’ll save the review for when I actually get to this issue in my reread, but the basic premise is that Sonic goes to visit his friend Porker Lewis on the Floating Island (later known as Angel Island in the games), where the chaos emeralds and master emerald are kept suspended above a giant… hole thing that holds their power (kid me didn’t ask questions, adult me still doesn’t). Sonic fell in this hole and got a full whack of their power, turning him into the evil Super Sonic who’s hellbent on destroying the last person who’d been on Sonic’s mind, who happened to be Amy Rose
The story ends on this cliffhanger and I can pin-point this single image as the reason I got into Sonic in the first place
…Like, look at this!!
The art is so cool! What’s going to happen to Amy Rose? Why has Sonic turned into a crazy powerful being who wants to kill her? I have to know more! I have to get the next issue and maybe devote my entire life to this series!
Like, Super Sonic looks so powerful and Tails looks terrified of him! But Amy still looks quite calm and collected. Maybe she’s only just noticed Super Sonic zooming into the scene or maybe she’s just composed enough to not be as fearful of him as Tails is. Obviously, even without knowing anything about the series, I could tell that Amy is Sonic’s friend and I want her to be okay. But something about seeing her reaction in this panel made it seem like the “Next Issue: Amy vs Super Sonic!” advertised at the bottom of this page wouldn’t be as one-sided as some might expect it would be
And that’s how, on (roughly) 21st June 1996, an 8-year-old who’d just spent their £1.20 pocket-money had their socks blown off by a Sonic comic
(Out of curiosity, I looked up where Archie Sonic was at around this time and it was… issue #37! The Knuckles spin-off comics would also be released the month after this. But I wouldn’t know about the existence of either of these until later)
Now, 80 issues into an on-going series is obviously a late point to hop on, but I can honestly say that it never hindered me reading the comics as a kid. Every two weeks I’d get to see Sonic and his friends have adventures and sometimes they’d mention established lore that I might not have known, but it was easy just to write that off as something from an earlier issue and carry on
Also, after a certain point, StC started to reprint older stories. Which was both a blessing and a curse, because on one hand it meant that I could catch up with older stories I hadn’t read before, but on the other hand it deprived the issues of newer stories, until the comic would eventually become entirely reprints from issue #185. Even so, I can confidently say that there are probably stories in the first 79 issues of the series that I’ve never read, so I’m looking forward to getting to those on my read-through
So, will you stop reading at issue #184?
While I intend to read from #1-184, the reprints issues do feature new covers from Richard Elson
Many of which show newer takes on earlier stories, featuring the green-eyed Sonic of the modern era. So while it’s far away now, I’ll most-likely do a post about these covers to conclude my read-through. Although man, looking at #185’s cover in particular puts me right back into being there as a kid, expecting to see new stories, only to open the comic and get entirely reprints…
Will you be reading the non-Sonic stories?
Early on in its run, StC featured stories from other SEGA titles of the time, before committing to being entirely about Sonic. While not to diminish the merits of these stories, I just don’t have the same familiarity with most of their source material that I do for Sonic, so I won’t be reading them. The exceptions being probably the Ecco stories (because I did play Ecco as a kid) and Decap Attack, because Decap Attack was still running after I started reading the comic and I remember enjoying it. But I won’t be blogging about either of these in the same way that I will be the Sonic comics themselves, so you won’t have to skim past posts about loads of other series to get to the Sonic stuff
What about the Sonic spin-offs?
I will absolutely be reading these once I find or make a good reading-order that slots them into their proper place. The above summer ‘96 special was also one of my first StC issues and I remember it fondly
What about the Captain Plunder stories?
Yep! Captain Plunder exists in Sonic’s universe and I enjoyed his standalone stories as a kid, so I’ll be including him in my reread
Anything else?
For a time, StC included game reviews and ofc they also had a fanmail and fan art section, like Archie and IDW. For the most part, I’ll only be including small bits of these that I find interesting or relevant, but I won’t be talking about them wholesale. Though I’m sure that a Sonic comic’s reviews of Sonic games will be worth a look at
Originally a Shadow android who realized she wasn't the actual Shadow the Hedgehog and left the Eggman Empire. After doing some soul searching she transed her gender. She's fairly quiet with a dry humor. She is goth and loves horror. She can fight but prefers not to if she can help it, trying to live an ordinary life. She won't admit it but she still struggles with her sense of self both as a robot designed to wage destruction and as a copy of Shadow the Hedgehog. She's running on some slightly outdated hardware/software and is prone to getting a little bit glitchy at times but nothing too bad.
Sunny the Red Panda:
Sunny is just a silly guy. A silly goose. He lives in the forest and names the animals he runs into. He's bubbly and loud and mostly happy, though when he gets angry he'll kill whoever is in sight (in a silly way)
Formerly part of a thief group called The Cat Burglars hence the cat mask and bag, which by the way has infinite space and he pulls out just about anything out of it like mary poppins
Um. He's Shadow's partner and they have silly adventures together. He also has a garden with Silver and a book club with Sonic <3
Here's the bracket for the showdown! Definitely open it in a new tab to be able to read all the names OR you can look below to see all of the matchups and their creators!
ROUND ONE WILL START FRIDAY OCTOBER 20TH AT 12PM EST
I have to separate the two sides between a post for this round cause tumblr does NOT like all the @ mentions, so look for the RIGHT SIDE BRACKET in the reblogs!!
LEFT SIDE BRACKET
Roller the Ferret (@technoria) vs Dusty the Rabbit (@starlitskvader)
Elysium the Shadow Android (@wereh0gz) vs Lime the Shadow Android (@sonicrules)
Aries the Wolf (@l-sincline) vs Tabi (@nintendoni-art)
Cessare (@pactwraith) vs Rocket the Shadow Android (@bees-are-my-thing-bro)
Rime the Cat (@yellowvixen) vs Frost the Fox (@crossovermadness06)
Chroma the Hedgehog (@chao-stadium) vs Ziro the Maned Wolf (@shadow-t-hedgehog)
Fibula the Hedgehog (@son1c) vs Foxglove the Porcupine (@sonboygemerl)
Faye Moreau (@addysfandomdump) vs Curie the Radiant (@riftclaw)
Slime (@empty-ted) vs Chimera Baby "Mira" (@fleetways)
Thistle the Tenrec (@bunnymajo) vs Specter the Porcupine (@halloween-cats)
Dog the Capybara (@couch-house) vs Delina the Cat (@terrorteeth)
Crux the Hawk (@snowpearart) vs Wingnut (@gourde)
Blossom the Bunny (@scorpiolight-madd) vs Zest the Rat (@dreaminginmysoup)
Splash the Water Cat (@angelicdevil) vs Clutch the Pangolin (@tearcynical)
Trace the Tasmanian Devil (@sapphanimates) vs Sapphire Aurora (@spiritgenie)
Bitx Byte (@infinitetrainss) vs Sting the Scorpion (@whimsical-sonic)
She's an AI who becomes more human over the course of the game. Plus she develops a father daughter relationship with Eggman that's really cute.
She's an AI created by Dr. Eggman, she has excellent control over Cyber Space, and gained command of the robots & guardians of Starfall Islands
Meltryllis propaganda:
She is a fierce and powerful force to be reckoned with when you find yourself against her. If she is allies with you, she can still be somewhat sadistic and a tsundere, but she will do everything in her power to help you.
Kim Possible: Knows how to kick butt AND make her hair fabulous! Loves shopping at Club Banana and cheerleading, even if she is getting down and saving the world.
Check out this poll by @kimpossible-polls talking about this here
Amy Rose: She's pink and always has a cute outfit and is sweet to everyone
pixelskylines
janainaart
romaincrisis
kianamaiart
snowghoul
