Sonic the Hedgehog | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | IDW Publishing (licensed by Sega of America) |
Schedule | Monthly |
Genre |
|
Publication date | April 4, 2018 | –present
No. of issues |
|
Creative team | |
Written by |
|
Artist(s) |
|
Penciller(s) |
|
Inker(s) |
|
Letterer(s) |
|
Colorist(s) |
|
Editor(s) |
|
Sonic the Hedgehog is an ongoing American comic book series based on the Sega video game franchise, published by IDW Publishing. It is the third licensed comic book iteration based on Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog intellectual property, after Fleetway Publications' Sonic the Comic and Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog series.
On July 21, 2017, IDW Publishing announced a deal with Sega to produce a new series of Sonic comics after the cancellation of the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series by Archie Comics after a 24-year run. [1] The new series began with a four-week long event where the first four issues were released each week in April 2018, followed by a monthly release of subsequent issues starting in May 2018. Archie Sonic writer Ian Flynn was later confirmed to return as the series' lead writer, alongside artist Tyson Hesse. [2] In an interview with Game Informer, Flynn established that IDW Sonic is a brand-new continuity with no connection to the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series by Archie Comics. [3]
During New York Comic Con 2017, Ian Flynn confirmed that characters old and new would be featured in the series, hinting that characters from the games and the original comics might possibly return. [4] [5] [6] [7] In January 2018, IDW revealed that Tracy Yardley, who originally worked on Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comics, would be one of the pencillers for the IDW series.
On April 14, 2020, it was announced that Evan Stanley, one of the series' artists, would be writing for the series. [8]
On June 28, 2020, two original characters from the series, Tangle the Lemur and Whisper the Wolf, were announced to appear in the Sonic mobile game Sonic Forces: Speed Battle as part of its events, [9] [10] with them doing so next month. [11] Surge the Tenrec would also join Speed Battle on November 21, 2023. [12] Merchandise, including a plush toy, of the two have been released also. [13] [14] Tangle was also briefly mentioned in the 2022 Sonic game Sonic Frontiers. [15] It is confirmed by the Lore Manager Chris Hernandez that the comics are canon to the games. [16]
In November 2023, Sonic editor David Mariotte announced that the series would be taking a hiatus in 2024 until the miniseries Sonic the Hedgehog: Fang the Hunter is concluded. [17]
The comic follows the adventures of Sonic and his friends (old and new) as they thwart Doctor Eggman and other villains.
After the end of the war, Eggman has genuinely lost his memory and ended up in a remote village where he has taken on the more friendly moniker of Mr. Tinker. Sonic learns that Neo Metal Sonic is now leading the Badniks, plotting to take over the world in Eggman's stead. While Sonic and his friends fight Neo Metal Sonic and his army on Angel Island, an Eggman admirer named Starline kidnaps Mr. Tinker and successfully reverts him back to Eggman after a defeated Metal Sonic returns to him.
While Tangle helps Whisper apprehend her former comrade turned criminal Mimic, Eggman hatches a new scheme involving the Metal Virus, which turns organic material into mindless robots dubbed "Zombots", but it quickly mutates beyond his control. Starline brings in the Deadly Six in hopes that they can control the Zombots, but they betray him. This leads to a falling-out between Starline and Eggman and forces the latter to help Sonic and his friends cure the world.
Afterwards, Sonic and company decide to fix E-123 Omega, whose body was destroyed during the plague. Sonic and Tails investigate an Eggman base to find the blueprints while Rouge, Amy, Cream, and Cheese enter a competition to win parts; the former group discovers a peaceful Badnik created by Mr. Tinker named Belle while the latter comes into conflict with former crime boss Clutch. Meanwhile, Starline, hoping to regain Eggman's respect and rejoin him by proving his own superiority, sets his own plans in motion by allying himself with villains like Zavok and stalking Sonic's friends. Zavok reunites the Deadly Six and they attack the Restoration's home base, but are defeated and banished to their homeworld of Lost Hex.
From the bio-data he has collected, Starline creates Surge and Kitsunami, two cyborgs meant to replace Sonic and Tails and end the status quo between them and Eggman. Upon learning that he has been conditioning them and wiping their memories to create their personalities and being unable to find any trace of their past, Surge and Kit vow to destroy all heroes and villains. Starline, oblivious, moves to accomplish his vision by conquering the Eggman Empire's new capital, Eggperial City, which is expanding itself until it covers the entire planet, and lures Sonic, Tails, and Belle there. However, Eggman defeats Starline and leaves him to die, while Kit flees with Surge in tow after several defeats incapacitate her. Eggman himself is subsequently defeated, and Eggperial City destroyed, by the Restoration and their allies.
New characters to the series include:
(Publications marked with * take place in a separate continuity from the main series.)
Title | Issue(s) | Start date | End date | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sonic the Hedgehog | 1– | April 4, 2018 | — | Began weekly publications in April 2018 and then it became monthly in May 2018. Features Sonic, Tails and friends battling the forces of Doctor Eggman and other foes. The series is set after the events of Sonic Forces. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper | 0–4 | April 24, 2019 | December 11, 2019 | Miniseries featuring the adventures of two original fan favorite characters from the main series, Tangle the Lemur and Whisper the Wolf. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys | 1–4 | October 7, 2020 | December 16, 2020 | Miniseries centered on Dr. Starline and his crew consisting of Zavok, Mimic and Rough & Tumble. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Imposter Syndrome | 1–4 | November 17, 2021 | May 11, 2022 | Miniseries focusing on new antagonists Surge the Tenrec and Kitsunami "Kit" the Fennec, as well as their creator, Doctor Starline. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island | 1–4 | October 19, 2022 | January 18, 2023 | Psychological horror miniseries focusing on Sonic and Tails trapped on an island full of disused Badniks, including Mecha Sonic. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Fang The Hunter* | 1–4 | January 17, 2024 | May 1, 2024 | A mini-series set in the Classic continuity featuring Fang the Hunter and his mercenary group, the Hooligans. |
Title | Publication date | Note |
---|---|---|
Team Sonic Racing | December 5, 2018 | A prequel to the 2019 Sonic game Team Sonic Racing. |
Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2019 | May 1, 2019 | An annual edition comic which contains 5 new stories. |
Sonic the Hedgehog Halloween ComicFest 2019 | October 26, 2019 | A Halloween ComicFest special edition comic which contains a reprint of Fallout Part 1. |
Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2020 | July 8, 2020 | An annual edition comic which contains 6 new stories set during the events of the Metal Virus Saga. |
Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Special* | June 23, 2021 | A one-shot comic book special in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. |
Sonic the Hedgehog Free Comic Book Day 2021 | August 14, 2021 | A Free Comic Book Day special edition comic. |
Sonic the Hedgehog 2: The Official Movie Pre-quill* | April 5, 2022 | A prequel to the 2022 film. |
Sonic the Hedgehog Free Comic Book Day 2022 | May 7, 2022 | A Free Comic Book Day special edition comic. |
Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2022 | August 17, 2022 | An annual edition comic which contains 6 new stories about odd pair ups. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Tails 30th Anniversary Special* | November 16, 2022 | A one-shot comic book special celebrating the 30th anniversary of Miles "Tails" Prower. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: 5th Anniversary Edition | April 5, 2023 | A one-shot comic book special celebrating the 5th anniversary of the IDW Sonic the Hedgehog comic series. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Endless Summer | August 30, 2023 | Part of the "IDW Endless Summer" event. |
Sonic the Hedgehog's 900th Adventure | September 13, 2023 | A one-shot comic book special celebrating the entire Sonic the Hedgehog comic book run, which includes the Fleetway and Archie eras. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Amy's 30th Anniversary Special* | September 27, 2023 | A one-shot comic book special celebrating the 30th anniversary of Amy Rose. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Halloween Special | October 11, 2023 | A Halloween one-shot comic book special focusing on the Chaotix (Vector, Espio and Charmy Bee) from Sonic the Hedgehog series. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Winter Jam | December 13, 2023 | A Winter one-shot comic book special focused on Sonic & Co competing for a Chaos Emerald. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Spring Broken | May 8, 2024 | A Spring one-shot comic book special. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Knuckles' 30th Anniversary Special [18]* | 2024 | A one-shot comic book special celebrating the 30th anniversary of Knuckles the Echidna |
Title | Publication date | Note |
---|---|---|
Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Celebration: Deluxe Edition* | October 6, 2021 | A graphic novel starring Classic Sonic as part of the franchise's 30th anniversary. Is a reprint of the 30th Anniversary Special one-shot with some additional, exclusive stories. |
Joshua Davison on Bleeding Cool gave the first issue a score of 6.5/10, praising the art and creativity of the story but criticizing Sonic's characterization: "Sonic is an insufferable character... He's smug, annoying, and radical in that 1990's sense." [20]
Dustin Holland's review of the first issue of the Imposter Syndrome miniseries on Comic Book Resources praised the personalities of new villains Surge the Tenrec and Kit the Fennec, action-filled plot, and appropriately expressive art. [21]
Sonic the Hedgehog | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | IDW Publishing (licensed by Sega of America) |
Schedule | Monthly |
Genre |
|
Publication date | April 4, 2018 | –present
No. of issues |
|
Creative team | |
Written by |
|
Artist(s) |
|
Penciller(s) |
|
Inker(s) |
|
Letterer(s) |
|
Colorist(s) |
|
Editor(s) |
|
Sonic the Hedgehog is an ongoing American comic book series based on the Sega video game franchise, published by IDW Publishing. It is the third licensed comic book iteration based on Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog intellectual property, after Fleetway Publications' Sonic the Comic and Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog series.
On July 21, 2017, IDW Publishing announced a deal with Sega to produce a new series of Sonic comics after the cancellation of the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series by Archie Comics after a 24-year run. [1] The new series began with a four-week long event where the first four issues were released each week in April 2018, followed by a monthly release of subsequent issues starting in May 2018. Archie Sonic writer Ian Flynn was later confirmed to return as the series' lead writer, alongside artist Tyson Hesse. [2] In an interview with Game Informer, Flynn established that IDW Sonic is a brand-new continuity with no connection to the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series by Archie Comics. [3]
During New York Comic Con 2017, Ian Flynn confirmed that characters old and new would be featured in the series, hinting that characters from the games and the original comics might possibly return. [4] [5] [6] [7] In January 2018, IDW revealed that Tracy Yardley, who originally worked on Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comics, would be one of the pencillers for the IDW series.
On April 14, 2020, it was announced that Evan Stanley, one of the series' artists, would be writing for the series. [8]
On June 28, 2020, two original characters from the series, Tangle the Lemur and Whisper the Wolf, were announced to appear in the Sonic mobile game Sonic Forces: Speed Battle as part of its events, [9] [10] with them doing so next month. [11] Surge the Tenrec would also join Speed Battle on November 21, 2023. [12] Merchandise, including a plush toy, of the two have been released also. [13] [14] Tangle was also briefly mentioned in the 2022 Sonic game Sonic Frontiers. [15] It is confirmed by the Lore Manager Chris Hernandez that the comics are canon to the games. [16]
In November 2023, Sonic editor David Mariotte announced that the series would be taking a hiatus in 2024 until the miniseries Sonic the Hedgehog: Fang the Hunter is concluded. [17]
The comic follows the adventures of Sonic and his friends (old and new) as they thwart Doctor Eggman and other villains.
After the end of the war, Eggman has genuinely lost his memory and ended up in a remote village where he has taken on the more friendly moniker of Mr. Tinker. Sonic learns that Neo Metal Sonic is now leading the Badniks, plotting to take over the world in Eggman's stead. While Sonic and his friends fight Neo Metal Sonic and his army on Angel Island, an Eggman admirer named Starline kidnaps Mr. Tinker and successfully reverts him back to Eggman after a defeated Metal Sonic returns to him.
While Tangle helps Whisper apprehend her former comrade turned criminal Mimic, Eggman hatches a new scheme involving the Metal Virus, which turns organic material into mindless robots dubbed "Zombots", but it quickly mutates beyond his control. Starline brings in the Deadly Six in hopes that they can control the Zombots, but they betray him. This leads to a falling-out between Starline and Eggman and forces the latter to help Sonic and his friends cure the world.
Afterwards, Sonic and company decide to fix E-123 Omega, whose body was destroyed during the plague. Sonic and Tails investigate an Eggman base to find the blueprints while Rouge, Amy, Cream, and Cheese enter a competition to win parts; the former group discovers a peaceful Badnik created by Mr. Tinker named Belle while the latter comes into conflict with former crime boss Clutch. Meanwhile, Starline, hoping to regain Eggman's respect and rejoin him by proving his own superiority, sets his own plans in motion by allying himself with villains like Zavok and stalking Sonic's friends. Zavok reunites the Deadly Six and they attack the Restoration's home base, but are defeated and banished to their homeworld of Lost Hex.
From the bio-data he has collected, Starline creates Surge and Kitsunami, two cyborgs meant to replace Sonic and Tails and end the status quo between them and Eggman. Upon learning that he has been conditioning them and wiping their memories to create their personalities and being unable to find any trace of their past, Surge and Kit vow to destroy all heroes and villains. Starline, oblivious, moves to accomplish his vision by conquering the Eggman Empire's new capital, Eggperial City, which is expanding itself until it covers the entire planet, and lures Sonic, Tails, and Belle there. However, Eggman defeats Starline and leaves him to die, while Kit flees with Surge in tow after several defeats incapacitate her. Eggman himself is subsequently defeated, and Eggperial City destroyed, by the Restoration and their allies.
New characters to the series include:
(Publications marked with * take place in a separate continuity from the main series.)
Title | Issue(s) | Start date | End date | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sonic the Hedgehog | 1– | April 4, 2018 | — | Began weekly publications in April 2018 and then it became monthly in May 2018. Features Sonic, Tails and friends battling the forces of Doctor Eggman and other foes. The series is set after the events of Sonic Forces. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper | 0–4 | April 24, 2019 | December 11, 2019 | Miniseries featuring the adventures of two original fan favorite characters from the main series, Tangle the Lemur and Whisper the Wolf. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys | 1–4 | October 7, 2020 | December 16, 2020 | Miniseries centered on Dr. Starline and his crew consisting of Zavok, Mimic and Rough & Tumble. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Imposter Syndrome | 1–4 | November 17, 2021 | May 11, 2022 | Miniseries focusing on new antagonists Surge the Tenrec and Kitsunami "Kit" the Fennec, as well as their creator, Doctor Starline. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island | 1–4 | October 19, 2022 | January 18, 2023 | Psychological horror miniseries focusing on Sonic and Tails trapped on an island full of disused Badniks, including Mecha Sonic. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Fang The Hunter* | 1–4 | January 17, 2024 | May 1, 2024 | A mini-series set in the Classic continuity featuring Fang the Hunter and his mercenary group, the Hooligans. |
Title | Publication date | Note |
---|---|---|
Team Sonic Racing | December 5, 2018 | A prequel to the 2019 Sonic game Team Sonic Racing. |
Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2019 | May 1, 2019 | An annual edition comic which contains 5 new stories. |
Sonic the Hedgehog Halloween ComicFest 2019 | October 26, 2019 | A Halloween ComicFest special edition comic which contains a reprint of Fallout Part 1. |
Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2020 | July 8, 2020 | An annual edition comic which contains 6 new stories set during the events of the Metal Virus Saga. |
Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Special* | June 23, 2021 | A one-shot comic book special in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. |
Sonic the Hedgehog Free Comic Book Day 2021 | August 14, 2021 | A Free Comic Book Day special edition comic. |
Sonic the Hedgehog 2: The Official Movie Pre-quill* | April 5, 2022 | A prequel to the 2022 film. |
Sonic the Hedgehog Free Comic Book Day 2022 | May 7, 2022 | A Free Comic Book Day special edition comic. |
Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2022 | August 17, 2022 | An annual edition comic which contains 6 new stories about odd pair ups. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Tails 30th Anniversary Special* | November 16, 2022 | A one-shot comic book special celebrating the 30th anniversary of Miles "Tails" Prower. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: 5th Anniversary Edition | April 5, 2023 | A one-shot comic book special celebrating the 5th anniversary of the IDW Sonic the Hedgehog comic series. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Endless Summer | August 30, 2023 | Part of the "IDW Endless Summer" event. |
Sonic the Hedgehog's 900th Adventure | September 13, 2023 | A one-shot comic book special celebrating the entire Sonic the Hedgehog comic book run, which includes the Fleetway and Archie eras. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Amy's 30th Anniversary Special* | September 27, 2023 | A one-shot comic book special celebrating the 30th anniversary of Amy Rose. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Halloween Special | October 11, 2023 | A Halloween one-shot comic book special focusing on the Chaotix (Vector, Espio and Charmy Bee) from Sonic the Hedgehog series. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Winter Jam | December 13, 2023 | A Winter one-shot comic book special focused on Sonic & Co competing for a Chaos Emerald. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Spring Broken | May 8, 2024 | A Spring one-shot comic book special. |
Sonic the Hedgehog: Knuckles' 30th Anniversary Special [18]* | 2024 | A one-shot comic book special celebrating the 30th anniversary of Knuckles the Echidna |
Title | Publication date | Note |
---|---|---|
Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Celebration: Deluxe Edition* | October 6, 2021 | A graphic novel starring Classic Sonic as part of the franchise's 30th anniversary. Is a reprint of the 30th Anniversary Special one-shot with some additional, exclusive stories. |
Joshua Davison on Bleeding Cool gave the first issue a score of 6.5/10, praising the art and creativity of the story but criticizing Sonic's characterization: "Sonic is an insufferable character... He's smug, annoying, and radical in that 1990's sense." [20]
Dustin Holland's review of the first issue of the Imposter Syndrome miniseries on Comic Book Resources praised the personalities of new villains Surge the Tenrec and Kit the Fennec, action-filled plot, and appropriately expressive art. [21]